July 03, 2012
The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus. They surrounded Him and belittled the "king" by putting a red robe on Him; giving Him a crown (of thorns); and giving Him a staff (just a stick); making Him a "pretend" king. They bowed down in front of Him and made fun of Him by saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." They spit on Him and took His stick and beat Him on the head. Remember, the Jews were under the control of the Romans at this time. They had great fun mocking the idea of a Jew, this lowly man, being a king.
When they were done with their fun and games, they took the robe back off of Jesus and put His own clothes back on Him and then led Him off to be crucified. They hung Him on a cross with a sign above Him that said, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." They threw lots to decide who would get His clothes as a souvenir of the event. Then they sat down and watched the dying process. The people walking by also insulted Jesus, shaking their heads and thinking what a fool this man was for saying He could rebuild the temple in three days. The leading priests (Sadducees), the teachers of the law (Pharisees) and older Jewish leaders were also making fun of Jesus. They said, "He saved others but he can't save himself. He says he is king... if he is king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe him. He trusts in God, so let God save him now, if God really wants him." (Matthew 27:42-43) Even the robbers on either side insulted Him.
And Jesus bore it all. He bore the shame, the pain, the ridicule, the contempt, and the humiliation. He bore yours and my sin. He bore the rejection of God and the separation from God's presence. He bore it all—alone—for you and me.
The sky grew dark for three hours. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you rejected me." (Matthew 27:46) He cried out again—and died. When Jesus died there was movement in the Temple that God designed and Solomon built. The curtain, which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, tore in half from the top to the bottom. There was no longer a separation between man and God. There would never again be the need for a priest to go to God on our behalf. Jesus paid the price as a lamb for our sins and we can go directly to Him ourselves. Then the earth shook and rocks broke apart. The ground opened up. Many of God's people who had died were raised from the dead and went into the holy city where many people saw them. When those men who were guarding Jesus (the same ones who moments before were ridiculing Him) saw what was happening they became very frightened and said, "He really was the Son of God."
Jesus was taken down from the cross. His body was given to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph had traveled to Jerusalem to ask for Jesus' body. He was a follower of Jesus and he wanted him to be buried properly. He took the body and wrapped it in clean linen cloth and put Jesus' body in a new tomb which he had cut out of a wall of rock. Then he rolled a large stone over the entrance. What love. Jesus had obviously made a huge impression on his life. This man couldn't prevent the death of Jesus, but he could lovingly and respectfully care for Jesus' body after His death. He gave his money and time—he gave himself—to make sure his Lord's body was properly taken care of.
The next day the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate with a request. They said, "Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, 'after three days I will rise from the dead', so give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. Otherwise, His followers might come and steal the body and tell people that He had risen from the dead. That lie would be even worse than the first one." (Matthew 27:63–64) They were threatened by Jesus while He was alive and they were still threatened by Him after His death. They couldn't let it go, still calling Him a liar and still afraid of Him, even after His death.
I don't think they were just afraid of his followers "saying" he was raised from the dead, I think they were afraid he actually would. What would be the harm if His followers only "said" He arose? Well, one thing would be that Jesus (even if He was still dead) would gain honor and glory and they didn't want that! It was envy and jealousy that drove them to kill Him. They most certainly didn't want Him to have notoriety in His death. But it was more than that. They were afraid of the truth. They were fearful of Him coming back to life and they were thinking, "We can't let that happen!! Guard the tomb." We can't let it happen, and we can't let people think it happened. Consumed by fear, anger, envy, jealousy, and revenge.
So Pilate ordered the tomb to be sealed and guarded.
The next chapter will talk about the stone being rolled away. Jesus didn't need the stone removed in order to get out. The stone was removed so man could see in.
And now—Judas. Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus and turned Him over to the Jewish leaders, but when he saw they were going to kill Him he was sorry for what he had done. Just what had he thought would happen? Did he really think turning Jesus over to people who hated Him wasn't going to result in Jesus' harm? He tried to give the thirty silver coins back saying, "I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man." But the Jewish leaders didn't care, they already had what they wanted. "What is that to us? That is your problem, not ours." So Judas took the money and threw it into the Temple. Then he went off and hung himself.
