Monthly Archives: April 2020

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – PASSING THE BUCK

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PASSING THE BUCK

“But they were vehement.’ He is stirring up unrest among the people with His teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He is a dangerous man, endangering the peace.’

“When Pilate heard that, he asked, ‘So, He’s a Galilean?’ Realising that He properly came under Herod’s jurisdiction, he passed the buck to Herod, who just happened to be in Jerusalem for a few days.” Luke 23:5-7.

How convenient for Pilate! Herod was responsible for governing Galilee. Jesus was a Galilean. Herod “happened” to be in town. Pilate must have heaved a sigh of relief. Jesus was a “hot potato” and he did not want to handle Him. Was it “Providence” that organised the circumstances to let him off the hook?

How does one go about finding reliable witnesses in a crowd of volatile people who were so stirred up by their religious leaders that any tiny spark could set the whole mob on fire?

Their accusations against Jesus were touching raw spots in Pilate’s mind. His role in Judea was to keep the peace by enforcing Rome’s domination. The Roman overlords, represented by the military, did whatever was necessary to suppress rebellion by oppressing the people. The gospels give hints of Roman cruelty even at the instigation of Pilate. On one occasion he ordered the murder of worshipers in the temple. Any sign of insurrection was ruthlessly crushed. Jewish blood flowed for very little reason and yet, Pilate was reluctant to deal with Jesus.

What was it about the man that caused him to hesitate to pronounce Him guilty and pass the death sentence to appease the Jewish leaders? One more dead Jew would be one less troublemaker for him. But somehow he couldn’t do it because of the man!

He had never had a prisoner like Jesus. Every time he looked at Him, he felt guilt overwhelming him. The man’s eyes bored into him like a laser beam, exposing the deepest secrets of his heart, and yet he felt, not condemned but loved. How was it possible for a “rabble-rouser” to arouse such mixed emotions in him? He was drawn and repelled at the same time. He wanted to love Him in return but he was supposed to be indifferent, just there to do a job.

It was a relief to have Herod in Jerusalem as a back-up. Let him handle Jesus. After all, He was his responsibility because He was a Galilean. And so Pilate hoped that his brief encounter with this man would end and be forgotten.

Would Pilate be able to shake Jesus off that easily? He did not know that he had been brought face-to-face with the man who would one day be his judge. Destiny had caused their paths to cross for one brief moment but, unknown to him; it was a dress rehearsal for a much greater encounter in the future. Passing the buck seemed a simple solution to his dilemma but he was to learn that he could not evade his responsibility then, just as he would not evade his accountability on Judgment Day.

That was not only Pilate’s moment. It will be ours as well. “Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV).

To those who have recognised who He is and have willingly given Him the reins, His coming will be the most joyous occasion ever. For those who tried to get rid of Him, there will be the inevitable consequences of their rejection. This is not a threat to garner supporters. This is the sober truth that warns of the outcome of cutting ties with our Creator and trying to establish our own rebellious rule.

We have to learn, like Pilate, that we cannot pass the buck. Accountability is inevitable. There is no such thing as all religions worshiping the same God; all roads do not lead to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There cannot be more than one Lord, and God has declared that the title belongs to Him alone. Jesus is Lord and to Him every knee will bow!

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – CONSIDER YOUR VERDICT

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CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CONSIDER YOUR VERDICT

“Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against Him. ‘We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting Himself up as Messiah-king.’

“Pilate asked Him, ‘Is this true that you’re ‘King of the Jews’?’

“‘These are your words, not mine,’ Jesus replied.

“Pilate told the high priests and accompanying crowd, ‘I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me.'” Luke 23:1-4.

Pilate had no idea, when he opened his eyes that morning, that for him it was judgment day. A routine day, a few more Jewish prisoners to sentence; he’d done it all before. It was an unpleasant part of his role as governor and he did it with indifference. Judah had always been a troublesome province and he was quite glad to sentence a few more rabble-rousers to death.

But this man seemed different. He didn’t have the same insolent attitude. His face wore an expression of serenity, an eerie calm that disturbed him. There was none of the bravado that aroused his rage and gave him a feeling of sadistic pleasure to see condemned prisoners walking towards the execution site, backs bent under the heavy load of the crossbeam.

The mob that crowded the courtyard was in ferment. Led by the high priests, they were yelling out the charge, ‘Treason! He calls Himself ‘King of the Jews’! He’s inciting rebellion!’

Pilate looked at Jesus. Flanked by two soldiers, hands tied so tightly behind his back that dried blood stained His wrists and hands, He stood unmoved, looking steadily into his eyes, almost challenging him to consider his own verdict. ‘Pilate, you decide whether I am guilty or not guilty.’

Just as the Jewish leaders were put on trial that day, so was Pilate. He was a man to be most pitied. He had an unpleasant job to do in Jerusalem. It was Passover and the city was filled with volatile Jews from all over Israel. Although the Jewish leaders had not planned it this way to avoid a riot, Jesus had inadvertently fallen into their hands at this inopportune time through the conniving of Judas.

