A PhD in Cruelty ...

How hard is it for you to be “nice”?  Does your significant other (or perhaps a close family member) seem to enjoy sharing “painful” truth about you, to you?  Or is it you, who cloaks pain with truth, when you speak to others.  Often folks who do this, are not even aware they do it.  But the ones on the receiving end are acutely aware.  Everyone wants the truth.  And nobody wants pain.  So how you reconcile those two things may be a matter of sensitivity if you care about how someone else feels.  Blatant truth, that is, truth told without the slightest regard for how it will be received, or how much pain it can cause – is the mark of a student aiming for their PhD in Cruelty, whether they know it or not.  And for those who enjoy cruelty; to see tears well up, to see dreams dashed with reality, to break the spirit of the young.  For these folks, cruelty is something beyond the boundaries of education, it is a high art form.  But for Christians, the only blanket for truth is love.  You can share painful truth with me, when I know it breaks your heart harder than it breaks mine.  When your tears flow faster than my own, then whatever pain there is in my truth is couched in a love that cannot be denied.  At that point, painful truth, is constructive at best, and commiserated at least.

Cruelty however, is something that can be taught.  Victims become proficient perpetrators.  And long-time exposure to inflicting cruelty causes dullness in recognizing it, and lack of motivation to treat it.  It is a tool of Satan to stamp out the love-response-mechanism in us all.  And what you do for a living can greatly impact how much cruelty you learn to tolerate, and perhaps inflict.  For example, its harder for a cop.  Imagine how much horror and cruelty a policeman is exposed to over the years of their career.  Their job is to jump right in to man-hurting-man and try to stop it.  They see us at our worst.  Either inflicting great pain on others, or falling victim to the pain another inflicts.  Most of us don’t seek out cops to form friendships, have dinner parties, and generally be a support system for them.  Instead we sit behind our televisions or computer screens quick to judge the failures of a few; attributing those failures to everyone; and all the while decry racisms of all “other” forms as being rampant in those who chose to protect and serve us.  None-the-less they continue to serve.  Everyday a battle to remain human, while exposed to the worst of humanity seen in crisis nearly all the time.  But at least cops understand the hope to make society better.

Try being a front-line soldier for a living.  That career requires you to kill others.  Kill, or be killed.  It is hard to kill others without finding a reason to dislike them, perhaps to hate them.  So we try to walk the tight rope of teaching our soldiers to protect each other, while hating the enemy, enough to kill the enemy, but not enough to become barbarians in the process.  Let’s face it, America rarely enters a war with another nation, unless the deeds of that nation rank in our barbarism scale.  Then we fight back.  But history has a long habit of pointing out that war makes barbarians of us all, blurring the lines between the good side and the bad side if all we do is examine the worst of what each of us has done.  My grandfather was a full-bird colonel coming out of World War Two, I believe he served in the army aircorp at that time.  He is buried in Arlington National cemetery with his wife now.  He saw combat in the Pacific.  Survived an enemy bomb that killed every other officer in the tent, was promoted, and continued to fight.  My grandfather was a gentle man, at least what I knew of him.  But he brought home a visceral hatred for anything Japanese.  And he did not want to talk about it.  He saw something.  Something so horrible, he could not get it out of his mind.  Even decades later it was just as raw as ever.  The cruelty he witnessed was so bad he could never forget it, or ever stop blaming for it.  But he was blessed enough not to let it completely take him over.

The military has always had it hard, trying to walk that balancing act between horrifically efficient killer, and common man able to enter a peace-loving society when hostilities come to a close.  Now we have a myriad of psychological conditions we diagnose our vets with, and think because we have cute names and accurate symptoms, we have solved the problem.  But the problem is a fundamental one.  We train our men to kill, proficiently kill, then at some point, tell them killing is done.  And today’s suicide rates of our vets are way too high.  It is hard to take life, then deal with it.  Some men just never try to come back from it.  Look back through history, this is not a new problem, and its hard to say whether it is better now, or worse now.  We kill from farther away, but we kill many more people with our advanced weapons.  In Roman times, you killed pretty much only people you could reach at arms length.  Archery may give you distance but lowers the body count surety.  A sword in the chest, pretty much guarantees the job is done.  Is it any wonder the soldiers in the days of Christ seem so proficient in cruelty?

