The Risen Lord (John 20, Luke 24:36-49 November 20, 2009
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The first thing that caught my eye while overlooking these two scriptures, which focus on the time after Christ is risen, is that both passages show us some of those that were with Him before the resurrection not recognizing Him when He was risen. One of the reasons they don’t recognize Him is because He disguised himself, but also because they were not looking for His coming and didn’t pay close enough attention to what He had said about His death. They believed Him to be dead and did not truly believe that He would rise again. They did not heed the scripture that said the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.
In Luke 24: 36-49 Jesus shows up in the midst of the disciples as they were walking and talking. Earlier in the passage it is shown what they were talking about. Simon had run back to them and given the account of The tomb being empty. The account says, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” As they are walking and talking about this event Jesus stands among them and says, “Peace to you.” They were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. It wasn’t till they had seen the scars of His crucifixion that they realized who it was that was standing before them.
John 20:11-18 tells us about when Mary goes to the tomb and sees the two angels. She wants to know where they have taken her Lord and He appears behind her, but she believes Him to be the gardener. She asks Him if he had carried her Lord away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. If she would have believed or remembered Jesus’ words the answer would have been clear. She doesn’t recognize Him until He says her name, Mary. The veil is lifted and she delights in seeing Him and I am sure overwhelmed with what the significance of this event is.
John 20: 24-29 shows us Thomas disbelief in the account the other disciples bring to Him. The only way Thomas will believe that Christ has risen unless “I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will never believe.” Jesus appears to the disciples 8 days later. He appears to them in a closed room and arrives in their midst. Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
All of these situations are similar, though Thomas refused to believe without evidence. After recognizing Jesus they call Him Rabboni (teacher), and “My Lord and my God!” They believe in Him and the scriptures that have been fulfilled, but Jesus then poses a question and a very strong statement; “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Will we believe only if we see Him? Will we believe Jesus to be just a prophet in those days, or to be God incarnate, God in the flesh? Will we believe this to be a fictional story, or it to be truth, history fact? Will we truly believe in His divine glory and that the resurrection is real? Our situation is unique in that most of us have not had the experience of Jesus showing Himself to us and being brought into faith with seeing Him with our naked eyes. Most of us today have not seen Him, though we have seen and felt His presence. We at IHOP are overly blessed to be experiencing His presence, power, and glory first hand and not by accounts that we read. We should never be discouraged if we don’t feel His presence, for He has told us, “Blessed are those who have not seen (or felt) and yet believed.”
Another passage that struck me while reading Luke 24 was verse 45. I love what it says because the Bible is a mystery and many do not know how the Bible can open itself to them and give them the revelation of Jesus. Jesus lets us know how the Bible can be opened to us by using the apostles as an example. It is so simple, but we make it out to be so complex, impossible almost and that deters us from ever opening the Bible to search Jesus out and His abounding love for us. The Bible was made for all to understand and comprehend. The Bible isn’t only for the Pharisees, Scribes, those with a Masters degree, Pastors, or Popes, it is for everyone! One may ask, how can those simple of mind even try to understand or comprehend the scriptures and their meaning, because of the unimaginable complexities in them?
It is not through doctrine, dogmas, or religious books that will open the Bible to us. I am not saying that these things are bad, for they are helpful, but they are not the way in understanding the scriptures. These things will help us search out the truth of God’s mysteries, but the Bible is His word and we should look to it to understand more of Him, but we will need help. It is to man with God that the Bible opens itself! It isn’t by philosophy or witty and educated minds that man will understand the Bible or God for that matter. It is with God that the Bible will open itself to us.
This is shown in Luke 24: 45, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” It was Jesus that opened up the apostles’ minds to understand and comprehend the scriptures. It is with Jesus that we will understand His word. Revelation 1:1 gives us a similar picture. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bondservants the things that must soon take place.” The revelation of Jesus Christ was given to Jesus to show his bondservants. Jesus will give us the revelation of Himself.
