Question: Why did Jesus come to earth on that first Christmas Day?
Answer: In order to destroy the works of the devil
For that is what we’re told in 1 John 3:8.
I know what you’re thinking – all this talk of God and Jesus is one thing, but to bring the devil into the conversation is surely to take us back to the dark ages and, what’s more, make plain something that many have for a long time suspected – that I am completely off my religious rocker!
But I have to confess that I do believe in the devil. That is not to say that I think he is responsible for all the evil acts that we are forever hearing hear about on the news – for both fallen human nature and the way society organises itself contribute considerably towards the net total of all that’s wrong with this world as well – but to paraphrase C.S. Lewis, to disbelieve in the devil’s existence is every bit a mistake as to have an excessive and unhealthy interest in him.
Jesus himself spoke about the devil. [John 8:44] And if the Son of God considers him to exist, then it seems to me that it would be foolishness on our part to consider him to be no more than a figment of a more ignorant generation’s imagination. Even so, whilst acknowledging his reality, we should also remember that, having been defeated by Jesus through his death on the cross, the devil is no longer someone we need to be unduly scared of.
For whilst we are told to be watchful, conscious of how he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour [1 Peter 5:8], we should also remember that, as Martin Luther once said, ‘the devil is God’s devil’, and as such his influence over us is only as great as God allows. Those with faith in Christ can,therefore, rest confident that, irrespective of what unpleasantness he might like to inflict on us, the devil can ultimately do us no real harm – not in any eternal sense at least.
So what are the works of the devil?
Known as the deceiver of the whole world, [Revelation 9:12], the devil’s principal work is, perhaps, to pervert the truth and prevent us from enjoying the relationship we were always meant to have with God.
Back in the Garden of Eden, it was the devil’s misleading of Adam and Eve that led to man’s rebellion against God. And ever since man was subsequently forced to leave that wonderful place of safety, the devil has sought to prevent the reconciliation that God has been working to bring about through his sending of the Messiah.
Many attempts were made by the devil to stop Jesus from completing the work of salvation – including the one we remember at Christmas. For it was surely the devil’s voice that whispered in the ear of King Herod and prompted him to order the murder of all male infants under the age of two who were in or around Bethlehem at the time of the visit of those wise men from the East. [Matthew 2:16]. Because had Jesus been one of those killed in that horrific slaughter, as both the devil and King Herod had hoped, then he would not have been able to go on and die on the cross for us in the way that he did.
But now, with Jesus having completed all that he came to do, the devil seeks to blind men and women to the truth of the gospel. [2 Corinthians 4:4]
But despite him doing his worst, the truth of the good news remains. And so, in the words of one of my favourite hymns:
‘When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me’
By dealing with our sin problem, Jesus has rendered the devil harmless. Though he can, and does accuse us day and night, with our sins now forgiven, death has now lost its sting, [1 Corinthians 15:55] and not even that last great enemy can separate us from the love of God that is ours Christ Jesus. [Romans 8:38-39]
What’s more, death itself has been redeemed. Far then from it being the end, for those who put their trust in Christ, death is now a new beginning, a door that leads us straight into the presence of the God who is our loving Heavenly Father. Which is why the Christian can say, along with the apostle Paul, that ‘to die is gain’. [Philippians 1:21]
Furthermore, though he continues to cause significant trouble in our world today, there is a day coming when the devil will be gone for good – after which there will be no more tears, no more suffering and no more death.
Because on that day, as a result of what Jesus achieved when he came to earth on that first Christmas Day, the works of the devil will have been totally destroyed.
To reveal the secrets concealed behind door 21 of last year’s Christmas Countdown, click here.
Some musings 