Extreme Courage ...

There are stories of extreme courage when despite heavy risks, and personal danger, a person does what seems like the impossible.  When we hear of these stories, we picture men, in excellent shape, of a young age, able to perform at the peak of their fitness.  Sometimes the stories surprise us, when it is someone older who steps into the breach.  Children can only do so much, so few stories exist here other than heroic fights against disease, or the courage to stop a bully.  But what few of us imagine when the words extreme courage are uttered; is a mom, and a prostitute.  These two are hard to associate with the ideas of extreme courage.  Add to their pair, a servant girl, and then another.  Add to that group a cook, a maid, and a daughter with a famous name.  How could a band of women be associated with terminology we reserve for our military in action, and yet have no military association at all?

Courage begins with standing against the popular.  In a time when reputation is everything, and particularly so for a woman, courage begins with risking it to do what is right, instead of what is popular.  Religious association, being a student of the Word, is one way to help maintain both spirituality and reputation.  Being cut off from religious association for what you do, or what you say, is a recipe for ruin, and ruin on a public scale.  Could you face this, to do what is right?  To face it not boldly in arrogance of your beliefs, but in humility, seeking truth, unsure you have found it.  Courage for a woman in the time of Christ was to ignore the threats of the Sanhedrin to be cast out of the Temple forever, and serve at the feet of Jesus.  Courage was not defined as railing accusations against those still in the wrong, but humble service in the ministry of Jesus.  It was feeding them.  It was washing what needed to be washed.  It was caring, without arrogance and confrontation, all the while suffering the greatest loss a woman could suffer, her reputation damaged beyond repair, in a time when that was all she had.

Courage remains by loving those we should not love.  This was not a group of the holy, it was a group of the injured, the sinful, the untouchables.  Hookers are not often welcomed by women of any church.  Demon possessed hookers even less so.  But Jesus repairs a life, sometimes more than once, and those women never acquainted with such pain, are expected to accept, embrace, and love the reclaimed without limit or reproach.  Hookers, now former, are to love housewives, and vice versa, without a word of condemnation from either.  Hookers who know the hypocrisy of families where husbands cheat in secret.  And housewives who fear the unbridled sexuality of a prostitute will lure away that which should not be lured.  Now intermixed by a Rabbi who loves everyone, in a society that does not.  But not just the hookers are of ill repute.

The woman was alone at the well in Samaria because of who she was, and what she had done.  Her lack of commitment in marriage, her trivial treatment of the forever, had landed her many husbands, and now only a live-in lover.  She too was destined to join this band of women.  She too was to be reclaimed, and after the evangelism in her region which converted so many, would become yet another servant, of no reputation whose name we do not even know.  She too would be listed as only part of “many women” who served and ministered to Jesus and His disciples … as if this was all she did in the furtherance of the gospel, and the redemption of souls.  But acceptance into the collective of other women required forgiveness in the hearts of them all, not just in the heart of Jesus.

These women, one and all, sacrificed their reputations, whether by their deeds in a former life, or by their association with each other in the spirit of forgiveness and love.  And now they were willing, to a woman, to risk their lives in a display of courage the world had never seen.  An act so great, the Holy Spirit will not let Peter forget it.  In the brevity of Peter’s telling of the gospel at its end, Peter takes time to recall what women did.  When the courage of men failed, the courage of women did not.  When the followers of Jesus, His disciples, were scattered to the wind; the assembly of women began.  These women gathered themselves, and presented themselves in growing numbers at His trial.  It was not their voices calling for death in tones of hate.  It was their voices calling for mercy, as it had always been given to them.  But they were drowned out by the screams of evicted demons now bent on revenge.

But women of no repute, continued to assemble, and without fear, or perhaps without concern that it should cost them their very lives.  You cannot stamp out the message of Christ, until you kill all of His followers.  While men hid themselves in upper rooms afraid to see what would transpire, women were out in the places they needed to be.  They followed His procession up the hill of Golgotha in tears, and in association for all to see.  Peter recalls it to John Mark in his gospel in chapter fifteen picking up in verse 40 saying … “There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;” 

Notice Peter first points out that in this group of women is Mary Magdalene.  The Hooker is listed first.  The demon possessed former hooker is listed first, above all other women there.  Why?  Could it be that for whom much is forgiven, much is expected?  Could it be that the woman with the most corrupted idea of love had been reclaimed the farthest in what love is now.  Chief among sinners is listed first.  Reputations of those who follow her, of those who dare to be with her, are done.  Next Peter lists Mary the mother of Jesus, but in an unusual way.  Peter lists her by the names of the siblings of Christ.  So much for the idea of a perpetual virgin.  Mary was a normal wife and mother after the birth of Jesus.  James, Joses, and Salome (whose name was also given to the daughter of Herod Phillipi living with Antipas at the execution of John the Baptist).  These were the names of Jesus’ family at the recollection of Peter.  He would know.  The hooker and the housewife lead this assembly.

Mark continues in verse 41 saying … “(Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.”  These women ministered to Jesus, to each other, and to assemblies so large they were hard to number.  They did this at the cost of their reputations, shunned by the religious leadership for association with Jesus.  Shunned by the public, for association with women of ill repute, hookers, divorcees, and such.  They lost what could not be replaced, and without a word of discontent.  For they had found something of far greater value, a vision of love and what love should be, that does not look for credit or disdain, only to serve. 

