I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going. (John 14:30-31)

Read: Jeremiah 2:31 – 4:18, Colossians 1:1-17, Psalm 76:1-12, Proverbs 24:21-22

Relate: Instead of embedding this youtube video I have simply posted the link. That way, those of you who might get squeamish about watching a chicken getting its head cut off can avoid watching if you wish. For the rest of you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn7j17Cc7KQ

In a very brief google search, not only did I find this video but I noticed that wikipedia has entries both for headless chicken and for Mike. If you don’t know about Mike, you really should take a moment to read up. Not only is Mike the coolest chicken ever, he’s also the best candidate for president the Republican party has to offer.

I remember talking to an older gentleman who was raised on a farm. He said when they were killing chickens, they would get a long string and tie one end on a post and the other end to one of the chicken’s feet. They would then take bets on whether the chicken would run in circles completely winding up that string around the post or if it would die before it was completely entangled. I’ve also heard tell of one chicken who flew straight into the air after losing it’s head. It smacked hard into the roof of the barn which finally killed it, or just knocked it out, and then it flopped right back to the ground.

React: So why on earth am I going on like this about headless chickens? Because they are the best illustration for the devil I have ever heard. What Jesus did through the cross and His resurrection was like cutting the head off a chicken. Since that time all he is capable of is, to quote Shakespeare, “Sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

What was about to happen to Christ in the gospel of John is rightly viewed as brutally horrible. There is no question that Satan had his hand in the affairs that were to play out in the next few hours of Jesus life. It was not Satan who truly inflicted pain on the Son of God. No, that was us. That was our sin… my sin. All Satan could do was the equivalent of a doomed chicken pecking at the hand that holds it down. The ax was about to fall.

Respond: 

God, I look around at the world around me and it seems like the enemy is making a lot of noise. Help me, help us to realize that this is only because we, the Church, have been too silent. When we do what we have been called to do, when we are Your arms of love extended, the enemy is powerless to stop us. He is powerless. He is nothing. Help Your people, Your church to rise up. Help us to be, to live out the answer that the world so desperately need in our time. Help us to expose Satan, that headless chicken, for what he is. Help us to reveal You for who You truly are.