The Executive of the state washed his hands and passed the buck as much as he could.  But he still ordered Jesus to be crucified.  Jesus would hardly be unique in that death.  Rows of crosses lined the roads throughout all of Israel.  Where we have light posts, they had crosses.  It was designed as a warning to rebellious thinking people.  Act out, find yourself decorating the highways of Judea in blood, your blood.  It was abomination to have this much death, or partial death, going on all the time, nearly everywhere.  But there were many would-be Messiah’s who promised freedom from Rome, only to find themselves, and their followers, and their follower’s families, up on Roman crosses, marking the roads in and out of every city.  Hatred of Rome was visual, and earned, and mutual.  Soldiers did all the dirty work.  Pilate was not going to do “anything” to Jesus himself, he would order the military to do it.  Men bathed in cruelty, who were taught hatred of the enemy is the only thing that kept them alive.  Doctrines of Satan spread then and now, in furrows of the blood of our enemies, that we feel OK about shedding.

Mercy, while steeped in the heart of Jesus for his Roman military escort, was totally void in their hearts for Him.  Matthew picks up the story in chapter 27 of his gospel to his contemporaries, beginning in verse 27 it says … “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. [verse 28] And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.”  Modesty has left the building.  The circumcision of Jesus is now clearly visible to all.  What is left of his back is bare, but blood falls from its 39 chuncks of missing meat, taken by the shards of glass tied in to the tips of the whip (cat of nine-tails) used in his flogging.  He drops blood fast enough to bleed out, but no one tends to His already horrific wounds.  Jesus was a Jew.  He was bound to die.  The people hated Him (or so it looked).  So anything these Romans did to Jesus, would bring with it, not even a shred of accountability.  The only anger they would inspire in the priests, is from making them wait longer for the inevitable death of Jesus.  And let’s face it, that was part of the Roman “fun” of any crucifixion.

Once naked, they find likely in the dirty clothes hamper of Pilate, a scarlet purple robe of royalty.  How much fun it might be to put this robe on Jesus (dirty as it was) to make fun of Him.  The maids will wash the blood out of it before Pilate gets it back anyway, so why not.  Matthew continues in verse 29 saying … “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!”  And Satan grants each of them an honorary PhD in Cruetly for following his lead in this matter.  What is a king without a crown.  So they make one, weaving together a thorn bush with 2 inch long thorns, long enough to push deep into the head of Jesus, causing new rivers of blood to emerge.  At this rate Jesus may not survive even the walk to the cross.  They give him a scepter made of a reed.  Then they mock Him, kneeling and hailing Him as the King of the Jews.  And this is where they believed anyone who dared to take that name belonged.  Here, bleeding out, being mocked.  Hate has no bounds, nor has it a high threshold.  Like love, when you think you have discovered all there is, more will be found in you.  Satan tries through all this cruelty to convince Jesus, that we, humanity, are not worth it.  He is right.  This is the painful truth, though it causes Satan no pain, only glee.

None of us are worth this.  At least none of us, would go through this for each other, yet Jesus is undeterred.  Now it is time to get physical.  Matthew continues in verse 30 saying … “And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.”  None of us are too crazy about the idea of having someone else hawk-a-loogie right in our face.  To have the indignity of a spit bukaki in the face of your precious Savior should cause you to cringe in horror.  But it occurred.  Jesus did not react.  Not just because His arms were so tired He would not be able to lift them to wipe away the indignity.  But He just kept looking at these men as if He loved each of them, and knew each of them personally.  This was making it lose the buzz.  So they up’ed the game.  They take back the reed, and begin to beat Him on the head, pushing the crown of thorns even deeper into his flesh every time they made contact.  Producing a new squirt of blood as if from the pump of an artery every time they made contact.  They are laughing at Him.  He is crying for them.  They are why He is here.  To save each of them.

The fun is wearing off.  Cruelty cannot sustain a high, only get one started.  To sustain the high, one must find new ways to raise the game, make it worse.  There is never enough cruelty, to keep a high going.  Besides, Jesus has dumped so much blood on the ground in front of them, they are beginning to slip.  If they stay He will bleed out, avoid a crucifixion, and get them in trouble for not following orders.  Matthew continues in verse 31 saying … “And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.”  They put His own homespun on Him again.  But they leave the crown of thorns on Him, if they pulled it out surely He would have died from blood loss.  The clothing, such as it is, is now holding His back together after the flogging.  Not much skin left, so His clothing acts as a large sack holding His body together soaking with blood throughout.  But in this condition, He is completely unable to carry the cross as was the custom.  You can bet these cruel men had ZERO intentions of helping this Jew out, or any after Him.