The Risen Lord November 20, 2009
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In John chapter 20, it starts out with Mary Magdalene finding the stone removed from Jesus’ tomb and it describes her as being “the one Jesus loved”. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute and she had an intense past, but she turned her life around and is now a pure and spotless bride in the eyes of Christ. Jesus set her free from so much. When He sets us free, we are free. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. (John 8:36) No matter how rough our past is, no matter how many times we messed up, there is life after death. When we get saved, we go from death to life. We are alive in Christ and the strongholds of the enemy cannot stand. We walk in righteousness. We walk in holiness. We speak the truth. We dance with freedom. He is alive, now we are alive. (Eph 2:5)
All this week, I have been struggling with things that I used to struggle with. Things that I thought I had dealt with a long time ago and even some things that I did not know I struggled with have come up this week. The enemy is at work in my life (and a lot of IHOPU students) and I have believed lies that I am not worthy, that I am not beautiful, but all we need to do is fight and declare life over ourselves. All we have to do is put on the whole armor of God and sometimes we just need to yell at Satan. (Eph. 6:13) God has been doing a deep cleaning in my heart this whole semester; especially this week. He has been going deep in my heart and He has healed so many wounds that I did not even know I had. It is a very painful process and it has been hard, but God is faithful to complete the good work that He has started. I feel so free right now and there is no flaw in me. (Song of Solomon 4:7)
At times, it is hard to accept the truth and it is easier to believe the lies that consume us. The lies will tell us that we are not worthy, that we are ugly, there is no one out there who will love us for who we are, and that we are going to be alone our whole lives. We get so overwhelmed by these lies that they actually become a part of us. So when we hear the truth, we cannot accept it. This is one of the reasons why Christ died on the cross for us. So that we do not have to live with the lies that tell us that we are worthless when we are not. When we get bombarded with lies, all we have to do is lay it at the cross. We have to lay it at the feet of Jesus. Christ took on all of our sins, all of our condemnation, all of our sadness, and all of our sickness and He bore it all on the cross. When Christ was raised from the dead, it was like He represented a new day; a new start. He took on the most gruesome death, but He was raised from death into life. When we have Christ in us, we are a new creation and we have the truth living in us. The lies may last for a night, but anything that Satan tries to attack us with cannot stand because of the life, the truth, and the light that is living within us.
Overtones of Overthrow November 20, 2009
Posted by kellyreaume in 9 Meditation: The Risen Lord, Uncategorized.add a comment
Resting deep in the heart of these passages is a message that goes farther down than surface level. It is more underground than a well installed pipeline, but it screams louder than a child abandoned near the road, louder than teakettle ripe with boiling water – a message that is uncontainable. But there are other sounds as well – other sounds that compete for the listener’s attention, and causing all noise to end up white. And it is by the gravitational lure of His love that the listener awakens from these trance-inducing roars composed of voices and noises and embraces the deafening silence that one is put into out of an overpowering sense of awe. We are silenced as the melodies of heaven resound deeply within us. But these songs have blended in with the roar of human distraction and satisfaction found elsewhere. They have been drowned out by the off-key melodies of broken promises and lies. The volume was once turned down to a ‘respectable level,’ but the songs have since become overpowered by the self-serving rhythms of a ‘me-first’ theology and the catchy chorus’s of the materialistic, easy way to live. The curtain has been unconsciously, yet willfully drawn by the audience, who has indirectly asked the musicians to pack up and leave.
However, even with the chaos of humanity, a seed of longing for Love has been sown deep into every individual. Behind the mass production of safe radio singles, there is an unquenchable desire for a dangerous and everlasting symphony that does not bow to the whims of man or the nuances of popularity. This symphony produces the silencing awe, which comes from exposing ourselves to the horrific and glorious event of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
These overtones of overthrow continue to resonate more powerfully than the church bell down the street that rings every afternoon hour. Its reverberations cause tumors to fall and spines to align. It commands cancer to leave and afflictions to obey. It induces complete restoration, far surpassing the weak ability of humanity’s poor attempts. These overtones ebb and flow as the Holy Spirit conducts. There is complete control over the symphony of Christ’s majesty and power that leaves us in a place of reverential awe when we really listen to it. The crescendos and decrescendos of His manifest presence in our lives leave us in constant hunger for more. His consistent, yet unpredictable songs of love performed deep in our hearts cause us to grope the hem of His garment with an ovational cry for just one more song… One more touch of His love. One more transformation developed out of truth…
I wonder if this is how Mary felt when she was at the foot of the cross watching her son’s agonizing death. When all she wanted was to dress the deep wounds of his lacerated body as she was left aching for more communion with her child and Messiah. But the decibel level of the symphony was only increasing measure by measure as Humanity overcame darkness, and resurrection resulted in full and eternal power and authority. The climax of creation. The epitome of the eternal realm throughout all of history at this point occurring in 3 days by the Son of Man – a symphony un muted by death. It is the sound of weeping as creation physically reunites with its Creator. It is the tone of peace and power filling the atmosphere as the Man it composes walks with authority. It is the conquering melody of salvation as hearts are branded and abandoned to the Love that draws us in and awakens our souls. It is the reverberations of the Holy Spirit filling us from a commissioned breath – eternal communication with our Bridegroom King overtaking us and ringing strongly through the atmosphere. It is the noise of doubt being overpowered by the truth of dedicated, undiluted love. It is the climax of fulfilled scripture. It is the victory chant.
Christ’s resurrection sent eternal sound waves through the atmosphere the constantly ring triumph over the enemy. It is a sound that draws His believers to do the very thing that Satan could not do – worship Jesus. It is a sound that consistently lures the Father’s children back to His living arms as we contend for power and for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit like on Pentecost. It is a sound that eternally reminds the enemy his days are numbered. When we worship Jesus and declare His victory, the enemy no longer has territory or ability to remain in a place of affliction over us.
