Follow Your Convictions

Luke 23:13-25

During Jesus trials before His death Herod sent Him back to Pilate. It is apparent that Pilate found no reason to pronounce a death sentence for Jesus. His wife had warned him not to do that and it appears he also had personal convictions that he should not grant the wishes of the Jewish community.

At first he tried to convince the crowd they were wrong. They argued with him and he gave in to them. He went along with the crowd. From extra Biblical history we learn that because Pilate sacrificed his conscience for the will of the people he was recalled from his position and disgraced.

The primary lesson we should learn from this passage is that as we study God’s Word and allow the Spirit to develop convictions in our hearts and minds we should be careful to be faithful to those convictions. It is much easier to go along with the crowd as Pilate did but the consequences are often similar to Pilate’s fate. We lose our testimony and are ineffective in our lives.

There is tremendous pressure in the world to "go along to get along". The culture around us presses hard for us to live like everyone else. But as Christians we are called to be different. Jesus said in John 17:16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Paul exhorts Christians in Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world…" One of the ways we share the testimony of our relationship with Jesus Christ is by being different than the world. People see that difference; the peace and contentment we have and desire that for themselves. Often because we are different we are given the opportunity to verbally share our faith. We should be bold in doing that.

I’m sure you feel much pressure to conform to the world and to go along with the world. I encourage you to stay true to your convictions.

Jesus Defense – Silence

Luke 23:8-12

Reading this passage we step into the midst of Jesus trial before His crucifixion. He had been before Pilate who found no guilt in Him. Pilate recognized Jesus was not guilty of the charges the Chief Priests and scribes were bringing against Him and we know from other passages had been warned by his wife to be cautious in his judgment. When he learned that Jesus was a Galilean and under the jurisdiction of Herod he sent Him to Herod (v.7).

Herod was glad that Pilate did this because he had heard about Jesus and the miracles He performed. He was anxious to be entertained by Jesus’ performance of other miracles. It is interesting to me that when Jesus faced Herod He remained silent. This is the only occurrence I know of when Jesus had nothing to say; he remained completely silent. As He faced detractors in the past, He responded to their questions and allowed them and others around them to see their error. Herod apparently questioned Jesus intently (v. 9) but Jesus would not even dignify His questions with an answer. He just stood there.

As I read this verse I’m reminded of Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before His shearers, so He did not open His mouth."

It is evident that as the passage in Luke says Herod and his soldiers were treating Him with contempt and mocking Him. As Jesus stood there He was literally fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 53.

It is very difficult when we are ridiculed for our faith to remain silent. However in that situation it is often best to do that. I don’t think that we gain anything by arguing about our faith. We should share the gospel but when it is clear that someone just wants to argue with us the best course of action is to walk away and pray for that individual. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare that person to hear what you have to say. We also should keep in mind when we face persecution for our faith, the individual is really persecuting our Savior more than us.

Silence is difficult, but at times it is best.

The Lord’s Supper

Luke 22:14-20

This passage reveals the institution of the Lord’s supper or communion which we, as Christians, are instructed to practice regularly. I fear many Christians don’t understand the significance of communion, but participate as a habit.

Christ says in v. 15 “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. He had participated in the Passover all of His physical life. Why was this one more important than others? Because He knows it is to be followed with the fulfillment of His mission on earth, giving His life and shedding His blood for the remission of our sins. Then He will be raised and join His Father in heaven.

As He was sharing this time with the disciples He instructed them “do this in remembrance of Me.” Paul tells us in I Cor. 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” These two statements form the basis of our regular participation in the ordinance of communion.

It is not to be a rote process for us. We are to be reminded afresh each time we take the communion of the fact that Jesus body was broken for us as He paid the price for our sins. I’m often reminded of Isaiah 53 as I participate in this part of the communion service and would encourage you to reflect on the suffering Jesus encountered on the cross. As I reflect on Christ’s shed blood I think of passages such as Luke 22:39-44 (the Garden of Gethsemane), Rom. 3:23-26 (Christ’s blood a propitiation for our sins), Rom. 5:19-21 (“as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”) and Hebrews 9:11-12, 22 (Christ as our high priest shed His own blood because “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”).

Communion is a time for us to reflect on the tremendous sacrifice Jesus willingly made so that we might enter into a new eternal relationship with Him and to give Him praise and thanks to God for loving us so much He was willing to send His on Son to shed His blood for you and I.

Testimony Under Pressure

Luke 22:54-62

Earlier in this chapter (v.31-34) there is a conversation between Peter and Jesus when Jesus told Peter that Satan was going to "sift you like wheat". Peter responded "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" The Lord then told Peter he would deny Him three times. We don’t hear Peter’s response but from our knowledge of his personality I can imagine he thought "no way Lord, you are wrong."

In the verses mentioned above we see Peter doing just what Jesus said he would do, but I think we also see a tender man who is teachable. Peter did deny knowing the Lord, but we also see in v. 61 and 62 that he looked at the Lord, remembered what He had said and went outside and wept bitterly. There are a couple of lessons we can glean from Peter’s actions and response.

First, notice the passage says "the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord". Had Peter not been looking at the Lord, he wouldn’t have known that the Lord looked at him. Regardless of what is going on in our lives we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. If things are going very well He can help us get through them with the right attitude and not be prideful. If things are not going well, He can and will help us through those situations and be better for them. I’m sure that Peter learned a valuable lesson from this situation that helped him tremendously in the future.

Remember when the apostles were arrested for sharing their faith (Acts 5) and were forbidden to continue teaching, Peter led the apostles in responding "We must obey God rather than men" and then shared His faith in Christ. The apostles were beaten and ordered to "speak no more in the name of Jesus" but they "rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name and every day, in the temple and from house to house they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

We are humans and as such will fail at times. We can’t let that destroy us but we must grow from our mistakes and failures. We must also realize the tremendous asset we have with the Holy Spirit residing within us. There are times in all of our lives when we have not been faithful in sharing our testimony, especially in adverse situations, but we can confess that and move on.

Pray That You May Not Enter Temptation

"Pray that you may not enter temptation"
Luke 22:40, 46

The account of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is familiar to most Christians and we often hear messages from the passage. As I read these verses I’m impressed that the book of Luke begins and ends this story with the phrase "Pray that you may not enter temptation." When something is repeated it is an indication of its importance

Reading the passage in Luke it is easy to interpret that as indicating that we should pray for protection against temptation, or that we would not be tempted. I don’t disagree that it is appropriate for us to ask for protection against temptation but Matthew and Mark quote this passage slightly differently. Matthew 26:41 says "Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Notice there is a comma after the word "praying". G. Campbell Morgan takes that comma as being very significant and explains that what is really meant is that the activity of prayer and worship will keep us from temptation.

We can interpret that statement in a couple of ways. One way is that an active and vibrant prayer life will greatly help us avoid temptation because that lifestyle is an indication that we are walking in a close relationship with the Lord. Another interpretation is that if we are engaged in prayer (or worship) we are less likely to sin. The Luke passage could indicate that if we are exposed to sin we should immediately ask God to keep us from entering it.

Jesus knew that the disciples, and all Christians, are going to face temptation. He wanted us to expect it and be prepared for it. Satan knows that if he can get us to yield to temptation our relationship with our Savior will be negatively impacted and our witness to the world will be less effective. It is critical that we also recognize that and be prepared to deal with it. Temptation itself is not sin; yielding to it is. The best way we can face temptation is to turn toward Christ.