Headless Snake

One missionary told of their experience on the field that illustrates this so well. One day they said that an enormous snake—much longer than a man—slithered its way right through their front door and into the kitchen of their simple home. Of course, they were terrified and ran outside looking for one of the natives who might know what to do. Before long a neighbor with a machete showed up, calmly marched into their house and decapitated the snake with one clean chop.

The neighbor reemerged triumphant and assured the missionaries that the reptile was dead. But there was a catch. He warned them that it was going to take a while for the snake to realize it was dead.

A snake's neurology and blood flow are such that it can take considerable time for it to stop moving even when its head has been removed. For the next several hours, the missionaries were forced to wait outside while the snake thrashed about, smashing furniture and flailing against walls and windows, wreaking havoc until its body finally understood that it no longer had a head.

Sweating in the heat, they had felt frustrated and a little sickened but also grateful that the snake's rampage wouldn't last forever. And at some point in their waiting, the missionaries realized the spiritual meaning of what was going on. They realized that Satan is a lot like that big old snake. He's already been defeated. He just doesn't know it yet. And Satan is defeated because this Infant King has defeated him. Jesus provides. He delivers us from lack and delivers us from bondage. But then,