Here's our proposition this morning. Through the cross, Jesus judges Satan's global kingdom of rebellion and death, ushering in his own kingdom of reconciliation and life. And here's the expanded proposition, because I have a hard time putting things succinctly. Through his perfectly obedient life and atoning death on the cross, Jesus reversed Adam's failure and reclaimed all that was lost to Satan's reign. By perfectly fulfilling the law, he stood beyond its penalties, untouchable by Satan's accusations. Because he alone remained free from the law's curse, he was the only perfect sacrifice. Through his substitutionary death, he bore the full penalty of humanity's sin, freeing them from the law's curse, sin's enslavement, and Satan's charges. In this triumph, he judged Satan, stripping him of the power he wielded over a kingdom of rebellion and death, and ushered in his own kingdom of reconciliation and life. I know that's a lot, but I think that'll be fleshed out as we take a look at John 12 and the topic at hand. Let's read John 12, verses 20-33. as we continue our exposition of the Gospel of John. It says, Now among those who went up to worship at the feast there were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again. The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, an angel had spoken to him. Jesus answered, this voice came for your sake, not mine. And here's our primary text this morning. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. And now remember the context here. Remember that Palm Sunday has just occurred. Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem. There's great crowds that are greeting him, and they're crying, Hosanna to God in the highest. They're welcoming Christ as the coming Messiah. And this was in fulfillment of Zechariah 9, remember, which said, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you! Righteous and having salvation is he humble and mounted on a donkey. And so this is a fulfillment of this long-standing prophecy. That passage continues. In Zechariah 9, it says, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations. His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. And so this was a fulfillment of prophecy. And that fulfillment of that prophecy was one of the many signs in our passage that a moment of eternal significance had arrived. That's what we touched on the last couple weeks. And Jesus underscores that in our passage. The significance of the moment cannot be overstated. And we know that something significant is happening because Jesus, in verse 23, for instance, says, the hour has come. Verse 27, he says, his soul is troubled, but what's he going to say? Deliver me from this hour? He says, no, but I've come for this very hour. And then in our text this morning, it says, now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. So this is a significant moment. It reveals that Jesus' entire earthly life, especially the three years of his ministry, had all been leading to the events that were about to unfold. And so this is a seminal passage. Something very, very significant is happening. What we find is that the events leading to this time stretch as far back as to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And those events are ready to be accomplished, as we're going to see. And so we learned last week that Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem signaled that this was a time of eternal significance, but that there was something else that happened in our text that indicated that this was a time of significance. And it was what? The coming of some Greeks to talk to Jesus. Remember that last week? Some Greeks came to talk to Jesus. They want an audience with him, and they never do get an audience with Jesus. But his response to their coming was very, very revealing. Remember, he responds to the news like, hey, some Greeks want to talk to you, and he starts talking about discipleship. If you're going to follow, you've got to follow me, and if you want to have eternal life, you follow me, you'll be honored by the Father. He says you're going to have to hate your life in this world. If you're going to love your life here, you're going to lose it, but if you lose your life, you're going to gain it, and so on. And so he talks about the cost of discipleship. And with this he revealed that his earthly ministry had succeeded in its intended goal. His teaching ministry, his healing ministry, all of this had led to a point where not only had Jews come to learn that he's the Messiah, but even the Greeks Those God-fearers had come to recognize that He is the Messiah, even when the Jewish leadership had rejected Him. So He had primed the pump so that there would be a wonderful expansion of the kingdom of God. And the Greeks coming to talk to Him signaled that, that, hey, everything's ready. The gospel's gone out. Those whom the Father had given to the Son have recognized He's the sent Son of God and only source of eternal life. And even the Gentiles are at the gate, clamoring to get in, wanting salvation through Christ's name. A massive expansion of the Kingdom of God is at hand, and Jesus is signaling, now's the time. In order for all of this to come to an ultimate culmination