But this was no book club, knitting circle, or potluck.  They were assembled in the place of a skull.  They had no weapons, or skills to use them.  They were sheep.  They were witnesses to a fallen Lord now dead upon the cross.  They had no one to protect them, or give care should they be raped or killed without mercy from soldiers who paid no mind to the virtue of a woman.  They were Jews in front of Romans.  They were apostates in front of priests and rabbis who governed in absolute control over religious matters.   And their Lord was dead, unable to hear their cries, or offer assistance or love.  Everything they had hoped for was dead on that cross.  Everything they had dreamed of for the Jewish nation was lifeless on that cross.  Jesus hung naked before them, without a shred of dignity.  And they were there assembled as sitting ducks for a raging temple system, and Roman military to do with as they pleased.

Their lives, their reclaimed virtue, their reputations were as vulnerable as it gets, and all of this was by choice.  For the women in this assembly could be in no other place.  They MUST be with their Lord, even if He dies.  Even if He is dead, these women cannot tear themselves away from their Lord.  That is faith.  That is a courage in spite of death or worse, that knows NO fear at all.  This is where a maid, and a cook, and a mother, and a hooker defy the entire Roman empire with steadfast steel in their bones.  This is where Truth stands against the corruption in hearts of religious leaders who wish to kill it.  This is where a housewife comforts a hooker, who reaches back to comfort her.  Jews are amazed by this.  Even in death these women do not flee, they remain.  Even when there is nothing more to gain for any of them, they do not flee, they remain, and they still love each other.  When hope is gone, the extreme courage of a woman is revealed.

This confounds the Roman soldiers in attendance.  Romans have seen families of victims come out to a crucifixion before.  But never does a mother welcome a prostitute in comfort.  Never does such an assembly of women seem to genuinely care for each other in love that defies explanation.  This is not some wailing performed by those hired to wail.  This is silent crying by those who love so deeply no sound can emerge from it.  This is not the noise of grief; it is a grief so profound it lacks all noise.  Where Romans who hate Jews would have been prone to move sin from the crucified to his entourage, no such inclination is present today.  The darkness, the earthquake, the plea of forgiveness from the cross itself, has dampened further ideas of evil in the soldiers at the cross.  These women represent only another marvel the Romans cannot understand.

It is not their perfection that defines this moment, it is their imperfection.  Mary Magdalene is still known for her former life, a hooker, with multiple demons.  She is present, but still imperfect.  She has not transcended as Enoch did, to a life ready for heaven.  She is in its process, but not at its conclusion.  But despite her imperfections, she is here, where she must be.  This is why it is courage.  Because risk is still present, perfection is not.  Damage is still present, immunity is not.  But despite the reality of this situation, a demonstration of true ministry occurs.  Love for each other in full display, even when Jesus is dead.  Love for each other, even when reputations are in the mud, and death is at the doorway, and Jesus will not be here to save them.  This is the moment Peter must recall to John Mark.  And by contrast, to further deepen his own shame.

Peter must faithfully recount the deeds of women, when his own stand in contrast as abject failures.  When our churches stand, and debate the roles of women in the gospel, we forget that in times like these, men fail, and women deliver.  Those who are in tune to the Holy Spirit, who become a vessel of the love of God, are those destined to preach the word.  This assembly was not preaching in word, but the lesson in deed has survived 2000 years, and will live on in infinity, because even when Jesus was dead, love lived on in His followers.  This love was not done in secret, or in a place of convenience, or in denial of who they served.  It was there when He was dead.  It was there when Hope was dead.  It was a courage that could never be mimicked again. 

To be embarrassed to be associated with Jesus in our day … is such a thing possible?  In our modern age when a co-worker, or associate, asks us if we are a Christian; is hesitation still possible from a thought to what our answer will mean to our reputation?  If the answer was not already apparent, the need for the question, is what will break my heart.  If my actions, my words, and my motives are not already in such tight alignment with His, that those who casually know me, must ask if I follow Christ, I still have far to go in my journey.  I want that answer brazenly self-evident.  I want a measure of love from God, to mimic the love of mothers, hookers, servants, and housewives in an age where extreme courage was defined.  To love like that before He had arisen, was proof, that His Father remained.  It was proof that Jesus provides us a connection to His Father.  We are not connected to only Jesus, but to the Holy Spirit, and to His Father.  This was reconciliation His death was to accomplish for us, and we need only do the simplest of things: to accept it.

Then watch what a reclaimed life looks like.  Watch how extreme courage becomes so common it can no longer be thought of as courage, but just as nature.  Witness how the love for a hooker becomes transcendent.  Love that is no longer a filthy thing, but a holy thing, able to flow from husbands and housewives alike without a moment of condemnation from anyone.  Watch how a risen Lord, who reclaims lives, can change how you love so profoundly that words lose their ability to describe it …

 

To Stain Reputation ...

There is a reason why a lie is an abomination.  A lie is the tool to slander, and malign truth, especially The Truth.  Innocence had been convicted in the courts of pride, by men, by religious leaders who would not cede control to it.  For 2000 years the tactics have not changed.  Threats to power, threats to those who believe themselves to be in control, must first be destroyed in reputation, before in body.  The Sanhedrin in the days of Christ, is little different than the halls of power that exist today.  The pretenses may be different, but the tactics employed, and the results to the innocent are identical.  The Sanhedrin wanted more than the blood of Christ at His death, they wanted Him to be seen as guilty.  They wanted the common people to look upon innocence and call it guilt.  Yet another abomination to add to the rap sheet of religious men and their satanic master.

