Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Harmony of the Gospels


170. Jesus mocked on the cross- Matt. 27:39-44, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 23:35-39

 

-Jesus is derided and rudely mocked while on the wooden cross dying by passers by coming in and out of Jerusalem, the religious leaders led by the chief priests, and by Roman soldiers who participating in the ridicule of the Lord of lords. Amazingly, Christ took all the bad mouthing and making fun of without responding or getting angry with revenge. He focused on the mission to save the world in love and did not stray off His course set by the Father in Heaven.

-Some of the remarks reveal what these people thought of Him. They took Him to be a blasphemer who made bold claims about destroying and rebuilding the Temple physically. They misinterpreted the significance of the New Covenant and the Spirit filled age, which was about to be initiated for the spreading of the gospel unto the whole world for the salvation of many lives that were separated from the knowledge and love of the Lord. They scoffed at His claims that He could save, and wanted to see a sign of Him saving Himself as proof of His Divinity. This was a trap and temptation of Satan to get Christ off His mission of an atoning sacrifice, but it didn’t work. Jesus endured and overcame despite every effort to thwart Him. These mockers clearly heard His message that He claimed to be the Son of God, but they were unwilling to accept this message because it seemed so absurd to them. In their minds the Messiah could never humble Himself enough to take this abuse and suffering. They didn’t see Him as the suffering Servant, but the mighty King who would change their own nation for selfish motivations and with self-indulging signs and wonders. They totally missed the point of the Messiah’s incarnation. The blinders remained on and the ears were still deaf. For the Roman soldiers, their arrogance in imperialistic power kept them from realizing that God had visited them. They thought it to be foolishness that a King would be defeated by a humiliating death on a cross (1 Corinthians 1:21-25). Even the thieves on the cross hurled taunts at the Savior, though one would come around and fear the Lord receiving salvation in the end.

-*Application* Don’t take lightly the abuse of the Lord’s Name. This is the third commandment given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and it is sometimes an easy temptation to fall into. These people we have studied today had no clue what they were actually doing and saying about the King of the universe. We also will face temptations to go along with the crowd and deny the Name of the Lord and His power in our lives. This is dangerous and will lead us into unbelief if we are not careful. The world still thinks little of the Lord Jesus Christ and will try to pull you away from Him and His humble wisdom. Don’t succumb to peer pressure and deceit. Seek His truth and live.

 

 

Verse to Memorize- Matthew 27:40

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