Matthew continues in verse 32 saying … “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.  [verse 33] And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,  [verse 34] They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.”  They made it to the place designated for this execution.  Lucky them.  Had Jesus died en route there would have been no end to the anger.  The Romans could care less who they made help them out.  When they get there, they offered Jesus a pain-dulling stimulant, to give Him some chance to live longer.  This was not a mercy.  It was a continued act of cruelty.  The point was to see Jesus suffer as long as humanly possible.  If Jesus died right away, it kills the fun of it.  But when Jesus tasted what it was, He refused to drink.  In his depleted condition, you could not force Him, or you may just kill Him on the spot. 

Matthew continues in verse 35 saying … “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. [verse 36] And sitting down they watched him there; [verse 37] And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”  The doctors of cruelty who have no idea about ancient Jewish prophecies now fulfill another of them without the slightest knowledge they do so.  They threw dice for the homespun of Jesus.  Once you wash His robes, they might be awefully nice to add to a wardrobe.  Further cruelty, He will die naked and exposed now for all the world to see.  What would be our shame is now His shame.  No modesty, no compassion, only cruelty.  They choose to nail His hands and feet to the cross.  They could have tied Him up there with ropes, but ropes are less painful.  Nails, or rather spikes, will pearce Him clean through and increase the pain by an order of magnitude.

But while the sound of spike through bone is heard by all, what is not heard, is even a whisper of condemnation for those who are in the middle of inflicting all this cruelty upon Him.  Jesus had to die.  But this level of cruelty was our choice, not His will.  Yet still he does not call out any who sin against Him personally, to condemn them for what they do, even though their cruelty would have surely gotten any one of us to hate them in response.  The horror of sledge hammer through bone is heard.  Continual planking and squirting of blood, yet not a word of condemnation.  This was the most evident public sin of all time, yet nothing from Jesus who knew their every thought.  And somehow still, modern Christians believe it is “their job” to point out sin.  Leave the sin diagnosis with Jesus, and frankly focus on getting the repair there as well.    The sign they erect over His head proclaims Him King.  None of these men probably read; they are not even sure what they posted.  But orders from Pilate so, so be it.

It is convenient for us to think we would never stoop to this level of cruelty to anyone, especially to Jesus.  So instead of pounding in a crown of thorns, or planking spikes through bone, we offer death by a thousand cuts instead.  We speak our blatant truth with no regard, and let the chips fall where they may.  But they are not our chips.  They are the pieces of hope and faith we shatter in another because we demonstrate to them that our version of what love means, is devoid of any caring for what another thinks and feels.  We believe it is “our duty” to call sin by its name, and speak the “will of God” as if “we” knew that will.  Our Pharisee forefathers had equal arrogance.  They too recited scripture and clung to their singular interpretations and were now killing Jesus because they too believed they knew the will of God. 

We call ourselves Christian, and then proceed to dismember others with our speech, ironically thinking we do them a favor.  We do not.  If we loved them, so much that it broke our hearts to even consider sharing with them a truth that might hurt them as well, we would find another way to say it.  We might even follow the example of Jesus during this entire event and keep our peace, keep silent.  Or we would stand there with our brothers & sisters sheltering them throughout, so that they knew we were with them forever.  If tears are to flow, let them be our tears first.  Love that cares, cares.  It is not blind to the heart of others, even in matters of truth.  Let us burn our degrees in cruelty, and study love in its place.  Let us wrap truth in a hand-stitched blanket of love, never more in a platted crown-of-thorns, before we even consider delivering it.  Let us elevate love to a high art form, ever pursuing a mastery we may never fully attain.  And in so doing, speak or see cruelty never again.

 

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 …

 

Proof of Death ...

