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Acts 1:6 (NIV)
“Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’”
Knowing He (Jesus) was the Messiah, His disciples were eager to see the liberation of Israel and restoration. Because they had recognized Him as the Messiah, the Messianic prophecies entailed the Kingly ministry of the Christ.
How pleased the great dragon was when Jesus was nailed to the cross, how happy were His scorners... They mocked Him and made jest of Him, parted His garment for sports.
Matthew 27:27–37 (BSB)
[27] Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him.
[28] They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
[29] And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
[30] Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
[31] After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
The Crucifixion
(Psalm 22:1–31; Mark 15:21–32; Luke 23:26–43; John 19:16–27)
[32] Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
[33] And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull,
[34] they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
[35] When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.
[36] And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
[37] Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:
THIS IS JESUS,
THE KING OF THE JEWS."
The very same Jesus whom the great dragon wanted to devour from birth, the same Jesus he chased from town to town, even in the wilderness, the same Jesus who grew up in hiding until He came of age, who tormented demons and destroyed his works, now hung on the cross! Oh, how victorious he must have felt. The devil knew the prophecies well enough; he knew Jesus was to be a King, so he came to Him in His former days and asked Him to bow... He would give Him the treasures of the earth. He tried to deceive the King of glory with His destiny, but the Lord knew His mandate; He had caught the vision; He understood His mission, not stopping at the side tracks to meddle with the pleasures of sin or the world. He was fully persuaded that He would rule.
The devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy; he's excited, he's thinking he's destroyed the destiny of the precious Son of God. Oh, how well his persistence has paid off! In exchange for a noble, royal crown, He (Jesus) wears a crown of thorns.
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