Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once
Some portions of Scripture are very pleasant to read and very popular.
Who doesn’t like Psalm 23. Even nonreligious people enjoy reading this passage and many can repeat it from memory.
We love to talk about God’s grace and the song “Amazing Grace” is still one of the most popular songs in the world.
We love to talk about the nativity. Pictures have been painted, scenes have been constructed and theatrical productions have been organized all of which depict the beautiful story of Jesus’ birth.
But there are other portions of Scripture we don’t enjoy so much. The last few chapters of each Gospel tell us about the death of Jesus and the reports don’t make very pleasant reading.
When Jesus died it was visually very ugly. His accusers were unfair, unreasonable and manipulative. His executioners were aggressive, violent, abusive and cruel and the Gospel writers recorded all of it in great detail.
The amount of time covered from His arrest to His death was at least fifteen hours, possibly longer, and the humiliation Jesus endured during that time was unspeakable. He was lied about, spit on, whipped, mocked with a crown of thorns and beaten so badly He couldn’t be recognized (Isaiah 52:14). Even His disciples forsook Him.
And because He knew what was coming, just before His arrest He agonized in prayer.
Most people, preferring romance or mystery to gore, shy away from this type of reading. But when it comes to the death of Jesus we should take another look. Read more
OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive
Filed under: Law, Old Testament, Political Issues, Sermon on the Mount
Exodus through Deuteronomy are the four books of the Old Testament that contain what is called the Law of Moses and these laws are the topic of many discussions.
Some misguidedly attempt to super impose these laws on today’s cultures, a hopeless and useless endeavor. Refrigeration and modern farming methods have made the dietary restrictions obsolete. We eat pork today with no nutritive repercussions. Even in Jesus’ day improved food handling had overcome the obvious dangers of eating “unclean” animals.
Of course, Old Testament laws are not all given an equal hearing. Some people attempt to uphold certain laws while completely ignoring others. We love the laws relating to monogamous marriage but would rather not be reminded of the regulations on polygamy.
Moralists today are adamant about the one and embarrassed by the other. Restricting polygamy, rather than running it out of town, implies endorsement of the practice. Because polygyny was regulated, and not polyandry, it seems chauvinistic. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration