relationships (Matthew 27:11-24) Love That Is Reasonable

(Matthew 27:11-66)

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not offer any answer. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” 14 And still He did not answer him in regard to even a single charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

15 Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was because of envy that they had handed Him over.

19 And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. 21 And the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” 23 But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

24 Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you yourselves shall see.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Jesus only confirmed the truth, that He was (and is) the King of the Jews, but He refused to give any answer to all of the false allegations, even though in that court, a defendant who offered no defense was normally convicted by default.  Jesus knew everything that was going to happen, and knew that it all had to, in order to accomplish His work on the cross, to pay for all sins, for all people, of all time.  Everything He did was out of His great love for all people, and His desire to have a personal relationship with each and everyone of us.  Anyone who repents and believes in Him, will receive eternal life and His indwelling Holy Spirit, who will change us from the inside out, to have spiritual peace, joy and hope, and help us understand His truth and His will.

Satan and his realm, on the other hand, desires to distort, deceive, divide and destroy, and his path only leads to eternal death and punishment.  Satan will do whatever he can to keep people away from the Lord, which includes inciting people towards having "Jesus-derangement-syndrome".  We can see how easy it is to rile up people and create a mob mentality, even in our own society today, where good is "suddenly" seen as bad, and bad is good, and violence is only amping up.

The governor, Pilate, was not a believer, but was an astute politician.  While representing Rome and needing to adhere to their laws, governors had to manage different regions without enabling angry mobs which could rise up and become problems.  Therefore, the governors typically respected the surrounding customs.  Interestingly enough, and probably because he was able to remain more objective, Pilate could see that Jesus was completely innocent and righteous.  By offering up one of the most nefarious criminals to be released, he was hoping that the people would be reasonable, and ask that Jesus be released instead.  But in frenetic events and times, people will become unreasonable.

When and if we ever find ourselves hating someone or hating a specific group of people, we better stop and pray through this.  If there is actual proof of any wrongdoing, we are to hate the words and actions, but not the person.  God tells us to forgive our enemies and love them.  If forgiving them is difficult, ask God to forgive them for you.  

If there isn't any proof of any wrongdoing, that means we have been led to believe in the lies, and we need to confess.  If we have hurt anyone along the way, we will have to apologize to them.  And we will have to forgive those who have been spreading the lies and inciting people to anger and hatred.  Let's beware, so that we do not get caught up in a movement which goes against our Lord and Savior.

The closer we grow in our relationship with Jesus, the more we will know Him.  And the more we know Him, the less likely we will become deceived.  The Lord loves us and has a much better way for us to live.  No matter what is happening to us or around us, God has a purpose for us.  So, as we strive in our obedience, with Him leading the way and equipping us with His love, strength and wisdom, we will experience His spiritual peace, joy, hope and blessings.

relationships (Matthew 27:1-10) Combating Suicide with Certain Hope

(Matthew 27:1-10)

1 Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; 2 and they bound Him and led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left; and he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” 7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. 8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; 10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, just as the Lord directed me.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

This is a very heavy topic, and I'm fairly certainly that most of us have struggled with some form of depression that came with suicidal thoughts.  Even as believers, this is very possible.  But there is hope.  Before we continue on with what God wants for our lives, lets look at what was going on with Judas Iscariot.  

We see here that Judas felt remorse, but he never repented of his sins.  Even the Pharisees didn't know the way to salvation, because all they knew was religion, which is made up of empty do's and don't, done in one's own strength and wisdom.  So, they told Judas to go, see to it for himself.  Judas had tried to undo his great sin by simply returning the money he received to betray Jesus.  That didn't work.  It never would have.  He still felt the weight of his guilt, which would have been very, very heavy.  Feeling like there wasn't any way to live with that, or deal with it, he hung himself.  He did to himself what he deserved.

We know Judas Iscariot never became a believer.  Remember, in God's love, God will never force anyone to love Him back, and will never force anyone to be obedient.  We see that Judas Iscariot made his own choice, even though he had so many opportunities.  This fact is covered in the following verse, where the disciples are asking the Lord who should be the one to replace Judas as a disciple (apostle).

(Acts 1:24-25)  And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

Once someone becomes a believer, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, so no matter what we do or don't do, we cannot lose our salvation.  Well, even though Jesus called Judas Iscariot to be a disciple, obviously, Judas rejected the Lord and His calling.  Judas is called the "son of destruction" (some versions use "perdition"), which means a physical, spiritual or eternal ruin or loss; with pernicious ways that lead to a perishing waste, death and damnation, which consists of eternal misery in hell.