and climax, the only thing left to do is to go to the cross. So, in Zechariah 9, there's a prophecy that Christ would come riding on a donkey, and that He would usher in a kingdom of peace. A kingdom defined, as we learn through the New Testament, and as we learn through what Jesus actually accomplishes, the kingdom of peace promised in Zechariah 9, we learn, is primarily a kingdom defined by peace with God. The Messiah comes to a people who are at enmity with God, and he atones for their sins so that there can be reconciliation, so that peace can be made between sinful man and holy God. So it's primarily a kingdom defined by peace with God. Kingdoms, citizens once at odds with God now reconciled to Him, moving from dishonor to honor, moving from a destiny of eternal death to a destiny of eternal life. And all of this would be accomplished by Christ's obedient life and His sacrificial death and His victorious resurrection. But, can you tell I have a lot of notes today? I'm talking very fast. That's only page two. We've got about 15 to go. But Zechariah 9 doesn't promise only peace. It also speaks about enemies being defeated. That's very interesting for us. If the kingdom of peace that Zechariah 9 prophesied and that was signaled by Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem was primarily a kingdom of peace with God on a spiritual level, what we learn also is that the enemies promised to be vanquished in Zechariah 9 are also spiritual enemies. We're going to see that play out. John chapter 12, our passage this morning, reveals again that the kingdom that Christ came to establish was a spiritual kingdom. that salvation was a matter of the soul. And again, what we're going to see is that the enemies that will be vanquished are ultimately spiritual enemies. That's not to say there's no earthly kingdom in view at all, but that the primary enemy to be defeated, standing behind every earthly enemy, is spiritual. And so, look what Jesus says in John 12, verse 31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And so the time has come for Jesus' kingdom to be established, a diverse kingdom made up of all those anyone's and all those whoever's, Jew, Gentile, doesn't matter, anyone who believes in Christ, anyone who follows Him, whoever believes and obeys Christ. all of them will be reconciled to the Father and will be included in the kingdom. But what we learn in John 12, 31, is that before Jesus establishes His kingdom here, you've got to recognize there's already a kingdom in place. Before His kingdom can rise, another kingdom must fall, according to John 12, 31. There's already Someone ruling and reigning over the men and women that Jesus seeks to save, apparently. There's already a structure in place that dominates the world. There's already a kingdom in place. But the kingdom that's in place is oppressive, and it is enslaving, and it is deadly. So before Jesus can establish His kingdom of peace as prophesied in Zechariah 9, and it is signaled by His riding the donkey into Jerusalem, that existing kingdom must be overthrown. Its ruler must be cast out. The existing power structure must be torn down. And then in verse 31 of John 12, he indicates that the time had come for that. The time for that triumph had come. By His coming death on the cross and the atonement that He would achieve through it, this world system would be judged and its ruler would be cast out. So here's the question. Who is that ruler? Who is that ruler? Who is the ruler of the kingdom? Before we get to that question, let's just answer this first question. What does Jesus mean by the world in John 12, 31? He says, now is the judgment of this world. What's he talking about? He's talking about the earth. He's talking about the globe. He's talking about fallen human society. He's talking about the fallen order of humanity and its ways. He's talking about that fallen human system that's been corrupted by sin, which turns against God. Again, not the earth itself. That belongs to God, clearly. But he's talking about the realm of rebellion. Men and women living apart from God, enslaved to sin, under the sway of darkness. This is that cosmos that John talks about when he tells us, do not love the world or the things that are in the world. Now, you love people. You've got to love people. We're not of the persuasion that is the church against the world, right? as far as those people out there. We're to love people. We are to draw people to Christ. We're to have compassion and empathy and see them as harassed and helpless, as sheep without a shepherd, just like Christ did. But John says, don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Then he defines the world. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the Father, but from the world. That's what we're talking about here. We're talking about the pride. We're talking about the passions. That's what we're talking about. He says, the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. This is the world system. This world system, blinded to the truth, captive to death, hostile to the Creator, which stretches across nations, yet a system that's bound by a common thread of rebellion and disobedience. And so, according to our passage this morning, the world in that sense, that kingdom has a ruler. This is a person behind the sinful godlessness that's woven through the fabric of global society. This is someone who promotes and provokes sin and lawlessness. So who is this and how did it come to be? That's why I said turn to Genesis 3. I'm not going to read the text in detail. I'm just going to reference it here and there. But here we find how this world system was created in all of its fallenness and how the ruler came to assume his position of influence. Genesis 3, of course, is where we find the fall of Adam and Eve. Remember, Adam and Eve have been instructed by God to not eat the fruit from one specific tree in the center of the garden. And then they're tempted by some mysterious figure. And this mysterious figure tempts them to disobey their creator. Revelation 12 makes it clear that this mysterious figure in the garden is the devil, Satan, the adversary. Consider the tactics that he uses here in Genesis 3. First of all, Satan talks to Adam and Eve and he leads them to question God's word. He simply says, did God actually say? You should not eat of the tree that's in the garden? From any tree in the garden? Now, God's word was clear to Adam and Eve. There was no ambiguity about it. You can eat from every tree, but not the tree in the center of the garden. That is very, very clear. But one of Satan's tactics then and today is that of creating confusion where there's actually clarity. Creating confusion where there's actually clarity. He wishes to blind us to the truth that's right in front of us. And Romans tells us that it's a matter of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. This is a satanic tactic. God's word can say something abundantly clear, but Satan fuels doubt and speculation and distortion. Is that what God really said? Is that what he really meant? You often see this with someone who's struggling with sin over and over and over and over and over again, and at first they kind of try to battle against it and so on, but then they get to the point where they just begin to say, you know what, maybe it's not really wrong. After all, because I'm captive to it and can't overcome it, then, you know, it doesn't seem really fair to say that it's sinful, so maybe I'm just going to rethink what the Word of God actually says. Well, that's a satanic tactic. Beginning to question the clarity of Scripture and to entertain novel interpretations of clear truths, and so Satan says, did God actually say? Satanic tactic. Causes confusion where there's actually clarity. What else does Satan do in the garden? When Eve responds, that, hey, we cannot eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, because if we do, then we're going to die. Satan responds, what? Just contradicts God outright. You shall not surely die. And there we find another satanic tactic. He contradicts God and conceals the consequences of sin. He contradicts God and conceals the consequences of sin. Again, out-and-out contradiction. You're not going to die. God said we're going to die. It's not true. God said there'd be consequences for your sin. He said, well, there'll be no consequences. This tactic remains, again, even today. Pursuing sinful lifestyles in direct contradiction to what God has said, fully convinced that there will be no consequences, even though God has issued clear warnings. But here's the tragedy. When those consequences hit, Oftentimes, people don't wake up and say, oh, there are consequences to my sin. Instead, oftentimes what happens is they just cry injustice. This is not fair. They can blame others, chalk it up to bad luck. Suffering becomes something to numb through distractions and pills or diving deeper into sin rather than a wake-up call to turn back to God and say, oh, maybe what he said is true, and there are consequences to sin, and maybe I should actually alter my lifestyle. So that's another tactic. Satan causes confusion where there's actually clarity. He contradicts and conceals the consequences of sin. He contradicts God and conceals the consequences of sin. But then we see another tactic. In Genesis 3, verse 5, Satan continues, For God knows that when you eat of the tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil. And here's probably the most sinister of his tactics. He convinces that sin benefits. in that God is simply withholding from us what is good. According to Satan, not only does sin not carry consequences, but it actually brings wonderful benefits. The argument can't be made without implying something else even more wicked. What he's saying is that God has prohibited not to protect you, but to keep you from happiness. Not for your own good, but to keep you from what is good. The idea goes that the secret to happiness is not found in what God has for us, but in what God has kept from us. So if you want genuine fulfillment, you must distort, confuse, contradict, or simply disregard what God has said, and instead pursue your own passions with abandon. So these are significant satanic tactics that we find all the way back in Genesis chapter 3 and that continue today. And you can apply those tactics to just about any issue of the day. If you grab my notes in the app, you'll see that I use