Before one can come back to life, one must have first lost their life in the first place.  CNN carried a story recently of a man who was pronounced dead for 45mins and after a prayerful declaration by his teenage son, his pulse rate resumed, and he was quite literally brought back to life.  The man appeared on television with his family.  He had no stories of bright lights, or ascending over his body, or seeing departed loved ones.  His testimony was only that he fell asleep at home and awoke several days later in the hospital without any knowledge of what took place in between.  His doctor conducted research and to the best of his knowledge has never heard of anything like this in the medical / scientific community.  So is this a modern day resurrection, akin to Lazarus in the past?  Skeptics will dismiss this story, as being mistaken, facts incorrectly relayed, timing’s being in question.  Perhaps the man in question was never “really” dead.  But skeptics will always find a way to discount that in which they refuse to believe by choice.   There were those I am sure who dismissed the story of Lazarus who spent four days in a grave before being called back to life.  And now, John was to record the final events of the life of Christ, those events that led up to His death.

 

John begins in chapter 19 of his gospel in verse 16 saying … “Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.”  Pilate had finally given up his efforts to spare the innocent blood of Christ, and had acquiesced to the fervor of the religious zealots who demanded Christ be killed through the power of the state.  From a human perspective, all hope was gone for Christ.  The hate of the Pharisees, combined with the muscle of Roman power, was a combination that no man could overcome.  But therein lies the irony.  This was no ordinary man.  Christ, with the power of His divinity, could have at any time removed himself from this situation.  He had done so on every occasion where the people intended to make Him their earthly King.  But while He exercised divine power to escape fame and earthly glory, He used none of it to escape His own torture and death.  He chose to submit through each agonizing moment, all the way to His death.  It is why He had said that no man takes His life, that He alone must lay it down.  All the power of hate and Rome was nothing against His own will, should He have willed it, He could have stopped the process in an instant.  But He did not.

John continues in verse 17 … “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: [verse 18] Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.”  No sense in wasting an execution, Pilate determined to go ahead and execute two other captured criminals with Christ.  In yet another Roman expression of efficiency, the criminals were to carry the heavy load of the instrument of torture they were to be put to death upon.  They carried their own crosses (though we know this burden at some point in the journey became too much for Christ, and another was tasked to help Him with it).  Crucifixion was not the same as beheading, or a bullet to the head, or a mortal wound from a sword or spear.  It was intended to be a slow death.  The victim must hold themselves up in order to keep breathing properly.  When the muscles in their legs finally give out, they become unable to breathe, and die of asphyxiation.  Their last ounce of strength would be spent trying to stay alive for just one more moment, with a knowledge that at some point, they would lose strength and die.  Christ had already exhausted Himself, in the beating He had taken that nearly had Him bleed out.  He had been mocked, spat upon, lost more blood from the crown of thorns placed in His head, and again exhausted from trying to carry His own cross.  He would not last long.

Pilate however, had one parting shot at those religious zealots who had refused to listen to reason.  Pilate knew that the Jews believed their Messiah was to be their king.  So John records in verse 19 … “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. [verse 20] This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. [verse 21] Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. [verse 22] Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.”  Pilate did believe Jesus was indeed the Messiah of the Jewish prophecy, his brief encounter with Truth taught him that.  So, Pilate gave to Christ the title the common belief in that prophecy warranted.  In effect, Pilate was saying to the Jews, whether you see it or not, you have asked me to crucify your only hope.  And Pilate remained firm in keeping this title posted in every common language, near to Jerusalem during a Passover, a year of Jubilee, and a time when every worshipper would be heading into the city.  This was something the Pharisees could not stand, but were forced to endure.

Modern artistic renderings of Christ always show Him clothed during this final torturous death.  It is hard enough for us to bear that He died in our place, but to add the humiliation of seeing our God on earth naked, and exposed for all to see, for His enemies to further mock, is too much for most artists to represent.  But scripture tells us in verse 23 … “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. [verse 24] They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.”  His clothing was divided among the soldiers (spoils of war), and He would have no further need of it.  His robe however, was decided by dice as it was a garment woven without seam.  Even in the details of their greed, scriptural prophecy was fulfilled.  The Pharisees were present during these events.  They knew the prophecies.  They had spent their lives debating the scriptures and their meaning.  These events were not lost on them, but they simply did not choose to care, or to truly see their own error and repent.

