Do you believe in God? For the most of us the answer would be ‘yes’. Do we all love God the same way? You would agree that we don’t. Just like we have priorities in the way we love our friends, our love for God differs according to how much we know Him and trust Him. It even fluctuates for us, from time to time, quite contrary to God’s unchanging love.
Let’s look at how a few people expressed their love for God. Reading the Bible passage in Luke 23:47-56, you will be able to observe how different people reacted to the same incident.
What incident? You will know if you read a few verses before this passage. It talks about the crucifixion of Jesus. Just then, Jesus had just breathed His last, and here’s how each of them reacted. Did all of them do the same thing? Definitely not. Let’s first observe the first guy’s reaction. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” He saw all the amazing things that had happened. Darkness came over the whole land, the sun stopped shining, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Miraculous indeed! Seeing all this, the centurion knew that Jesus was righteous, and he praised God. This is probably similar to how most of us started our journey with Jesus. We saw the righteousness and miracle-working power of God, and we were drawn to Him. And we praise God for Who He is. It’s a great thing to do. But sadly, for some, life stops with just that.
Moving on to the next group of people, we read “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” This group had come there to see what was going on. A sad scene! Jesus Who was expected to become ruler over them is now dead and gone – that’s probably what they thought. They did not know that Jesus would come back to life in another couple of days. How did they react? They beat their breasts and then, they went away. This can be likened to some who hear about the death of Jesus on the cross, or see videos that depict the crucifixion of Jesus. They weep and then go back to live their way. For them, Jesus matters only for some time. They know that Jesus loves them. Their response – grieving and then leaving.
What did the others do? But all those who knew him, including the women who followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. This group made sure they saw all that was happening to Jesus. They were watching the whole thing, but kept a safe distance in a way that would not affect them. This, I think, is like the majority of us, who listen – not just hear – everything about Jesus, but keep Him at a distance in our lives. We want to know all we can about Jesus. But when it comes to taking a bold step forward, it becomes difficult. We are comfortable staying with the rest of our group and just knowing that Jesus loves us anyway.
As we read this passage, we have to remember that almost all of Jesus’ inner twelve disciples had deserted Him. One had committed suicide. So, who was with Jesus? Read on to know the answer. Now, there was a man named Joseph, and a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. This man was a member of the Council, but he is referred to by name, unlike the others. The others in this passage are referred to as a group, because they acted as a group. But this one man did something that none in his group did. In fact, he differed in faith and conviction from the other Council members. And the important thing is that he proved His love for God in spite of his buddies, his superiors and those who opposed him. What would the others say about what Joseph did? He cared not. His love for God did not allow him to stand in a corner and weep away. Among all the others, this guy seems to have been physically closest to Jesus.
Yet another group here. It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Probably, this was just appropriate for what women in a society like theirs could have done. They spent their time in preparing spices and perfumes. Also, they made sure that they obeyed the Sabbath commandment. When I read Luke 24:1, it seems to me like these women were waiting for the Sabbath to end, so that they could rush to the tomb where Jesus was buried. (A little about the Sabbath here. For the Jews, Sabbath was the day of rest, when they would not work.) Will they be able to open the tomb? (The entrance to the tomb was closed with a very large stone, and there were soldiers guarding it.) They had no clue. But they just wanted to express their love for God in whatever way that they could.
Now, just think of what you would have done in a situation like that? If Jesus was crucified today, or if you had lived back then, our response would have been something like one of these people. How much we live for God is a measure of how much we love Him. Are we comfortably acting in groups, or do we prove our love for God, even though it means disagreeing with our pals?
Let’s look at how a few people expressed their love for God. Reading the Bible passage in Luke 23:47-56, you will be able to observe how different people reacted to the same incident.
What incident? You will know if you read a few verses before this passage. It talks about the crucifixion of Jesus. Just then, Jesus had just breathed His last, and here’s how each of them reacted. Did all of them do the same thing? Definitely not. Let’s first observe the first guy’s reaction. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” He saw all the amazing things that had happened. Darkness came over the whole land, the sun stopped shining, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Miraculous indeed! Seeing all this, the centurion knew that Jesus was righteous, and he praised God. This is probably similar to how most of us started our journey with Jesus. We saw the righteousness and miracle-working power of God, and we were drawn to Him. And we praise God for Who He is. It’s a great thing to do. But sadly, for some, life stops with just that.
Moving on to the next group of people, we read “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.” This group had come there to see what was going on. A sad scene! Jesus Who was expected to become ruler over them is now dead and gone – that’s probably what they thought. They did not know that Jesus would come back to life in another couple of days. How did they react? They beat their breasts and then, they went away. This can be likened to some who hear about the death of Jesus on the cross, or see videos that depict the crucifixion of Jesus. They weep and then go back to live their way. For them, Jesus matters only for some time. They know that Jesus loves them. Their response – grieving and then leaving.
What did the others do? But all those who knew him, including the women who followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. This group made sure they saw all that was happening to Jesus. They were watching the whole thing, but kept a safe distance in a way that would not affect them. This, I think, is like the majority of us, who listen – not just hear – everything about Jesus, but keep Him at a distance in our lives. We want to know all we can about Jesus. But when it comes to taking a bold step forward, it becomes difficult. We are comfortable staying with the rest of our group and just knowing that Jesus loves us anyway.
As we read this passage, we have to remember that almost all of Jesus’ inner twelve disciples had deserted Him. One had committed suicide. So, who was with Jesus? Read on to know the answer. Now, there was a man named Joseph, and a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. This man was a member of the Council, but he is referred to by name, unlike the others. The others in this passage are referred to as a group, because they acted as a group. But this one man did something that none in his group did. In fact, he differed in faith and conviction from the other Council members. And the important thing is that he proved His love for God in spite of his buddies, his superiors and those who opposed him. What would the others say about what Joseph did? He cared not. His love for God did not allow him to stand in a corner and weep away. Among all the others, this guy seems to have been physically closest to Jesus.
Yet another group here. It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Probably, this was just appropriate for what women in a society like theirs could have done. They spent their time in preparing spices and perfumes. Also, they made sure that they obeyed the Sabbath commandment. When I read Luke 24:1, it seems to me like these women were waiting for the Sabbath to end, so that they could rush to the tomb where Jesus was buried. (A little about the Sabbath here. For the Jews, Sabbath was the day of rest, when they would not work.) Will they be able to open the tomb? (The entrance to the tomb was closed with a very large stone, and there were soldiers guarding it.) They had no clue. But they just wanted to express their love for God in whatever way that they could.
Now, just think of what you would have done in a situation like that? If Jesus was crucified today, or if you had lived back then, our response would have been something like one of these people. How much we live for God is a measure of how much we love Him. Are we comfortably acting in groups, or do we prove our love for God, even though it means disagreeing with our pals?