What would begin, was a long and calculated effort to make the name of Jesus of none effect.  Emmanuel, Yeshua, the Messiah, the Christ; all titles associated with Jesus from Nazareth must be taken from Him, or dragged through so much mud, no one could recognize them again.  The Truth was convicted of blasphemy against God; or in other words, God was convicted of speaking against God.  There was no sense in it.  There was no logic in it.  There was only an abundance of hate in it.  Love was nowhere to be found; hate was dripping in the air itself.  First, Jesus would be taken to the place where the lowest of criminals were taken.  This would be no place of honor, but instead to a place of ignominy, reserved for the scum of the earth.  Jesus would not meet His final hours in apathy, but in a rage against His name, against who He was, calculated to make Him guilty, by the association of guilty things all around Him.

Peter recalls the horror of how men would treat His Lord to John Mark in his gospel in chapter fifteen and picking up in verse 22 saying … “And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.”  Death was to be by intent.  Torture to precede death was to be by intent.  This place was the place dedicated to just such a thing, to just such a mission.  No one landed here who had any hope of living or lasting.  They bring Jesus nowhere near the Temple, or any place of mercy, they bring Him to the place of a skull.  This act alone could help them heap insult upon the reputation of Jesus.  They could not understand how Jesus could see this place as a place of redemption.  For in their eyes, this place was only a place of death, of horrific death.

Mark continues in verse 23 saying … “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.”  Grape juice mingled with myrrh to dull pain, prolong torture, and make the horror of His death last longer.  But Jesus would not take it.  With a back and body still bleeding like a civ, from a lashing one lash short of death itself.  The whip laced with shards of glass, and the crown of thorns pressed deep in His head from the blows by the reed doled out by the Romans while they mocked Him.  The pain to the body and heart of Jesus had to be as extreme as it gets.  But He refuses the drink designed to dull that very pain.  He prefers to keep His mind sharp, even though it keeps the pain at its level.

Mark continues in verse 24 saying … “And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. [verse 25] And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. [verse 26] And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”  Peter was not there.  He knows what happened but at best he was far away when he witnessed it.  So Peter omits the nails pounded into the hands and feet of Jesus.  But Peter knows about the removal of the clothing of Jesus, the humiliation of hanging naked for all to see.  In front of the tortured Lord, they part the homespun cloth as a dead Man will have no need of this anymore.  But Romans enjoy irony.  So above the head of this Jew lies the inscription THE KING OF THE JEWS.  This is meant as a testament to all other Jews who would rise up against Rome, that this was their fate.

Mark continues in verse 27 saying … “And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. [verse 28] And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.”  Criminals die together.  Jesus would not die alone, but would die with others who were clearly guilty of their crimes.  Guilt by association.  Guilt by proximity.  Jesus does not see these men as criminals doomed to a fate they well deserve.  He sees men who have endured and inflicted such pain by their choices to embrace sin.  This is a pain Jesus would take from them, and free them from.  While their fate on the cross will not change, their fate beyond it could be made free, and eternal, no longer bound to the desire to serve self.  To be no longer destined to repeat a life of similar choices was why Jesus was hanging in between them in the first place.  Jesus must pay their ultimate cost, so He can free them and restore them to a life without such pain ever again.  But what the world sees, what men see, what too often you and I see; is only three criminals.

Mark continues in verse 29 saying … “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, [verse 30] Save thyself, and come down from the cross.”  And the plan works.  Passers-by, travelers on the way to Jerusalem, remember the words and teachings of Jesus.  But now, given where He is, given who He is with, use these words as a taunt to prove to themselves, that Jesus must really not be the Messiah after all.  Had Jesus come down from the cross, these men would not have been converted, only surprised.  Faith does not originate from fear.  Faith does not originate from insult and challenge.  Faith originates in a love that recognizes what Jesus does to transform who we are.  It comes from submission, not control.  These men had no intentions to believe no matter what the challenge.  They were already convicted of the Savior’s guilt, by where He was, who He was with, and what was happening to Him.

Mark continues in verse 31 saying … “Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. [verse 32] Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.”  Let there be no doubt as to where the religious leaders stand on the issue of Jesus, and His innocence or guilt.  The Sanhedrin joins in the mocking, and challenges.  They ask Jesus to do, what Satan desperately wants Jesus to do.  Satan wants Jesus to take the easy way out.  To stop all this redemptive work and decide very logically that “we” are simply not worth it.  “We” have earned the destruction we face, if Jesus does not pay this penalty for us.  So stop.  Just stop dying.  Go back to your Father, and leave these pathetic creatures to me.  Satan’s thoughts, his temptation, comes to voice in the taunts of the religious leadership of the true church of God.

At this point, even the criminals beside Jesus join in, in taunting Him.  But worse than this.  The plan is succeeding wonderfully, as scripture reads, they “reviled” Him.  This means they looked upon Jesus as having a reputation lower than their own.  Both of them did this.  Peter does not hear the repentance of one of them before it is too late.  Peter is too far away.  He only hears the jeering, the taunting, the mockery.  Peter misses the redemption and sees only the guilt.  How often do we too, continue to see only three criminals?  We miss repentance because it is quiet.  We are ashamed of our misdeeds, and so are not inclined to shout about them while repenting of them.  Instead we whisper our sorrow over what we have done, and beg in humility to be forgiven which we do not deserve.  How often are accusations hurled loudly against our brothers in church, but apologies said only quietly and in private later on.  Crowds seldom see an apology.  Reputations are damaged in public, and never repaired in quiet lonely places of humility.  There only guilt is assuaged.

