Saturday, April 10, 2010
Satan's Greatest Trick
John 20:17
Let me tell you about one of the sneakiest and most diabolical tricks Satan has ever pulled. As a master of confusion and deceit, he has tried many times to destroy the work of our Lord at Calvary—the redemption of God’s people. It began with Cain slaying Abel, and continued throughout the Old and New Testaments, and right on to the time of Christ and His ministry. If successful in his endeavors, the devil could have destroyed the holy line that God had planned for the Messiah to come through. We don’t have time to list all of them, and may not even realize some of them, but in John 20, verse 17, we see a plot, one last-ditch effort, to destroy the Holy sacrifice, and ironically to use a grace as great as love to do it!
If Mary Magdalene would have touched Jesus, in an affectionate caress, or a hug, or in any manner at all, it would have polluted the Blood sacrifice that had not yet been sprinkled on the mercy seat of God. The sacrifice would have been unacceptable and man would not have had a Savior. With the words “Touch me not” Jesus again defeated the wiles of the devil, and was thoughtful enough to explain to us why He did not want Mary to touch Him. Sinful hands could not touch a perfect, and Holy sacrifice without corrupting it. It had to be without spot or blemish. The devil used an innocent gesture, and act of love in hopes of defeating the great work that was done at Calvary. A simple, loving touch could have made the difference between life and death for us, for all of eternity. It was written “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:26), than the atoning blood of Christ, so it could not have been done again. It is scary how close the devil came to condemning us all to hell—forever. What Mary was about to do was a normal thing for a woman, so glad to have seen her Beloved after all she had heard and seen, but it was not to be done at that time.
Sometimes timing makes a big difference in the things we do. It surely did here. After this, the disciples could hug Jesus’ feet, and shake His hand, and feel the scar in His side, and all those things they did, but this was after He had ascended, and presented the sacrificial blood of the Lamb to the Father, and completed the final stage of atoning for the sins of the world. If we will listen to the Lord, and stay by His side, we will not be offended at his commands, as Mary could have been in this passage. She could have thought “Is He too good for me to even touch Him?” (and He is, actually), but she could have taken offense, as we might, under the circumstances. You see, Mary knew what she was, and that she was a sinner, but she knew the freedom in Christ too, and after all, “what would be wrong with a simple, loving touch?” Do you see my point? Let us all be open to the simplest commands, and have an ear for His voice, and a heart of obedience, without hesitation or questioning what we don’t understand. Praise the Lord that Jesus was wise to Satan’s tricks, and completed the redemption plan for us.
One other rather amazing point that I need to make here is that Jesus delayed going to the Father until He had taken time to comfort a troubled woman. Jesus cares about individuals. Mary was obviously very upset that the One who had changed her life so drastically, the One who she had known as “Master” seems to have faded off the scene forever. I’m sure many thoughts were going through her head, much fear, anxiety, doubt and confusion pervaded her mind, but Jesus paused in His important task, delayed long enough to show her that everything will be all right. What a Savior! He could have went and presented the blood before the Mercy Seat, and had it all settled before He approached anyone, but Jesus wanted to comfort her troubled soul without causing her any further distress, and who was this lady? She was said to be a prostitute; she had had seven devils in her, and had been cleansed by the loving hand of Christ, but Jesus tarried to show Himself alive to her, and comfort her. Jesus cared about her, and He cares about you too, no matter what your background might be. Do you care enough to serve Him?
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