V.S. Day

In this country, and in Europe we still remember VE Day, Victory in Europe – the day the Allies defeated Germany in the Second World War. That day marked the end of a very dark time, and the crossing of the threshold into a more promising and hopeful future.

Easter Sunday is VS day. Victory over Satan. The end of a very dark time and the crossing of the threshold into a future of hope and promise.

We look at the events surrounding Easter Sunday for our Christian perspective. Sometimes we attempt to see it from God’s perspective. Today as we celebrate Victory I want to take a few minutes to look at those events from the perspective of the kingdom of darkness. Bear with me….

We need to start with a verse from the New Testament.

None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Corinthians 2 v 8

The Truth is that Satan and his minions thought that at last they had Jesus cornered and when they had finished they would have no more trouble from Him. Let’s go through the events….

It started just after the Passover meal that Jesus had with His disciples. Satan had already entered Judas Iscariot (Satan had been ‘working’ Judas for a while now. This next step in his plan for Judas was easy). Judas went out into the night on a mission. He went to find the Chief Priests and Elders.

Judas was fed up with Jesus. He had been creaming off his own regular little tithe from the money bag that he carried for Jesus and the Twelve. The last straw for Judas was when some woman poured a jar of expensive perfume over Jesus head. The perfume was worth 300 silver coins (Mark 14) and it could have been sold and the money put in the purse to give to the poor; the purse that Judas looked after. He could have raked off 30 coins for himself. Well now he was going to get his 30 coins anyway.

When he got to the place where the Priests and the Elders were, he found that Satan’s forces had already stirred them up and they were plotting to kill Jesus. Judas’ offer to lead them to Jesus in return for 30 silver coins was perfect timing – demonic timing. So far so good. Jesus was duly apprehended and brought before the Sanhedrin. All that was needed now were some witnesses who could agree on a story that would condemn Jesus. But, these humans! So annoying! Just when you think you are manipulating them nicely to follow your evil plan, they go all to pieces. It took hours before at last two people were able to agree on a false story. Tense moments for Satan.

The next step. Pilate. Should be easy. But no, there were more tense moments. There was a heart stopping moment (if demons had hearts) when Pilates wife put an oar in. “Have nothing to do with this – I’ve had bad dreams about all this” she said. Rescue for the demonic plan came from the crowd – “crucify Him, crucify Him”. Back on track now. Jesus was crucified. Got Him. Done. That’s the end of that.

But wait….Easter Sunday….Oh no it’s not!!!

Confusion and accusations all over the enemies camp. He’s alive. Oh no! What is He going to do now? They held their breath, they watched, they waited, they tried to read the moment. Jesus it seemed, was quite happy to keep a low profile. He just wanted to be with His friends, apart from one or two more public appearances. Then came the Ascension. Aha. At last. He’s going back to where He came from. Good. That’s a relief. A lot less interference from now on. We’ll have this place to ourselves again, just like it used to be before He turned up.

Then comes the day of Pentecost. Whaaaat!!!! What is happening now?That’s when the penny began to drop. Oh No! Now what have we got? Thousands of new Jesus lookalikes everywhere we look. Little human Jesus’s everywhere. Thousands of them. More every day. Unstoppable. Why hadn’t we foreseen this? It’s an absolute disaster. They are everywhere. They are just like Him, and worse, they are filled with the same power, they have the same ability and the same mandate.

And that folks, is who we are. Each one of us is one of those thousands upon thousands of people made anew in Jesus image. Just like Jesus, filled with the same power that He has, with the same ability and the same mandate. You are not small, you are not weak, you are not insignificant. You are Satan’s worst nightmare about to happen. A constant reminder to him that he has failed catastrophically, terminally. A reminder of VS day, Easter Sunday; the end of a dark time and the crossing of the threshold into a time of Hope and Promise.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

Isaiah 61 v 1 – 3

This is the mandate…