Luke 23 50 - 56

 Luke 23 50 - 56

How many members of the Sanhedrin can we name? The council that condemned Jesus is for the most part lost to history. Luke doesn't even mention the names of the high priest after the beginning of his narrative where he gives the historical context for Jesus's life. For Luke the only member of the Sanhedrin who was worth naming is Joseph of Arimathea. Who did not consent to their plan and action. We can't be sure what “plan and action” Luke refers to.  It may have been the employment of Judas. It may have been the judicial murder by the Romans. It was possibly the illegal trials.  Most likely it was the entire plot against Jesus. We do not know if Joseph was present for the trial of Jesus or if he conveniently had not been called. If there, we do not know if Joseph was a vocal advocate for Jesus at the trial or if he realized this was a done deal and decided not to fight a lost battle. What we do know is while most of the Sanhedrin is unknown to us Joseph is known.

He is known as a man who was good and righteous, and who anticipated the coming of the Kingdom.   These are three descriptions that are the opposite of the descriptions of the council.  We know he acted in great compassion to bury our Lord. He was in almost every way the antithesis of the Sanhedrin. Let us not imagine that peer pressure is a new thing. Joseph would have faced incredible pressure to join in the course of those calling for Jesus's death. All those who did are lost to us, many are lost for eternity.

Being a disciple can feel lonely. Sometimes we are less alone than we realize. But perhaps that sense of loneliness is a good thing. Maybe the isolation can cause us to turn more faithfully toward our Lord. Rather than trying to find friends to help, when we feel alone as disciples we ought to be more passionate about pursuing the Lord and living righteously. The Lord will bring us the company we need. After all, at the tomb on Friday Joseph finds to his surprise a company of Godly disciples.

“Lord, if I must stand alone to stand with you, help me know I am not alone. AMEN”

Luke 23:44-49

Luke 23:44-49

There comes to all men a moment of profound and absolute clarity. The goal and objective of the enemy of our soul is to keep that moment of clarity delayed as long as possible. In his diabolical plan that moment of clarity will come when we have died and it is everlastingly too late. The Cross brings that moment of clarity to us when we look at it. The powers of darkness would have us distracted or in some way never look to the cross. In seeing the cross we have the moment of clarity, in it we see all we need to see.

We see the darkness of our world, our lives, our sin, our own soul. This literal darkness at the cross is a profound picture of the hopeless despair under which we live. We see that our best efforts to reach God need a radical rejection. It is God Himself Who tore open the temple veil that separated Him from us. The prescriptions of the Old Testament worship offered the best options but even that could never bring us into God's presence. From our position outside and below we could only get so close and we could never get there. When we look at the cross we realize that Jesus was innocent. The Roman Centurion was most likely no saint. He was a pagan who offered sacrifices to Caesar and various other gods. He would have been a man of bloodshed, a man brutally cruel and vile behaviors. We must not imagine him as some paragon of virtue. But in the moment of the Cross he has the clarity to see Jesus was innocent.

Finally, the frenzy of blood lust has passed and the object of their fury is dead and clarity descends on the people. Luke makes a note to distinguish the crowd as a whole from Jesus's followers. Luke points out that all the crowds of spectators began to return beating their breasts. The guiltiest would have asked, “What is this horrible thing I have done”. The least guilty saying “I too am part of this great evil”.

The cross gives us clarity, our condition is dark and hopeless. I cannot reach God. But He has opened the way for me.  Jesus was innocent and as such could bear my sin. I am guilty, truly guilty of great evil. There is great clarity when we look at the cross. That is why the enemy would have us distracted by any and every trinket. This becomes a tool to tell if something is evil and if evil how deeply evil. To the degree that prevents us from the clarity of the cross to that degree it is evil.

“Lord, give me clarity of the cross.  AMEN

Luke 23 38 - 43

 Luke 23 38 - 43

We often speak of the thief on the cross. We debate points of theology using him as the fulcrum.  Around and about him have grown legends and stories. But we may be missing a valuable lesson. There were, please remember, two bandits with Jesus that day. There was the other, that never repented he is not there for window dressing but rather to teach us a lesson.

The hardest thing in all of creation is the will. Compared to the human will, steel and diamonds are like putty. Having been horribly abused by the Romans, condemned to die, and then roughly crucified this man is unrepentant, defiant and mocking. We sometimes imagine that everyone, if they see the truth clearly, can repent. This man had a great clarity he was undeniably guilty he was approaching death he was suffering and he was presented with Jesus but he was nonetheless unrepentant.

