TEXT: Matthew 26:50b - ... Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary now takes an ugly turn. Arrests often do. In this case, the subject of the arrest is innocent. An insider betrays Him. The authorities are acting under cover of darkness. They have predetermined the end of the case (the accused will die). They have no evidence against the subject. The authorities are religious leaders. The case is ugly.
And it almost got uglier. Give the disciples some credit. When the arrest is made, as ill prepared as these fishermen were for battle, they were willing to put up a fight. One of them, the Gospel of John says it was Peter, had a sword. He did manage to cut off the high priest's servant's ear.
That is when Jesus stepped in. The soldiers, and those gathered with them, appear uncertain about what was actually happening because when Jesus identified Himself, they all fell down. Now Jesus heals the man's ear. Within earshot of the soldiers, Jesus reminds Peter that if He but signaled, legions of angels would fight for Him.
Then Jesus puts things in a proper context. He will drink the cup the Father has given Him. He will endure the arrest. Though He is innocent, this horrific situation is all part of a divine plan for Him to bear the sins of each of us.
He is arrested! He is taken away.
THE PRAYER: O Lord, help us to see that You were arrested for our transgressions. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 26:56b - ... Then all of the disciples deserted Him and fled.
From here on out, the journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary will be alone. None of those Jesus has chosen will stand with Him. None of those who saw His miracles will be with Him. None of those who heard His teachings and marveled at His words will be with Him-none of those. For the rest of the journey, Jesus will be alone.
It is one thing to be alone and never have had the companionship of another. It is quite a different loneliness when you have known companionship and are deprived of it. Jesus will not have familiar companionship until after His resurrection. All of the disciples have run away. One of them-when the soldiers tried to stop him-ran and left behind his clothes.
So alone, arrested, bound, Jesus continues the journey to Mount Calvary. He understands being abandoned. He has great compassion for the abandoned. Though all abandoned Him, He assures those who are abandoned He will always be with them. He will never forsake them.
He also has great compassion for those who desert others in need. It is a forgivable sin. He forgave the disciples for deserting Him. He forgives all those who in their acts of desertion recognize their sin and seek His forgiveness.
THE PRAYER: Forgive us, Lord, for our acts of desertion. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 26:57 - Those who had arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the Law and the elders had assembled.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary would pass through the chambers of the high priest. Ordinarily it was a reverent and hallowed space. It was here that the Sanhedrin debated the interpretations of the Law. Under Roman rule, though they had a great deal of authority, they could not impose the death penalty. The Sanhedrin was the high court of Israel. The high priest was the presiding officer.
The Sanhedrin numbered 71 members. It was made up of chief priests, the elders, and the teachers of the Law. These were bright, well-educated people. They knew the Scriptures. Caiaphas, the high priest, knew the Scriptures.
Even though his was a religious position, for he was God's high priest, Caiaphas was more concerned with his temporal arrangement than being faithful to God. From his lips came this prophesy: "You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nations perish" (John 11:50). He had in mind the nation of Israel.
God had other plans for His prophecy. One man, Jesus, would die, so that we, His people, would indeed not perish. In His death our sins would be taken away. Without His innocent death, we would indeed have perished.
THE PRAYER: We praise You, O Lord, for laying down Your life for the whole people of God. Amen.
TEXT: Mark 14:55 - The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so they could put Him to death, but they could not find any.
The journey to Mount Calvary almost stalled in the session with the Sanhedrin. They had the sentence-death. But they had great difficulty finding the evidence. As Mark reports, many testified against Him, but none of them agreed. They gave false testimony against Jesus that He said He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Even that did not work as they could not agree.
Jesus remained silent through it all. He knew it would be foolish to engage in debate with them. His silence irritated Caiaphas very much. He asked the question Jesus would answer: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" (Mark 14:61b). Jesus reply? "I Am" (Mark 14:62a). He is indeed the great "I AM!" That is how God answered Moses from the burning bush: "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14b).
Jesus' answer is true. Perhaps even Caiaphas knew it was true. But Caiaphas tore his robe, a sign that what he had heard was blasphemy. The whole Sanhedrin agreed. For such blasphemy-Jesus calling Himself the Son of God-He must die. The physical abuse begins, first by members of the Sanhedrin, and then by the guards. Circumstances stall no longer; the journey to Mount Calvary presses on.
How many times have we stalled when the evidence does not support our conclusions? And yet in our stubbornness, ignorance, and arrogance, we move on anyway.
THE PRAYER: Forgive us, Lord, when we act on our defenseless conclusions. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 26:69 - Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary has many components that hurt Jesus deeply. Some of them were physical. Some of them were verbal. Peter's denial was verbal. It hurt deeply, even though Jesus knew and had predicted it.