Peter is suddenly cognizant of the time.  The crucifixion began in the third hour of the day.  Mark continues in verse 33 saying … “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [verse 34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Three hours into the crucifixion, a strange darkness covers the entire land.  The plague that hit Egypt before seems to hit Israel now.  Everyone knows it is daytime.  This is the reason Peter is reciting the time precisely for us.  But the sun refuses to shine, the stars will not yield their light, nor the moon.  There is nothing but fire to provide light as torches must be lit.  On the day of atonement in the year of Jubilee this miracle begins to happen.  The priests and Sanhedrin have left the scene to attend to their duties in the ceremonies at the Temple.  But they know the reason for the darkness.  The darkness is within them.  And fire may be its only cure.  It is a harbinger of where refusal leads.

But then, a language of heaven is revealed to us.  Peter remembers the story of the bloodless hand that wrote on the walls of Babylon in a language no one could interpret but Daniel.  It foretold of death and doom nearly upon them all for the blasphemy they had engaged in.  Now while on the cross, the language again appears to us.  This time spoken by Jesus, and interpreted by Peter to Mark.  Jesus cries out in agony as to why He must be alone to face this punishment.  But then hell, is the absence of God.  So Jesus must endure a separation He has never known in His life, across space and time.  It is the thing that will kill Him.  It is not all the physical pain, as that has become nothing to Him.  His mind can only focus and detect and absence of His Father’s presence.  He is truly alone.  He is more alone that we will ever be.  For this is the real punishment He is living on our behalf.  And we see with only base eyes, not comprehending what He did then, nor 2000+ years later.

Mark continues in verse 35 saying … “And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. [verse 36] And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.”  Those still standing around hear this outcry, but do not understand.  They know the darkness.  The Romans know it too.  Everyone is nervous, nothing like this has ever happened before.  The Jews believe Jesus must be calling to Elisha or Elijah to come and rescue Him.  They offer Jesus vinegar as a stimulant to make sure He is awake for whatever, or whoever, comes next. 

Mark continues in verse 37 saying … “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. [verse 38] And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. [verse 39] And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.”  Many things to unpack in this scripture.  First, it is the separation from God, the unanswered prayer, that kills Jesus.  In effect, Jesus gives up the ghost.  It was not the pain that did it.  It was not the spear that would do it.  It was the keen effect of losing contact with His Father God.  The torture of separation from God preempts the Roman plans for days and hours in agony.  If only we too would feel that deeply about keeping distant from God, instead of treating it so casually.  The earth is shaken when Jesus dies.  I imagine the energy wave is sent into space into the farthest corner of the universe.  Satan thinks briefly perhaps he has won.  But a risen crop of first fruit quickly shatter that idea.

Darkness still covers the earth.  For the first time, the day of atonement ceremonies feel as though they are being done at night, instead of in daylight as tradition and the law demand.  As the blade is raised above the sheep, Jesus dies instead.  It is Abraham’s experience in reverse.  And simultaneously the Temple curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place is torn from top to bottom, rent in two.  Common worshippers and Temple servants stand awestruck staring into the Most Holy Place directly at the Ark of the Covenant.  The Mercy seat is empty.  There is no presence of God there any longer.  There is no more reason to wear bells on the hem of the robe and a rope around the ankle to drag out a high priest unworthy of this sacrificial presentation.  It is finished.  It is history.  What will come now, is something new.  The sacrificial lamb slips away amid the chaos and the fulfillment of scripture.

The Romans fear for their lives.  They have their own worship system, consisting of many gods.  They actually think it superior to the Jewish idea of one supreme, all powerful God.  They laugh at that idea; until today.  When the darkness appears, when the death of Jesus occurs, when the earth is shaken, the Roman guard there is left with only one conclusion.  Surely and truly this man was the Son of God.  Notice he does NOT say the King of the Jews.  This is a divine event, not a manmade one.  This is creation weeping at the loss of its maker.  The Roman feels it, as much as he knows it.  He is convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit even while standing here at the foot of the cross, at the moment of the death of Jesus Christ.  The Roman’s words echo.  This is not some quarrel between warring factions of gods with limited power; this is a tangible demonstration in the nature of the universe of a singular power, and its depth of sorrow over the death of Jesus Christ.

And so the remorse must begin.  Did I nail Him down to this cross?  Did I lash His body with the whip of leather and glass?  Did I push the crown of thorns upon His head deeper while hitting it with a reed?  Did I spit on Him, in His face?  What sins have I done to this Lord of Lords and King of Kings?  What sins have we done to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings?  Every time we choose to embrace sin knowing this cost, are we not Romans of old?  Our sin guides our hands to pick up the hammer and spikes.  Our sin guides our mouth to spit in the face of God.  Our sin guides our greedy hearts to leave the Lord naked, and part His clothing for a greed that can never be satisfied.  We looked and saw only three criminals.  But now we see two men, and the Savior of all mankind.  But we treated them all the same, all ruthlessly, all without mercy.  This is the cost of our self-love.

Only when it is too late does a reputation reveal itself.  Only after we have tried to kill it, do we recognize what we do.  When we see each other through the eye-glasses of hate, we do the bidding of Satan himself.  When instead of three criminals, we see instead three family members where the loss of them would break our hearts, we begin to understand how God sees us, and how we should see each other.  There is not judgment in that kind of love, there is only redemption in it.  If there is judgment to come upon us, it will be brought by us, as we gaze awestruck at how far love would go to save us, while we refused it.  We should guard the reputations of those we love.  We should love even those the world sees as just another three criminals …

 

Racial Hatred Unrestrained ...

