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Meditative Reflection
What Kind of Christ do You want?

“’If you are the Christ,’ they said, ‘tell us.’” (Lk. 22:67)

The religious leaders were obviously bent on getting rid of Jesus because of jealousy (Mk. 15:10), but their envy had led them to ignore the claim of Jesus and the miracles that He had performed to support His claim, not to mention His powerful preaching and His impeccable and sinless life.

However, it appears that they were not totally discounting the possibility that Jesus was the Christ, and so one of the first things they asked Jesus was, “If you are the Christ…tell us” (Lk. 22:67).

One wonders how they expected Jesus to answer such a question. They knew already that this was the claim of Jesus, and they certainly were prepared to follow up with the next question which would be, “Show us your proof.”

Jesus had given more than enough evidences of His claim, therefore He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe!” (Lk. 22:67.) However, He did give them more than they asked for, “But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God” (Lk. 22:69).

He was not afraid that He would be trapped by them, but He wanted to correct their view of who Christ was. To the Jews, the Christ (i.e. the Messiah) was purely a political figure who would revive the nation of Israel by defeating their enemies. There was hardly any spiritual dimension to the Messiah, as far as they were concerned —there was no need for repentance, no need for changes of hearts.

With these words, Jesus pointed out that the following:

- He is more than just a man, He is the Son of Man — a term that He used often not only to denote His humanity, but to point to His Messiahship as referred to in Daniel 7:13.

- Since He will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God, He affirms His divinity as the Son of God.

- The timing of His ascension to heaven is “from now on”, referring to His knowledge of their plan to kill Him.

Unfortunately, though they did understand the meaning of Jesus' claim as both the Messiah and the Son of God, they were totally ignorant of the consequence of their action — the killing of Jesus. His death would be the means to usher Him to sit at the right hand of the mighty God. They mainly desired an earthly Messiah — a Savior for this life.

I have found the same is true with many believers as their belief in Jesus Christ is mainly for blessings of this earthly life — joy, peace and answers to prayers for the needs and challenges of this life. Beyond these, they show very little interest in their relationship with Christ. The Apostle Paul is well aware of such a tendency, therefore he admonishes the believers in Colosse with these words, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:1-4)

Meditative Reflection
It was too Oppressive

“But they insisted, 'He stirs up the people all over Judea by His teaching'.” (Lk. 23:5)

It is hard to read the insistence of not just the religious leaders but the people to oppress Jesus and their determination to seek the most horrific death known at the time — i.e. crucifixion. Yes, I know that His resurrection would happen in just a few days, but to see wickedness gain the upper hand, even for just a few moments, is hard to take. And so it is with our life, during a time of injustice or pain, we find it hard to bear. Perhaps, the following poem,  "Resurrection" by Mary Ann Bernard, can help us readjust our focus at such a time like the last day of Jesus’ life on earth:

Long, long, long ago;

Way before this winter's snow

First fell upon these weathered fields;

I used to sit and watch and feel

And dream of how the spring would be,

When through the winter's stormy sea

She’d raise her green and growing head,

Her warmth would resurrect the dead.

Long before this winter’s snow

I dreamt of this day’s sunny glow

And thought somehow my pain would pass

With winter’s pain, and peace like grass

Would simply grow. The pain’s not gone.

It’s still as cold and hard and long

As lonely pain has ever been,

It cuts so deep and far within.

Long before this winter’s snow

I ran from pain, looked high and low

For some fast way to get around

Its hurt and cold. I’d have found,

If I had looked at what was there,

That things don’t follow fast or fair.

That life goes on, and times do change,

And grass does grow despite life’s pains.

Long before this winter’s snow

I thought that this day’s sunny glow,

The smiling children and growing things

And flowers bright were brought by spring.

Now, I know the sun does shine,

That children smile, and from the dark, cold, grime

A flower comes. It groans, yet sings,

And through its pain, its peace begins.

