“Are you not the Christ?”
Apr 20, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
At Riv, we are in a series called Red Letter Ending, where we are looking at 7 statements of Jesus from the cross and one statement he made after his resurrection. On my blog, we are looking at some of the statements people made to Jesus before, during, and after his crucifixion.
A couple weeks ago, we looked at the story of one of the thieves who was crucified with Jesus. We saw how he became, in the words of Charles Spurgeon “Our Lord’s final companion on Earth and his first companion in Paradise.”
This is the story of the other thief.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23: 39)
It’s so easy to “Tsk Tsk” this man. We, who know how the story ends, are appalled by his words. But if we were real honest, we would admit that we can relate. He was demanding something of Jesus. He was demanding that Jesus save him the way he wanted to be saved.
I’ve been there.
I’ve demanded a sign from Jesus.
I’ve prayed for God’s deliverance from a situation I have put myself in.
And I’ve been upset when the response is silence…
Tags: cross, crucifixion, Jesus
Jerusalem’s Zombie Problem
Apr 18, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
At Riv, we are in a series called Red Letter Ending, where we are looking at 7 statements of Jesus from the cross and one statement he made after his resurrection. On my blog, we are going to take a look at some of the statements people made to Jesus before, during, and after his crucifixion.
Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
(Matthew 27:50-54)
The Roman Centurion had witnessed more than his fair share of crucifixions. Normally, when a condemned criminal was crucified (and only the worst of the worse were were hung on a cross) they would suffer for a long time. Hours would pass as they painfully drifted in and out of consciousness. Sharp cries of pain would make way to groans which would quietly turn into silence. Their final breath would usually go unnoticed.
This crucifixion was different.
When Jesus died, he did so with a shout…and the earth responded in kind; her convulsions were felt far and wide as the ground shook and rocks were torn asunder. The earth gaped open in places.
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead as the first born of all those who who be made alive again. (1 Corinthians 15:20-21)
Then it happened–the dead crawled out of their graves. Not all of them, but enough to be noticed. Unlike the zombies of pop culture, these men, women, and children were as full of life as the day they were born. They entered the city and were reunited with their loved ones. One day, all who follow Jesus will receive their glorified bodies in turn and be reunited with their loved ones who died in Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:23)
How do you respond to something like this? I would suggest the Roman Centurion got it right:
“Truly [Jesus is] the Son of God!”
Tags: cross, crucifixion, Jesus, zombies
Elijah?
Apr 11, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
At Riv, we are in a series called Red Letter Ending, where we are looking at 7 statements of Jesus from the cross and one statement he made after his resurrection. On my blog, we are going to take a look at some of the statements people made to Jesus before, during, and after his crucifixion.
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. (Matt 27:46–48)
It was a Jewish myth that the prophet Elijah would come to help someone who was encountering a severe trial or struggle. When the people standing near Jesus heard him call out to “Eli” (which means “father”), they mistakenly thought he was calling out for Elijah to help him. One of them rushed to give him a drink of sour wine to drink, thinking he must be suffering (which he was). Unbeknownst to them, their misunderstanding led to the fulfillment of prophecy (see Psalm 69:21).
More on that this weekend at Riv…
Tags: cross, crucifixion, Jesus
“Save Yourself!”
Apr 7, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
At Riv, we are in a series called Red Letter Ending, where we are looking at 7 statements of Jesus from the cross and one statement he made after his resurrection. On my blog, we are going to take a look at some of the statements people made to Jesus before, during, and after his crucifixion.
And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. (Matthew 27:40-43)
When the Jews asked Jesus to prove he was God by showing them a sign, he challenged them: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:16) You can almost hear their laughter echoing through the temple courts…and echoing back with new taunts as he hung on the cross. They didn’t even realize that they were themselves tearing down the temple (his body) and that he was planning to rebuild it in three days.
Even a tacit recognition of signs he had given (“he saved others”) are ironically ignored with another demand for a sign (“let him come down now from the cross”). Once again, a demanded sign becomes the stated grounds for belief.
How arrogant.
How like us.
Have you ever demanded a sign from God while ignoring the obvious miracles that are staring you right in the face?
I am so glad Jesus chose to give us the right sign, the one that offers reconciliation with God: conquering sin, Satan, and death by rebuilding the temple in three days.
Tags: cross, crucifixion, Jesus
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
Apr 4, 2011 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
At Riv, we are in a series called Red Letter Ending, where we are looking at 7 statements of Jesus from the cross and one statement he made after his resurrection. On my blog, we are going to take a look at some of the statements people made to Jesus before, during, and after his crucifixion.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27–31)
The whole battalion was gathered, all 600 of them, to see this Jew humiliated. They stripped him naked, shaming him. To add insult to injury, they decided to mock the title Pilate had given him and Jesus had affirmed. (Mark 15:2) They redressed him as a caricature of a king, complete with a royal robe and a crown of thorns. They knew that a king needed a scepter, so they gave him one in the form of a flimsy reed.
All 600 of them bowed before him for the first time, and with scorn in their voices, declared as one “Hail, King of the Jews!” They anointed him, not with oil or perfumes, but with the vile insult understood by every culture then and now: spit. His scepter became an instrument of humiliation as they struck him in the head again and again, driving the thorns deeper into his flesh and disguising his humanity behind a curtain of blood and saliva.
Little did they know this would not be the last time they bowed before Jesus; this was not the last time they would declare his kingship. Because of the cross Jesus was about to endure, ”God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8–11)
The tables will turn on that day.
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
Tags: crucifixion, Jesus, king