Blue lives matter, or at least they should.  When you utter a slogan like that, you are stating that the lives of cops, our military, our first responders should matter to us all.  By stating “blue”, you reflect an absence of skin color, and a support for law-and-order regardless of which race a cop, first responder, or military member is descended from – only that they serve us all today – that they put on a uniform (often blue) each morning and go out to serve.  So why does an NFL quarterback wear socks with pictures of pigs wearing those same uniforms?  Why does he sit down during the national anthem specifically to protest “social injustice” and his own perception that blue hates black, and can kill with impunity? 

And how does his protest begin to grow in a sport of pure privilege, in a league whose first letter “N” stands for National?  The NFL exists because of our “Nation’s” interest in sport.  To show such disrespect to the Nation that affords him personally such wealth and opportunity seems the greatest of insults to us all.  Pick a different venue for protest.  Pick a different method.  Or watch as the “Nation” in the NFL begins to vote with its dollars and ratings; our interest in sport diminish, until you become just another crazy, carrying a sandwich board on a street corner bemoaning the woes of the world.  While you make exorbitant salary, and carry a ball on a field where no social inequity exists, do not insult the citizens of the Nation who afford you this opportunity.

But does this errant quarterback have a point?  Do the “mothers of the movement” have a point?  Is there social injustice in the world … seems as though there would have to be.  Does blue sometimes kill black with impunity … seems as though there are occasions of it, statistics must bear that out.  So where does the perception of oppression come from?  Do singular incidents, widely publicized of what should be private pain, exploited on our screens for ratings, create a perception of oppression?  No, it takes repetition, to create that perception.  It takes a shared or common experience to create it.  When many of us have seen something, when we have witnessed injustice, we begin to jointly conclude that oppression is real and that inspires within us a need for retribution, for revenge, for what we believe is justice for the oppressed.

When this phenomenon occurs along racial or religious lines, those lines begin to run deep.  In ancient Palestine, Jews hated Romans.  This was white on white racial hatred, but the hatred ran deep.  And there was a reason for it.  Unlike Nebuchadnezzar who did his damage in one invasion, and then left the countryside of Israel alone as long as it did not rebel, the Roman conquerors invaded and stayed put in the land.  They wanted tribute (or taxes), and they would have it, if not in coin, then in human trafficking.  The Romans had given the Jews motive to hate them.  People hate losing their things, their wealth, their family members, and their lives.  It inspires a hatred that runs deep.  Even those Romans who did nothing to the Jews, were hated because they were Romans.  And the feelings were mutual.

Romans detested Jews.  It had nothing to do with religion.  It had nothing to do with skin color.  Romans had elected themselves as the world’s policemen, the world’s first responders, and the world’s military.  Anyone standing in opposition had to be put down.  Opposition was not tolerated.  It is little different in our day; those who resist arrest risk the loss of life.  Our society demands compliance during the process of arrest; any non-compliance risks death.  And our society is OK with this loss of life under these circumstances.  Threats, even perceived threats, to those who enforce arrest can end in death for the citizen.  The Roman’s version of it was more arbitrary, more final, and not restricted to the guilty.  If the guilty got away, their families and things would surely suffer.  This happens when compliance is valued so high, when order is praised so much, that dissention means death to avoid a future recurrence.  In our day, dissent is only tolerated in the court system, under legal jurisdiction.

Romans detested Jews because Jews were constantly in a state of opposition.  Jews committed crimes to make the lives of Romans more difficult.  Jews committed murder, not just of Romans, but often of them.  When Romans witnessed crimes of opposition committed by Jews over and over again, their own racial hatred began to develop.  No other conquered people were this resistant, this disrespectful to Roman law and Roman rule.  When our blue must by necessity, encounter crimes over and over each day, it also has an impact upon them.  Blue begins to hate criminals. 

Criminals come in all shapes, sizes, races, and religions; but most often poverty drives crime.  Desperation drives it.  So our Blue begins to see those in poverty with suspicion; especially after listening to criminals lie again and again about what they have done to escape prosecution.  As the distaste for criminals develops, as cops witness other cops die from criminals who decided to shoot their way out of being caught or prosecuted, Blue begins to think differently and react quicker.  And sometimes mistakes are made.  It is better in our day, but it is not perfect in our day.  The human tragedy of fighting crime and exposure to crime, can make some Blue harder on crime, or the risk of crime, until oppression emerges, and common experience is too common.

The Romans prided themselves on their law, they had taken it to the world.  Roman justice might have been a true world wonder, if Roman power were not so absolute.  Instead, resistance became opposition at any cost; and the drive for order became indiscriminate murder, and two factions developed a racial hatred that deepened to the point of extinction.  This is the world Jesus lived within.  This is the nation Jesus came to witness to, to not only lose the hate for Romans, but to love them.  The Jews would have no part in this.  The Jews thought their birthright and proper religion gave them the favor of God, and that they needed no love for Rome to keep that favor.  Jews had gotten to a point where killing a Roman was not considered sin, it was considered heroism.  And the Romans knew this, lived with this, and detested Jews for this.

So Peter bears witness to what unrestrained racial hatred can do.  Perhaps Peter had removed himself far away from the trial proceedings to see from a distance.  Perhaps Peter was only told these things by a witness who was still there to see it.  Perhaps most striking of all possibilities, perhaps it was a Roman who did these things, and was later converted and told it to Peter.  But in any case, John Mark continues recording the story for us in his gospel in chapter fifteen, picking up in verse 16 saying … “And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.”