Resurrection by Mary Ann Bernard

Meditative Reflection
Gaining the World at the Expense of the Soul

“But with loud shouts, they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.” (Lk. 23:23)

The entire event of the crucifixion of Jesus unfolded like a drama, with the midnight betrayal and arrest of Jesus, followed by the religious kangaroo court. While the chief priests and the scribes could not pin any capital crime on Jesus, they went ahead anyway, presumably with a vote to hand him to Pilate to sanction their murder.

Unexpectedly, it was not an automatic sanction in the hands of Pilate who struggled in his conscience, knowing full well the innocence of Jesus and being warned by his wife with her dream (Matt. 27:19). His half-hearted attempt to drag Herod into the process did not succeed and eventually his last hope was the release of Jesus according to the custom. Alas, the crowd changed their mind ever so quickly and turned against Jesus, demanding His crucifixion. And we read, “Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate…handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mk. 15:15)

Pilate thought that washing his hands in public would excuse him of this terrible crime of murder (Matt. 27:24), but the verdict of the Bible is clear, “Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed” (Acts 4:27).

One wonders what might have happened if Pilate chose to act justly and release Jesus.

For sure, Jesus had to die somehow, in the hands of the people, to accomplish the salvation plan for the world. The release of Jesus would certainly lead to a riot, and perhaps Jesus would be executed by the mob. Pilate would probably lose his popularity with the Jews and would lose his job as the governor. As it turned out, he kept the world and lost his soul.

I was reading the letter of Franklin Graham (president of Samaritan's Purse) back in 2013 in which he shared the latest news of persecution in Mali and in Syria. I was greatly touched by how Christians and their pastors persevered under such horrific circumstances, being able to reach others with food, supplies and the gospel. One such Syrian couple who came to Christ in the midst of devastation said, “We lost our whole world, but we gained our souls.”

Meditative Reflection
Carrying the Cross of Christ

“As they led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Lk. 23:26)

I like the way Barclay depicts the scene of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Christ:

“This must have been a grim day for Simon of Cyrene. Palestine was an occupied country and any man might be impressed into the Roman service for any task. The sign of impressment was a tap on the shoulder with the flat of a Roman spear. Simon was from Cyrene in Africa. No doubt he had come from the far off land for the Passover. No doubt he had scraped and saved for many years in order to come. No doubt he was gratifying the ambition of a lifetime to eat one Passover in Jerusalem. Then this happened to him.”
(Barclay, Mark, 360)

Jesus has told us that anyone who wishes to follow Him must take up his own cross and follow Him (Lk. 14:27). But Simon did not have any intention to follow Him. He was just “passing by”, and was made to carry a cross which he considered not his. As it turned out, this was a cross he must carry for him to know and follow Christ. Many of us today are weary of the cross we carry, but we need to learn from this experience of Simon:

(1) As much as he was just passing by, it was no accident. In truth, it was not so much the Roman soldiers who drafted him for the service, it was God.

(2) At the time of carrying the cross, we, like Simon, would be very unhappy, asking, “Why me?”

(3) As it turned out, as he took the cross from Jesus, he came face to face with the Savior — what better encounter with the Lord than when we see Him face to face under His cross.

(4) Indeed, his journey that day ended at the foot of the Cross. I believe, he would have stood there, perhaps at a distance, witnessing the suffering and death of Christ, and obviously it was a life-changing event for him.

(5) Not just for him though, but for his entire family as Paul sent greetings to his family in Rome, “Greet Rufus (Simon’s son), chosen in the Lord, and his mother (Simon’s wife) who has been a mother to me, too.” (Lightfoot’s opinion of Romans 16:13 based on Mark 15:21—TICC, Romans, 793)

Looking back, perhaps Simon relished not only the opportunity of encountering Jesus, but also the opportunity of lessening the suffering of Christ. What a privilege it was to bear His cross at a time when He needed someone to share His burden most!

Next time, if you find the cross that you carry too heavy and unpleasant, remember Simon of Cyrene.

Meditative Reflection
Saved at the Last Moment

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk. 23:43)

The last-minute repentance of one the criminals on the cross has great significance to us today, as it gives us certainty that even at the last moment of one’s life, salvation can be extended to him or her if one is genuine in his or her repentance and trust in Jesus Christ.