But it was the Father’s time. Jesus had to fulfil the role of Passover lamb, to be sacrificed for the sin of the world at the precise moment when the high priest spilt the blood of the first lamb in Jerusalem.

Pilate still had to face his own responsibility in this drama. He had the final say regarding Jesus’ guilt or innocence. He alone decided whether He lived or died. His honest verdict, even after a perfunctory examination of the prisoner was, ‘Not guilty.’ It was glaringly obvious that the charges against Jesus were trumped up.

“Is it true that you are the King of the Jews?” In answer to Pilate’s question and in true “Jesus” fashion, Jesus turned the question back on Pilate. ‘It’s not my responsibility to tell you. It’s your responsibility to make your own decision. On that rests your own fate.’ Pilate’s verdict was ‘not guilty’, but that was not the end of the story. The deciding factor would be what he would do about it.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHO WAS ON TRIAL?

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WHO WAS ON TRIAL?

“When it was morning, the religious leaders of the people and the high priests and scholars all got together and brought Him before their High Council. They said, ‘Are you the Messiah?’

“He answered, ‘If I said yes, you wouldn’t believe me. If I asked you what you meant by your question, you wouldn’t answer me. So here’s what I have to say: From here on the Son of Man takes His place at God’s right hand, the place of power.’

“They all said, ‘So you admit your claim to be the Son of God?’

‘”You’re the ones who keep saying it,’ He said.

“But they had made up their minds. ‘Why do we need any more evidence? We’ve all heard Him as good as say it Himself.’ Luke 22:66-71.

This has to be the strangest court case in history! Jesus was the prisoner and yet His subtle answer to their question and their attempt to force Him into incriminating Himself, exposed their guilt, not His. Their charge, punishable by death according to their religious law, was blasphemy. For them, His guilt was cut and dried, if they could get Him to make a confession. ‘If you are claiming to be the Son of God, say it.’

The only witnesses they could produce contradicted one another and, according to Mark’s account, brought an accusation so feeble that their testimony was dismissed. All they could bank on was that Jesus would admit guilt to their charge by His own confession.

His counter charge was: ‘If I am not the Son of God, prove it.’ As the members of the High Council, it was their duty to uphold justice and to do this, they had to provide evidence to support their charge, but they could not even produce at least two reliable witnesses.

Jesus turned the tables on them by His reply to their question. ‘If I said yes, you would not believe me. If I asked what you meant by your question, you would not answer me.’  He dug underneath their hypocritical “justice”, exposed their motive and revealed their wicked hearts. They were not after the truth. They were after an excuse to condemn Him.

Instead of giving them a direct answer, He made a statement which they were forced to weigh up for themselves. Their response would be the verdict on themselves, guilty or not guilty. Their refusal to drop the case drove them deeper into guilt and His resurrection three days later finally sealed their doom.   

Once before, they were caught in the same dilemma when they came to Him with a trick question, ‘Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?’  His answer took them by surprise. They were expecting Him to get Himself into trouble either with Jewish or Roman authorities. Instead, He put them in their place by reminding them of both their civil and religious responsibilities. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” Luke 20:25b (NIV).

Motive and responsibility – Jesus was big on both these issues. Why we do things is just as important as what we do. Taking responsibility for what we do and why we do what we do is the essence of maturity. Adam and Eve tried to play the “blame game” but it did not work with God. Man has been doing the same thing ever since and it still doesn’t work.

Even though Jesus was found guilty, condemned and crucified, He was the judge in the end, and His accusers the condemned. Yes, Jesus was guilty as charged, guilty of being who He said He was, the Christ, the Son of the living God, and He not only claimed it, He proved it by rising from the dead.

Those who tried and condemned Him were the guilty ones, guilty of prejudice, injustice and treason because they betrayed the God they claimed to serve and condemned to death the Son of God because they refused to recognise and believe in Him.

THE GOSPEL OFLUKE – HUMANITY ON DISPLAY

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HUMANITY ON DISPLAY

“The men in charge of Jesus began poking fun at Him, slapping Him around. They put a blindfold on Him and taunted, ‘Who hit you that time?’ They were having a grand time with Him.” Luke 22:63-65.

The arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus put humanity on display like no other event in history. For a few hours, men had God in their power, so they thought, and they showed Him exactly what they thought of Him. They were unaware that He had purposely given Himself over to them so that they could show their true colours.

Every level and category of human being was represented there, from the highest civil and religious authority in the land to the ordinary people; they all had a hand in exposing the depth of wickedness in the human heart.