In another act of cruelty, the Romans freely permitted the women related to the victims of crucifixion to attend these events.  The women who loved these victims would openly grieve for them, pleading for mercy which would not come.  The victims seeing the pain of their loved ones, would struggle harder to survive, thus extending the torture of their own inevitable death.  All of this spectacle only added to the pain and torture for everyone concerned.  The men who were friends of the victim would largely stay away, as they did not want to risk a confrontation with the attending soldiers, or risk being associated with the victim and perhaps find themselves the subject of further Roman prosecution in coming days.  So no matter what the motivation may have been, the remainder of the disciples of Christ were not recorded as being present at His death.  Perhaps they were there and unnoticed, or perhaps they had already fled to the upper room.  In any case, John does record who had come in verse 25 … “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.”  Four women had come to grieve and spend what little time there was left, with the One who they had all come to love.  I do not know, if the sister of the mother of Christ may have been the mother of John the Baptist or not, but at least Mary had some family present with her. 

Death was now very near.  Strength had given way to the exhaustion of human limits.  For most of us, our thoughts would have been centered on living, on keeping alive just a bit longer.  But even unto death, despite everything that has happened to Him, and all the pain He has personally endured.  The thoughts of Christ are on the pain of those He loved.  Instead of crying out for His own agony, He looks to address the concerns of His family.  John records in verse 26 … “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! [verse 27] Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”  Widows were the poorest of Jewish society, without a male to earn, and buy, and manage affairs, a woman could do little to preserve her own life.  So Christ first thinks of us once again, and in so doing affirms that we are family by choice, as much or more, as we are family by blood.  To His mother, He offers yet another son.  To His most loved friend, He offers the care and love of yet another mother, His very own mother.  To care for the widows, and orphans, is not just a lesson to be preached in the Temple, but to be lived by example, even at the point of death.  Even at the door of death itself Christ is thinking about us, trying to care for us, looking out for our best interests.  With all the divine power at His disposal, He does not make miracles to insure the wealth and ease of the life of His mother.  Instead He asks John to love her and care for her.  He asks Mary to treat John as her own son, and to love and care for Him.  It is not miracles that are needed to make our lives filled with wealth and ease, it is only love.  It is love that is truly important.  It always was, it will always be.

Now there was only one more prophetic scripture to be fulfilled.  John records in verse 28 … “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. [verse 29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. [verse 30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”  Every prophecy of scripture regarding the true mission of the Messiah had been fulfilled.  Christ had died.  He had yielded up His own life.  He had laid it down for us.  He had died of a broken heart.  But I do not believe we were the direct reason for His so great sadness.  There was something else going on, something of far more significance, and caused Christ far more sadness.  The burden of our sins were upon Him.  As such, for the first time in His existence (which is without time and space to measure), He was forced to be separated from His Father.  This separation constitutes the very definition of hell itself.  To be pulled away from the source of love and life and be hidden from its view, was more than the heart of Christ could bear.  Sin could not exist in the presence of God the Father.  Therefore though He Himself was sinless, the weight of our sins that He carried, forced a separation between Himself and His Father.  This was just too much for Him.  This separation was more than even His own divine nature could endure.  It would be this separation that would cause Him to yield up His own life, and see His heart broken because of it.   This was the ultimate sacrifice on His part for us; to be willing to endure separation from His Father in order that we might not suffer that fate.

But there was even more at stake for Christ than the separation that was causing His eminent demise.  What if, having been stained with the weight of our seemingly endless evil, He could no longer return to the presence of His Father?  What if this separation was to be permanent?  What if the sacrifice He was making was simply not enough to redeem mankind, or be removed from His being?  He was not just risking a human life in the sacrifice of His life with taking on our sins.  He was risking divine existence as the universe had come to know it.  He was risking everything for us.  He was giving up everything for us.  The scale of His sacrifice was not to be measured in merely His mortal human existence, but in His divine eternal one as well.  This was the question the atheists delight to ponder, could God create a rock so big He could not move it?  But of more eternal significance, could Christ carry the sins of us all, and still return to the side of His Father, having once been stained with the evil of our species from time and memorial?  This answer was not visible from the cross.  Jesus would have to die first, and find out if it was enough later.  His divinity could not answer this mystery before He experienced it.  Thus everything was at risk for our God.  And the pain of separation was that which would cause His own heart to break.  And still He went forward with it.  Still He submitted, and did the will of His Father, without a guarantee it could be undone, or overcome, only a faith that this is the road He must take, and the choice He must make … for us.