As we journey to Mount Calvary, we should be careful about being too judgmental of Peter's behavior. Most of us, too, can easily remember our own unfaithfulness. And our denials have most likely come under much less stressful situations than Peter's.
As with Peter, so it is with us. Our Lord's forgiveness is extended to us full and free. As Jesus urged Peter to "Feed my lambs" (John 21:15b), so He urges us to be bold and faithful to the risen Christ-no matter what the consequences.
THE PRAYER: O Jesus, forgive our denials, make bold our witness. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 27:3 - When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.
Judas did not complete the journey to Mount Calvary. He had started the journey at the foot of the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and the rest of the disciples. He had heard Jesus share what would happen in Jerusalem. He had seen the miracles. He had heard the teachings. He had seen the love and compassion Jesus had for all. He had been among those who had been sent out by Jesus, and seen the power of God at work. As Peter reported concerning Judas to those who gathered after the Ascension, "he was one of our number and shared in this ministry" (Acts 1:17).
We do know he was filled with regret. We do know he sought to make things right by returning the 30 pieces of silver. Would that the chief priests had compassion when Judas was filled with remorse at his act: "What is that to us?" (Matthew 27:4b) was their reply. If only Judas had returned to Jesus and received the forgiveness that Christ was winning for him through His suffering and death.
That forgiveness is available to each of us when we acknowledge our sins-no matter how dreadful-and look to Jesus.
THE PRAYER: Bless us, Jesus, so that when we sin, we acknowledge it and turn to You. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 27:1-2 - Early in the morning, all the chief priests and elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate, the governor.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary now goes to Pilate, the governor. For the Sanhedrin to have its sentence carried out, the journey had to go there. They could only carry out the death sentence in the case of a foreigner who invaded the sacred places of the temple. Pilate would have to carry out the sentence on behalf of the Roman government.
Positions of leadership call for integrity, doing the right thing without prejudice, doing the right thing even in the face of public opinion, and doing the right thing even though it is not politically expedient. Positions of leadership require great courage and moral fortitude.
Pilate tried. He asked Jesus good questions and listened to His accusers. He provided an option in the person of Barabbas. He even received the message from his wife urging him not to get involved, and tried to pass Jesus off to Herod.
But in the end, Pilate failed as a leader in almost every way. Failed leadership almost always means the innocent suffer. For Jesus, this failed leadership would mean the journey would be completed at Calvary.
THE PRAYER: O Jesus, bless all those charged with leadership responsibilities to "do the right thing." Amen.
TEXT: Mark 15:16-19 - The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. And they began to call out to Him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him.
This part of the journey to Mount Calvary shows amazing restraint on Jesus' part. Little did His opponents realize what Jesus might have done to defend Himself. Little did they realize that not only did Jesus know who was abusing Him, but also everything else about them. Little did they realize what Jesus was enduring on their behalf. Little did they realize Jesus was preparing to die in order that they might have life.
The journey to Mount Calvary is on behalf of all who hide behind any sort of uniform to carry out their insulting and dehumanizing work-to assure them there is forgiveness. The journey to Mount Calvary is on behalf of all who are their victims-to assure them they are not alone.
These guards would be Jesus' constant companions from His arrest until His death, and even to His resurrection. They did not see any miracles, but they did see amazing compassion. They did see amazing restraint in the face of false accusation. They did see His forgiveness for the one crucified with Him. And they did see the centurion profess that "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47b).
THE PRAYER: O Lord, bless those who are on guard duty, and those they guard. Amen.
He (Jesus) went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:16-19
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
The passage in Luke describes the day Jesus presented Himself at the town's synagogue. He came as one who is there to explain a plan. He had been put there by God to undo the great tragedy caused by humanity's disobedience. He had been anointed with the Holy Spirit's power, to be an obedient Servant until the end of His mission. The old prophecies of blessing, given to the patriarchs and prophets, would be fulfilled in Him.
Jesus' coming was good news for those who represented the least-favored parts of society. They were those who enjoyed fewer privileges. They were those who, according to traditional Judaism, were excluded from the Kingdom. They were those who had little to lose and everything to win. The first generation of believers was part of that social sector. A jubilee was now announced to them, a time in which debts were paid and the oppressed recovered their dignity.
The reality of salvation is the same today, and still there are many who completely miss the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are those who believe they can see but are blind, those who believe they are rich but are empty, and those who think they're free but are still tied to the powers of this world. Jesus offers His salvation to those who are aware they have nothing to offer and everything to receive. It is beautiful to see when God, working through His Gospel, restores the lives of those who are rejected into an eternal relationship with Himself through the redemptive work of Jesus.
THE PRAYER: Lord, give me a poor and humble heart to receive the gift of Your salvation. Free me of pride and help me look with mercy upon those You love. Make me an instrument to share Your Good News. Amen.
