Ephesians 6:16c – Potshots

… the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Summary: Today, we look at the devil’s attempts to put a flaming arrow in our Lord’s back. Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t go well for Satan.

Paul’s words describing the devil’s arrows as “flaming” bring to mind an embarrassing situation or a shameful misstep. Certain things I have done in my life still cause a “flame” of pain to surface whenever they come to mind.

I visualize the “arrows” Paul mentions as Satan’s attempts to entice us into sin. He wants us to rebel against doing God’s will. Sometimes, Satan’s arrows are simply a distraction intended to cause us to stumble, falling short of doing God’s will, which is another kind of sin.

But what about Jesus? Did Satan shoot any arrows at him?

Was the devil shooting arrows at Jesus when Herod ordered the little boys in Bethlehem killed, hoping to kill Jesus? (Matthew 2:16)

Remember the story about the people in Nazareth trying to throw Jesus off a cliff? Wasn’t that an “arrow” intended to discourage Jesus? (Luke 4:28-30)

Do you think it hurt Jesus when Herod killed his cousin, John the Baptist? (Matthew 14:8-12) Was that an “arrow” from Satan?

The devil does not want Jesus to rescue his people. These are attempts to kill or intimidate Jesus. Satan did everything he could to undermine our Lord’s will.

Of course, Jesus survived to start his ministry. When he finally begins, he finds himself tested by God and the devil. The Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness. According to Matthew’s account (Matthew 4:1-11), the reason was specifically so Jesus could be tempted by the devil. His preparation for this “fight of the millennia” was going without food for forty days and nights. This is the equivalent of going into the ring with both hands tied behind your back, a blindfold on, and concrete blocks chained to both feet.

In the wilderness, Satan was given three potshots at Jesus. He had three chances to pierce our Lord with a flaming arrow and stop Jesus from his mission to save us from hell. His prey was almost starved to death. Jesus’ body was weakened and his mind was wracked by the agony of hunger. All the devil had to do was slip the tiniest of arrows into our Lord.

He began with the hunger. Could he tempt Jesus into serving his flesh instead of God?

When that attempt failed, he took Jesus to the top of the temple and shot an arrow at Jesus’ ego. In effect, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God …” prove it. He swung, and … missed.

The tempter was given one more shot at Jesus. Could he do it?

For his final arrow, the devil chose to entice Jesus with success. He knew Jesus wanted to save all of the people on the planet. Well, thought Satan, “Have I got a deal for you!”

Satan happened to own every soul on Earth. Every city, every town, every person was his by law. Thanks to his success in the Garden of Eden, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

The devil offered Jesus everything he wanted; the whole world! All he had to do was bow to the devil.

Even at point-blank range, with his target stone still and defenseless, Satan couldn’t land an arrow on Jesus. His shield held, his faith was rock solid.

Satan, of course, was not done. Jesus faced rejection from the very people who should have recognized and honored him. He was betrayed by his closest disciples. People tried to stone him and arrest him before his time. But God had a different plan. God’s plan was for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for you and me. Satan thought he finally got an arrow in Jesus, only to discover that our God is bigger than he could imagine.

Amazing!

Application: Build your shield with Scripture, like Jesus did.

Food for Thought: How can we have a shield like Jesus’?