And while the fate of the universe itself hung in the balance, the Pharisees had larger concerns, they must insure that preparation for the religious rituals they were to perform would not be distracted by the death of Love and Life itself on a cross outside their city.  These men firmly believed that holiness was achieved through their own actions, not through simple submission.  As such they must “do” what they needed to do in order to be made “pure” before the day of rest and atonement.  John records the height of hypocrisy in verse 31 … “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”  The religious leadership of the only one true religion on planet earth, the one established by the Man hanging on the cross, was determined that their murder of their founder would not distract from the ceremonies they had been directed to perform.  Thus they wished to accelerate the deaths of those hanging there, in order to wrap things up by Sabbath.  Ironically there was not even need of this where Christ was concerned, He was already resting.

John records the events in verse 32 … “Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. [verse 33] But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: [verse 34] But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. [verse 35] And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. [verse 36] For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. [verse 37] And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.”  Now even after He was dead, scriptural prophecy was still being fulfilled.  But beyond this, a lethal spear wound was inflicted JUST to make SURE Christ was dead.  It was already visibly evident.  The darkness as nature refused to witness the death of her creator was unearthly and unprecedented.  The thunder and earthquake that occurred when Christ had given up the ghost, which had woken some of the dead from Adam to Christ and would now bear witness of His divinity until His first ascension in three days, would rock Jerusalem to its core.  And most interesting, the rip from top to bottom of the heavy curtains that separated the Most Holy place from the rest of the temple, allowing EVERYONE to stare straight at the Ark of the Covenant without death.  All of these miraculous events testified at the death of Christ, of His divinity, of the magnitude of His sacrifice. 

But skeptics are not convinced by the miraculous, only by the practical.  So a mortal spear wound through the ribs of Christ would have to suffice for proof of death.  After all, a Roman soldier knew how to kill if nothing else.  They had plenty of practice at it.  And there has never been any dispute that Christ was killed in these events.  There has only ever been a dispute about whether He emerged from death.  The proof that He died seems to have been sufficient for even the most die-hard atheist who examines this record.  Indeed there seems to be ample evidence that He died.  But as said in the beginning, the only way to prove a resurrection is to first prove a death has occurred …

 

A Contrast in Perceptions ...

12 men had followed Christ for nearly three years, right up till now, the night of His doom.  We don’t know where all of them were, with what was to transpire, because it is not explicitly documented in the gospels.  Perhaps they blended into the various crowd scenes that took place, perhaps they ran and re-grouped in the upper room they had just had dinner in.  Perhaps they simply remained at a distance away from prying eyes and probing questions, close enough to see, but not close enough to be dragged into it.  When on that great day, we join them in the heavenly courts, perhaps we can ask them; though it may be a great while before our curiosity of what took place overwhelms our senses with what heaven will have to offer us.  In any case, while we do not know the story of all of his followers, we have a pretty good idea about the story of some of them during this time.  We imagine Mary and Martha, seeking out Mary Jesus’ mother to bring her and comfort her with what was happening.  Not much is said of Lazarus from this point forward, but the conspiracy to kill Christ, had added Lazarus as well; for the priests could not abide leaving one alive who was raised from the dead.  Lazarus was living proof of the divinity of Christ, should he be called as a witness at the trial of Christ, things might go badly for the religious leadership.  But again we do not know exactly what happened to Lazarus, or where he was at this point in time.

John however, who is reluctant to refer to himself directly by name in his own gospel, does state where he was, and where Peter was when these events began to unfold.  In chapter 18 of his gospel, John records in verse 15 … “And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.”  It was John who was known to the high priest.  And as the high priest recognized John, he let him inside.  This, to me, represents such a dichotomy in perceptions between one true follower of Christ and another.  John followed Christ right into the place where men intent on killing Him had what looked like full power over Him.  John went there without representing a threat to these men (or they would not have let him in).  And He went there knowing he was likely risking his own life in doing so.  He had seen Christ submit.  He now must have truly feared that the mission of the Messiah was going to be one of sacrifice, not of liberation from Rome.  Yet John goes right in seemingly without thinking about it.  He continues in verse 16 … “But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.” 

