Jesus believes that the defeat of Satan and casting out of his demons is a foundational moment in the establishment of the kingdom of God. He hints further at this constitutional character of this work when he says that he casts them out “by the finger of God” (Matthew says, “by the Spirit of God”). We find this exact phrase twice in the Old Testament, both in Exodus. In 8:19, Pharaoh’s magicians bear witness that Moses brought the plague of gnats “by the finger of God.” This plague is evidence of heavenly power, and the magicians know their demonic force couldn’t compete.

It is common for Christians to think that there was far greater demonic activity “in Bible times” than there is today, but this isn’t exactly true. It is rather the case that a spiritual clash with demons occurs in a narrow window of time, namely, the early ministry of Jesus between his baptism and his final trip to Jerusalem. Expressed as a percentage, 85 percent of the discussion about demons takes place in just 3 percent of the Bible’s chapters. (1)

This period of Christ’s ministry is therefore a departure both from what came before and from what comes after. Grasping the significance of this outbreak of demonic activity is crucial to understanding the role of spiritual warfare in the church today.

Jesus’ Initial Encounter with Satan

Why is demonic activity so uniquely focused in this period? The short answer is that Jesus’ ministry should be seen as a cosmic smack down with Satan and his demonic minions.

Critically, in the desert Jesus defeats Satan by his obedience, the second Adam standing strong in the word of God in place of the first Adam, who fell. Christ’s defeat of Satan in the wilderness is analogous to David’s defeat of Goliath, and the demon horde plays the part of the Philistine army, fleeing for the hills in the wake of their champion’s defeat. Demonic activity is not typical of Christ’s church but uniquely focused on this period in redemptive history when the troops meet on the field of battle. A military parallel would be the shores of Normandy on D-Day, when Allied forces landed on the mainland of northern Europe in a powerful way. While significant battles were fought on the way to Berlin, the eventual outcome was all but sealed in those first brutal and bloody days.

In Mark’s Gospel, this collision between Jesus and Satan takes all of thirteen verses to develop: “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan … and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:9, 13). At the baptism of our Lord, the curtain of heaven is opened wide, or more precisely, heaven itself breaks into the created order. The clash between the kingdom of heaven’the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ’and the kingdom of this world necessarily follows on its heels.

In Matthew’s account, Jesus overcomes the devil’s three temptations and declares victory with the simple command, “Be gone, Satan.” This is the exorcism in the Bible, of which the following dispossessions are mere ripples, and it is brought about by the faithful obedience of the second Adam. The angels come and minister to Jesus’again, heaven breaking in’and he proceeds to announce the coming of the kingdom of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). At this point in his Gospel, Matthew actually gives us the content of this kingdom preaching, in the form of the Sermon on the Mount, a new kingdom law for those now due to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

The timing of this initial encounter is important, coming at the very beginning of Christ’s public ministry. It establishes a close connection between the breaking in of the kingdom of God and the defeat of Satan and his minions; the one follows the other as night follows day. The kingdom of God cannot abide Satan, and Satan cannot abide the blinding light of the kingdom as it shines into the darkness. In the following encounters, the demons recognize Jesus for who he is’and mostly beg for permission to flee.

The Kingdom of God Has Come upon You

Jesus is the first gospel preacher, and the news of his defeat of Satan by his obedience in the wilderness is the good news he announces.

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