The will that desires to have life, the universe, and eternity on its own terms is not limited to first century criminals. We are all capable of a determination to have our way that no amount of suffering can change. The external forces pound away but the will is unmoved. We see it when a person would rather wreck their life, marriage, home and children rather than repent. For example, what we call addiction may not be just a matter of chemistry, biology or psychology. These certainly are components but at some level there is the will that says “I don't care about the cost I will do what I wish”. And addiction is only one example.  God, in His grace, refuses to violate our will. We must, even if it is in the tiniest part, begin by saying I want, I will, repentance. This is where it must always begin.

“Lord, convict me where my will is hard and grant me repentance. AMEN”

Luke 23 32 - 37

 Luke 23 32 - 37

In the liturgy there's a prayer that says, “Thou are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy...” We sometimes imagine our Lord dispensing forgiveness from heaven like a clerk giving out forms. He sits behind the desk and hands out forgiveness to everyone who happens to line up to ask. Jesus's very character and nature is to have mercy and that role is more than a clerk handing out forms. The Romans were not regretting what they were doing, they were bored with their task and indifferent. They were not staring up at Jesus in wonder and pondering the gravity of the moment. They were playing a game for distraction.

This moment is an uncomfortable one for us if we would be Jesus's disciples. Forgiveness is the one thing if the offender is remorseful, repentant, and apologetic. The soldiers were none of these things. We can have positive emotional feedback if someone comes to us and says, “I was wrong, please forgive me”. But that is not the nature of Christ’s forgiveness. To forgive the one who does the evil and then revels in the evil is the nature of Christ-like forgiveness. The nature of His forgiveness is different not just in quantity but in its very character and quality.  That forgiveness may be rejected by the offender but the Savior pleads that it be extended.

Jesus never justifies the sin but He always wants to see the sinner justified. He absorbs into Himself the pain and the misery of the sin while the sinner is set free. This is part of what it means to bear the cross as a disciple. To plead for those who do evil, even to us, especially to us. 

“Lord to those who delight in doing us harm, forgive them they know not what they do. AMEN”

Luke 23:26 - 31

 Luke 23:26 - 31

“If God did not spare His own Son...”  We often take comfort in this verse (Romans 8:32) and we should, we also need to recall the other side of the issue. Jesus turns to the weeping women on His way to the cross and tells them to save their tears for themselves and their children. Jesus is directly referring to the destruction of Jerusalem but there is a bigger picture.

If crucifixion is what happens to the one who perfectly obeys God what will become of those who defy God? If the cross awaits the innocent sin bearing sacrifice what will befall those who reject God's sacrifice, refuse to repent, and cling to the rebellion. We don't talk much about the Judgment of God. It is politically incorrect and in our society to judge is the worst of all sins.  To imply that the Judgment of God will mean that some people will not have personal peace, affluence, and a self-directed life.  This is the last thing people want to hear. Never doubt that the Judgment of God and our desire and goal for a self-directed life are completely incompatible. Nevertheless it appears that the thought of God's judgments were never far from Jesus's mind.   And If God's wrath was poured out on the green vibrant living tree of Jesus what will that wrath be like when it pours out on the disobedient and the rebellious.

God's judgments did not end with the destruction of Jerusalem. It is useless to try to plan for resistance to God's judgment. It is like an umbrella in a hurricane. It is like asking a mountain to move itself to hide us from the wrath to come. Any attempt to avoid the Judgment of God is an operation in futility. These women who came to Jesus were not notably wicked, they may have been some of the kindest women in Jerusalem. Nevertheless they were in the path of judgment. A Christian living in a wicked and rebellious society is not exempt from the judgment on that society. What we must do is live in obedience and repentance that when the fire has passed we will remain unscathed.

“Lord, grant me the grace of a true faith and a heartfelt repentance, that in the day of judgment I will find mercy.  AMEN”

Luke 23:13 - 25

 Luke 23:13 - 25

Oftentimes it is easy to make an alliance with evil. Would a person request the release of a known terrorist and murderer if it would secure for them positions of power and wealth? Absolutely. That is exactly what happened with the release of Barabbas.

Pilate, wanting a way out, hopes that in the tradition of a prisoner being released at Passover he can set Jesus free. Jesus is absolutely innocent and Pilate knows it. Pilate plans to juxtapose Jesus and Barabbas: a good guy versus a really bad guy, innocent versus guilty, a doer of good deeds versus a murderer. a sort of Mother Teresa versus Charles Manson contrast. “Who do you want running loose in your neighborhood?” Pilate hopes by picking the nastiest man in prison the Jewish rulers will, for the sake of public safety and common sense, ask to have Jesus released. But that will not be the case.  While Barabbas posed no threat to the rulers of the people Jesus did. Jesus’ power over the people was seen by the high Priestly delegation as a danger to their control of the Temple. Barabbas might attack Roman soldiers and waylay travelers but he would never call attention to the corruption of the temple sacrificial market.