an illustration there when it comes to gender and sexuality. But we can see these tactics applied in any number of areas. We see them first in the garden. But we see them continually in society all around us. We see them in Godless ideologies. We see them in secular philosophies. We see them in the cacophony of other clamoring voices. And although we don't hear those things from the whispers of some mysterious serpent, Satan still remains behind it all. How so? How did Satan then come to become the ruler of this world? Sadly, Adam and Eve did succumb. to Satan's temptations. They did fall prey to those satanic tactics. And what happened? Exactly what God said would happen. Their sins severed their relationship with God. They were cut off from His life. They were rendered spiritually dead, and they were destined to physical death. Further and devastatingly, since Adam was representative of all of humanity, he plunged the entire human race under that same curse. Adam and Eve were created to be God's image bearers. They were created to spread the glory and worship of God over all the earth. That's what their task was. They were to exercise dominion over the earth as His representatives. They were to be faithful stewards of the creation. They were actually to mediate God's rule upon the earth. But that's not at all what they did. Instead of worshiping God and enjoying all of his benefits and spreading that type of culture all over the globe, Adam failed. As a consequence of his sin, he not only rejected God, but he actually shifted his loyalty and his allegiance from God to Satan. God's image within him then was marred. That dominion mandate was corrupted. His impulse to worship became misdirected. the descendants of Adam would share in every aspect of that fall as well. So Romans 5.12 says, therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all had sinned. And so this is the origin of corrupt, sinful human society. So that a few chapters later in Genesis, in Genesis 6, we read this. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." Man was spiritually dead, living out the satanic lies that began in the garden. As a consequence, man produced godless culture with all of its corrupt fruit. And what we learn in John chapter 12, and in a host of other passages, is that although mankind is culpable for their rebellion, behind the scenes of that godlessness, behind the scenes of that godless world system that he has created, was that same influence that we saw in the garden. It was satanic influence. When Adam sinned, Satan seized upon humanity's failure, and he doubled down on his tactics. But were those tactics causing confusion where God spoke clearly? Contradicting God's commands? Concealing the consequences of sin? Convincing us that sin brings benefit? And even accusing God of withholding good? Those tactics continue today. Satan, like a parasite, latching on a host, hijacked Adam's dominion. And he spread his sinful influence across every corner of human culture. And so Satan here is just operating like an evil opportunist. Satan pounces upon the failure of Adam, and really he's pouncing upon the failure that he instigated. He pounces upon the failure that he instigated and turns human culture into his own corrupt kingdom. Over time, this pervasive grip earns him a title. What is it? ruler of this world, ruler of this world, a dominion built not on rightful authority, but really by him seizing upon the wreckage of human rebellion. This is what John was reflecting on in 1 John 5, 19, when he said, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And when he described the world this way in 1 John 2, 16, again, for all that is in the world, Desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes, pride of life is not from the Father, but it's from the world. That's the satanic world system. Yet as evil as all of this is, it gets even worse. Satan's depravity sinks even deeper. Because Satan isn't just a deceiver, he's also an accuser. He's a deceiver and an accuser. The Bible says that he stands day and night making accusations against men. He's accusing men seeking to damn them further for the very rebellion that he fomented. Instigate you to break God's law and then leverage God's law against the men that he's tempted to break the law. Like a treacherous prosecutor, he stands before God demanding judgment on the sins that he himself enticed them to commit. But the evil goes even deeper. Not only does Satan defame God and distort his word and deceive the world and dominate the culture and demand judgment against men, but on what basis does he demand that judgment? Again, the law of God. He stands before God and accuses God of injustice, saying, look how wicked your created humanity is. Look at your holy standard. You are obligated to judge them, and if you do not, you are unjust. He stands day and night as the accuser, seizing upon man's sin and calling upon God to judge, again, while accusing him of injustice. And just think of how evil that is. He rules over a world system designed to lead away from God. And then he stands day and night as the accuser of men, calling upon God to judge them for the rebellion, again, that he instigated. And so the ruler of this