There is something captivating about the age-old tale of the struggle between good and evil. Perhaps this appeal arises from the circumstances that plunged humanity into sin long ago, at the beginning of time.
Adam and Eve didn’t really understand that they were part of a cosmic battle. There were no omens of impending doom on the day of the first sin. That day began as every other day since creation. The sun rose, birds sang, and flowers bloomed. All was right with the world. In the perfection and pleasure of Eden, Eve was like a fairytale princess in a fairytale kingdom.
Before the day was over, however, she was taken captive by a dragon and sentenced to death.
Of course, there were no castles or dungeons in Eden. Neither was the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil poisonous. Satan accomplished his purpose without force or violence because the throne he usurped was the throne of the heart.
A hint of unbelief
The battle began as a simple question.
“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1, NIV)
It ended when Eve accepted Satan’s basic proposition. “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5, NIV).
At that moment, Eve rebelled against her knowledge of God’s character and will. She didn’t sin because she wanted to eat forbidden fruit. She sinned because she wanted a privilege reserved for divinity. Eve, like Satan, wanted to be God.
Supreme love for God was banished, and in its place, Eve was now a slave to evil passions and warped desires. She became a rebel, and her descendants inherited a spirit of rebellion and a state of separation from God.
For thousands of years after the fall, Satan exercised dominion on this earth and in the hearts of his subjects. Kingdom after kingdom rose and fell in succession, and through them, Satan orchestrated acts of depravity and violence. Although God still reigned in the hearts of those who chose to follow Him, eventually, only one kingdom and one people—Israel—submitted to the law of God.
Israel was God’s chosen people. By His people, God intended to preserve a knowledge of His character and to produce a solution to the problem of sin. They were to be a light in a dark world—God’s own movement of rebellion against the usurper to His throne.
Then, from among His chosen people, God chose a king.
God described David as a man “after his own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14, NIV). Although David suffered from the effects of the fall, his life was largely controlled by his love for God. David may have been the king of Israel. But God was David’s king. God had promised Abraham that through his seed, the earth would be blessed. Now, He promised David that his throne would be “established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16, NIV). The true meaning of this promise became apparent through a prophecy recorded by Jeremiah. “I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line,” God declared, “This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior . . . . David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel” (Jer. 33:15–17, NIV)
In other words, God Himself—Yahweh—would be born as a descendant of David to inherit the Kingdom of Israel. Through this divine Son of David, not only would David’s line of succession remain unbroken, but the rebellion on earth would be curtailed.
Israel waited and watched for the Son of David to appear. For a while, it seemed that perhaps God was wrong. Perhaps David’s throne had sunk into oblivion after all. Perhaps the usurper had won.
At long last, just as it seemed all hope was gone, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, “the town of David” (Luke 2:4, NIV).
At its very core, sin is a lack of submission to God’s sovereignty. A sinner doesn’t sin because of a lack of knowledge but because of a lack of love for God.
A glimmer of hope
When Jesus began His ministry, He immediately talked about the kingdom that He was establishing on earth. Could He be the Messiah? people wondered. Would He set Himself up as the King of Israel and overthrow the Romans? Would the throne of David be restored? Crowds waited for an indication that Jesus was about to claim the crown. They followed Him on His travels throughout the countryside. They witnessed and experienced His miracles. Yet, for three years, Jesus said and did nothing that might begin a political revolution.
Then, it happened.
One otherwise ordinary day, Jesus approached Jerusalem riding on a young donkey. Surely, this fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah, who had declared that Israel’s king would enter Jerusalem “righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9, NIV). A jubilant throng soon surrounded the procession. The Son of David entered the city accompanied by the shouts and songs of the multitude. Palm branches crowded the air, and cloaks littered the road. Jesus was given a royal welcome. Whether or not anyone said it, they all shared one great expectation. Today, Jesus would sit on David’s throne.
They were all thoroughly disappointed.
Almost as soon as the procession had reached the temple, it ended abruptly. Jesus simply “looked around at everything” and then “went out to Bethany with the twelve” (Mark 11:11, NIV).
Of all the followers of Jesus that day, His disciples must have been the most devastated. For three years, they had argued among themselves about who would be the greatest in the coming kingdom. They anticipated roles of power and governance. They imagined a future of pride and conquest over the Romans. Just as their brightest hopes appeared to be realized, they were cruelly dashed. They must have been discouraged as they headed back out of Jerusalem.
While thirteen weary men walked down the road to Bethany in the gathering dusk, other men struggled with conviction. The next day, their decision was sealed.
Jesus reappeared at the temple.
Again, the air buzzed with excitement. If Jesus had arrived at the temple the preceding day as a king ready to be enthroned, today, He had come as a king who already ruled. He strode into the temple with the authority of one who demanded allegiance. Without pausing to defer to tradition or policy, Jesus grabbed the tables of the sellers in the temple market and turned them over. “My house,” he declared, “will be called a house of prayer for all nations . . . . But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17, NIV).
The religious leaders should have understood Jesus’ actions that day better than anyone else. They were supposed to be, after all, the living repositories of God’s word.
Yet their hearts were not ruled by the love of God.
They perceived that Jesus was a king, but they did not want Him to be their king. They now “began looking for a way to kill him” (Mark 11:18, NIV).
Over the next few days, the religious leaders attempted to catch Jesus by His own words. However, the controversies they tried to ignite, while appearing to be drawn from religious concern, were inspired by the spirit of rebellion. It’s easy to imagine that they opposed Jesus out of ignorance. Surely, if they had more knowledge—if they knew that Jesus was God—they would never have done what they did!
Such an assumption, however, misunderstands the nature of rebellion.
Eve knew the consequences of eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She knew what was right and what was wrong. But she did it anyway because she wanted to be her own God.
At its very core, sin is a lack of submission to God’s sovereignty. A sinner doesn’t sin because of a lack of knowledge but because of a lack of love for God.
By the end of that week, the leaders of Israel—God’s chosen people—had murdered the divine Son of David. Satan thought he had succeeded. At last, he had conquered divinity. The kingdom of this world was his, and Israel was his. David’s throne had been brought to an end.
Or so he thought.
In reality, all Satan had done was prove his own depravity.
Jesus had slain the Dragon and tasted death so that He could destroy it. Before Jesus’ death on the cross, the Kingdom of God on earth was tenuous. It appeared that at any moment, love for God might be completely eradicated.
Now, after His death and resurrection, heaven and earth were reunited.
Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended to His Father. “Who is he, this King of glory?” The angels shouted as Christ entered heaven’s glittering gates. “The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory” (Ps. 24:10, NIV).
Yahweh then sat down on the throne of David and established it forever. The kingdom was now sure and certain, and the promise of His return was unalterable.
One question, however, remains for Christ’s followers today. Only one thing remains uncertain. Has Jesus established His throne in our hearts?