The symphony of Jesus’ divine defeat over death is incomparable to the song of the gods this world has fashioned. Manmade idols cannot redeem our souls from the depths of Hell. They cannot overcome us by their love for us. Fashioning an inanimate object is not fulfilling an intimate relationship with our Bridegroom, Savior, and King. These other tones and pitches compete for the stage of our souls, but when we remove ourselves from the concerts and cathedrals of our human desires and everyday schedules, God’s silencing awe will overpower us. It will abandon us to His praise and our participation in the eternal symphony of Christ’s glorious resurrection. Many are invited, but few will come. Many have settled for the safe radio single because they do not know about the dangerous and everlasting symphony. Still many are deaf. We are the carriers and of these orchestrated overtones, much like a radio communicates a song. It a symphony that commissions us to move its message out from underground and into the heartbeats of His people. He groans for His children deeper than Mary groaned for Jesus. It is a symphony that says His conquer is hereditary, and as His children we receive it as well. It is a symphony that crescendos and decrescendos, it changes keys and changes time. It resonates and it echoes. It communicates a message uncontainable. Its melodies and harmonies draw you into His victorious and loving embrace, and the overtones of His overthrow consume you.
Joshua Carter this is my Meditashon #4 I hope this works its my 4th time tring to post this November 18, 2009
Posted by joshuscarter in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Meditation #4
Journal entry 10/5/09
I wonder what was going through the disciples heads as the winds and the waves were crashing into the boat. The fear and turmoil that they must of been going through. The thought of, “well, this just might be it. The end of the line.” I wonder if they were thinking about where they would go after they die. There lives were probably flashing before there eyes. It was a life or death situation. And with a fleshly mindset, I’m sure death looked inevitable. There was not much hope. All they saw was the physical danger. It is crazy to think that the great Creator of the winds and of the waves was in their boat, but yet they still feared. They just didn’t know or understood the real advantage they probably had. Then here is Jesus daring all of the turmoil, sleeping, snuggled up with a pillow, in purified peace. I probably would of been sick. He knew everything was alright in the midst of the physical danger. He knew the power and the authority that he held. He knew that it was not yet his time so there was nothing to worry about. I wonder if he was dreaming. What would the God of the world dream of. I wish I could see in to his head. Well on second thought, I would probably explode with all that information all at once. Well, back to the story. Here is Jesus, awakened from a deep sleep. I wonder if he was aggravated that they woke him up. He stands up and calls for the wind and the waves to be still. That is just crazy. I wish that I could speak to the rain and the seas and the rain would immediately stop. That would be cool. You would think that when Jesus commode the sec that everything would be alright and the disciples would be fine and relaxed or at least I did. But that’s not what happened. Once they saw the power and the authority that Jesus possessed, they forgot all about the storm. They feared that power. They did not fully understand who it was that was in their boat. They must not have understood who jesus was and where He came from. They couldn’t have known because if they did, there wouldn’t have been anything to fear. The answer to all of their problems was in their boat with them. But I can’t think that I would have taken the situation any differently. Because I know the end result. I have all of his promises. They didn’t even have the bible, but I do. In a lot of different areas, I have more then they do, yet I still fear, stress, and worry. Because I must not have a thorough understanding of who I have in my corner. I must not have a thorough understanding of who Jesus really is. It is impossible because if I did then even death would not have a hold on me, so if there is no death, what is there to fear?
Journal entry 10/6/09
It is crazy to look at the two different powers at work in this story at the beginning of chapter 5. First, you have a demon possessed man. No one could bind him up. They tried chains and cages, but nothing they tried would work. He broke through everything. No man could tame or hold him. The demons were just to strong. I’m sure that after a while, they just gave up on him. I can’t imagine the torment this man went through. I know he wasn’t able to stay with his family and friends. He lived in the mountains and the tombs. What a life. I’m taken back by the thought of the pain and the agony this man went through. The Bible says that he was constantly crying out and cutting himself. But then here is this Jesus man. The other power in this story. The possessed man had many demonic spirits within him, but Jesus had the One within Him. It was the Holy Spirit, which is the same Spirit that is within us. So shouldn’t we have the same power that Jesus did? I wonder which power will win in this story? The legion of demonic spirits or the one and only Holy Spirit. That is the funny part in the story. Without even doing any thing, all Jesus did was step off the boat. The possessed man came to him surrendering right off the bat. He begged Jesus to leave him alone. He already knew the power that Jesus had over him. He didn’t even put up a fight. Jesus just commanded the evil spirits to come out of the man. There is such power and authority in Jesus’ words. This next part of the story is what I don’t get. They pleaded with Jesus not to send them away from that region. They asked Him to send them into the pigs. Why did they want to stay in that location? What was so special? And the biggest question is, why did Jesus actually listen to them and give them what they wanted? Evidently when a demon is casted out they have to go some where. So where did they all go? Do they just go and posses other people? This is the only story were I’ve heard of animals being possesed. Now I’m sure those pigs were worth a lot of money and they all just killed themselves. So I wonder if Jesus thought of the pigs as a waste or did he see them as a small sacrifice for the sake of a man’s life? I’m sure the owners of the pigs saw the pigs as a great wast and were pretty ticked off at Jesus for killing there income. But I think that the reason why they pleaded with Jesus to leave was not because they were made over the pigs but I think they wore scared of the power he posessed. Nothing could stop the evil spirits except the spirit that’s in Jesus. I wish I could see more of this man’s life. I wonder what he was doing one year or two years after that great day. I’m sure he was still proclaiming the great gift Jesus gave him. The gift of freedom. I wonder how he felt every time he looked at the scars on his body of were he cut himself. I bet it brought him to tears. I wonder how many people came to Jesus because of his testimony. After the power of God touched his life he was forever changed.
