Day 27: Frivolous
- Updated Mar 27, 2009
It is now early on Good Friday. Jesus was arrested by the Jews
sometime around midnight. Since then he has been taken from one hearing
to another: Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin. They all had their shot at
him. Along the way, he has endured mocking jokes, insults, and false
accusations. The Jews want him dead but only the Romans have the power
of capital punishment. Thus he ends up before Pontius Pilate, the
governor of Judea. Pilate is a Roman appointee who has little
understanding of the Jews and their religion. His main task is
collecting taxes and keeping the peace. When Jesus is brought before
him, a cursory examination reveals nothing that would justify the death
penalty. When he hears that Jesus is from Galilee, he spies a way out
of the jam. Since Herod handled matters in Galilee, and since he
happened to be in Jerusalem that week, he would send Jesus to Herod and
let him handle this messy problem.
Now at last Herod meets Jesus. But it didn’t work out the way he had expected. “When
Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had
been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to
see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but
Jesus gave him no answer” (Luke 23:8-9). He is “greatly
pleased” because he thinks Jesus is going to work a miracle (or two or
three) for him. “Jesus, I heard you can turn water into wine. Here’s a
basin of water. Show us your magic.” “They say you can walk on water.
How about walking across the pool in my backyard?” On and on it went,
Herod firing one question after another at Jesus. He is curious, yes,
but he is not a seeker of truth. Herod is nothing but a thrill seeker.
I am sure he was shocked and then chagrined when Jesus refused to speak
to him. No one ever treated him like that. And the chagrin turned to
embarrassment and eventually to anger.
There are times in life
when silence speaks louder than words. This is one of those occasions.
Jesus knew that Herod was trifling with him and that his questions did
not come from an honest heart. He saw no reason to answer, and so he
“opened not his mouth.”
When Herod killed John the Baptist, he murdered
his own soul. He lost the ability to hear the voice of Jesus. There was
nothing Jesus could say that would have made the slightest difference
in that situation. By his silence Jesus is saying, “You didn’t want to
hear the truth when John spoke. You said no. Now you will never hear
the truth again. I accept your answer of no.”
Light received leads to more light. Light rejected leads only to the darkness. God is not obligated to send the Spirit again and again and again to your heart. Do not say, “I’ll come to Christ later. I’ll live for him after I graduate, after I go to college, after I have some fun, after I get married. I’ll be a Christian someday when I have finally settled down.” Do not say, “I know I need to get serious about the Lord but I just want to have fun first.” Now is the right time to come to Christ. Now is the best day you’ll ever have to give your heart to the Lord. Now is the perfect moment to get serious about following Jesus. Behold, now is the day of salvation!
Forgive me, Lord, for putting off my obedience to your call. Shine, Jesus, shine, and please start in my heart. Amen.
You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.