Judas thought he could do what his selfish, envious self wanted to do and that he could control the consequences, but he found out he couldn't. It is the same today. Many people abuse God's Grace; thinking they can follow their own paths; take matters into their own hands; do what they want to do (even if it goes against God's written Word); and they will still be able to be in control and manage the consequences because after all, God is a God of Love and Grace. It doesn't work that way. When we choose to reject HIS ways and instead insist on following our own ways, we immediately forfeit any control over the consequences we will face for the decisions we've made. BUT! When we raise the white flag and surrender ALL, we gain the freedom of knowing that God is in control; that He has only what is best for us planned; and that no matter what comes our way, we are safely tucked in the palm of His hand.
I surrender my ways and choose instead HIS ways.
And what happened to the blood money Judas threw into the Temple? Well, the righteous and upstanding (said very sarcastically) leading priests picked up the coins and said, "Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because it has paid for a man's death." They had no problem making the arrangements for killing the "man" but they made a self-righteous point of not keeping the money used to buy His death. They followed the laws they wanted to follow so they could feel good about being "religious." They took the money (literally blood money) and bought Potter's Field—a place to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem. It is literally called "The Field of Blood" fulfilling what Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 32:6–9 and what Zechariah said in Zechariah 11:12–13. "They took thirty silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. They used those thirty silver coins to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
Blood money—spent on the Potter's Field.
"Have thy own way Lord, have thine own way. Thou are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after they will. While I am waiting yielded and still..." (Have Thy Own Way Lord)
Addendum: 8/23/16 ~ Have you ever noticed when someone is motivated by the wrong motives (i.e. fear, anger, envy, greed, jealousy, and revenge) that what they think will bring them control and satisfaction ends up never being enough? NEVER. There always has to be "more." More need to be in control, more ways to humiliate, more revenge, more money, more—always more—which inevitably leads to more fear, more envy, more greed, etc. and the vicious circle continues.
Next Entry: Matthew 28:1–20
The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus. They surrounded Him and belittled the "king" by putting a red robe on Him; giving Him a crown (of thorns); and giving Him a staff (just a stick); making Him a "pretend" king. They bowed down in front of Him and made fun of Him by saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." They spit on Him and took His stick and beat Him on the head. Remember, the Jews were under the control of the Romans at this time. They had great fun mocking the idea of a Jew, this lowly man, being a king.
When they were done with their fun and games, they took the robe back off of Jesus and put His own clothes back on Him and then led Him off to be crucified. They hung Him on a cross with a sign above Him that said, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." They threw lots to decide who would get His clothes as a souvenir of the event. Then they sat down and watched the dying process. The people walking by also insulted Jesus, shaking their heads and thinking what a fool this man was for saying He could rebuild the temple in three days. The leading priests (Sadducees), the teachers of the law (Pharisees) and older Jewish leaders were also making fun of Jesus. They said, "He saved others but he can't save himself. He says he is king... if he is king, let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe him. He trusts in God, so let God save him now, if God really wants him." (Matthew 27:42-43) Even the robbers on either side insulted Him.
And Jesus bore it all. He bore the shame, the pain, the ridicule, the contempt, and the humiliation. He bore yours and my sin. He bore the rejection of God and the separation from God's presence. He bore it all—alone—for you and me.
The sky grew dark for three hours. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you rejected me." (Matthew 27:46) He cried out again—and died. When Jesus died there was movement in the Temple that God designed and Solomon built. The curtain, which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, tore in half from the top to the bottom. There was no longer a separation between man and God. There would never again be the need for a priest to go to God on our behalf. Jesus paid the price as a lamb for our sins and we can go directly to Him ourselves. Then the earth shook and rocks broke apart. The ground opened up. Many of God's people who had died were raised from the dead and went into the holy city where many people saw them. When those men who were guarding Jesus (the same ones who moments before were ridiculing Him) saw what was happening they became very frightened and said, "He really was the Son of God."