Peter however, hangs out at the outer door.  It seems while John was recognized and allowed entrance, Peter was not.  So John has to go back and tell the door maid, Peter is with him, and to let him in.  She complies.  And then John records in verse 17 … “Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith, I am not.”  What a difference in perceptions between John and Peter.  John is openly known by the enemies of Christ and is allowed entrance, he further has to vouch for Peter to get him in.  Now Peter is asked about being a disciple of Christ, by merely a door maid, and his first thought is to deny it.  It makes little sense.  John just vouched for Peter with that same door maid.  John is clearly a disciple and is not trying to hide that fact.  Peter is guilty by association with John.  Yet Peter decides it is better to keep his allegiance to Christ a secret, rather than allow it to be made public.

And we modern Christians sit in judgment of Peter on this topic, believing ourselves to be above this kind of denial and shenanigans.  If “we” had been asked by the door maid, surely “we” would have acted like John, NOT like Peter.  But how many of us are so open with our peers, our work associates, or creditors, or our customers about our own relationship with Christ?  Do we bow our heads in prayers of thanks over our meals in expensive restaurants or do we tend to “forget”, offering rather silent prayers so as not to “offend” others nearby.  Do we mirror the language spoken around us, when others swear, so do we, in order that we keep everyone comfortable and not offend them by restraining from words our Lord would not use?  Do we often choose to mirror the world around us, rather than allow ourselves to be marked as different because of who we believe in?  And in electing to keep our relationship secret with Christ, do we not simply mimic the behavior of Peter in the very same situation?

And these situations present themselves to us every day, in our everyday lives.  What about those Christians who dare to take the good news of love of the gospel into hostile lands; when these brothers are asked if they are Christian it is often at the point of a gun, where the “yes” answer is not the one the questioner is looking to hear.  Peter knew the stakes and may well have believed the door maid was an active agent or spy for the high priest looking to get Peter to confess to his earlier impetuous actions with the sword.  If nothing else, being associated with Christ right at that moment might end his own life early, and never allow him to carry the awesome ministry he had planned.  Or is that more of our own logic, than the thoughts of Peter?  Better to lie to those who intend us harm, and live to witness another day, than to openly declare for our Savior, and lose our earthly lives and ministries as a result.  Peter believed himself under the gun, and so elected to deny Christ openly, and keep his love a secret.  Do we really do anything different?

The interesting dichotomy in this situation is with John.  John makes no effort to hide his relationship with Christ at all, and further seems to have no fear for himself throughout the very same events.  Peter fears discovery and with it, a horrible death.  John seems perfectly oblivious to the threats all around him, it seems John is completely focused on what is happening to Christ, and that has become so important to him, he does not even perceive a danger to himself.  How interesting that what we focus on can so completely consume us.  Peter was focused on himself.  Like the time when he briefly walked on water, and lost sight of Christ in order to show off to his friends.  Now he had lost sight of Christ, and was focused on his own self-preservation.  John was looking to stay as close to Christ as he could get.  As such he was fully focused on Christ, and the horror which Christ was permitting Himself to endure.  John had no thought for himself, because Jesus was the sole focus of His mind.  It was the same event.  It was the same followers of Christ, with similar experiences with their Lord.  But it was a remarkably different perception between one and the other.

John continues the events in verse 18 … “And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.”  Peter now thinks to himself, perhaps it is better to just hang out with these guys by the fire.  He does not have to get too close to Christ.  He can view Christ at a distance, where it is safer, where it is warmer, where it is more convenient.  Sound familiar?  How often do we choose to view Christ from a safer distance?  Were we to submit all of ourselves to Christ, He might take away the one thing we value most (our cherished sins).  Better to view Christ at a safer distance, give Him some of us, but not all of us.  Better to offer Christ the parts of our lives we are not happy with, and keep the parts of our lives we like.  But what we do not realize; is that the danger is from the distance with Christ, not the closeness.  The danger is what we hold on to, and it is that which makes us unhappy.  The things we give to Him, are the things with which He brings us happiness, transforming us from our addictions to pain, into freedom from pain.  Peter was putting himself more at risk, by moving away from Christ.  He would have been safer nearer to Him.  The same is true for us today.