world is Satan. He pounced on the rebellion that he encouraged in humanity, starting with Adam and Eve's fall in Genesis 3. He exploited it to twist the world into a system utterly opposed to God. And then through his cunning deception, he blinds people to the truth. He convinces people that sin brings fulfillment. He persuades people that God's warnings are lies. And by all of those tactics, He ultimately enslaves humanity to sin. His aim is to lock them in chains that keep them far from life with God. As we're going to see in a little bit, Satan knows what his verdict is, the verdict upon him is, and he wants to bring down as many people as he can along the way. And so consequently, Satan is variously called the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, and as we see in our text, the ruler of the world. And frankly, he's a pretty formidable ruler. He wields some power. He actually wields the power of the sting of death. The power that he gained not by right, but by hijacking humanity's failure. What else does he do? He kind of dangles like a false hope in front of men. Convincing people that the path to happiness before their unavoidable end lies in chasing their darkest desires. Lust, greed, pride, just human passions. That's the path to happiness. Pursue all of that during your earthly life instead of pursuing the creator. All the while he stands as the accuser. So where are we at then when it comes to the state of humanity? If mankind were ever to be restored to rightful relationship with their Creator, the ruler of this world, Satan, who enslaved them, would first have to be overthrown. And that's exactly what Jesus' signaling is about to happen in our passage in John 12, 31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to himself. So the coming of the Greeks, some Greeks are here to talk to you, signals that the harvest was ripe and the time had come for Jesus to storm the house of Satan. The time had come for Christ to depose Satan as the world's ruler. The time had come for Jesus to open the eyes that had been blinded by Satan's deception. The time had come for Christ to lead to a freedom those whom Satan had led captive. And Jesus would accomplish all of this by the cross. And that's why he says, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. The writer of Hebrews tells us that it was for this purpose that Jesus became flesh. Hebrews 2.14. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." And so Jesus took upon flesh as a perfectly obedient man so that he could succeed where Adam failed. He did this so they could reverse sin's consequences and reclaim all that Satan had usurped. It's for this reason that early in Jesus' earthly ministry, what happens? I mean, just at the outset of His earthly ministry, what we find in Matthew 4 is that Jesus finds Himself in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Matthew 4, verse 1 through 11. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and sat him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you. And on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to them, Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Again the devil took them to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory. And he said to them, All these I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came, and were ministering to him." You ever wonder why that happened so early in Jesus' ministry? Ever wonder why that happens at all? With that, Satan attempted the very same tactics that he employed in Genesis chapter 3. He thought that he could lead the same sort of downfall that he instigated with Adam. What we find is that at every point of Adam's failure, we find Christ's victory. And so what does Satan do here? Well, he attempts again to cause confusion where there's clarity. If you are the Son of God, well, we know Jesus is the Son of God because upon his baptism, the Father says, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. God has spoken very clearly, and here Satan is trying to cause confusion and doubt. And Christ answers back. It's written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God's word stands paramount, he has been clear, and so he rejects Satan's attempt to confuse what God has clearly revealed. Next of all, Satan contradicts God and conceals the consequences of sin. He takes Psalm 91, hey, jump off this pinnacle, there's a promise there that you are going to be saved and there won't be any consequences, it'll be just fine, jump off and you'll be fine. He's attempting the same thing, contradicting God, concealing the consequences of sin, and Jesus responds, again, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Satan then, what does he do? Well, just like in the garden, he seeks to convince that sin benefits and that God was keeping from Jesus what was good for him. What does Satan do? He offers the kingdoms of the world. He says, all of this I will give to you. What is he saying? What's he doing here? He's suggesting to Jesus that there's a way to receive a kingdom without the pain of the cross. Yes, the plan is, according to the Father, that Jesus atone for sin, that he bear the wrath of God, and that he accomplish salvation, but through self-sacrifice. And