Beholding Jesus

Mark 14:32-42  -   John 18:1-11, 12-14, 19-24, 28-40   -   John 19: 1-16  -  John 19: 1-16

Imagine the worst night of your life, what would you do? Imagine that you knew that something horrible was going to happen to you whether it was a car accident, being murdered or something horrible that would end your life. Imagine more so that you knew that on November 1st you were going to be arrested. What would be on your mind? What would you do? In our human state I can imagine that we would do everything we could to avoid being arrested. We’d pay the unpaid parking tickets; we would run or hide from the authority to avoid being caught. What if you knew that you were going to be arrested for the crimes of someone else?

What if the charges against you were the mass murders of countless humans, rape of 7 others in the highest degree, murder of innocent blood, for the theft of every major bank and jewelry store? What if you knew that tomorrow your reputation as a pastor, a teacher, a doctor, stay at home mom was blasted all over the news as one of the worst murderers, rapist, thief, pedophile of our time? And what if it you were being charged for things you had never done and even you could prove you never did? We all know that in our heart we would run from it, cry out to God to be our advocate and if we could we would change it.

In our human effort we would strive to change it. If it was our wife, our spouse, our child, our parent, we may be swayed to take part of the consequences of their actions. But what if we paid restitution for the family in our history we never even knew, or even all the friends of the family. I can imagine the burning in our souls the longing of our heart for justice. Could love even in its entirety motivate our heart to take on the charges against others even if it meant the worst imaginable death and torture? In human history there has been such men and woman to suffer horrible death out of love for their children or family, and in the greatest love for Jesus Christ.  

What did Jesus see and feel that would make Him so Jealous that He would take on every sin of ever murderer, rapist, thief, pedophile, liar, adulterer, and the list goes on and on. The last night of His life before His arrest He went to a garden and met his father there. Like a child He wept before His father crying out that if there was another way could it be used to remove the hindering sin of man? In the darkest night He would ever face of torment in the human soul He would pray and watch still contending in willingness that He wouldn’t have to bare the wrath of God for every sin and evil intention. He wasn’t just willing to take every sin of His family, or friends but of every soul from past to the future since the first separation of men from God in the garden. He asked his disciples to sit with Him and watch with unveiled eyes yet even in their weakness they failed to stay away. I wonder what he meant by the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. He told them watch with me so that you do not fall into temptation. His heart for them to watch; was it for him or for them? He knew they would fall asleep. He knew everything that was going to happen. Was it their physical eyes He was worried about or more so their spiritual eyes?

I couldn’t help but notice that when Jesus came back to talk to Peter He didn’t call him by the name He once gave him but He called him by the name Simon. Was this because He recognized that Peter was still very weak and would revert back to His sinful ways that night by denying Him. After the 3rd time of praying for God to remove this sentence off of him if at all possible He went back to them the third time and said that’s enough! The hour has come, Look (Behold with your very own eyes, see all has come to pass) the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners! (Mark 14:41) How did Jesus feel knowing everything that would play out? That Judas would come and kiss Him and betray Him.

 How would we react when the time came to be arrested and we were betrayed by our father, our brother, or even our spouse, or child? As the soldiers and the officials of the chief priest came Jesus asked them “Who are you looking for?” He knew who they came for but for the sake of us He asked them twice. The power that took place when He said “I am He” never crossed my mind before but look with me in John 18:5 it says they drew back (NIV) and fell to the ground, even Judas (ESV) Why did it they draw back and fall to the ground. I believe that it was because He showed us that with 1 breathe and word He was who He said He was.

All He had to do was speak and He would destroy everything. His power and authority made men fall, and leads us to the understanding He had the full dominion to stop what was taking place. Yet directly following He spoke not a word during His trial. He was the SILENT Lamb let to the slaughter as the only human being that could withstand the wrath of God because He was the Son of God and yet the Son of Man struggling in His emotions. He was fully God which meant that He was perfect and without spot or wrinkle. He was fully Man which meant He had temptation, a weak frame; He felt the burden of man and felt and dealt with ever emotion of the human frame.  What kind of love would resist the spoken word and with hold the power of His tongue. When He was before the High Priest He only answered back in question. He didn’t speak directly to them proclaiming who He was and what He spoke. Why did He remain silent?

It was in testimony of His love that He stood silent and let the accusations of man come. Maybe it was because if He spoke He would have been released. We know that even when He was before Pilot all He did was stand quietly, and when He did chose to speak it send fear and truth into the heart of Pilot. Jesus could only speak truth, and He was truth. If He would have spoken He would have spoken and softened and convicted the heart of every man. He would have stayed silent so that He would be convicted, so that He would take the cup from His father and endure the wrath of God. Because He didn’t speak He chose yet again to let His authority be trampled on.

He was the Son of God and rightly had the place to say no. And yet imagine the father sitting quietly saying “Son I am so proud, I want to fix things but like you I am jealous with a fire that cannot be quenched I said I would come in wrath and they cannot bare my wrath, I love you so much for doing this because I love them.” Because He sat quietly He was mocked, torn, beat spat on, and yet He continued to let the hatred of men toward Him grow. He faced His accusers with not one ill or misdirected thought. I can hear the words in His heart saying “If only you knew how much I love you, woe to you for your hands will be stained with my blood. I have given you chance after chance to love me and love God yet you hate Him so I will suffer this wrath for you. You have no idea! I knew how bad this was and I still came, I existed before all creation and I will exist long after, I suffered and came because I removed all hindrances of love”