Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at scripture that shows us the willful blindness of unbelievers. It is an example of how the Old Testament points to Christ and, points to a time when Christ will rule the nations in justice. The setting for the Old Testament scripture is that Jeremiah had been put in the stocks by the chief priest, for having the audacity to prophecy bad things coming to Jerusalem. Even then, there was no stopping Jeremiah from telling it as he saw it. He kept speaking forth the words of God. Then the text lets us overhear the praying prophet wrestling with God that bring to my mind Jesus at the Olive Press. Both Jeremiah and Jesus faced the mocking, reproach and derision and defaming of the religious leaders. Both prayed for deliverance. Both are a validation that God’s plan will ultimately prevail. But individually as our lives play out, we have a choice in how we will view such situations. And in a world filled with lies we all have some doubt. So, we can affirm Christ as the Son of God, or we can deny His deity. We can lament and complain and blame God or we can suffer through the situation trusting Jesus. A lot of our decision rests on this choice. So, putting ourselves in the role of a disciple I ask, How Would We Have Held Up The Seven Days Before Jesus’ Death?
Scripture: For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
Jeremiah 20:10-13 (NRSV)
The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ —and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.
John 10:31-42 (NRSV)
They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground.
John 18:5-6 (NRSV)
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
Psalm 82 (NRSV)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of perdition assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
Psalm 18: 2-7 (NRSV)
Message: The context of today’s Gospel reading is that Jesus has healed a blind man, but the Jews still do not believe He is the Messiah. The Jewish leaders have done everything they can to prove Jesus wrong, but they have not had any success. Jesus meets the infuriated attacks of those who consider that he is blaspheming by calling himself the son of God. The Jews have demanded Him to plainly say whether He is the Christ or not. But Jesus had already told them, and they did not believe. So, in defense he first, quotes Psalm 82. For this inspired scripture allowed for the title of sons of God for those entrusted with a message by God. That should have diffused the argument of the Jews, but it did not. Secondly, Jesus point to his miracles and character that demonstrate the presence of God in him. But even that did not dissuade the Jews from trying to stone Jesus. The companion scripture from Jeremiah is in contrast a bittersweet complaint, for Jeremiah is in jail. Though like Jesus in his persecution, the tone of his lament is more one of blaming God. The juxtaposition makes us wonder if Jesus was just a bit vexed at the reaction of the Jewish people, for that would certainly have been a human reaction, and Jesus was human as well as divine. But Jesus does not blame his heavenly Father, but instead suffers through the rejection. The ones who think Jesus is crazy and possessed will not turn no matter what He does. The disciples are pressured too. For the more Jesus proves His divine nature the worse it gets for them too. The Jews want Jesus to go away, and they are willing to kill Him to make that happen. Eventually they will get their chance. The fate of the disciples will play out as well. And here is the learning to trust lesson.
And So, on a deeper level Jesus, I think, understood that it was all part of the plan. So, perhaps the Jews did not respond to the promise of salvation Jesus offers so the blessing would get extended to others. Like Jeremiah, we can get bone weary and feel abandoned. Like the disciples we can get a bit bewildered. We can begin to doubt. In the pain of uncertainty Jeremiah and Jesus will weep and cry out in passion for God the Father for help. Perhaps we too in these situations might lose our assurance of God’s plan for us, but hopefully we will in these situations reassert our faith in the trust that God will prevail. Our petitions like that of Jeremiah needs to ultimately see things as God sees them. So too, such is the drama that plays out during the time between Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Interestingly as Jeremiah emerges from his ordeal, he invites the faithful to join him in singing praise to the one who delivered him. Here he is as a representation of not only Israel’s relationship with God but a very real and personal reflection that anticipates the coming and suffering of Jesus and the resurrection. In Christ we see one who experienced the greatest challenges of life and lives to give us new life. Rather than moaning to one another, grumbling about our plight, we should believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and lay out our challenges before Him and believe differently. Jesus has seen it all and knows the way to live a life that glorifies the Father. His claim of being the great I Am should bring us all to our knees.
Pray we believe. Pray when things get tough, we persevere. Pray we realize that the mighty works of Jesus reveal God to the world in a way to save the world. Pray we appreciate the courage of Jesus in the face of opposition. Pray we are faithful to the call of Christ. Pray when we face dark nights of the soul, we realize that we are not alone. Pray we realize that Jesus prevailed even though he faced greater suffering than we ever will. Pray we address the challenges of life by asking God for help. Pray we express our concerns and fears and doubts. Pray we join the Lord and trust God’s will to be done. Pray we petition God to see things as God sees them. Pray we praise God for calling us children of God. Pray we do not consider it a disgrace when we suffer as a Christian, but instead use it as an opportunity to glorify Jesus and believe in the strength of the Father though faith in the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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