Don't Be a Satan
There were many times that Jesus told people not to tell others about things He had said and done. He did this because He was not yet ready to go public with His ministry. Jesus knew that announcing who He was would begin His journey to the cross, and the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane is evidence that Jesus was dreading that journey. In fact, Jesus asked God to find a way to redeem the world that did not involve Him being tortured and killed on a cross.
Eventually, Jesus did go public. When He began that journey, He walked into the inevitable attacks of the enemy.
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
When Peter argued with Jesus’ description of the salvation plan, Jesus called him a satan, which means tempter. The translators of the Bible are in the habit of using the word “Satan” as a name for the primary adversary of the Bible, but that is not his name. That is a description of who he is. He is a tempter. The authors of the Bible worked hard to not give the satan a proper name, but our translators have disregarded their efforts. When someone is given a name, they are given dignity and respect. Naming a child is an act of love. God did not give that dignity to the devil, and that is likely why the authors chose to use metaphors and descriptions rather than a name.
Further proof that the authors did not intend to give the devil a name is their use of articles before the descriptors that they used. Every time the authors talk about the devil, they use the article “the” before the descriptor. Because the devil does not deserve a name, I call him “the satan.”
Because “satan” is a descriptor rather than a name, other people can also be described with the word. In fact, we are all a satan at times. Even God is “a satan.” He opposes evil. But “the satan,” is not simply “a satan.” He is “the satan,” the primary villain, the opposer of goodness.
The word “satan” means deceiver, but it is also a description. A satan is a snake or a seraphim. Sometimes the translators use the word “snake.” Sometimes they use the word “satan,” and in the book of Isaiah, they translate it as “seraphim.”
Another word the translators turned into a name of the devil is “Lucifer,” which means “the morning star.” The problem with this is that the word “Lucifer” isn’t in the Hebrew or Greek Bible. “Lucifer” is Latin for “Venus.” Isaiah calls the snake “the morning star.” Why? Because Venus is the last star you see before daylight. It is a fitting metaphor of the satan because Venus is the star that rebels against the light of the sun.
The supreme adversary is the satan, but “Satan” is not his name. He is the devil, but “Devil” is not his name. He is not the only adversary, but he is the leader of the adversaries.
Another word that is used to describe the supreme adversary of the Bible is the word “devil” which means “slanderer.” Unfortunately, the translators chose to leave the Greek word “devil,” and again made it a name for the satan. This is the same Greek word that Paul used when he told us not to gossip. In other words, we can be devils too, but not to the same level as the satan, the father of lies.
The good news is the satan has been bound. Unless God lets him, the satan can’t hurt you. If you are God’s child, the only way the satan can hurt you is by convincing you to hurt yourself.
[Jesus] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Christ is on the throne of His kingdom, and we are the citizens of His kingdom. God’s got us. The satan wants to devour us, but he can’t unless God lets him or you help him. He can’t physically do anything to you, but he sure can tempt you.
In Matthew 16, Jesus was not implying that Peter was the supreme adversary. He was telling Peter to stop tempting Him. Peter tempted Jesus to not do what Jesus was called to do.
We are often tempted to reject God’s plan when we think our plan is better, but Jesus’ invitation to pick up our crosses was an invitation to follow God’s plan, not our own. Our way, no matter how benevolent or moral we believe it is, will only lead to destruction.
When we sin, or when we tempt others to sin, we are a satan. When Hell breaks loose, it’s because humans let it break loose. Adam and Eve did it first, and we keep the tradition going. Some of our pain is caused by our sin or by the sins of people around us. Some of it is caused by Adam’s sin, but all pain is caused by sin. In other words, when we resist the satan and his sinful temptations, we decrease pain in the world.
We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
We are constantly being tempted, and one of the most common temptations is to think we’re fighting for wealth, or fame, or power. We’re not. Remember, Jesus didn’t get distracted with politics. He fought real evil.
What could the satan do to Jesus in the wilderness? He tempted Jesus. That’s all he can do. But, if he can tempt Jesus, he can tempt us. Before God made humans, the satan couldn’t do much but complain. When people were created, the shrewd snake recognized an opportunity to convince Eve to do the evil for him.
The original Hebrew word for “shrewdest” is “arum.” That same word is used throughout proverbs as a positive trait. It means “clever or perceptive.” In other words, this is an extremely smart snake.
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced.
The snake’s grand argument isn’t a good argument at all. You would assume we’d all be able to reject his temptations. He invites us to go our own flawed way and reject God’s perfect way, but why would we not trust a perfect father who loves us unconditionally?
The truth is, sometimes we want to fall into the satan’s temptation so we can say “the devil made me do it.” We give the satan the dignity of a name because we want to be able to blame him. But, if he is unworthy of a name, he is unworthy of my respect. If the satan can control me, I can blame him when I sin. If the devil is Christ’s equal, I can justify falling for his lies. But, if he is powerless, my sins are my fault. James tells us we have power over the devil.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
We resist the satan by running to God, by following His way. We know what tempts us, so we run from it. Coming close to God is practical. He laid out His plan for us. Humble yourself and follow His instructions.
I regularly tell my sons, “I love you too much to let you disobey.” Sin is incredibly harmful. It’s sin because it hurts people. It’s sin because it’s bad for us. God loves us too much to condone harmful actions.