Satan is saying, that's not the way it has to be done. All you've got to do is bow down and worship me, and you can have all the kingdom of the world without any pain at all. In reality, what would happen? If Christ didn't go to the cross, salvation would not be accomplished. If He did not go to the cross, He would not be the obedient Son of God. If He did not go to the cross, then the kingdom of Satan would stand. He's concealing the consequences of sin. But the point is this. Jesus succeeded in every point that Adam failed. He succeeded in every point where Israel failed, and every other human being failed. Well, this proves that Satan had no influence over Christ, and so Jesus remained perpetually obedient to the Father. Jesus never violated the law of God, and so Jesus never incurred the penalty which the law prescribes for sin. Satan was absolutely powerless over Christ, and any accusation that Satan would lodge against him would fall on deaf ears. This is why Jesus could say in John 14 30, I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming. And then he says this, he has no claim on me. You're powerless here, Satan. There's nothing you can say. There's no accusation you can lodge. Uh, there's nothing you can do. He continued, but I do as a father has commanded me, said the world may know that I love the father. So Jesus was in no way subject to the ruler of this world. In fact, not only was he not subject to the ruler of the world, but he came to cast out the ruler of this world. It's for this reason that so much of Jesus' earthly ministry saw him taking on demonic forces. Everywhere he went, it seems like the demonic forces, those possessed with demons, knew he was the Son of God, and they shuddered in fear. Luke 4.33, it says, in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him and said, Be silent and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in the mist, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, what is this word? For with authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits and they come out. And then Mark tells us, and whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, you are the son of God. Isn't heretofore before the earthly ministry of Jesus, Satan and his forces had a field day, deceiving and blinding and enslaving. They could really work with impunity, but Jesus wasn't like any other man. Not only did they not have power over Christ, but Christ had ultimate power over them. The account in the Gospel of Mark continues with Jesus being accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan. And I want to see Jesus' response to this in Mark 3, verse 22. It says, And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He's possessed by Beelzebul. And by the prince of the demons, he casts out demons. And he called them to him and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. So this idea that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Satan or casting out Satan by the power of Satan was just absurd. It didn't make any sense. It was illogical. That wasn't what was happening at all. So what was happening? Verse 27 of Mark 3. He says, but no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed, he may plunder his house. Jesus wasn't working with Satan. Jesus was vanquishing Satan. The picture here is what? You picture some powerful thug who's been terrorizing people. terrorizing them, stealing their goods. Jesus comes as the stronger man, goes into that strong man's house, Satan's, the world, by his incarnation. He binds him up, and then he plunders his house. How does he do it? A series of ways. We see here, partly just by healing the possessed, Jesus was wreaking havoc upon Satan's long-standing kingdom. And again, not only was he immune to Satan's devices, but Satan was powerless before him. And so Jesus not only storms Satan's citadel by healing the demon-possessed, but he also did this by confronting Satan at every point of his satanic tactics. Jesus confronted those confused teachings of his day with clarity, the clarity of God's Word. Jesus takes on that tactic of concealing the consequences of sin, and what? He clearly delineates the consequences of sin, calling men to obey God. He exposed sin as enslaving, and he set forth obedience to God as the only means to attain genuine satisfaction. And so, through Christ's teaching ministry also, he takes on these satanic tactics. Jesus renders every tool in the satanic toolbox powerless. And frankly, he left Satan and his demonic forces scrambling. And that's why Jesus says, now is the judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast out. The time had come for the final blow. So, we've said that Satan, as the ruler of this world, is a deceiver. But the fact is, Jesus was not susceptible to his deception. We said that Satan, as the ruler of this world, is an accuser. But also Jesus was not at all susceptible to his accusations. These things rendered Satan powerless over Jesus. But here's the question we want to end with. How does Jesus ultimately overthrow Satan's rulership over this world? How is it that he could cast out the ruler of this world through the cross? And here's the critical point. Jesus was born free from humanity's