Luke 22:66-71 * Ash
PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION:
JESUS
Dear Friends in Christ,
A couple of introductory thoughts…
Those of you who came into church today through the narthex went by a poster for a movie that began running in theaters across the country today. Even if you didn’t see the poster (and unless you make a conscious effort to remove yourself from every form of media), you’ve heard of it. Likewise, you know “The Passion of the Christ” has generated a lot of discussion for a lot of different levels.
Regardless of whether you choose to see the movie or not,
the heightened discussion it has caused rather nicely sets the stage for what
we’ll be doing here at
The general theme for our midweek devotions this year is entitled “Personalities of the Passion.” During the next six weeks we’d like to examine some of the individuals whom we’ve come to know especially at this time of the year, and who played a part in the last days of our Lord here on earth.
In doing this, the basic treatment of each personality will be the same for the entire series. Since people like to know about people, we will first examine each individual in light of their historical background and provide, insofar as we can, a thumbnail sketch of their life. In this way we can hopefully come to know them better than if we were to only focus on one or two isolated incidents in which they were involved.
Secondly, drawing from our text, we will examine each individual in light of the part they played in the passion of Christ.
Finally, we will look at each individual and by way of their actions learn from them. From their example – either positive or negative – we will consider what we as Christians today ought or ought not imitate in our own lives.
That being said, the first and logical personality of the Passion we’d like to focus on is Jesus Christ. Of course, anything we say about His importance to the Passion immediately falls into the category of understatement. Without Him and His gracious work in our stead and on our behalf, there would be no reason for us to gather here this evening – or any other time.
So let us begin. Who is Jesus Christ? What did He do? What was His life like? And how is He viewed through the eyes of history? Let us try to imagine these questions as if we’re hearing about Jesus for the first time.
People certainly have their opinions. Some are right and some are wrong. If you punch in the words “Jesus Christ” for an internet web search (as I did), do you know how many references you will find? Mine said 15,300,000. Do you know what that means? It means that if you never slept, ate, etc. and in a non-stop fashion devoted one single minute of each 24 hour day to systematically looking up each reference, you’d be busy for the next 29 years… The point: Jesus Christ generates a lot of discussion. To try to encapsulate Him in a paragraph or two is indeed a daunting task.
Nevertheless, as a first blush answer to the general perception of who and what Jesus is, I’d like to read a selection written by an unknown author. It’s entitled “One Solitary Life.” You may be familiar with it, since it is popular item on the Christmas cards we send and receive. It reads as follows:
Here is a man who was
born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was
thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office.
He never owned a
home. He never set foot inside a big
city. He never traveled two hundred
miles from the place where he was born.
He had no credentials but himself.
He had nothing to do
with this world except the naked power of his divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular
opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two
thieves.
His executioners
gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth while he was dying – and
that was his coat. When he was dead he
was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries
have come and gone and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the
leader of progress. I am far within the
mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that
ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that
ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as
powerfully as that One Solitary Life.
This is an interesting piece and pretty much describes Jesus from a purely historical standpoint. But it really doesn’t go far enough. As Christians know, there is far more to the story of Jesus than Him being the central human figure in human history. Because besides being a human being, Jesus Christ, as we know, is also true God…
In other words, Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures declare, as the Holy Spirit has led us to believe, and as we confess in our creeds is that unique person in whom true God and true man are united. He is the God-man. He is Immanuel: “God with us.”
We see this throughout His life as recorded for us in the Gospels. As true man, Jesus got hungry. As true God he miraculously fed 5000+ hungry people with five small barley loaves and two small fish… As true man Jesus at times became sorrowful over the actions and unbelief of His fellow man. As true God, Jesus brought joy and happiness to people by telling them their sins were forgiven… As true man, Jesus tasted death on a cross. As true God, Jesus conquered death as evidenced by an empty tomb…
So, who is Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is true man AND true God, a claim that was not just made about Him by others, but a claim made by Himself several times in the Gospels. Our text is just one example. Let’s turn to it now.
The scene is as follows.
Jesus, having been betrayed by Judas, is given over to the mob sent by
the religious leaders and now stands on trial before them. Since they were unable to get any witnesses
whose stories would hold up, and in an act of desperation that showed their
intense animosity toward Him, the Jewish leaders (who were supposed to act only
as a judge and jury) become the accusers.
“‘If you are the Christ,’ they
said, ‘tell us.’” Jesus answered, ‘If I
tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer.’” Meaning:
“If I asked you questions about
things I had done which prove I am the Christ, you wouldn’t answer them anyway
because your mind is made up to condemn Me.”
Which brought a follow-up question: “They
all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’”
To which Jesus replied: “‘You are right in saying I am.” And we can visualize the smiles. This was
what His enemies wanted to hear. This
was the smoking gun they were looking for.
“Book ‘im, Danno, we’ve got him dead to rights” is what they’re
thinking, but in a very professional, very dramatic manner it came out like
this: “Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.’” The rest of the story we know and will
once again ponder during this Lenten season as we follow our Savior down the
familiar road to
What part does the God-Man Jesus Christ play in the Passion? He is the center of the storm. He is what Lent is all about.
In the passion of Jesus Christ we see the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan to save a wayward world from the eternally damning consequences of its disobedience to God’s demand for perfection. In the passion of Jesus Christ we see the wisdom of God who in His Son found a solution that satisfies both His hatred for sin and His love for sinners.
And what was the plan? Immanuel. The Son of God breaks into our space and time and becomes one of us. He lives the perfect life we can’t and we don’t and we won’t, in our behalf. And then He takes the punishment for our sins. The scourge. The nails. The cross. The three our period of darkness when God abandoned His Son and He suffered hell – our hell – so we’d never have to. The passion. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Emotionally. Spiritually. Eternally.
Our theme for this series may be “Personalities of the Passion,” but as to the central personality of the passion, there can be no doubt. It is Jesus Christ.
What can we learn from Him? As an example, every worthy virtue finds its home in Jesus. In Christ we see forgiveness, commitment, devotion, perseverance, selflessness and every other desirable quality that we might wish to cultivate in ourselves or see in others. Jesus Christ is the pattern and model of authentic Christian living. And as the Apostle Paul tells us in his letters, we are to be not only active witnesses but active imitators of Christ before a watching world.
Jesus once referred to Himself as the Light of the World. We are His children; as such it is our joy and privilege to reflect the light of the knowledge and example of Christ in the same way the moon reflects the greater light of the sun. You might recall that quote from Martin Luther that Christians are to be “little Christs.” Not only is that our great privilege, it is also our greatest desire…
Because the greatest lesson we learn from Christ is the meaning of love. In the passion of Christ we are confronted with the extreme seriousness of our sin and the extreme high cost of our redemption. But it was paid. In full. Completely. What wondrous love is this, o my soul?
What we learn from the passion of Christ is that while we may blow off or minimize or rationalize our sin, Christ didn’t have that luxury.
What we learn from the passion of Christ is that, in the words of Paul, nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ because nothing separated Christ from his love for us.
What we learn from the passion of Christ is that once upon a time in real space and time and history we were Christ’s reason for existence on this earth; now He is the reason for our existence on this earth – and our guarantee of life in heaven.
That’s what Jesus means to us. That’s what we have the blessed privilege of contemplating once again during this Lenten season. May God grant us another meaningful journey through which we draw into an even closer relationship with Him than we already have as, together, we ponder Jesus’ holy passion. Amen.