This facility was no accident.  The Praetor in Rome (or Consul of Rome), usually had a war room or facility in which strategy was created and battles were conceived.  It was a place of honor.  It was not the place for any simple Jew.  But for a Jew who had been labeled the King of the Jews, this would be an especially ironic place.  It would be a place for Jesus to understand as He was condemned to travel to His death, that Rome would remain in power, able to craft strategy, and develop battle plans to win any war of attrition with the Jews, Jesus would be leaving behind.

John Mark continues in verse 17 saying … “And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,”  Romans detested Jews.  Having the King of the Jews in their presence, under their control, gave them a chance to begin to express just how much Romans detested Jews.  They remove the clothing of Jesus, likely leaving Him naked.  Then they replace them with purple garments reserved for royalty (or perhaps the missing Roman Praetor at the moment).  The body of Jesus would be bleeding severely, nearly ripped apart from the lashing He had only just finished receiving at the hands of one of the Roman soldiers there in attendance.  They add to this robe, a crown, platted of thorns deep and long and place it upon his brow.

John Mark continues in verse 18 saying … “And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! [verse 19] And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.”  Let the mocking commence, let the racial hatred be completely unleashed.  It did not matter to the world’s policemen that this Jew was particularly innocent.  Others were not.  Most were guilty, at least most of the ones the Romans had to chase down for crimes against Rome.  The nation of Israel hated Rome, so why would this one single Jew be different?  But He was.  The guards did not care.  They began to strike His head with reed, in order to avoid the prick of the thorns on their own hands.  Hitting Jesus with a stick causing the thorns to bury deeper into His flesh, and the blood to rush out all the more.

But pain was not enough.  They must mock the King as a king is due.  They spit in His face, but He does not react, or change His love for any of them.  The soldiers bowed their knees and offered fake words of worship to the bleeding innocent lamb standing before them.  There is almost not enough life left in Jesus to mock.  This is just not as much fun if He should drop dead in front of them, especially if caused by their hijinks.  This Man is to be tortured on the cross for His death.  Nothing quick is allowed for Him.  So John Mark continues in verse 20 saying … “And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.”

The death Jesus had been sentenced to, was the worst one Romans could think of or devise.  Drowning or burning to death was much faster.  Beheading, or spearing to death was faster still.  A quick death was a mercy from Rome.  A slow death was much worse for the victim, and for the family of the victim.  So what they intended to do to Jesus was the worst death they could think of.  And yet, they took the time to lead Him away privately into the Praetorium, to further torture and mock the Son of God.  This was completely unnecessary.  Yet Romans did this.  The world’s policemen did this.  They were angry about opposition in their land.  They did not care if this criminal was not a criminal at all.  They were not interested in guilt or innocence, only in releasing hatred pent up inside of them.

In perhaps the last epilogue of Roman hatred, John Mark completes this section in verse 21 saying … “And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.”  Romans have no problem creating instant slaves.  Simon of Cyrene would do this act, or possibly join the procession as its next victim.  Simon would do this act, or watch his sons be murdered in the hateful rage the guards had for Jesus, or any Jew.  Simon complied.  He left the Romans no pretense of legitimacy to further injure himself or his two sons.

Compliance is not surrender, it is de-escalation.  Injustice will not be cured by compliance, but it will avoid any pretense of legitimacy for the escalation of violence.  Questions of innocence or guilt will be determined later, by people who do not carry guns, or are forced to make shoot/no shoot decisions every day.  Avoiding even the appearance of a threat, de-escalates situations with Blue, that might otherwise wind up in death we want to avoid.  It is not fair.  It is not right perhaps.  But it is common sense, and it is in the self-interest of anyone who must endure that kind of encounter.  So how do we change it?

Protests of injustice are such a weak response.  It is easier to protest than to mimic our Lord, and reach out in love to those who may mean us harm.  Satan would have us take a course of action that deepens the hatred on both sides.  Jesus would have us rethink who our enemy truly is.  In response to the Roman aggression and oppression described above Jesus makes no angry retribution.  Instead He asks His Father to forgive these men because they do not understand what they are doing.  He pleads for the redemption of these men.  He has performed miracles for men of Rome like these.  He loves them without limit, or precondition.  He does not hold their race, or choice of job, or past misdeeds against His love.  He does not even hold their actions of violence and hate against them.  He offers them love, and a better way to see the world.

And this is the real victory.  To see the world in a better light, in the light of the love that only Jesus Christ can put in our hearts and minds.  Jesus carried no sign stating … no Justice, no Peace.  The sign of Jesus says Come ALL ye that are labored and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  It is love that truly affects things, and changes things.  Everything else tends to prolong them.  Love would prevent the criminal from doing acts of crime.  Love would prevent abuse from one person to another.  If we REALLY want to change or impact the social injustice of this world, we do not need to make statements to the press, or disrespect the citizens of a Nation at NFL games.  We could instead offer quiet love, consistently, and impact the world that we interact with.  If enough of us did this, the world would truly change.

 

To Know What Is Coming ...

Peter is concerned for the state of the early church.  He has opened his second letter and introduced the idea that following the path of Grace requires daily renewal, that to hold back any part of ourselves from God introduces the possibility of a fall from grace.  While our God longs to save us from ourselves, He cannot force Himself upon us and still call it love.  Peter is concerned, for he can see the early warning signs of those who would deny the power of the gospel.  Forgiveness being so easy, and reform looking so difficult, could the church decay into just another ideology with flowery words, and no real meaning to them?  Perhaps his concern is amplified, because while he is not thought of as a prophet, yet Peter reveals he knows what is to come.  And to make his point, and offer counsel to the church, he reveals to us what he already knows about the future in his own day.

