I was used to being on stage. I was used to being in front of people singing, dancing, acting, and teaching. But here I was, with my heart pounding so loud it could drown the noise of the traffic and all I had to do was talk to one person.
Spotlight
Hailed Him, Nailed Him
Counsellor & Trainer
Focus On The Family India
santhosh@fotf.in
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Sailed with Him
The disciples were with Jesus the past three and a half years. They gave up their sailing for fishing and followed Him. They gave up a life of routine and security they knew, for one of uncertainty and challenges. While followed Jesus in the hope of finding the truth and probably redemption, they were provided for – physical needs, spiritual needs, and emotional needs.
There were crowds that followed Jesus too. They undertook journeys and outings that did make them uncomfortable and probably threw life out of gear for periods of time during which they were away from home. They did get spiritual nourishment out of it.
They sailed with Him. It was all smooth sailing till now, and the boat was about to pick up a little speed only to be rocked pretty soon.
Hailed Him
Until now, Jesus had kept a low profile as far as possible. He told the public (Matt 12:16), His disciples (Matt 16:20, Mark 9;9), Jairus’ household (Mark 5:43),
But now we see Him, after instructing the disciples for the arrangements, making a public entry into Jerusalem, and in acceptance of the crowd’s proclamations (Matt 21:1-11). In fact, He even defended the crowd’s shouting much to the indignation of the chief priests and teachers of law (Matt21:16).
Bailed on Him
The boat is truly rocked now. Judas planted a kiss – the first of many devious actions that Jesus’ detractors would indulge in during the rest of the week.
Self-preservation is a strong, innate force in all living things. It is not being selfish, but an attempt to make sure that one survives. Individuals, families, groups, communities, and nations – they all strive for self-preservation.
But at the moment, when Jesus was arrested, after a short show of bravado, the disciples could only think of individual self-preservation. (Mark 14:50 – Then everyone deserted him and fled.) Even Peter, who claimed he was ready to go to prison and to death with Jesus, denied any association with his master thrice to save himself. They bailed on Him as soon as the sailing got rough.
Railed against Him
Now that they managed to get Him arrested, the religious leaders wanted to make sure they did put Jesus away for good.
Brigette Gabriel, the Lebanese-American author and activist, speaks of how countries and religious groups consist of a vast majority that is largely peaceful. She goes on to argue, with great detail given to numbers and percentages, that it’s the extremist minority in each group that drives the action, relegating the peaceful majority to idle bystanders.
Here it is even worse, the minority religious leaders recruit and egg the majority crowd on to ask for Jesus’ crucifixion. They brought religious accusations against Him (Mark14:58), and projected Him as a threat to the reigning political regime (Luke 23:1).
We do not know if the entire crowd shouted and asked for it, but the representation, volume, and the emotion with which they railed against Him were enough to have an impact on Pilate’s decision.
Nailed Him
Finally, they nailed Him.
1. Figuratively – They made it seem like they nailed Him in the act of blasphemy, in the act of heresy, in the act of rebellion, when they knew it was all an act they put up in their attempt at self-preservation.
2. Physically – They made sure he was given the worst possible punishment that was in vogue – physically punishment to the point of death while adding insult to injury. To be punished publicly and left to hang on a cross for all to see.
Those nails driven into His limbs represent every single sin that was ever committed by you and me. Nails that tore into His flesh, spilled His blood, held Him up like a sinner and hung Him like a criminal.
Failed Him
Today, we hail Him in the Church with peals of praise, hymns of hallelujah, and meaningful memes. But, with every lie, every wrong, every grudge, every word of anger, every act of wrath, every word of denial and every denial of service to others, we fail Him. We ought to be mindful, wary, troubled and indignant at ourselves every time we fail Him. Because each time we fail Him, we nail Him.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout.
Peace in Trying Times
When God promises us peace, he doesn’t mean that he will make all our problems go away. In fact, when Jesus told his disciples that he was giving them his peace, he also said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Freedom to fulfil.
In Galatians, Paul repeatedly emphasizes that Christians are freed from the law. He goes to the extent of saying that if you seek to be justified by the law then you are severed from Christ (Gal 5:4). He even talks of having died to the law (Gal 2:19). Yet, here he asks the Galatians to serve one another through love, because by doing that they would fulfil the law! If they were free of the law, why should they care about fulfilling the law?
I, Crucified
Paul reminds us that all those who have chosen to follow Christ have crucified the flesh, that is their old sinful natures, with its passions and desires. So, we shouldn’t be too preoccupied with what “I” want to do because “I” has been crucified! As Paul says in Gal 2, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The light on a mountain
2021 — “Can I come by and see you tomorrow?” I asked. “Not possible now,” she said. “Are you up for a call?” I pestered. “I’ll call,” she texted.
2020 — “You have handled business worth crores, and you can’t manage to make a simple Gpay transfer of 2000 rupees?” I asked. “Just shut up and do it for me,” she snapped.
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