I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (John 14:30)

Having The Mind Of Christ

Jesus knew the cross was His only way back to the Father. Judas has left to betray Jesus to the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, and the Lord takes the remaining eleven apostles to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. His mind is resolved to finish the mission He came to carry out for the redemption of all mankind. There is no doubt what He must do. His mind is firmly grounded in pleasing the Father. The suffering on the cross will be intense as He knows the nature of crucifixion and what He must endure. Before leaving the upper room, He tells His disciples, in language couched in mystery, that Satan is coming, but nothing the adversary can do will change the mind of the Son of God.

The resolution of Jesus is incredibly strong. Rooted in the obedience to His Father and His willingness to lay down His life for sinful man, Jesus is resolute within His heart, soul, and mind that nothing will sway Him from carrying out the will of His Father. Satan is a powerful force to reckon with, and the path to resurrection will be an incredible journey of suffering, denial, and pain. Jesus firmly resolves in His heart that nothing will keep Him from His appointed place as the sacrificial Lamb of God. The devil will try his best to shake Jesus. God could provide twelve legions of angels to protect His Son if only Jesus would beckon the call. He refuses. When the soldiers bring Jesus to the cross, they offer him a mild anesthetic to calm the pain, and Jesus refuses it. The mind of Jesus is completely established in the love of His Father to endure whatever the world will do to Him. There is nothing that will change His mind.

Facing the horrors of crucifixion and showing humility and grace in the face of torment is the example of Jesus, who placed His mind on doing the will of the Father regardless of His circumstances. The eleven apostles do not know what is about to happen, so the words of Jesus will not impact them until later. Rising to leave the upper room, Jesus makes a statement of commitment that He goes to battle the great dragon of wickedness, but that nothing will change His mind from His appointed destiny. Jesus tells the eleven that Satan has nothing in Him to dissuade His heart from accomplishing the will of His Father. He walks out of the door and into the Garden of Gethsemane with a heart fully committed to die for the world and redeem sinful man from sin.

The example of Jesus has been left for His disciples to learn the same discipline of having a firm mind to commit to the will of the Father, regardless. Serving in the army of the King of kings takes a resolution of one who is willing to be crucified for Jesus. Throughout His teachings, Jesus emphasized that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Service to God required the heart, soul, mind, and body to be fully committed to the word of the Lord. Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword, which would divide a father from his son and a daughter from her mother. The gospel of Christ is a militant stand for righteousness, requiring a committed mind that Satan cannot sway.

Fighting against the wiles of the devil is a formidable task. It is not something done by the faint of heart. Jesus faced the cross with the attitude that Satan had nothing in Him. Facing the daily cross-bearing of being a Christian demands an attitude of the heart that Satan will not have his way in the heart of God’s people. Every defense needed to protect the heart is in place to keep the dragon away. Having the mind of Christ is resolving that Satan will have no part in the life of the child of God. There is no room for any part of Satan. That is an individual choice. Yell at Satan directly in his face: “You have no part in my life.”