Peter begins in chapter 1 of His second letter starting in verse 12 … “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.”  Peter is aware that he has shared the truth of the gospel before with those to whom he writes.  And he even realizes that what he says now could be seen as ‘nagging’ or repeating himself again and again.  But he is compelled to say it once more.  To have believers “established” in the “present” truth must supersede all other concerns about how he might be perceived by those he offers counsel to.  They must remember that the gospel is “present” truth.  The term present does not refer to immediacy of the Lord’s return, but to the immediacy of the Lord’s ability to save us from our slavery to self, and bid us entry into the Kingdom of God – which Christ had said was “already” come.  For truth to be “present” it must be here and now, in our reality, in our day-to-day.  The gospel is not some distant future message of hope, it is a present message meant for us now.  No matter how it looks, or how often he must repeat it, Peter will remind us and his readers of this fact.

He then continues in verse 13 … “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; [verse 14] Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.”  Peter is going to die.  He will be killed.  He will be crucified by the Romans for his passion to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  At his own request he will be hung upside down thinking it too great an honor to die exactly as his Lord did.  And ALL of this he has been shown AHEAD of it happening to him.  As long as Peter occupies his body in this world, that is to say his tabernacle, he will consider it his duty to remind us of the present truth of our gospel.  His concern and desire for us compounded by the imminent knowledge of his death, He must remind us once again.  Notice that knowledge of his death is not something he rebels against.  He does not ask for prayer to change the fate he will suffer.  He does not beg the Lord to extend his life in this world.  Instead Peter has reached such an absolute point of trust in Jesus, that if Jesus says it is time to die, Peter is OK with that.  The vision of Peter’s physical fate is not offered to him to scare him, but instead to remove all fear from him when it occurs.  Peter can meet his end boldly, and preach Jesus Christ boldly throughout his coming ordeal, for his death is known by himself and His Lord.

Peter then understands, SO much better than we do, our earthly existence, no matter how long or short it is, is nothing in comparison with our larger destiny.  Our lives, our existence, are meant to be eternal in a place where death, pain, and slavery to self, exist no more.  We all fear for our lives.  We do everything we can to extend them.  Peter did to.  But despite our reservation and reluctance to accept it, death comes to us all.  Peter could accept his own pending demise, not because he wanted to die, but because he wanted to live – like our God intended that he live.  He no longer wished to be bound to the shackles of this world, but instead be free to be wholly remade, including in the tabernacle of his body, the way the Lord always intended.  His only regret now, his only remaining concern, is that the church does NOT forget, the source of love and salvation they have been introduced to.  The foreknowledge of his death has helped Peter get his priorities in order, and laser focused.  Peter will soon sleep the sleep of death until his Lord returns, the centuries between himself and us are a blink of an eye to him.

Peter continues in verse 15 … “Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. [verse 16] For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  The foreknowledge of his demise, causes Peter to want to make sure the church will have certainty once he has gone and is deceased.  Peter does not intend to accomplish this reminder after he is gone, by returning as a ghost or spirit.  There is no opportunity for Peter to continue to testify to the church once he is dead and gone.  He knows this.  There is no consciousness after the grave, until the day of resurrection.  So whatever Peter is going to say, he must say now.  Peter is not looking for believers to repeat the mistakes of Saul and attempt to conjure what will only be a demon in human form after he is gone.  Peter instead will say what he has to say now, while he is alive and able to say it.  When he is dead, no more will follow from him.

He reminds the church that the gospel is NOT a set of wisely devised lies, and a set of tall-tales, or fairy tales, or a story of moral interpretation and not a real one.  Jesus Christ was a real man, of that not even Atheists question.  But for those who never met Him, for those who never looked into the eyes of God made man incarnate, there may be a lingering doubt if Jesus was truly more than a man.  Peter stands as a personal witness, one of many, who can personally attest to the “power” of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Peter can attest personally to the “majesty” of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The power of our Lord, was not in His armies, for He had none.  So Peter was not describing the greatest military leader of all time.  Military and political power belonged to others.  The Power of our Lord, was in his ability to love us.  Through that love He was able to heal what choice, sin, inheritance, and the malice of others had broken in us.  He cast out demons, whose power exceeded our own will and allowed them to inhabit their victims.  But their supernatural power was NO match for the power of Love.  He healed the lame and blind, not just straightening what was crooked, but recreating what was missing.  In the same way, He frees us from our brokenness in sin.

The Majesty of our Lord, was not defined in His earthy kingship, for He had no crown other than the one made of thorns thrust upon His head.  He had no robes of state other than the ones the Romans used to mock Him with.  He owned no gold.  He owned no lands, not even a single house.  He was homeless His entire adult life.  He accepted no earthy inheritance from his family.  Instead He gave everything He owned to the poor, the downtrodden, the less fortunate, and to anyone He saw in need.  He not only kept a bag (which Judas held) for the poor with means of coin in it, He gave them the physical, mental, and spiritual healing they needed so desperately more than that.  His majesty would not be defined in traditional terms, but to Peter and ALL those who met our Lord, His majesty exceeded any other king that had ever, or would ever rise to power.  The church needed to remember this.