fallen nature. He didn't inherit Adam's rebellion like the rest of us. And unlike Adam or any other person, he never sinned. He lived in perfect obedience to God's law and stood firm against every temptation that Satan threw his way. Because of this, listen, the law had no grounds to condemn him, and Satan had no basis to accuse him. And death, sin's rightful penalty, had no power over him. So Jesus approaches the cross as one free from sin and as one free from sin's penalty. This means that His death could be offered up on behalf of others. This means that He, being free from sin, could offer Himself to bear the sins of others. This means that He, with a perfect relationship with the Father, could bear the enmity incurred by others. This means that He, entirely undeserving of the wrath of God, could absorb it for those who deserved it. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 Peter 2.24 says, He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. A little allusion to Isaiah 53 there. Colossians 122, and you who once were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. And so by giving himself for our sin, he pays the penalty of death which the law demanded from us. In doing so, he renders Satan's accusations powerless, and so Paul wrote this to the Colossians. He says, and you, now this applies to all believers, this is for you if you believed in Christ, as a benefit of his triumph over Satan, and you who were dead in your trespasses and circumcision of your flesh, just like Adam, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him." And so, through the cross, Satan and his minions are disarmed. They're really humiliated by Christ's victory over them on the cross. And again, every tool in the satanic toolbox, deception and accusation and the fiercest of weapons, death, have been stripped of their ultimate power for those who are united to Christ. So to read a passage we've already looked at, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Paul picks up on the same theme in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, when the perishable puts on the imperishable, that is when this fleshly body is transformed. and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that's written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so Jesus Christ breaks the shackles that Satan had upon humanity. And all of this is true for anyone who's put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Every follower of Jesus has been delivered from Satan's kingdom of rebellion and death and transferred into Christ's kingdom of reconciliation and life. Paul said in Colossians 1.13, he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And probably one of the greatest passages laying out these truths is Ephesians 2. It says, "...you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world." Now listen, "...following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, that's just the human condition, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and who were by nature, not just by behavior, but by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He may show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace You have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it's the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast. And so for the believer this morning, if you're a Christian, you've been transferred from the domain of Satan to Christ's kingdom. From a time living in the passions of the flesh, to walking in the Spirit. From a position deserving the wrath of God to receiving the undeserved grace of God. From living as enemies of God to basking in the love of God. From fearing certain death to living in anticipation of a heavenly inheritance. That's what Jesus has done. That's what Jesus has done by casting out the ruler of this world. So then, as we close here, Are Satan and his influence gone? We say, okay, well, Satan can't work. Satan doesn't work. He doesn't have any influence anymore. Is that the case? Since Christ's victory, has Satan stopped seeking to destroy what God has created? Is it true that Satan no longer seeks to bring disorder where God brings order? Is it the fact that Satan no longer tries to disfigure what God has made beautiful, or denigrate what God values, or deflect all the glory that rightly belongs to Him? Is it the case that we don't see any of that around us anymore? Well, of course that's not the case. In fact, Peter warns us, Be sober-minded, be watchful, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. Well, how can that be? Hasn't Satan been defeated? What about everything we just learned? Well, consider how John pictures the defeat of Satan in the book of Revelation. It says in Revelation 12, Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, and he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation and power and kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. For they love not their lives unto death." And that just seems like an awesome summary of everything we just learned. But then look what it says next in verse 12. