October 14, 2010
Central Truth
Christ responded to pain with love and forgiveness . . . and pain was part of the plan.
But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a)
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” 1 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus what they do And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, 2 23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, 3 23:39 Or blasphemed him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
First things first—please do not let today be the last day you read The Journey this year. This would be a terrible place for the story to stop! Something amazing happens in just twelve verses, but I am not going to spoil the ending. Just promise me you will continue reading. You will not be disappointed.
This section of Scripture is one of the hardest to read. Jesus has just been falsely convicted, nailed to a cross, mocked, and crucified. How does He respond? He responds by praying for His persecutors and by forgiving them. What? That’s certainly not how I would respond! In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul urges us to imitate him as he imitates Christ. My fleshly response to being falsely accused, beaten, and mocked would not be one in which I could say, "Imitate me."
The question that rings in my head—even more so than how different my response would be—is "Why?" Why did He have to die? Why did He have to die in this manner? Why was this God’s plan? I just keep coming back to the word LOVE. "For God so loved the world . . . ." (John 3:16) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
I look at how horrible the crucifixion was and wonder how that could be God's best plan, but it was. Will I look at the hard and painful things in my life and realize that this may be God's best plan for me and my own personal growth and sanctification?
I may never understand in this life why God made the payment for sin to be a perfect sacrifice, but I will spend my days trying to understand and believe His love for me—His perfect, holy, and unending love—and choose to believe that even when life is hard, God's plan is still best.
To quote a song we all know, "Yes, Jesus loves me." Sing it to yourself and believe.
1. How do you respond when people hurt you? Could you honestly say "imitate me as I imitate Christ" in those moments?
2. How have you experienced God’s perfect love in your life recently?
3. If you truly believe that God loves you and has your best interest in mind, how should your life look different? Should you worry? Should you be self-reliant? Should you keep that "extra" money?
4. God loves you so much that He gave up His Son for you. Jesus loves you so much that He died for you. Live today like you believe it.
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How did the two criminals respond to Jesus? One just wanted to be saved from his pain, the other showed belief in who Jesus was! How did Jesus respond to the one who believed?
2. How does this story show that Romans 5:8 is true? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for YOUR sins so that you can spend eternity in HIS KINGDOM?