The Crucifixion and Death of the God Man November 18, 2009
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For this meditation, I will be focusing on the account of the Crucifixion from John 19:17-37, taking apart the story fragment by fragment.
v. 17-18 : The crucifixion of Jesus takes place between two thieves, calling forth the Messianic prophecies of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. In Psalm 22, David is given divine insight into the heart of Christ on the Cross as he echoes in the first person the agony of the God-Man on the cross: “I am poured out like water; my heart…is melted within me.” We are given a glance into what was taking place in the mind of Christ while suffering on the tree, and into the hope which He had set before Himself that strengthened Him in His hour of despair: “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!” Christ set His own future inheritance in us before Him as His source of strength in the midst of the most agonizing persecution any man will ever endure. This fact alone silences every accusation of worthlessness or unimportance that can be thrown at a man: Christ’s eyes were set upon us.
v. 19-22. : This is one of the most intriguing verses in the entire story of the Crucifixion. Pilate prepares a sign to hang above the head of the Crucified that would declare His “crimes” to every passerby that would look upon Him. Instead of inscribing an accusation or crime, Pilate instead writes what will one day become the holy declaration of all Israel: “Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews.” It would be easy to write off this simple statement as a mere mistake on Pilate’s part, if it were not for the discourse which takes place following his actions. The Jews demand that the sign be changed to notify all that Jesus had CLAIMED to be the King of the Jews. Pilate, however, blatantly refuses. This must cause us to question the true nature of Pilate’s brief interrogation of Christ in v. 9-11, the immediate aftermath of which is the apparent attempt by Pilate to remove the sentence of death looming over the Son of God. Whatever the outcome of this was, the Lamb slain before the foundations of the earth now hangs for all to see with His true eternal identity boldly declared to all who will look upon Him (reminiscent of Numbers 21).
v.23-30 : The patient endurance of Christ for the sake of His beloved ones is portrayed with such beauty in this passage that the full implications are too much for me to comprehend. In the midst of agonizing pain: His lungs filling up with blood, His bones and internal parts protruding from what was once His skin, Christ takes a moment to commission His “beloved disciple” with caring for His mother. After this, He is somehow able to understand that within this span of time the full weight of every sin has been laid upon Him. At this point, He gives up His spirit. To begin to recognize the weight of what has occurred, we must dismantle it:
1. The commissioning of the Beloved Disciple to care for His mother: If Biblical pattern is to hold true, then we can, with caution, assume that even though this event did LITERALLY take place, there are further depths than what initially meets the eye. In the book of Revelation, we are shown a Mother with her Child- “the faithful remnant of Israel throughout history” (Mike Bickle). It may be reasonable to conclude that Jesus in essence commissions those who will believe in Him in the future to steward the gift they have been given by sharing it with Israel, in order for Christ to one day enter Jerusalem to the cry of “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!”
2. Jesus gives up His spirit. I believe it was A.W. Tozer who remarked on the endurance of Christ in that He had to consent to every single blow, lash, and nail He received on the Cross. Though He was a suffering man, He could at any time have “called off the whole show” and left us to destruction. This is reinforced by the fact that, from what is discernable by Scripture; Christ was not going to die until He decided to. Of course, He did all things in the perfect will of the Father, but we must realize the implication of the reality that He had a choice. Jesus eludes to this reality in John 10:8 when He says “No one takes My life from Me, but I willingly give it up…”. We must come face to face with the fact that for an entire day of torture, humiliation, and beating, Christ chose at every moment to not give up His life. With every strike of the hammer, sending Roman nails ripping through flesh and muscle, Christ chose not to give up His life. Even more, for HOURS He CHOSE to suffer, til all the weight of sin had been borne. Only when the last drop of blood that must be shed had trickled from His rapidly emptying veins did He choose to go on to death.