Jesus was taken down from the cross. His body was given to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph had traveled to Jerusalem to ask for Jesus' body. He was a follower of Jesus and he wanted him to be buried properly. He took the body and wrapped it in clean linen cloth and put Jesus' body in a new tomb which he had cut out of a wall of rock. Then he rolled a large stone over the entrance. What love. Jesus had obviously made a huge impression on his life. This man couldn't prevent the death of Jesus, but he could lovingly and respectfully care for Jesus' body after His death. He gave his money and time—he gave himself—to make sure his Lord's body was properly taken care of.
The next day the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate with a request. They said, "Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, 'after three days I will rise from the dead', so give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. Otherwise, His followers might come and steal the body and tell people that He had risen from the dead. That lie would be even worse than the first one." (Matthew 27:63–64) They were threatened by Jesus while He was alive and they were still threatened by Him after His death. They couldn't let it go, still calling Him a liar and still afraid of Him, even after His death.
I don't think they were just afraid of his followers "saying" he was raised from the dead, I think they were afraid he actually would. What would be the harm if His followers only "said" He arose? Well, one thing would be that Jesus (even if He was still dead) would gain honor and glory and they didn't want that! It was envy and jealousy that drove them to kill Him. They most certainly didn't want Him to have notoriety in His death. But it was more than that. They were afraid of the truth. They were fearful of Him coming back to life and they were thinking, "We can't let that happen!! Guard the tomb." We can't let it happen, and we can't let people think it happened. Consumed by fear, anger, envy, jealousy, and revenge.
So Pilate ordered the tomb to be sealed and guarded.
The next chapter will talk about the stone being rolled away. Jesus didn't need the stone removed in order to get out. The stone was removed so man could see in.
And now—Judas. Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus and turned Him over to the Jewish leaders, but when he saw they were going to kill Him he was sorry for what he had done. Just what had he thought would happen? Did he really think turning Jesus over to people who hated Him wasn't going to result in Jesus' harm? He tried to give the thirty silver coins back saying, "I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man." But the Jewish leaders didn't care, they already had what they wanted. "What is that to us? That is your problem, not ours." So Judas took the money and threw it into the Temple. Then he went off and hung himself.
Judas thought he could do what his selfish, envious self wanted to do and that he could control the consequences, but he found out he couldn't. It is the same today. Many people abuse God's Grace; thinking they can follow their own paths; take matters into their own hands; do what they want to do (even if it goes against God's written Word); and they will still be able to be in control and manage the consequences because after all, God is a God of Love and Grace. It doesn't work that way. When we choose to reject HIS ways and instead insist on following our own ways, we immediately forfeit any control over the consequences we will face for the decisions we've made. BUT! When we raise the white flag and surrender ALL, we gain the freedom of knowing that God is in control; that He has only what is best for us planned; and that no matter what comes our way, we are safely tucked in the palm of His hand.
I surrender my ways and choose instead HIS ways.
And what happened to the blood money Judas threw into the Temple? Well, the righteous and upstanding (said very sarcastically) leading priests picked up the coins and said, "Our law does not allow us to keep this money with the Temple money, because it has paid for a man's death." They had no problem making the arrangements for killing the "man" but they made a self-righteous point of not keeping the money used to buy His death. They followed the laws they wanted to follow so they could feel good about being "religious." They took the money (literally blood money) and bought Potter's Field—a place to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem. It is literally called "The Field of Blood" fulfilling what Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 32:6–9 and what Zechariah said in Zechariah 11:12–13. "They took thirty silver coins. That is how little the Israelites thought he was worth. They used those thirty silver coins to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."
Blood money—spent on the Potter's Field.
"Have thy own way Lord, have thine own way. Thou are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after they will. While I am waiting yielded and still..." (Have Thy Own Way Lord)
Addendum: 8/23/16 ~ Have you ever noticed when someone is motivated by the wrong motives (i.e. fear, anger, envy, greed, jealousy, and revenge) that what they think will bring them control and satisfaction ends up never being enough? NEVER. There always has to be "more." More need to be in control, more ways to humiliate, more revenge, more money, more—always more—which inevitably leads to more fear, more envy, more greed, etc. and the vicious circle continues.
Next Entry: Matthew 28:1–20
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