Height of Humiliation

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him. At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. “If you are the Christ,” they said, “tell us.” (Lk.22:63-67)

Jesus gave Himself into the hands of the religionists and allowed Himself to be ill treated by His own creation.

God Emptying Himself of His Glory

Jesus was the very God who stepped out of eternity to enter time. The ‘infinite one’ willingly limited Himself by time and space. His own creation insulted Him. The one who opened the eyes of others was blind folded and beaten up. The ‘omniscient one’ was asked to name the soldier who slapped Him. When they arrested Him in the garden, at the mention of His name they fell backwards. But, He gave Himself into their hands to be offered as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”.

Men Blinded by their Religious Fervor

Though they had the prophecies about the Savior, the religious authorities could not see beyond His humanity. They took His words as blasphemy, His miracles as works of demonic spirits. Still they are asking Him whether He is the ‘Son of God’, not for their own confirmation, but to use as evidence against Him. Jesus gave indirect answers because He knew they would not believe.

However, to those who believe, He is the glorious king and the ultimate judge, seated prominently with God the Father.

Disowning the Master

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” (Lk.22:54-56)

There are times in the life of every Christian when he/she is tempted, tried and pulled apart by circumstances. During these dark hours, our closeness to the Savior alone can keep us from disowning Him.

Following at a distance

Peter was grieved and terrified at the arrest of Jesus. Those were moments of confusion. Everyone ran to safety. Peter followed at a distance.

Following Jesus at a ’safe’ distance will be more disastrous than following Him closely. When we try to protect ourselves, we land in danger. If we lose our lives for His sake we will save it, said Jesus.

Warmth of the World

The fire place was an ideal one to keep himself warm while watching the events. But the company among which you seek this warmth can be the wrong one. There is the challenge of being identified and picked out as a follower of the Lord Jesus. That could be the worse place for being a witness for the Master.

Effective Prayer

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Lk.22:42-44)

Jesus set an example for the Christian to follow, even in his prayer. Through prayer Jesus remained constantly connected to the Father in heaven.

Praying His heart out

Jesus knew the purpose of His coming into the world and He was very much focused in His life and mission. Yet, He prayed this agonizing prayer before those crucial moments. Not because He was scared of pain and suffering (as some interpret), but because of the experience of the actual judgment of sin - separation from God. It was that separation from the Father, though for a short while, that agonized Him.

Experiencing Heaven’s Backing

Even at the height of anguish Jesus submitted Himself to the will of the Father. He was stuck to His commitment to save the sinful mankind. At this point, as at a few other occasions, He received the heavenly support. He always had the angels at His command, but for the while He willingly set aside His glory. Here, the service of the angel demonstrated the backing of Heaven in His mission.

God the Father takes notice of the agonizing, earnest prayer of a child of God, and assures him/her of the backing of heaven in the pressing concerns he/she carries.

The Turn Around

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Lk.21:1-4)

Jesus had to face skeptics, traditionalists and opponents. They challenged His claims and His authority. The question that plagued them all was “who is Jesus?” Is He really the Messiah from God or just another guru?

Pre-existent God

Jesus made it clear that He was the very God, who was before the creation. He pre-existed all their great patriarchs and forefathers. God promised that the throne of David will be for ever and the Messianic King will reign from that throne. Jesus was the son of David but is He the Messianic King?

Who is Jesus? This is the question, not just the Jews, but every human being has to face. Is He just another religious teacher or the Savior from God. Our answer to this question determines our destiny. It will also alter the course of our lives.

Transformed Lives

Once convinced about the Deity of Jesus Christ and committed to His Lordship our lives will take a ‘U’ turn. Our motives and intentions change drastically. Personal agenda will take the back seat and unlike the religionists of Jesus’ day we will shun publicity and self promotion.

Like the widow who offered the two coins, our lifestyle will reflect our devotion to God. It is not how much we offer to God but how much we keep for ourselves that counts. Honoring God is expensive affair. We must be prepared to give up and give away for the sake of honoring God. Our devotion must be visible to Jesus rather than to people.

Researching to Refute

The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Lk.20:19-22)

There were (and there are) people who denied the deity of Jesus and rejected His authority. Some do it directly and others masquerade. They have tried in vain to disprove His claims.

Jesus’ Authority

Jesus always taught with authority unlike the religious teachers. He had authority over life and death since He was the author of life. His words provoked His enemies to anger and hatred. They wanted to eliminate Him and tried to trap Him in their wisdom. The Scripture says, God traps the wise in their wisdom (1Cor.3:19).

Jesus has influenced more lives than any other person, government or authority in history. The self-righteous religious leaders of His day were annoyed by the increasing influence of Jesus and their own diminishing hold on the people. Jesus exposed the hypocrisy and untruthful life of these leaders. However, He recognized the political systems and governments and advocated paying our dues to the authorities.

Critics’ Ignorance

Enemies come with tricky questions to trap Jesus. He reveals their ignorance about the things of God and silences them. Followers of Jesus face the same situation and God empowers them with His Word and wisdom to face these challenges. Man can never thwart the purposes of God and the advancement of God’s kingdom.

Faith That Opens Our Eyes

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. (Lk.18:38-42)

After discussing about eternal life Jesus pointed to the means by which eternal life was going to be provided-His own substitutionary death. This was beyond the comprehension of His disciples.

Atoning Death

The prophets foretold about the atoning death of the Savior whom God would send. Thus the Jewish people were awaiting the coming of the Savior. Yet they could not comprehend their Savior as a humble servant who would be assaulted and put to death by the Roman authorities. This was contrary to their concept of the Savior. But the focal point of the whole episode was His resurrection on the third day.

