The Messiah’s Secret – The Battleground of the Cross
Luke 16.19-31. The Rich Man and Lazarus
World Values
The world judges people by how successful they are, which is backed up by world values: big houses and fast cars, designer clothes and plenty of money to treat friends.
In Jesus’ story the rich man must have been successful in accumulating wealth, he attracted the poor outcast to come to his gate. However, the poor man Lazarus wasn’t one of the rich man’s friends, so his thoughts had concentrated on accumulating his wealth, not giving it away, so he disregarded him, he gave him nothing. He probably had the mind set, let him go to the temple treasury and get relief from there. This attitude would come from his fallen nature.
Our old nature is our number 1 enemy, there’s a battle in the mind, I want to do the good, but I end up doing the opposite. Paul considers that the old nature is the source of all our bad habits. Romans 7: 20, 23. 8: 5, 6. Ric Warren ‘The Battlefield for Your Mind’.
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, “ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4: 19 – 24 NIV Bible
The mind is a battle ground, we are not to believe everything we think.
Satan wants control of our mind, he’s continually planting thoughts. He’s not able to force a person to do anything. But if we accept a thought he’ll build on it, It can start with a doubt, then becomes a deception, like the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. It probably started with a doubt about the resurrection, that became a deception as they built a doctrine upon it, it then became a stronghold. Sadducee and high priest Caiaphas God had given him prophecy, ‘that one man would perish to save the nation’ when he heard later about the resurrection of Jesus, he was unable to discern and overcome the stronghold of unbelief in the resurrection. Matthew 22: 23. John 11
How are strongholds destroyed?
Truth is stronger than lies, Jesus was reminding the listeners that their founding father Abraham who believed in the resurrection of the dead verse 31, “Abraham said, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” Jesus knew when he said this that he was pointing to himself the someone’.
In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus came against the stronghold of Satan where he held the power over death and hell.
The battleground of ‘the cross’
In the garden Jesus was tempted to resist going to the cross, Jesus’ whole self, his soul, will, mind, strength wrestling with the enemy.
I think the battleground that Satan used against His thoughts: the temptation to use the power of his position as the Son of God, trying to persuade Jesus not to go to the cross, but for God to find another way. Hence Jesus’ words, “Father if you are willing take this cup from me.” Earlier he had said that he could summon legions of angels to assist him. Matthew 26: 53.
Instead Jesus summoned his disciples to pray for him.
Jesus overcame the tempter, enabling him to die to self. We read he said, “Not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22: 42.
We can struggle with tears over some temptations, even when our old nature has been transformed. The Spirit of Jesus within us calls us, and we desire to be set free. That’s when like Jesus we need the prayer of other Christians, using the gifts of the Spirit in the body of Christ to help us overcome them.
We apply Jesus’ victory in word and prayer, we have died to sin, it has been buried with Christ in his death. God raised Jesus up from the dead into his resurrected life. So we are raised up from all that Satan would try to bind us with, he has no dominion over our thoughts any more.
Our mind is able to think things through and make a choice. It was too late after the rich man died, to seek forgiveness from God and the poor man Lazarus.
The poor man didn’t bear a grudge
The battleground of the cross is when I hear a Christian say ‘I can’t forgive’ we have and there are consequences for the Christian who can’t forgive. Jesus forgave on the cross those who had sinned against him. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23: 34. God’s devastating blow to the stronghold of Satan.
Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church wrote about forgiving the people who were clearly continuing to walk in the ways of the world. “Anyone who you forgive, I forgive too. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, to keep Satan from gaining advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2: 11. 1 Corinthians 5: 1, 2.
Paul had learnt by experience that unless the Spirit of God’s love and forgiveness that enabled Jesus to go to the cross and die for our sin was at the centre of his life, Satan would use his ‘unforgiveness ‘ against him.
“Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.” Colossians 3: 2
The Spirit of God greater than the spirit of the world. Godly wisdom will discern the lies of Satan.
Joyce Meyer “Battlefield of the Mind.” “Jesus tells us how we are to win the victory over the lies of Satan. We must get the knowledge of God’s truth in us, renew our minds with His Word, then use the weapons of 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 to tear down the strongholds and every high and lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.”
We are rich in Christ in having a Father who loves us and has transformed our soul, our nature and as a result we feel how God feels about sin, we have the mind of Christ.
Our minds set values are that of Jesus, we love our neighbour as ourselves, and through Jesus’ victory we can apply who we are in Christ, we are sons and daughters, children of God. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Jesus united earth and heaven in coming as one like us in our humanity, in his resurrected body unites us with him in us being translated into his kingdom by faith and grace.
We will one day sit down at the great banquet with Abraham in the kingdom and Jesus will wait upon the table, what humility and great love. Matthew 8: 11. Luke 12: 35-37.