This criminal demonstrated his genuine repentance when he said, “We are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve” (23:41):

a. He acknowledged his sin openly.

b. At the same time, he also confessed the severity of his sin.

c. He accepted the rightful consequence of his sin.

He also expressed his trust in Jesus Christ and His forgiveness when he said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom”:

d. He acknowledged Who Jesus is openly — the Messiah, the King who will come again as told by the prophets.

e. By asking to be remembered, he expressed his trust in being forgiven, even with his sinful and horrific past!

As a pastor who has had the opportunity of helping dying people confess their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at the last moment of their lives, these words of Jesus give me assurance that they are certainly saved, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

However, it is important to note that it is not their baptism (the criminal on the cross never had the chance to be baptized), but their genuine repentance and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His forgiveness that usher them into eternal life.

Meditative Reflection
Conversion of the Most Unlikely

“The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man'.” (Lk. 23:47)

In reading some of the more reliable historical materials on the Roman soldiers who happened to be stationed in the Jerusalem vicinity, I have come to understand that these soldiers were of German descent.

I am just curious about the world-wide impact of the crucifixion, even in Jesus’ time. It would have been viewed as an entirely Jewish internal affair, religious squabbles that highlighted the fanaticism of the prevailing leaders of Judaism (no different from what we have seen in today’s Islamic world). This much is what would have been noted by the Roman world, if not for the presence and the conversion of these Roman soldiers, presumably not of the centurion alone, according to Matthew 27:54.

One does not need to read up on what traditions might have to say (or speculate) on these Germans. Since they had become believers, and when they were relocated back home or to other colonies of the Roman Empire, they would lend credence to the gospel which eventually spread to the whole empire. After all, they were first-hand witnesses.

Hard-core, ruthless bullies could even be used by the Lord. But isn’t this always the way of the Lord? Some years later, a ruthless Saul with blood-stained hands would become the most important apostle who was responsible for bringing the gospel all the way to citadels of the Roman Empire.

Meditative Reflection
The Sabbath of Sabbaths

“But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Lk. 23:56)

Luke tells us that the women who followed Jesus from Galilee stood at a distance watching how Jesus was being crucified. They had to be devastated and totally broken in spirit. With tears that had yet to dry, they fearlessly followed Joseph to the tomb. As they watched His body being wrapped and looked at the tomb, their hearts were perplexed, their spirits far from settled and their hearts far from resting! But this being the Sabbath, there was nothing they could do, and so the Bible says, “they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment” (Lk. 23:56).

Yes, on the surface, they rested, but not really. I am sure this was the most restless Sabbath of their lives. As they supposedly rested in their homes, their mourning continued, with their minds recounting all that had happened in the last 7 days — the miraculous healing of Lazarus which they saw with their own eyes; the heightened expectation of the coming of the Kingdom of God; the Hosanna cries that rocked the city of Jerusalem; and then everything went downhill! Their minds were still haunted by the kangaroo court in the Sanhedrin, the humiliation suffered by Jesus in the hands of the temple guards, the priests, Herod and the Roman soldiers and the cries of the people — crucify Him, crucify Him! Finally, as a lamb in the hands of the shearers, Jesus was brutally crucified and He died! And all was over!

It was like a nightmare — sadness, anger, numbness, despairs and perhaps, even a sense of betrayal flooded their souls! What Sabbath! What rest!

But unknown to them at the time, it was in fact the greatest Sabbath in Jewish history — this was the greatest Sabbath ever, the most important Sabbath, because this was the Sabbath that ends all Sabbaths!

Sabbath was for rest, not physical rest alone. Augustine understood it well, “Our souls cannot find rest, until we rest in you!”. And thus, the true Sabbath, the true rest can only be found when the following are accomplished:

- The dark power of Satan is completely shattered.

- Sins can be totally atoned for.

- The barrier that separates us from God is completely removed.

- The deepest void in human souls is once again filled by the very presence, the very love of our Creator God!

This was the night when all this, in the words of Jesus, “is finished!” Finally, the whole world can rest!