Crucifixion and Death of Jesus November 15, 2009
Posted by kellielake in 8 Meditation: Crucifixion & Death of Christ.comments closed
Through the crucifixion many prophesies were fulfilled. I love seeing how time after time things happened and fulfilled scripture. How could you doubt that this is the One who the Old Testament talks about? Everything lines up. There is no contradiction whatsoever. There has never been another like Him. There never will be. He is the One and Only Savior and Messiah. It is only through His blood that we are cleansed and washed whiter than snow. His death took the sin and shame of the whole world. On that cross all of your transgressions were there with Him. All the sin that you ever have done or will do in the future.
Pilot wrote Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews on the plaque that was above Jesus’ head. Pilot acknowledged Jesus has this man. Jesus was actually being acknowledged as King. This is His rightful place. During His death it was being proclaimed. It prophesied Who He was, Who He is, and Who He forever will be. The priests were not happy with this and wanted Pilot to change the inscription. They did not see Jesus as their Messiah and didn’t want people to believe that that is who He is. Pilot would he would not change it. He said, “What I have written, I have written” (John 19:22)
And Jesus said, “Father forgiven them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
His heart must have been breaking. He showed so much forgiveness, even in the midst of persecution and pain. He wasn’t worrying about Himself but instead those around Him. If He was willing to find those who physically killed Him why do you doubt that He will forgive your sins? You think that you have done so much wrong but don’t you see your sin is neither too big nor too small for this Man. He forgave those who were mocking Him, abusing Him, and at the end killing Him. He did this for you too. His blood covers all things and makes them as white as snow. His forgiveness is instantaneous. All it takes is acknowledging Who He is and what He has done for you. Just like one of the criminals did. Jesus immediately welcomed this man into his inheritance as a son of God.
As the people were mocking Jesus Christ telling Him to save Himself I can only imagine His thoughts. “Don’t you know that I am doing this for you? This isn’t about me being alive for eternity but for you. You may not see it now but all this is for you. One day your mocking will turn into praise. One day instead of you hitting me and on spitting on me you will be lifting me up. Through my death you will have life. I will conquer the grave so you don’t have to worry about it. In Me you will find salvation. In Me you will have power. In Me you will have your inheritance. I am the way.”
And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Matthew 27:50
We all have a choice to make. God will never force His actions upon us. We must submit to His will. Just as Jesus did when we yielded up His spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom…Matthew 27:51
In the Temple only certain priests were allowed to go behind the curtain. This is where the Lord dwelled. They had to be without sin or they would be killed in the presence of the Lord. When Jesus died He paid the price for sin. All who come to Him will have their sins washed away. They will become spotless and about to come into the presence of the Lord. When the veil was torn it symbolized everyone being about to go to the Lord themselves. They no longer had to go through a priest or an elder.
God’s love is amazing. The Father allowed his Son to go through immense pain and suffering just so that we could be with Him. He had such a desire for us that He would willingly send His Son to save us. It is through Jesus we are saved. Are sins are washed away and we are found perfect before the King of Kings.
Meditation 8: Crucifixion and Death of Christ November 14, 2009
Posted by kfair04 in 8 Meditation: Crucifixion & Death of Christ, Uncategorized.add a comment
Nailed to the cross between two criminals, Jesus made the perfect sacrifice for our sin. After Adam committed the first sin and brought death to the human race, a sacrifice was required, a sacrifice from a man that was pure and innocent, with no sin on him. He was nailed to a cross for the sin of every person that lived. Even if it was just me living on the Earth, he died for me, individually, because he loves me. He is now seated on the Heavenly throne, looking down upon us, and sees all of our sin. But, He sees our sincere intentions as well. Because we are imperfect, we will sin, but Jesus’ death on the cross made forgiveness and repentance possible. Jesus’ crucifixion washed our sins in love, and made them white as snow.
Even while Jesus was on the cross, He still conversed with his Heavenly Father. Seeing the criminals on either side of him, and hearing the leaders mocking him, he said “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Even while he was in his greatest time of suffering, Jesus was still forgiving people. How many times do we go through much less suffering, and completely shut our mind off to God. When, in fact, those are the times when we need to be talking to God, more. And when one of the criminals confessed that he deserved to die for his crimes, Jesus told him that he would be with him in ‘paradise.’ What love and compassion Jesus showed while every part of his body was agony. He didn’t become agitated because he was having a bad day; instead, he saw the end result, and he knew it was good.
Jesus saw our lives, and our situations, right where we are at, today. He sees our future, and the persecution we are going through. He sees our hearts, and the sin we struggle with; but he sees the good ending, and says “I died for that!” “I suffered and bled for that mind you say doesn’t work, and for that brain that you have abused with addictions, and I died for your future when I sent my messenger to bring you back to me.” The scene described in these scriptures isn’t just a one-time thing that happened, but it is a representation of the life He allows us to live. Because of His death, we have life! Because of His suffering, we have freedom!