(John 17:12)  While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

Being omniscient, Jesus always knew all of this, and still allowed it to happen, because In His love, He has given everyone a free will.  As well, Jesus allowed it to happen, and used this action of evil intent, to bring about His will.  The Lord's plan was always to come to earth in flesh to accomplish His work on the cross, to die in our place, even for those who ultimately reject Him and His invitation to accept His free gift of salvation.  

Even though Judas Iscariot was a disciple, right there, working and living beside Jesus Christ Himself, he never realized the value of having a personal relationship with the Lord.  Judas was only ever going through the motions for those three years.  To us who know and love Jesus, this would seem so very strange, but throughout all the ages, there are those who see being a spiritual leader of some sort, as just some form of occupation.  In fact, some would see this as an "easy" occupation, especially if they have the power and position to take advantage of desperate people who are seeking answers for their lives.  Just tell them whatever they want to hear, and they will love you - the spiritual leader, that is.  

Psychologically, that is how it works.. Spiritually, this is NOT how it works.  Spiritual leaders of God's Church are to be actual believers, practicing what they preach, and humbly pointing others towards the Lord God!  We are sinners who deserve death and are destined to death, unless we humbly go to the Lord, repent of our sins and accept His free gift of forgiveness, eternal life and certain hope.

Never think that you are beyond saving!  Even Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus had not been beyond saving.  He just chose not to accept the Lord's calling and invitation.  Apostle Paul had also committed horrible acts of betrayal.  As a Pharisee, first known as Saul, he was on the war path to destroy God's Church, and have as many Christians killed as possible.  But, when Jesus met him on the road, and called him and invited him to receive His salvation, he accepted.  Paul was the one to replace Judas as the twelfth disciple (Apostle)!

Only Jesus can save us, because He with His own life - paid the ransom for our lives.  And in His grace, we cannot lose our salvation, even if we committed suicide.  But understand, He cares for us immensely, and wants the best for us.  God has a plan and a purpose for us and our life.  He desires to use us in mighty ways, in His will.  So when and as we work and live alongside Him, in His strength and wisdom, we will experience His certain hope, joy and peace.

relationships (Matthew 26:69-75) Staying Near

(Matthew 26:69-75)

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a slave woman came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” 71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another slave woman saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 And again he denied it, with an oath: “I do not know the man.” 73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them as well, since even the way you talk gives you away.” 74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the Man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the statement that Jesus had made: “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Peter's bitter weeping was more than just about denying the Lord three times, lying and making false oaths.  Remember, he had promised Jesus that he would NEVER deny Him, even if it meant that he had to die with Jesus!   And probably because he thought he might be able to do something to help Jesus, he followed after.  

One problem with striking out on our own, in our own thinking and strength, is that as believers we will still stick out as being different.  This is when the temptation will arise to "blend in more", which will lead towards compromising the very things we should be holding dear.  And with this, we will see the biblical truth play out...

(Proverbs 16:18)  Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.

That is the problem.  So what is the solution?  How do we prevent this from happening?  I mean, quite simply, never promise that we will never disobey God.  And never promise that we will never hurt a loved one.  We will.  The closer we are to someone, the more likely we will hurt them in some way.  But we can certainly minimalize the collateral damages, and that involves far more than just saying, "I will TRY to obey God", and "I will TRY to never hurt a loved one."

Let's keep in mind that there is a spiritual battle that wages war in our world, as well as in our flesh.  So we need to always bring out "the big guns":

• stay close to the Lord, and always continue drawing closer and closer to Him in our personal relationship
• in this case, even though Peter had followed after Jesus to stay near Him physically, we have to know that our walk with the Lord is spiritual.  
• it is not about do's and don'ts or physically appearances, but about the condition of our heart and our relationship with Jesus
• study and know God's word
• just like Peter, hearing the truths of the Lord is not enough
• it is about us allowing the Lord and His word to change us from the inside out, so that we are able to apply His truths appropriately
• talk to the Lord constantly, for everything, asking Him for His wisdom, strength and guidance
• remember, even though Jesus had been telling the disciples that He would be crucified soon, Peter had neglected to ask the Lord what they should do when all of that would happen
• instead of telling the Lord what we will do for Him and asking Him to bless our efforts, we should be asking Him what He wants us to do, and in this we know that He will equip, help and bless us
• be in the world, not of the world
• Peter went to hang out with the unbelievers, most likely, truly thinking that he had everything under control.  Remember, leading up to this, instead of being in prayer with Jesus, he went to sleep
• anytime and especially when we go out into the world, we can be and should be asking the Lord for His help and guidance, to know which locations and which people to avoid, and to know where we should be and to whom we should be speaking to
• then, wherever we find ourselves, we can should be asking the Lord for His help and guidance, so that we can remain steadfastly Christ-like, ready to share the gospel as He gives us opportunities