Biography of Author: This devotion is based on a text written by Antonio Schimpf, a professor at Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this South American country of over 40 million people, Lutheran Hour Ministries -- known locally as Cristo Para Todas las Naciones (Christ for All Nations) -- connects with people through Project JOEL, Equipping the Saints (ETS), Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), as well as by supporting church missions in Rosario, Tucuman, Salta, and Patagonia.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.
TEXT: Luke 23:11 - Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary goes through Pilate's palace several times. Pilate had hoped he might be finished with Jesus. He had passed Him on to Herod. Now Herod sent Him back.
Pilate urges the crowd to take note that Jesus has done nothing deserving death. They will not hear of it. He pleads with them to accept Barabbas as a substitute. They will not. Now he has an option-stick to his principles, declare Him innocent, and let Him go free.
He chooses a different action. He will try to excuse himself from responsibility by washing his hands in the presence of the crowd. He will try to pass the blame on to the crowd. They accept it gladly: "Let His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25b). But it does not lift from Pilate the responsibility for the journey to continue to Calvary.
We understand Pilate's dilemma all too well. We have been there. We are faced with decisions where we know what is right and we know what is wrong. We know the pressure of the crowd. We, too, often want to please them. We, too, wish to pass on the responsibility to others. We, too, fail.
THE PRAYER: O Lord, give us courage to make the right decisions. When we fail, forgive us. This is not as we deserve, but as we need. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 27:26 - Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged and handed Him over to be crucified.
The journey to Mount Calvary has Jesus interact with many interesting characters. Few are more interesting than Barabbas-Jesus Barabbas-as he was properly known. He was no doubt a shifty man. There may be "honor among thieves," but it is questionable whether there were any who would trust him. Luke reports he was in prison for an insurrection in the city and for murder. If there was going to be a crucifixion, it seems he'd be a good candidate. He probably knew that too.
Imagine Barabbas' surprise when he is released. Imagine his shock when sentence is given that Jesus of Nazareth will be crucified, and Jesus Barabbas will be set free. We do not know what happened to Barabbas after this.
What we do know is that while our own sinful past may not be as horrible as was that of Jesus Barabbas, compared to Jesus of Nazareth it is still shameful and worthy of complete punishment. Amazingly, however, we stand with Barabbas. Jesus is marched off to be crucified. Though innocent, He experienced what we deserve.
But, we go free.
May it be true of us and not just a rumor that we are followers of Jesus. May it be obvious to all.
THE PRAYER: Bless us, Lord, as we make vivid our response to our being freed from what we deserve. Amen.
Since I will be leaving for work around 3am for a month or so I may not be able to finish posting the devotions for Lent...here is the link if you read them...Prayers and happy Easter for all ~ http://www.lentendevotions.org/
TEXT: I Peter 3:18-19 - For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary is complete. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has been sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. He has died on the cross. His human body is safely sealed in Joseph's tomb. His disciples and friends are resting, observing the Sabbath. The women are preparing to finish caring for the body in the tomb.
None of the Gospels record what Peter shares in his first letter. When Jesus rose victorious from the dead He left the sealed tomb and descended into **** to proclaim His victory over Satan, sin, death, and ****. The Church has been confessing the descent into **** for hundreds of years in the Apostolic Creed. It is the great assurance all Christians have that the victory over sin, death, and **** has been won. Later on Easter Day Jesus will appear to the living to make them aware of what those in eternity knew-**** holds no terror for those who are in Christ!
The conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration may have included the topics of past deliverances from fear. Moses and the Children of Israel were delivered from the Egyptians; Elijah and the Children of Israel were delivered from Ahab and the prophets of Baal. None would compare to the deliverance Jesus would win on Mount Calvary. Our journey ends in heaven!
THE PRAYER: We thank You, Heavenly Father, for our deliverance from **** and our sure promise of heaven. Amen.
TEXT: Matthew 28:5-6 - The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen just as He said."
The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary is complete, but it does not end in the garden tomb. It continues with the risen Christ! The work of salvation is completed by His suffering, death, and by His resurrection! Jesus goes on from the tomb. No tomb can contain Him. Neither can the heavens or the earth! He is the victorious Lord of lords and King of kings!
Not everyone sees Jesus' journey go on from the tomb. The soldiers who were guarding the tomb, though frightened, "they shook and became like dead men" (Matthew 28:4b) were willing to lie about Jesus' resurrection. The leaders of the religious community told them what to say. Some still tell lies and believe those lies about the resurrection.
The apostle Paul affirms the importance of the truth of the resurrection. "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:13-14). But our faith is not in vain! He has risen! Because He has risen, we too shall rise! Halleluiah!
THE PRAYER: O Jesus, bless our celebrating Your resurrection and ours! Amen.