The Roman Soldiers mocked Jesus while He was up on the cross, not realizing exactly who He was. But, when His spirit ascended to Heaven, the earth shook, and the Roman officer and the Roman soldiers suddenly became terrified. They realized that He truly was the Son of God. And, that is not a term used loosely. God created the Universe – and if you think about it, we are on one planet of nine, in a galaxy of many! This is the God of the Universe, and the fullness of God is also in Jesus. The Roman Soldiers obviously didn’t have a clue who they were mocking. But, we do the same thing. When we encounter the Holy Spirit, we sometimes forget who we are dealing with – the God of the Universe. Yes, He wants us to enjoy Him, but we can’t lose the fear of God.
Jesus suffered for many hours, and was mocked not just by soldiers, but also by people passing by. They shouted “Look at you now!” “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.” He could have very well taken himself down from the cross. He could have called angels to take him down, and shown everyone that he really was the King of the Jews. But, at the same time, one of the Fruits of the Spirit is Self Control. Jesus had an abundance of self control; but, if we had the kind of power Jesus had, how many of us would have stayed up there? Jesus loved us so much, that He endured mockery and criticism of himself, realizing that He had a choice, but at the same time realizing that He had no choice but to stay up on the cross.
Jesus came into the world on a mission, and He died to complete this mission. He was divinely birthed, and being born of a virgin was no coincidence. In order to be innocent and pure enough to take the world’s sin on himself, he had to be born out of purity, and so he was born out of the purest of all the women, a virgin. The minute He was born, Jesus was on a mission. Even at the young age of 12, he was asking questions that people were fascinated with. And, Jesus didn’t even start his ministry till he was thirty years of age; but, when he started his ministry, he knew how it would end. He knew that it would end with taking on the world’s sin. But, He was on a divine mission from His father.
It is the same with each one of us. Jesus didn’t die just so we could have some good times while we’re on this Earth, nor did he die so that we could wander around aimlessly and try everything that is available. He died so that we would have a purpose, a mission, a goal. And, our goal is to love God, and love people. That’s what Jesus did. He healed people because loved people. He told parables because he loved people, and wanted them to ask questions. He died because he loved people. And that’s our mission. Just like the great commission tells us to disciple the nations, it all begins with love. Our mission, the great commission, Jesus died for it all. He endured mockery, criticism, and suffering for it all; more suffering than any of us will probably every experience. And, His death was not the end, for He rose again in three days. Jesus is not on that cross, anymore, He is alive! And therefore, we are alive in Him! Jesus’ death is the reason why we don’t have to live eternally separated from Him; so, it was necessary. But, we don’t have to be somber because He died, we can be joyful because He’s alive!
Crucifixtion and Death of Jesus November 13, 2009
Posted by sarahdell in 8 Meditation: Crucifixion & Death of Christ.add a comment
Luke 23:26-43
They led You away. Jesus You submitted to death even death on a cross. You allow weak men to lead You to the cross. Every step You said yes. At any moment You could have called a legion of angels down but You chose to say yes to the will of the Father. You were fully human. You were in so much pain. They had already beaten You and marred You face beyond recognition. Every step was filled with pain. Your entire body was throbbing. Still You said yes.
They commissioned Simon the Cyrene to carry the cross for You. Jesus You were fully man. You were too weak to carry the cross. The skin on Your back was completely ripped off and the cross weighed upon the open wounds. You fully embraced humanity even our fleshly limitations. You were the One who spoke creation into being and now human weakness prevented You from carrying the cross.
You didn’t pause Your humanity to get through the crucifixion.You didn’t step out of the garments of flesh so as to endure the cross. No. You felt every blow. You felt all the pain. You had no sedatives. The pain was real. You didn’t just check out as the beat You and ripped Your flesh. You endured it all.
What was the walk up to the Golgotha like? You forced Your feet forward despite the excruciating pain and tormenting voiced of the crowd. The women of Jerusalem wailed loudly but they had no clue who You really were. You were just another Jewish boy being put to death by the Romans. They had no idea that this torn up, bloodied man was saving all of humanity in His death. The crowd mocked and scoffed the very One who was giving them breathe and saving their souls.
On the cross You prayed for us. You were hanging on a cross. Your entire body was screaming in pain yet still You turned Your heart and prayed for us. As You were bearing the sin and shame of all of humanity You made intercession on their behalf. Love and desire for a bride kept You hanging there. What kind of love is this, that You go so low?
You were crucified with criminals. You so trusted Your Father. You knew He would exalt You and give You the bride You so desired. You submitted to the lowest death. You were numbered among the criminals. You, the holy and righteous One, hung among wicked men.
