Luke 18:31-34 (NASB) 31Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32"For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again."
Philippians 3:18-20 (NIV) 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ
Are we willing to consider the death of Jesus from the perspective of His enemies? The Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Jerusalem, and officials of the Roman government cooperated to bring about the death of Jesus, and they did so for the same reason. They viewed Jesus as a threat, not a threat to their life, but a threat to what they wanted in life.
As for Pontius Pilate, he was not about to sacrifice his career to save a teacher from the sticks. Do we know how he felt? Do we know feelings in the pit of our stomachs, sleepless nights and troubling thoughts racing through our head and heart? If we have never been threatened in this way we may not be able to stand in his shoes. But if we have known that kind of threat we can understand the actions and reactions. To us, the actions of the Sanhedrin and Pilate may seem senseless and unjust. But in a way the enemies of Jesus may have seen and understood Him more clearly and correctly than those of us who call ourselves Christians. If we see Jesus as a threat we may kill Him in a more sophisticated way as we try to tame His claim.
Do we experience Jesus as a threat to our life? Does He confront us, disturb us, and annoy us so that we would rather avoid Him? The Apostle Paul has warned those who find Christ accommodating, those who wallow in self-indulgence and twist the Gospel to suit themselves. We need to know Jesus as an Enemy, an Enemy who is for us. He is the Enemy of everything that is wrong and destructive in our life. It is as if God has said to us in Jesus, “Life is a wrestling match, and I am your opponent. I am the One who haunts you until you face up to your weakness, your failure, your rebellion, and your limitations.” All of this hounding is born of a love that will not let go and will not settle for less than God’s perfect desire for you. Is it true to say that if we have not known Jesus as a personal threat we have never known Him at all? Have you had this kind of encounter with the crucified, living Christ?
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 22, 1992
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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