Peter continues in verse 17 … “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. [verse 18] And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”  At the baptism of Jesus, the voice from God the Father was heard as the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove.  Andrew and John were there to see this, Peter was not.  But Peter was present at the end of the ministry of Christ where in the mount of Olives, Christ was transfigured as He communed with Moses and Elijah and received divine strength to uphold Him for the horror that was to come.  It was at this place, where Peter heard for himself, that affirmation that God the Father said of His only beloved Son.  Peter was an eye-witness to the voice of God the Father with respect to Jesus Christ, His only Son.

This was the ultimate witness to the divinity of Christ, that is an affirmation by His Father God.  God would not have done this, for just anybody.  Peter knew that.  He knew this could be done for only one, for only the Messiah.  And he Peter, had seen it, had heard it, had experienced it in the here and now as one who was there.  It was more than just a vision, more than just a dream, it was a real world experience in 3D and with every sense filled to capacity.  It does not get more real than that.  For Peter it does not get more certain than that.  This is the testimony he is trying to convey to the early church.  This gospel is real.  Jesus Christ is real.  And He is really the Son of God.  Jesus is not just a good man, a good Rabbi, a good teacher, or an accurate prophet.  Jesus Christ is not just a healer with power blessed by God.  He is the Son of God, as God Himself has testified to audibly, for the benefit of Peter, James, and John.  This is not even some delusion Peter might have concocted on his own, there were 2 other witnesses there for the same event.  This is the certainty Peter wants to convey before the foreknowledge of his own death catches up with him.

 Peter then moves father in verse 19 … “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:”  Peter now adds to the already heavy weight of his impassioned argument, to all that he has seen and bore witness to, he adds a “more sure word of prophecy”.  This is not only a reference to all the men of old who foretold the coming of the Messiah, since the first promise of Him that Moses recorded of the Genesis experience between Christ and Adam and Eve.  It is also a reference to the contemporary servants of Jesus Christ alive in the days of Peter and in the early church.  Jesus Christ had offered prophecy and foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple within it.  As such not a single Christian died in that horrific Roman siege.  Instead, when they saw the signs, they did not return to their homes to gather supplies, but left immediately and were gone with the Roman legions arrived.

John too, would now add his own Revelations of Jesus Christ, to the growing volumes of prophecy in guiding the early church.  Peter was confident that all prophecies inspired of God, would NOT lead away from Jesus Christ, but instead would lead to Jesus Christ.  Peter was absolutely certain of this.  The Truth of Jesus Christ would be a consistent truth, and would find no other interpretation, or alternative path to God.  The Father had given us His Son, it was everything He had to give, there would be no greater gift He could offer.  And it would be the only means by which we could be remade and come back into the presence of our God.  Peter knew he was worshipping the right God, and the only God.  Peter knew His Son was His only Son, and Peter would stipulate that all true prophecy could only have one author, therefore only have one outcome.  There would be no prophecies inspired by God that would point to Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other purported deity.  The only prophecies inspired by God would always and only point to Jesus Christ.

But Peter here too offers us a glimpse of what the goal of the gospel is to be in our lives … ‘until the day star arise in our hearts’.  The goal of prophecy and of accepting the gospel, is not to make us scholars in the Word.  We are not to be oracles of the future where men come to gain advice of how to obtain their next desire.  We are to allow prophecy and the acceptance of the gospel, to enable Jesus Christ the day star, to arise in our hearts.  We are to live the messages of prophecy.  We are to live the love of the gospel.  We are to reflect Jesus Christ as the source of light in our lives, not believe we have become the source of its origin.  To become like Jesus, because we allow Jesus to remake us to love others like God loves others is the entire point of both the gospel and the sure word of prophecy.  Any other use or goal is meaningless.

Peter does not attempt to use the knowledge of his own death to alter that outcome.  He does not beg God to change it.  Instead he uses his foreknowledge to remind and reinforce in the minds of his readers, the importance of living the salvation experience.  He reminds them at risk of looking like an old man who cannot stop repeating himself, that this gospel is the most important thing on planet earth.  It is more important than life and death, even when that life and death is your own.  Many of his readers will die in Roman stadiums to the blood thirsty cheers of the crowd and the roar of lions starved into a demonic rage.  They will face this fate singing hymns of praise to Jesus Christ.  They will die like sheep following their shepherd, not because they do not value life, but because they value the life their Lord intends for them far more.  Peter’s example will be remembered when they face their own horrific end.  Peter’s foreknowledge of what would happen to him, did not deter him from the gospel, instead it deepened him in the gospel.  His impassioned pleas to the Romans who would put him to death, carried even more weight because he knew the Truth of Jesus Christ, and because he trusted both his life and his death into the hands of Jesus Christ.

Peter knew he would die.  In your own heart, you know you will to.  Peter hoped for the Lord return before he died, as do you.  But Peter met his end, with the certainty of the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That Truth caused Peter to live every moment before his death with the priority of the gospel as front and center.  Will we do the same?  Can we learn to re-measure the quality of our lives not by how long they last, but by how much love we show to others before they end?  Can we allow Christ to so remake us, that every moment is a brand new opportunity to do something for someone else?  It is in showing love to others that we most resemble our Lord.  To live this way, is to truly live.  When once we embrace this path, our death will only be a brief interruption in a lifestyle we will carry into a perfect world, where all lingering chains and weakness will once and for all be removed.  In that world, what we started here by loving others, will be amplified by the perfection He will have completed in us.  In that world, our experience will be something we can hardly imagine in this one.  This was the goal of prophecy, and of the gospel, to see us live a life like this, that begins in the here and the now, and sees only a completion in the next one.

And Peter had more yet to say …