Immediately after my baptism and just before I launched my ministry here on earth, the Spirit of God took me to the Judaean wilderness for an earthly encounter with my adversary. Duing those forty days, Satan came to tempt me expecting that I will fall to his provoking. He used the same tactic he deceived Eve with – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

First, Satan said I should command the stones to become bread to satisfy my hunger. I answered him, “It is written in the Scriptures man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God”. In fact, I, as the Word of God, sustain all life. Then he showed me the entire ‘world’ in a moment, said that all its glory and power belonged to him and added that he would give them to me if I worshipped him. I commanded him to get behind me saying, “It is written in the Scriptures, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve””. The day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that I, Jesus Christ, “is Lord, for the glory of the Father”. The devil then tried his third weapon. He asked me to jump from the pinnacle of the temple quoting, “God shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you. And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone”. I drove him away with these words: “It is said in the Scripture, you shalt not tempt the Lord your God”. It also meant, “I am the Lord. Don’t tempt me”. He left me for a while, only to return to tempt me now and again through people around me, audaciously defying my words.

Satan even spoke to me through my senior disciple Peter forbidding me from going to the cross. I rebuked the devil in him. Surprisingly, this happened moments after Peter confessed that I am the Christ, the Son of the living God. I had appreciated the statement and said that I will build my Church on me, the Living Stone and added that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Satan was waiting to foil Our plan that the Father purposed through me. He attempted to murder me several times before the appointed time. He failed every time, though. Shameless!

Then came the time. Judas Iscariot approached the high priest offering to identify me among my disciples for thirty silvers. They could then arrest me and bring me to the court to sentence me to death.

I had taken Peter, James, and John with me to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. They were so overcome by sleep that they could not pray with me for even an hour. I went a little further from where they were, to pray to my Father. It was a crucial time in the purpose of God. I was overwhelmed by sorrow at the thought of losing the relationship with my Father at the time of my death on the cross, though for a little while. I pleaded with Him to remove this cup of sorrow from me if possible but let Him continue with His decision. I said, “Not my will; Let Your will be done”. In fact, I had come for this very purpose!

By doing the will of my Father all along, which was my very food, I pleased Him in all things always. I never gave in to any temptation brought by the devil. In fact, the enemy was pursuing me night and day to tempt me in every possible way. The Holy Spirit on me enabled me to withstand the enticements of the enemy. As man, I conquered the world and its passions comprehensively.

Armed men came by the garden of Gethsemane by night and took me to the high priest. The counsel was trying to fix a crime on me and sought false witnesses to support their lie.

They took me to the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. He asked me if I was the King of the Jews. I replied that my kingdom is not of this world and was not from this earth. I would rule from heaven. I have been anointed King by my Father over all my creation – not just the Jews. (My kingdom is a heavenly one and would be established in the hearts of my believers from the day the Holy Spirit of God would be sent down from Heaven by my Father. This happened on the day of Pentecost after my death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification).

When I told Pilate that I had come to this earth to bear witness unto the truth, he asked me, “What is the truth?”. Little did he know that I am the Truth in bodily form. This means, people must measure everything and everyone against me as the golden standard. Anything that falls short of me is falsehood. Everything that tends to exceed me is a lie too. Sadly, there have been a lot many attempts by mine own creation to undermine me. However, all such attempts have proved futile in time and even before time. My enemy is the infamous ‘liar’ and ‘the father of lies’ and has remained so ever since his fall.

The Jewish public, fueled by their leaders, preferred Barabbas over Jesus Bar Abbas – Jesus the Son of God the Father. Pilate handed me over to the soldiers to scourge me. They platted a crown of thorns and banged it on my head. They put on me a purple robe and mocked me saying, “Hail, King of the Jews”. They also smote me with their hands.

Pilate was keen to release me. Even his wife sent him a message, “Do not have anything against Him, a just man”. But being overcome by the outrage of the Jews, he delivered me to be crucified.

