31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

The arrival of Gentiles triggered events that would take Jesus to the cross. The Lord now proceeded to the impact of the cross, that it represents judgment on the world. These Gentiles came at a time of the most significant events in salvation history.

³¹ Now is the judgment of this world;

The world would be judged for its rejection of Christ. The death of Christ on the cross was a judgment on the world. Jesus paid the price for the sin of the world. The world will also judge itself by its actions toward Christ.

The “judgment” is the cross of Christ. That judgment will dispossess the ruler of this world. Jesus’ death on the cross will strike a fatal blow to Satan.

now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

Jesus would defeat the devil in principle by His death on the cross. Satan’s authority over people was conquered by Christ. He delivered them out of the domain of darkness. The idea here is not that the defeat of the devil would end active evil in the world. The thought is that the devil was decisively condemned by Jesus’ death on the cross. The death of Christ finally judged him. The Holy Spirit will make that fact evident by conviction (Jn 16:11).

John used the word “now” two times in this verse. The time had come for the Son of Man to be gloried. There was a decisive point coming in the life of Christ whereby He would draw both Jew and Gentile to Himself, defeat Satan, and pay for the sins of mankind. “Cast out” is the language of violence, of warfare. Jesus is in the business of judgment. The rallying point was when He was lifted up to the cross.

PRINCIPLE:

The cross is a symbol of victory in God’s viewpoint.

APPLICATION:

There are four castings of Satan:

He was to be cast out at the cross (here)

He was cast out of heaven to earth previously, Re 12:10

He will be cast into the bottomless pit, Re 20:3

He will be cast into the lake of fire, Re 20:10

Christ will reign where Satan is cast out:

Re 11:¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Re 12:⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

The world is a victim of the deceptions of Satan. People follow demonic delusions that lead them away from the truth in Jesus.

Satan seeks to sponsor unbiblical ideas and false belief systems through which he seeks to gain dominance over the individual soul and the human race. Jesus, however, judged this false religious system on the cross. That was His first act against Satan. The final act is when Jesus casts him into the lake of fire forever.

The cross demonstrates what is wrong with the world, its philosophy and values. Jesus will expose what is so phony about this world system.

The defeat of the devil at the cross does not mean that the believer will not face temptation to sin again. It simply means that the believer has participated in the death of Jesus so that the devil no longer has authority over him. The devil has been decisively condemned, but believers must deal with the present extant evil in the world.