Jesus the Warrior

The other day I was talking with my parents about the perspective that we have on Jesus. And I have held on to this idea that there is a hidden message in the story of King David and his son King Solomon. The message is that the rule of King David is that of the first coming, one of warfare and conquering. And the second is that of peace and a complete dominance and dominion on the Earth, which is seen in the rule of King Soloman. But let’s talk about how the first coming is like that of David.

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I came to set a man against his father , and a daughter against her mother , and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

Matthew 10:34‭-‬36 NASB

So we can see, that the perspective that Jesus has on His own ministry, is that it is one of war. It is one of separation, and of division. Jesus came to separate the goats from the sheep, the chaff from the wheat. And as much as we like the idea of Jesus’ ministry being one that unites all of humanity, it isn’t. His ministry is about redeeming mankind, and those of mankind who don’t want redemption won’t get it. Now let’s look at another example.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me ,  Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor .  He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives ,  And recovery of sight to the blind ,  To set free those who are oppressed ,   To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord .”  And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:17‭-‬21 NASB

Jesus read this passage while in the synagogue and He told the people that this passage was being fulfilled. Now if we look at this passage we can understand better what His ministry would look like. He would proclaim release to the captives. He would set free those who are oppressed. So we see that He has come to free people. But if they are oppressed, then there is an oppressor. If there is a captive then there is a captor. But who are these captors and who are these oppressors? These are those who are of the Kingdom of Darkness. Evil people, demons, power and principalities. And if Jesus is freeing us from them, then He takes us by force.

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

Matthew 12:28‭-‬29 NASB

So Jesus is the one who binds the strong man, and plunders the house. We are freed by the Spirit of God from these oppressors. Jesus came to conquer for the kingdom of God. And not only that, but He came to give us that same power, to make us soldiers for His army.

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.  Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Luke 10:17‭-‬20 NASB

So we too are giving authority over the serpents and scorpions, over all the power of the enemy. Let me repeat that. Over ALL the power of the enemy. There is nothing that the kingdom of darkness has that you can’t stand up against, if you are with God. Let us look at one last verse, just to drive the point home.

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:17‭-‬19 NASB

So you see, Jesus doesn’t say that the armies of Hades will prevail against the gates of the Church, but rather that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Church. We are on the offensive, we are on the attack. We don’t play defense, we conquer. So I challenge everyone reading this today to come against the stringhold of the enemy in their life and conquer them. If you would like resources on spiritual warfare, check out Derek Prince and John Ramirez.

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post and you take something away from it. If you did, share this on social media so more people can benefit. If you would like to sow into my ministry you can do that here. Thanks! Jesus is the Way!