Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Bottom of the 9th

The devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down (lay prostrate - can you imagine?) and worship me."  Then, Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan!  (Get out of here!) For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord Your God, and serve Him only!' "  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Matthew 4:8-11

Two outs, two strikes, bottom of the 9th.


Satan in desperation, is going to swing for the fences.  Shades of Ryan Howard (of the Phillies)!

Satan switches bats.  He goes for a heavier one.  He relies in his ability to hit one out of the park.  After all, didn't he hit a home run in the Garden of Eden Stadium?

Jesus takes to the mound.  From there He can stare down the batter, and see all of the opponents weaknesses.  Jesus checks the sign:  John 3:16.  He knows what pitch He will pitch.  He winds up . . . Jesus - the Relief Pitcher playing in the place of the Starting Pitcher, Adam, who failed to finish the game.

Satan, taking a few practice swings with temptations one and two, is looking for the fast pitch, the nail in the coffin that will secure victory for his team.  He tries to distract the pitcher with a bribe:

"If you let me hit, I will let you have ALL the endorsements.  All you have to do is let up - throw me a bone - give me something to hit - show good sportsmanship - show ME some respect - shake my hand - and you're IN!  You team will never know.  It's just between You and me.  This competition has gone on long enough.  You're tired.  I'm tired.  We can both win . . ."

Jesus chews on the Glory of His Father.  The Glory that He left when He was traded to Adam's Team to pitch in this game.

Conference On the Mound 

Jesus says to his catcher, the Holy Spirit, "I have the endorsement from my Father.  You saw it.  I don't need Nike, Reebok, Disneyworld, and especially that stinking, slimy, chewing tobacco that Satan chews on.  You see his uniform?  It used to be glowing and white.  Now, it's all stained with that poisoned juice of sin.  No, thank you!  This is MY game to WIN.  To WIN for My Father!  My Father ALONE deserves the championship trophy.  He ALONE deserves the cheering fans, the adoration, the Glory!  Dad wants me to save this game for Adam.  Dad loves Adam.  They've had their falling out . . . some broken communication . . . some rough spots.  Dad wants Adam to stay up here in the Big Leagues.  Adam gets the win - I get the save.  Should I blow this one for that rebellious fellow holding the bat?  Forget it!  My contract is for Me to honor my Father - and no one else!"

The catcher goes back to His place behind the batter, in front of the Umpire.  In a still small voice, he mutters the Word, "Love".

The Play

Jesus acknowledges, winds up, and lets the ball go.  The Ball goes STRAIGHT and FAST down the NARROW flight to the plate - which represents HOME.


Satan grits his teeth.  He spits.  He digs in.  He mutters some blasphemous word.  Here comes the pitch, it's faster than anything he has seen before - it's coming straight for his head!  It's coming in like BLINDING LIGHT!  Satan can't see it - he swings in defense of himself.



The crowd goes wild!


There's celebration on the field!

Dejection is also on the field.

The Umpire, Yahweh, calls the final strike, 
 "SATAN - yourrrrrr OUT!!!!!

AFTERWORD:

The Pitcher gets the Save.
Adam gets the Win.
Jesus gets His arm rubbed down.
He gets a "New Wine" champagne shower.
Then,
He gets ready for
A "stake" dinner . . .

What do you think?  How do you read?


Sharing The Bottom of the 9th this week with:
Faith Filled Fridays at Beholding Glory
Spiritual Sundays 
Graceful's Hear It On Sunday - Use It On Monday 

Photo Credits:  
The Scoreboard photo:  topandroid.net
The Sandy Koufax pitching photo is via Sports Illustrated:  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery  /featured/GAL1146153/1/index.htm
The Strike Out photo is via pbase: http://www.pbase.com/jwdonten/image/110340560 

1 comment:

  1. As a baseball fan (Diamondbacks, of course) I really like this comparison you've made. Love the conclusion. SATAN, YOU'RE OUT!!!
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your comments and conversation as we enter into His Story together!

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