The Jewish crowd took me and led me away. They scourged me, slapped me, exposed my nakedness, spit on me, and ridiculed me. I, bearing my cross went forth into a place called Golgotha, the place of a skull. They drove long nails into my outstretched hands and my bound legs and crucified me. While it was excruciating physical pain, the thought of losing my fellowship with my Father, though momentarily because of the sin of the world that was placed on me, caused misery to my soul. Two other criminals were also crucified either side of me.

I prayed to my Father to forgive all who were crucifying me because they did not know what they were doing. I felt extremely thirsty. I was offered gall mixed with vinegar to soothe my pain. I refused it. I saw my mom among the crowd. I handed her over to my dear disciple John to take care of her thereafter. I cried in agony when my Father turned His face from me, unable to tolerate the sin burden I carried on behalf of the sinful mankind. I asked Him in my loneliness why He forsook me. I got no answer. He should have experienced anguish as well, seeing His only begotten beloved son, bearing the sin of the world all by himself, dying. I knew I had accomplished the work that my Father had sent me to do. I said with great relief, “It is finished”. Then, I submitted my spirit into His hands and died. As man I conquered sin comprehensively until my last breath in this world, all my life, never allowing it to dominate me.

I shed all my blood, even to the last drop. When a soldier thrust his spear into my ribs, only a few last drops of my blood and water flowed from me. The Centurion standing close to my cross was witness to this. He was totally convinced and acknowledged that I am the Son of God.

Who did I shed my blood for? You. I was your substitute on the cross. I bore your sin, your shame, your curse, your sickness, and took upon me your punishment. All because I love you.

Soon after my death, by around that Friday evening, Joseph, a Jew of Arimathea took me down from the cross and buried me in a new sepulcher that was hewn out of a rock. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and teacher of the law and my old acquaintance who enquired me about eternal life, brought costly embalming material for my ‘dead’ body. Surely, he had mixed feelings looking at my corpse! To top it all, they rolled a big stone to shut the entrance (or exit?) of the tomb. And the priests posted soldiers to guard my tomb day and night without ceasing. Were they afraid that I might rise again as I had declared to my disciples while I was with them? Their only misconstrued concern was that my disciples would steal my body overnight, hide it and then proclaim that I had risen from the dead. Only I knew that my disciples were shivering to the bone and were hiding themselves lest the Roman soldiers pursue even them and put them to death.

My enemy was elated. He thought that finally he had achieved his objective. He was only breathing a sigh of relief when he heard me declare, “It is finished”. He might have expected something like, “I am finished”, but it was otherwise. He was shocked, stunned, and awe-struck. “What is finished?” The very words he heard in the garden of Eden replayed in his mind. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; It (the Seed) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”. Did he miss me by the heel? And where is his head? I had crushed his head under my feet. (Earlier, I had cast him to Our footstool when he rebelled against us. He fell with his allies to the earth’s atmosphere, far from Our light into darkness. Again, I saw him fall to the earth panicking as my disciples started casting away demons). Now, I had destroyed the devil who had power over death by my death so that I could deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. As man, I conquered Satan.

Earlier, one of the malefactors on my side pleaded with me to remember him when I would come into my kingdom. I promised him that he would be with me in paradise that very day because he believed and acknowledged who I am. Paradise was the special compartment in the underworld (Tartarus) all believers of the Old Testament period went to, after their death. I went there immediately after my death, to this Abraham’s bosom, to deliver believers who were held captives there because Satan had the keys of death and hell then. I usurped these keys of death and hell from him and led these captives free from that bondage. Many of them were seen in the streets of Jerusalem that Saturday that followed the Friday of my death. I took them to heaven when I went there to meet my Father on Sunday morning immediately after my resurrection. As man, I conquered hell and the grave.

My Father, by His glory, raised me from the dead according to the working of His mighty power. He did not leave my soul in hell nor did he allow me to see corruption. He saved me from death as I revered Him and submitted to Him always while alive. Death could not hold me back in my grave as my flesh rested in hope. God declared me to be the Son of God with power by my resurrection. As man, I conquered death too.
Why did I conquer the world, sin, Satan, hell, and death? Was it for myself? No. It was for my people even from the first believer Abel who trust me for their justification. It is for my disciples who keep trusting me for their sanctification. It is for all my saints who will trust me to the end for their glorification. They will be rewarded. I am coming!