Eye-opening Faith

The blind man near Jericho had heard about all what Jesus had done and He was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah who has come “…to preach good news to the poor. …to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk.4:18-19; Isa.61:1-2) Jesus responded to his faith by doing what he badly wanted. He had seen the Savior with the eyes of faith and that made even his physical eyes to open up.

Is Prayer Losing its Power?

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Lk.18:7-

Prayer has become too casual and common these days that it is nothing more than a ritual that gives some kind of a psychological satisfaction. Jesus told two parables pointing at two vital parameters of effective prayer. 

Persistent Prayer 

The wicked judge decided to give justice to the one who was knocking at his door unashamedly. She was persistent and wouldn’t give up. Her was confident that the judge will take action, if not today definitely tomorrow. Her persistence was rewarded.

God being righteous and holy will be more eager to act on behalf of His children who persistently seek His His mercy. We should not give up, even if it is inconvenient and discouraging. Faith should be enduring. Jesus is warning us that as time advances there are chances of many people losing their faith itself.

Do we see this happening around us?

Repentant Prayer

In the second parable there is a self righteous pharisee and a tax collector. Pharisee was praying to the people in the Temple (he was boasting about his religiosity) while the tax collector was talking to God admitting his unworthiness. God is ready to listen to a repentant sinner than to the religious hypocrite.

Prayer is effective when the parameters are correct. God cannot answer a hypocrite and his prayer doesn’t meet God’s standard. Humility before God is reflected in repentance.

Reason For Joy

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Lk.15:10)

We see two kinds of people around Jesus. First, those who love Him and want to follow Him. Second, those who doubt Him and want to pin Him down. It may appear as if there is a third group in between. But when it comes to a response to Jesus there could be no neutral position. You are either with Him or against Him. Jesus Himself said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” (Mat.12:30 NLT) The same applies to the crowds of today.

Those Drawing Closer

There were people who wanted to draw closer to Jesus, to hear His words of promise and assurance of salvation. They experienced the joy of being with their Lord and Master. They had obviously made up their minds to follow Him since they realized that Jesus was the Savior God had promised. This requires a definite decision to stake one’s life rather than being a casual devotee or a passive sympathizer.

Those Drifting Farther

The ones who doubt the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ are on the opposite team. They may not be radically challenging His authority but the end result is the same. They will be drifting away from the Savior and from His saving grace decision by decision, choice by choice, question by question, unless they are submissive in their spirit to the truth revealed. The religionists will search for reasons not to surrender themselves to His authority. They will be driven by their self righteous ego.

Lost and Found

In the story of the lost sheep and the lost coin, the shepherd or the owner is relentlessly searching for the lost one. We, like the lost sheep, went on our own ways and are lost. As the owner of our lives the Good Shepherd came searching. In our case, we need to respond to the Shepherd’s call. We need to realize that we are lost and unable to find our way home. We need to acknowledge that the Good Shepherd alone can save us and bring us back home. No one else has come seeking the lost in order to save them. We must be willing to be a sheep in His fold and obey Him hereafter.

Reason For Joy

Are you still a lost sheep or has the Good Shepherd found you? If the Good Shepherd has saved you, you had been the reason for joy in heaven. As the sheep of His fold the Good Shepherd has given us the task of seeking and ’saving’ other lost sheep, by bringing them to the Good Shepherd. We can thus cause joy in heaven as well as in those lives.

First Love

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...” (Lk.14:26-27)

Following Jesus is costly though the salvation He gives you is free. That was why the large crowds that were around Him often dropped out by the time He reached Calvary.

No Greater Love

There cannot be anything or anyone holding a better place in your life than Jesus. Your love for Him should be your passion and goal. Nothing should match it nor equal it, be it your spouse, children, parents, friends or members of family. Unless you are prepared to love Him even at the expense of all others-people and things- you cannot be His disciple.

‘Hate’ here is in comparison with the love for Jesus. The intensity of your love for Jesus should make all other loves look like hatred or if you are asked to make a choice between Jesus and anyone else, your obvious choice would be to choose against your own people.

No Lesser Sacrifice

You need to be willing to relinquish anything that can come in the way of your loving the Lord Jesus Christ-your personal rights, possessions, relationships, anything for that matter. These crosses you have to carry as you follow Him.

Jesus set aside the glories of heaven and took up the humiliating death on the cross by His own will. His cross was His choice for the salvation of mankind. Your cross is whatever you lay down for the sake of the Master and the after effects of it, may it be humiliation, persecution, financial loss, whatever.

Faithful Servants

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.” (Lk.12:38)

Jesus is referring to His return as the Judge to recompense everyone at the end of time. Watchfulness is a quality required from His servants along with faithfulness.

Availability of the Servant

The servant of God is on duty always. There is no working hours and resting hours, there is no specific time of vocation and time for vacation. There is no incumbency and superannuation. He must be ready at all times, as Paul says, “… in season or out of season”, to do what the Master says. Whether we are being watched or not we ought to be faithfully doing our duty. The Master will make a surprise visit with rewards for such servants. Others will be ashamed to stand before Him on that day.

This is also a warning for the unsaved. Even after much prophetic announcements the people of Israel missed the first advent of the Messiah. There is ample warning (like this one) in the Scripture about His second advent. Will you be ready?

Accountability of the Servant

The servant of God will be held responsible for all that God had entrusted with him. The gift of salvation, the amount of grace and mercy, the spiritual gifts, all that He has bestowed up on him. The lapse in discharging duty will be punishable.

Every Christian is called to be His servant. We see a lot of irresponsible servants around us and we need to warn them of the impending danger. The Lord will return any day. Are you ready to give your account?