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, in you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, For the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short." Now understand, Satan has been defeated. Satan has been dethroned. Satan has been defanged, you could say. But he still wields influence for a time. Picture the idea of like a wicked despot, a tyrant who rules with lies and terror, and he's finally overthrown by some rightful king. So the throne is toppled and his armies are scattered, the power is broken, he's deposed by a single decisive blow. That's what we see here. That's Satan at the cross. Jesus storms his kingdom, disarms him, humiliates him. But like that fallen ruler awaiting a final sentence, Satan hasn't been locked away just yet. However, he knows what his destiny is. He has been defeated. The sentence of death has been passed, but the penalty hasn't yet been fully imposed. He still skulks in the shadows, stirring up trouble, whispering rebellion. But he knows he's been defeated. He knows the cross has sealed his fate. So then, are there any current benefits to Christ's victory in light of the fact that Satan is still lurking in the shadows? And here's our last passage for this morning. Yes, there are current benefits to Christ's victory. The accusations of Satan are powerless against you if you're a believer. No charge can stand against you if you're a believer. There's no condemnation for those who follow Jesus. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God. There can never be a repeat of Adam's failure in the garden. No force, earthly or spiritual, could ever separate you from the love of God again. Who shall bring any charge against God's elect, Paul says, is God who justifies. Who is to condemn Christ Jesus as the one who died? More than that, who is raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Now listen, for I am sure that neither death nor life, what does it say next, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else, and all creation will be able to separate it from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And all of that flows from Christ's victory over Satan on the cross. So Satan lingers for a season, but his throne has been shattered, his kingdom is in chaos, and Jesus' kingdom has dawned. But the full restoration isn't complete. Satan's final chains await. But the point is this. Christ has stormed the citadel. He has thrown open the doors of the cells where Satan was keeping his enemies enslaved. He's opened the eyes of those whom Satan has blinded. And he invites all to come into his freedom. This is what he means. when he doesn't just say, now is the judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast out, but follows it up with, and I, when I'm lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Listen, the chains have been broken. The way to freedom has been made. The path to reconciliation with the Father has been made. And so come, so come. That's the open invitation. So in conclusion, is this the fourth time you said in conclusion? But I mean it this time. Let's just read our expanded proposition again. We'll close with this. Through His perfectly obedient life and atoning death on the cross, Jesus reversed Adam's failure and reclaimed all that was lost to Satan's reign. By perfectly fulfilling the law, He stood beyond His penalties, untouchable by Satan's accusations. Because He alone remained free from the law's curse, He was the only perfect sacrifice. Through his substitutionary death, he bore the full penalty of humanity's sin, freeing them from Allah's curse, sin's enslavement, and Satan's charges. In this triumph, he judged Satan, stripping him of the power he wielded over a kingdom of rebellion and death, and ushered in his own kingdom of reconciliation and life, a kingdom which is populated by anyone who chooses to follow Jesus, having embraced him as the sent Son of God and only source of eternal life. Let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for Jesus and for his victory on the cross. We pray this morning for those who are not yet believers, that they would see that the way of salvation has been made. Pray that they would repent of their sin and place their faith in Christ, trusting in his death upon the cross as the only means of salvation. We just pray for those who are here as believers. Help us to bask in all the Immediate benefits that Christ has secured for us. Relationship with you. Freedom from condemnation. The promise of an eternal inheritance. Pray you'd help us to live in it. But then there's that warning that though Satan has been defeated, he still walks about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, and so he must be watchful. So help us to be aware that his tactics remain, though they are stripped of their ultimate power, they can still cause us to succumb to sin and to indulge the passion of the flesh and then to not experience the blessings of salvation in this life. So, help us to stay on guard, help us to be watchful, and help us to answer back to His tactics, not only with the Word of God, but with the confidence that we have been freed from His slavery, and that we have genuine freedom in Christ. So, help us to be watchful. And then, Lord, help us to be thankful for all that You've done for us through Jesus. We thank You for all of this in His name. Amen.