Now John turns his attention away from Peter and back towards the sham of a trial that Christ has found Himself in.  In verse 19 the high priest begins … “The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. [verse 20] Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. [verse 21] Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.”  Jesus offers a striking contrast to the heart of the high priest who has conspired to kill Christ and Lazarus in private.  Murder is now the official policy of the Pharisees when counter ideas cannot be defeated on merit.  Jesus contrasts the secrecy required for hypocrisy with the open ability to speak words of truth that do not differ by day or by night.  Truth needs no cover of darkness, rather truth brings light into darkness.  Christ is happy to have his “doctrines” repeated by those He has taught.

Even now, the High Priest is wondering if there is some deep secret Christ has to manipulate power and miracles; that He might be willing to share with them.  The High Priest seems almost willing to accept rituals and witchery rather than love that marks the will of God the Father.  If Christ had been a devil, he might have been able to open up a new church right then and there.  The priest was looking for the secrets to power.  He had no interest in humble love or submission.  But Christ tells him, there are no dark secrets that are the key to His power.  There are no secret words, or rituals that give one control, there is only submission that allows the will of the Father to be seen in our lives.  The teachings He has offered can be recited by those who have heard Him.  The love He has brought to the world, is His only mantra, His only secret, His only key to success, His only reflection of His Father.  And so John records the response of evil in verse 22 … “And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?”  The officer was offended that the simple truth of Christ showed no deference to the office of the High Priest.  It was un-nerving to hear such an authoritative response to the question of the High Priest.

Jesus answered him in verse 23 … “Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? [verse 24] Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.”  Notice Love does not respond to hatred with more hatred, Christ makes no attempt to hit the officer back in return.  Further notice, Christ does not condemn the man who just struck Him unjustly.  He does not “judge” this man and condemn him, dooming him to eternal punishment and second death from which there is no escape.  Revenge is not the goal or offspring of love.  Redemption is.  So instead Jesus asks the man who has just struck Him, to examine “why” he has done what he has done.  Instead Jesus asks him to carefully look at His words, and see, if they are truly worthy of being hit for, or perhaps invite more investigation towards redemption, light, life and truth.  So often we Christians believe there is a “limit” to our patience, a “limit” to the grace and love of God, and once someone crosses that line, they are forever doomed.  But the life and example of Christ shows us that love was here to reach EVERYONE, there was no-one beyond redemption, and no act that would forever doom us to separation from God, short our daily refusal to be reconciled.  Christ was living proof that there are no limits to His love.

John then returns his attention to Peter still warming himself by the fire and continues in verse 25 … “And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.”  This is now the second inquiry into the loyalty of Peter.  He is past the door maid, and while he perceives a threat from association to Christ by being one of his disciples this is really only a perception.  John after all, is right there, close enough to hear what is going on, recognized by the high priest and allowed entry, and close enough to Christ to hear his conversation as well.  John is not hiding his discipleship and appears to be in no immediate danger.  But Peter is focusing more and more on himself, and his own self-preservation.  As he does so, he feels the need to affirm his earlier lie with yet another one.  John continues in verse 26 … “One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? [verse 27] Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.”

It is now much worse for Peter.  He has lied twice, but at this point the brother of the servant whose ear he cut off was a witness to the event and is asking him the same question.  He might have gotten away with his lies to the first two folks, but this questioner had a basis for his beliefs.  Peter’s denials now could only be empty.  Peter had boasted to Christ that his loyalty would be true to the point of death.  Now his loyalty had failed 3 tests of mere association.  When we trust in our own spiritual strength instead of depending on all our strength coming from Christ, we too find ourselves failing.  Our victories are NOT our own.  They belong to Christ.  The only thing we own is our failures.  We deny the strength of Christ, trusting to ourselves, and finding only failure.  When it is Christ alone in whom we trust, we can make no boasts, for we realize how little we do.  If we boast at all, it is only directed at the true source of love, victory, wisdom, truth and life.  In ourselves, in our own spiritual understanding, in our own scriptural interpretations we find only error, weakness, failure and loss.  But when we follow Christ, and find ourselves wholly consumed with what He is doing, what He is saying, how He is loving, we find ourselves undeterred by selfish perceptions and fears that have no basis.

Our perceptions are colored by the intensity with which we look at Christ.  Our realities reflect the failures of self-trust, or the victories He alone can bring.  Our similarities to Peter’s failing choices are stunning when our priorities have not been altered through submission to Christ.  But having submitted, only Christ becomes important to us, only love reflected and redemption revealed are the things that matter …