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No Crying He Makes, Luke: 23:50-56 Verses 50 and 51 describe Joseph of Arimathea is beautiful terms. “ÖJoseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action”. He was a believer who “was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.” (v 51b). Believers must bring the truth of Jesus and his teaching to government, rather than “baptizing” the “righteousness” of oppressive and unjust laws. Waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God must affect how we live and relate to the kingdoms of this world. Indeed, the kingdom of God is at hand. This lesson from Joseph is too often lost in the story of his offering his own tomb for the burial of Jesus. Joseph asked for the body, then properly wrapped the body “in a linen cloth,...

Father, into Your Hands, Luke 23:44-46 Jesus died. There is nothing divine in this death that kept it from being a real and final human death. Jesus wasn’t asleep; he was dead. The whole creation seemed to know, for there was darkness at noon, at a latitude on our globe where this was not normal. Two sounds accompany this scene that had become quiet with the darkness. The first was Jesus’ cry, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (v 46). The second was the sound of the curtain of the temple ripping in two, from the top down. And there was, of course, the sound of weeping. Jesus’ death was as real as the death of our loved ones. His death was as real as the death we face. Jesus knew he was dying. Friends and family saw him die. Enemies and...

God Knows, Isaiah 53:10-12 “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain” (v 10). We can hardly read the sentence. We search for a way to explain the words and the image, and the God. Jesus’ physical, emotional, and spiritual pain is described in this passage as anguish. Pain and anguish are familiar words to many people.They experience anguish in our world and, often, the suffering is private and unknown to others. On the cross, Jesus’ anguish was on display for all to see. Indeed, God sees anguish wherever it exists. Those in physical anguish and mental torment are not alone. God the Creator sees the anguish; Jesus has experienced the anguish. What those who suffer in private must know is this, “God knows.” For many, it is true that only...

Father, Forgive Us, Luke 23:32-38 Now, on the cross, in the painful process of crucifixion, Jesus hangs between two thieves. He is their fellow victim in this cruelty. Jesus knows the plight of the prisoner and the humiliation of the criminal. He knows what it is to be the brunt of jokes and sarcasm. Yet, he loves and forgives those who are so weak as to do these things and say these things. What Was That He Said? Strip him of his clothes, Soon he will be dead. What was that, what was that, What was that he said? Nailed upon the cross, He dies with the thieves. Roll the dice, roll the dice For the clothes he leaves. Shame upon shame, The people stare. Name upon name, The people sneer. Are you now a savior? What is that you say? Can he save himself If he’s...

Do Not Weep for Him, Luke 23:27-28 There were women in the crowd who fell in step behind Simon of Cyrene, who was walking behind Jesus, carrying his cross. Jesus turned to the women in the crowd and told them not to weep for him, but to weep for themselves and their children. Women and children were among the oppressed of the society of that time. We, too, are to weep for the oppressed of our society. Women and children remain overly represented in that category. We are to weep for the poor and the oppressed as if we were weeping for Jesus, for he relates to them and walks among them. We are to weep for the oppressed and for those who, in their ignorance and arrogance, oppress them. Jesus brings grace and mercy into the picture, even though the world seems to...