BEHOLD THE MAN!

 

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

 

BEHOLD THE MAN!

 

John 19:1-5

19 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

 

           What do you see when you see it? As strange as that question might be it begs to be answered. Pilate could hardly understand why the Jewish leaders were so insistent on killing Jesus. He said: “Why? What evil hath he done?” Truth be told, Pilate didn’t understand much about the Jews or their land. It was a dry and inhospitable place full of strange people.

 

           Behold the Man! See what I have done. I am more powerful than your king. I have proven him to be weak and ineffective. I have made him and you to be a joke. I have given him a crown of pain and a robe of mockery. I have bound his hands that he can’t act. I have humbled him. I have done what I was sent here to do; to quell riots and to keep peace by an iron hand.

 

           Behold the Man! See what you have done. Why torture him further? Hasn’t he suffered enough? He is at the point of death. Send him on his way. He will not trouble you anymore. Why demand his life? Have you no sympathy or natural pity?

 

           Behold the Man! Does he not reveal something evil in all of us? Is he not a mirror reflecting our violence and our hatred? Is this why he must be killed? He must be taken away because we can’t run away. He condemns us just by standing here.

 

           Behold the Man! Ye who look for a savior, look to Jesus. He suffers all this for you. He was slapped in the face before Annas the priest, spat upon and beaten before Caiaphas, scourged before Pilate, and mocked by the soldiers.

 

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

 

Dear Jesus! It is hard to look upon your suffering. My heart melts inside me when I think that each blow has come from my sinful hand. Thank you, Lord, for the cleansing blood. AMEN

WHY DID JESUS CURSE TH FIG TREE?

 

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

 

WHY DID JESUS CURSE TH FIG TREE?

 

Matt 21:17-22

17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

 

           Leaving Bethany and the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Jesus finds an unproductive fig tree and curses it. His actions seem peevish, harsh, and selfish. We know there must have been some deeper reason for what Jesus did.

 

           The fig tree represents Israel [Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10,16; and Luke 13:6-9]. The tree had leaves but no fruit. Mark tells us that it was not the season for fruit “for the time of figs was not yet.” Mark 11:13. Israel had a show of spiritual life [leaves] but no real fruit.

 

Just as this tree had leaves but no fruit, so Israel had a show of religion but no practical experience of faith resulting in godly living. Jesus was not angry at the tree. Rather, He used this tree to teach several lessons to His disciples (Warren Wiersbe).  In Luke 13:6-9 the gardener is given time to work with the tree but it did not respond. It was just taking up space.

 

I think another lesson is that while the rocks stood ready to praise Jesus, the fig tree stood unprepared to satisfy the hunger of the Lord. One eagerly said yes and the other stubbornly said no. The tree cursed itself.

 

Dear Lord, let me respond to your requests and serve you with gladness. AMEN

WHEN MY FRIEND IS HURTING!

 

Monday, March 29, 2021

 

WHEN MY FRIEND IS HURTING!

 

Prov 17:17

17 A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

 

           I have been given by the Lord a keen sensitivity to the hurts of my friends. Sometimes it is a blessing and sometimes it is a bit of a curse. I am able to discern their pain even in a misspoken word or a shrug. Perhaps that is why I am a pastor.

 

           As believers we are admonished to be a shining light but a light that shines only in the daytime is not very useful. No, the light is needed in the darkness. So, my friendship may be steady during the good times, but it is especially needed in the bad. A brother is born for adversity. Consanguinity is a strange word which we do not use often in daily talk, but it simply means “blood relationship.” As believers in Christ, we are brethren of the blood.

 

           When my friend is hurting, I will usually know it because he is my friend, and we share an invisible bond. When my friend is hurting, I will feel some of his pain. I can’t explain that, but it is simply true. When my friend is hurting, I will seek ways to relieve him because when I relieve his pain, I relieve my own.

 

Prov 18:24

24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

 

Dear Lord, you have stuck by me through thick and thin. Help me to stick close to my friend. AMEN