Barabbas was bad, he was a terrorist and a murderer and a thief. Pilate was bad, rather than stand for the truth and do the right thing he tried to manipulate his way to a right conclusion. But the worst of the lot were the high priests. They were willing to use judicial murder and risk the lives and safety of the common people in order to hold on to power. What evil will be done to hold on to a position of control?  It would be wonderful if we could say this never happens in the church today.  It would be wonderful but it would also be false.  

“Lord, never allow my passion for may agenda to lead me to evil.  AMEN”

Luke 23:1-12

 Luke 23:1-12

When Jesus shows up in Pilate’s court Pilate treats Him as a problem that must be dealt with.  He is nothing more than an unexpected item on his “to do” list.  Pilate is, at least for the moment, treating this with all the emotion of a mathematical equation, a sum to be reached by a process.  Ask questions of the accused, try to get beyond the story they spin, examine the facts, then render a verdict.  Justice is cold, calculating and not interested in emotions and superstitions.  When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews, Jesus’ response was short and enigmatic. Jesus answers with a test question, “You say”.  Directly it is neither a denial nor an affirmation.  But at least Jesus responds to Pilate’s inquiry, which is important to note.  Jesus’ answer is an invitation for Pilate to search his heart and find his convictions on this matter, to move beyond cold intellectualism. Jesus has begun a line of questioning that would, if followed, force Pilate to work out who Jesus was.  But Pilate only wanted a way out.  Pushing the case over to Herod seems like his way out.

Herod enthusiastically takes the case. Herod wants to see Jesus.  For some time he has heard of this miracle-working Galilean and he wants to see Him do something.  Maybe Jesus would do a little magic trick, multiplication of bread, water into wine, curing some illness, pulling a rabbit out of the hat.  Herod wants to be wowed.  Jesus is very popular in Galilee.  If Jesus would collaborate with Herod it would be good politically, Jesus could give the population food and wine.  Maybe do something to lighten the burden of the taxes.  The possibilities are endless, but first a private show.  The stage is set and the performer is on, but He does nothing.  He doesn’t even give so much as a word.  He is less obliging for Herod than He was for Pilate.   Had Jesus done even one little miracle Herod would have gladly taken him under his protection.  Herod would have had his court magic show. Entertainment was what Herod wanted but Jesus just stood there.  Herod and company did their best to entertain themselves at Jesus's expense. But bullying and mocking makes poor sport of someone who has the courage of Jesus and who refuses to be intimidated. Once he was bored Herod sent Jesus back to Pilot. He didn't want him; he didn't need Him if He could not be entertaining.

Pilate was the chair of the committee for security and regional stability and was holding an interview for threat assessment.  Herod was a party animal ready to start leading the chant “Toga, Toga, Toga”. If Pilate was an auditor going over an accountant's books, Herod was a Las Vegas visitor with a ticket to the Penn and Teller show.  

Pilate and Herod represent two equally failing, but still current responses to Jesus.  One is when Jesus is an object of study and cold intellectualism.  We look at Jesus through our reason and analyze Him through the processes of our scholarship.   Over the years we have heard the warnings of a cold, dead, sterile, ritualized Christianity.  But we have heard fewer warnings about the danger of Neo-Herodism.  Available for us today is the Jesus Show complete with lights, band, jumbotron, smoke machines and stars of stage and screen.   We can have Christianity as entertainment with great looking preachers that give us talks worthy of any motivational speaker.  Stand up comics are also available, because laughs draw a crowd.  If you would rather, you can have self-help where Jesus can be your own personal Dr. Phil.  Entertainment Jesus even has his own awards program, not unlike the Emmy, Oscar, Tony, Academy, there are “The Church Stars”.  (I am not kidding it is an awards program for Christian entertainment.)  

Jesus walked past Pilate and dry intellectual pursuit of knowledge.   He would have nothing to do with the opportunities and  possibilities of entertainment offered by Herod.  Jesus was on His way to the Cross.  Our call is not to engage in dry discourse nor to be entertained into imbecility, but rather to die to self, follow Jesus to the cross, first His then our own.  

"Lord, give me the cross and the grace to bear it daily. AMEN"