As You were dying the soldiers were dividing up Your cloths. The people looking on sneered and mocked You. Jesus, You are the meekest King. You could have wiped them all out. You could have sent fire from heaven and fried them all. You chose to stay on the cross dying for the sins of the ones mocking and crucifying You.
They sneered at You to save Yourself. Oh Jesus You were the humblest man. All the while love was covering our sins, meekness was restraining divine power (Allen Hood). They challenged You to prove Yourself. They called on You to save Yourself. It was Your very willingness to die that was saving them. You were making a way for God and man to be together again.
You saved the man hanging next to You. Jesus You blow me away. Instead of being consumed with Your pain, You made intercession for us and then saved the man next to You. You had every right to think about Yourself, You were the perfect One. At every turn You became the servant of all. You are worthy of the highest praises.
John 19:28-37
You gave up Your spirit. No man could take it from You but it had to be given willingly. You gave it up as the penalty. You took on the wrath of God. In the giving of Yourself, You gave me life. Thank You, Jesus.
The soldiers came to break Your legs. They went first to the criminals besides You. When they got to You they didn’t even need to break Your legs, You were already dead. They pierced Your side and blood and water poured out.
Here’s the scene. Jesus had just died the most gruesome death available. They had marred Him beyond recognition. His back was open flesh. The soldiers walk up to the crosses. They break the legs of the criminals. They walk up to Jesus. They were veteran soldiers and they knew what dead men looked like. The Romans realized Jesus was dead. One of them lifted up his spear and stabbed Jesus’ side. Blood and water poured out. The Lord of Glory had given Himself for sinful man.
Matthew 27:45-56
The veil in the temple was torn when You gave up Your spirit. The earth was shaken and rocks split open. Jesus You died in such humble circumstance yet Your power shook things still. The veil in the temple that separated man from God was ripped apart. You bridged the gap. In You the Father reconciled all things together again.
Brian Durham November 11, 2009
Posted by briandurham in 8 Meditation: Crucifixion & Death of Christ.add a comment
Meditation 8
The passage begins with an unthinkable circumstance. The creator of the earth, the sustainer of all things visible and invisible, the One who will rule and reign over the universe forever allows a group of sinful, hateful men to abuse him, saying “the soldiers took charge of Jesus.” Who can take charge of God? Who can control the sovereign Lord without His consent? No one! This God allowed Himself to be taken advantage of, and to even be taken charge of. This perfectly holy man carried His own cross and was crucified, between two criminals nonetheless. Utter humiliation. This truly is a stumbling block. Many Muslims I have dialogued with in the past do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, because they do not believe that God would allow Himself to die. They do not believe that God would do any action that would make Him any less. I agree with them. God could never do any action that would bring shame to Him and lessen His glory. This act is the beauty and glory of God. “God is love,” and the death of Christ does the exact opposite of lessen His glory. His great humility demonstrates the great wonder of God.
As we continue in the story, we see Pilate put up a sign saying, “The King of the Jews” above Jesus’ cross. Pilate was not necessarily insulting Jesus, but the Jews as a whole here. This is why the Jews were so angry about it. Jesus’ death was and is and will forever be the greatest moment in all of history. Even Jesus’ return and physical defeat of Satan is not as glorious as the terrible beauty of the cross. All of time is centered on this one single moment! But somehow it is used as a petty political jab. The authorities used this as a chance to make a statement to the Jews. What foolishness!? They truly were not able to recognize the signs of the times! It is absolutely infuriating that something so terrible and great was used for something so base and cruel. The death of God was not recognized, but was used as a means of political advantage. What a sick world we live in. But what great humility and mercy that Jesus willingly died under these conditions. Amidst the great pain and horrible agony of betrayal by those closest to Him, Jesus never wavered for a second, but was totally faithful to the end. Truly, John was right we he said, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not know him” (John 1:10). How could we possibly ever complain about our lives in the face of Christ? I am humbled to the point of shame, but Christ lifts up my face and says, “You are beautiful and spotless.” It is not right for me to accept His mercy, but I have no other chance, and I love and respect Him.
Jesus’ death is still more filled with agony beyond even the political powers, insufferable pain, and emotional carnage that His disciples caused and will cause throughout history to Him. Even the very men who crucify Him play poker for His clothes, before His very eyes. Can you even imagine hanging on the cross and having a group of dirty, crude, and bitter soldiers playing games over who will get your clothes? But Jesus cries, “Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing.” This statement, upon reflection, makes me furious. They do know what they are doing! They are hateful, wicked men, and don’t deserve forgiveness of any kind! But I am then hit with the realization and remembrance of who I am without the work of the Holy Spirit. Without God, I was and am just as bad as these men. Was it not these same men who just hours later proclaimed “Surely He was the Son of God!” I don’t know what ended up happening to the soldiers, but I know that had I been a Roman soldier, I would have done the same thing, and am so grateful for Jesus’ forgiveness of them. This is how He forgave me, and all of us.
