I have had the privilege of acting in Keene's Resurrection Pageant
the last two years. Every year I learn something new about my Lord
and Savior. This year, however, I learned more about Jesus by
portraying the actions of Satan. It may sound strange, but it is
true. Looking at how hard Satan tried to stop Jesus shows me how
powerful His message was.

After trying to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, Satan tried
everything in his power to plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of
God's children. He had already used the Pharisees to fill the people
with so much doctrine and tradition that they would have no room to
accept the Holy Spirit. But he also used the Pharisees to try and
discourage the people from following Jesus. He would also increase
the pride of the Pharisees and the people so that they would not
accept the truths that Jesus showed them. He even tempted Jesus
again in the garden, but this time to reject His plan and remove the
burden of sin from His back and place it back upon ours. Satan tried
everything, but Jesus won and became the ultimate sacrifice.

Even though he was defeated, Satan is still trying to deceive us
today. He started as soon as Jesus rose from the dead. When the
Pharisees heard from the soldiers that Jesus rose, they paid them
and instructed them to lie about what had happened. We are lied to
today. We are told that the Word of God is outdated, pointless, and
even useless. Sometimes we are even told this by so-called
Christians! Satan is trying everything in his power to keep us from
God. But let's take comfort in that Jesus still works in our lives
and shows us the true path.

by Gavin Lawry, senior radio-TV-film student at Southwestern
Adventist University