Judas, a close and trusted follower, set the ball rolling. He treacherously sold Jesus out to His enemies by leading the soldiers and temple police, sent by the religious leaders, to arrest Him at His favourite spot in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The disciples’ loyalty to their Master was paper-thin. When the chips were down, they fled to save themselves and Peter denied that he even knew Him. They forget everything He ever taught them and all their protests that they loved Him, and left Him to suffer alone.

The religious leaders harboured a grudge against Him because He clashed with their greed and power over the people, cloaked in religion. They hated Him for His goodness; they used their position to manipulate the justice system for their own ends and to force Pilate to sentence Him to death.

The Sanhedrin, the highest judicial court of the land, was made up of the Chief Priests, Caiaphas and his father-in-law, Annas, and the religious hierarchy. Of all the people in Israel, they should have had the strictest code of justice. Jesus’ trial was such a mockery of justice that it made Pilate look like a saint.

They had tried and sentenced Him before His arrest. It was their intention to find Him guilty, no matter what, and to kill Him even If He were innocent, not because He was a dangerous criminal but because they hated Him. They were even prepared to let a rabble-rousing murderer by the name of Barabbas loose on society again, rather than release Jesus.

The ordinary people were so fickle that they switched from celebrating His arrival on a donkey the week before to becoming a menacing mob, supporting their religious leaders and baying for Jesus’ blood so forcefully that Pilate gave in to prevent a riot and to save his own skin.

King Herod tried to turn Jesus into an entertainer, taunting Him into doing miracles to tickle his fancy. When Jesus refused to capitulate, he became nasty, using his own royal robe to mock and insult Him. He discarded Jesus with contempt, sending Him back to Pilate to do as he pleased with Him.

The soldiers callously played with Jesus like a cat plays with a mouse. They tortured and tormented Him with words and cruelty to try to get a response out of Him. His calm and submissive demeanour enraged them so much that they “lost it” with Him but they could not bend Him to retaliate to their vicious behaviour. These men had nothing personal against Jesus. They simply joined in the fight and made it their own.

Against the backdrop of the worst of human prejudice, Jesus was unmoved. He was serene, polite and gentle. When the women bewailed His fate on His way to the cross, He dismissed His own suffering by warning them of theirs. He submitted to the nails; he spoke welcoming words to the repentant thief by His side and He forgave His tormentors.

It is no wonder that the Roman centurion who had observed many crucifixions, burst out, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

“When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2;23-24 (NIV).

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE- THE ROOSTER PULLED THE TRIGGER

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THE ROOSTER PULLED THE TRIGGER

“Arresting Jesus, they marched Him off and took Him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter followed, but at a safe distance. In the middle of the courtyard some people had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. One of the serving maids…noticed him…and said, ‘This man was with Him.’

“He denied it, ‘Woman, I don’t even know Him.’

“A short time later someone else noticed him and said, ‘You’re one of them.’

But Peter denied it, ‘Man, I am not.’

“About an hour later someone else spoke up, really adamant: ‘He’s got to have been with Him! He’s got “Galilean” written all over him.’

“Peter said, ‘Man I don’t know what you are talking about.’ At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just them, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him…He went out and cried and cried and cried.” Luke 22:54-62.

Would Peter ever forget that night? Every time a rooster crowed, for the rest of his life he would remember.

I guess that many thousands of sermons have been preached on this passage of Scripture over the centuries, mostly focusing on Peter’s denial and Jesus’ forgiveness. After all, it’s a message of grace that everyone needs to hear.

But God’s grace comes to us in many different ways. Sometimes we identify God’s grace as His direct intervention in our lives; miraculous healing, forgiveness, times when we cope when we have no strength of our own.

At that moment in Peter’s life, I am sure he would like to have killed that rooster because it triggered a memory that brought him to utter despair. What if Jesus had not warned him in advance that it would happen? Would the sound of the crowing rooster have had as much impact on him as it did? Probably not.

He would have felt bad about denying Jesus but, because of the warning, every time he heard the rooster, he would also have heard his own retort at Jesus’ warning, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to jail and to death.’ It was not Jesus’ words that haunted him as much as his own.

Peter did not know himself. He had no idea of his weak and cowardly heart until the crowing rooster pulled the trigger! He had a long journey ahead and a lot of growing to do before he could say those same words and mean them.

The rooster was only being a rooster but, for Peter, his voice was a forceful reminder of his fallible humanity and his need for God’s grace because he could not do it on his own. It was his failure that caused him to be aware of his constant need of God and caused him to rest in the power of Jesus to give him strength to stand under testing.

Peter could not have penned the words in his letter to believers under pressure had he not experienced what he did on that terrible night. Only tested faith can come out pure, like gold that has gone through fire. Had Peter not fallen that night, he could have claimed victory through his own will-power, but his crash was the best thing that ever happened to him.

The sound of the crowing rooster was a trigger, not of failure and despair but of hope, a reminder of God’s grace that forgives, restores and gives another chance to those who discover, through experience, how weak they really are, and who learn to rest in the strength that God supplies.