Immediately after such a heart-breaking act, Jesus reacts with continued mercy and wisdom. I am convinced that beyond the great mercy, humility, and love of Jesus, He was truly the most intelligent man to ever walk the earth. Jesus was a complete genius. His thoughts are above our thoughts. The words He speaks are so divine that they will still be making profound waves for all of eternity. Even now, on the cross, Jesus, in His divine wisdom calls forth His mother and blesses her for the last time as a man. He fulfills His duty as her son by making sure that she is taken care of for her earthly life by calling for His beloved disciple John and declaring him her son. I wonder how John felt about this responsibility. He never mentioned it again that I know of, but I wonder if He wasn’t honored. Jesus seldom asked for any favor from anyone, but here gives John the holy task of caring for a widow. I imagine that He felt great honor at such a task given by His Rabbi and friend.
Lastly, I am provoked by those who approach the cross to mock Jesus. Again, I know that without the sanctifying work of the Spirit I would do the same thing, but I am overwhelmed by the complete indecency of the Jews. They go far beyond trying to rid their synagogue of heresy and blasphemy. The Jews here demonstrate the hatred and sinfulness in their hearts by spitting at, mocking, cursing, and humiliating Jesus. They provoke Him by taunting Him, but Jesus remains silent. It’s really wild to me that the most intelligent and wise man to ever walk the earth did not reply in any way. My natural inclination would be to at least try to think of something clever to say that would bring shame to them and possibly lead them to repentance, but Jesus knows what is better, and He chooses compete silence. He suffers their threats just as He suffered in the trial – without a word to defend Himself. Jesus, You are so wise and beautiful.
Why This Waste? November 5, 2009
Posted by elisabethmontague in 6 Meditation: Why This Waste?.add a comment
Have you ever been in a season where it feels like everything feels like it is going wrong, but in reality, everything is going right? When your world is crashing down on you and your whole body is crushed by the impact? When God feels so near, yet so far away? When it seems that every emotion in the history of the world is mixed in a blender and then poured out on your shoulders? When your heart feels like it just cracked in two and it will never be woven back together again? And it hurts so bad that your whole body feels like mush? That is how I feel right now.
You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with the alabaster jar?” Well, I will get to that in a few paragraphs.
We all know that God will never give us more than what He knows that we can handle, right? But what about all the times He purposely breaks our hearts? Maybe this does not occur very often, which I cannot say that it has occurred very often (if at all) in my own life. God is so faithful and merciful that He breaks us in the most loving ways. He breaks us when we need to be broken. He breaks us when He wants to do something new and exciting in our lives. He breaks us so that He can mend us, which does not make much sense to me. But I do not like to question why God does what He does. But why does God do what He does? 1. Because He can, because He is God. 2. To catch our eye and to fascinate us. God loves to show off. He loves to show us His power.
God is doing a lot in my life right now. In the past, I never knew what He was doing until after He was done doing it. And sometimes, it took a long time for me to understand what He was orchestrating. It is rare -in my life- when God will let me know what He is doing when He is doing it. It is a blessing when He does let me in on the secrets, which is a rare occurrence. It is the mystery of God. But on rare occasions, the mystery is not so mysterious.
This past week has been really hard (to put it lightly). You know all the questions in my first paragraph? Yeah, that has been my week as of yet. This week has been the hardest week of my life. But God knows what He is doing and – better yet – I know what God is doing. Now, some of the things that He is doing right now are rather personal that I do not feel like I can share at this time. But one thing that He is doing is breaking my heart. In a good way.
I have a lot of pain in my heart from things that has happened in my past and I know that God has been in the process of healing those hurts for many years. But He is bringing it all up to the surface now and He is doing some deep cleaning in the deepest parts of my heart. I have been in so much pain this past week that I have often felt like I cannot go on. But, like we all know, God never gives us more than what we can handle.
God told me that He is breaking me down so that He can build me up. And it is a hard and painful process, but I know that in order for me to grow anymore and come into the things of God on a new level, I must be broken first. It is not fun, but I have excitement and joy (sometimes) when I think about how much God is going to be able to do in me and through me when this process is over.
What I am going through right now makes me think about the woman with the alabaster jar. She goes to Jesus and breaks it over Him. When I read this, I think about the Father and the Son. The woman being God and Jesus being the Son. Just imagine it this way; God goes to Jesus just before He is to be crucified and suffer the most gruesome death and He breaks a jar of perfume (or blessings) over His head. When Jesus is crucified, He feels broken and defeated. But here comes the Father, and through His Son’s death, He saves His people from eternal damnation. Through His death came life. Through my pain and brokenness will come strength and wholeness. Through my “death” will come “life”.
