March 12

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READINGS FOR MARCH 12, 2024: Job 16, Matthew 27, Psalm 18:20-30                                    JOB 16  Job restates the obvious: his friends are no help.  He seems to suggest in verse 5 that he could do better at comforting them if the roles were reversed. That’s an interesting concept. Clinical Psychologist Jennifer Caspari in Psychology Today writes, “Experiencing physical pain can increase our awareness of our sorrow and other people's. We more intimately know what it is like to feel pain and distress, making it easier to recognize and understand the pain of others.”  

Sounds almost Biblical. In fact, it is: “[God] comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor.1:4). In Job’s case, however, he had not yet sensed God’s comfort.  WE CAN BECAUSE OF WHAT JESUS DID AT THE CROSS. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15). 

In verses 6-18, Job’s perspective on his pain is largely accurate given his limited knowledge. As we study Matthew 27 below, let’s place his and our very real suffering in the larger context of the cosmically greater suffering, including separation from His Father, experienced by our sinless Lord on our behalf. In verses 19-20, Job reaches the conclusion many of us eventually reach during times of trial. Friends can let us down, but, if we have placed our trust in God, we will always have an advocate in heaven. What a statement of faith to make in such suffering!

MATTHEW 27 This chapter provides the details of the crucifixion, part one of the most important two-part event in human history. The passage does not extensively discuss the cross’s theological significance, although this will be addressed below. Rather it mostly describes the action and provides revealing glimpses into those involved. Let’s explore some of their stories. They might provide insight about how we and others today respond to Jesus.  

Judas. It seems that Judas did not expect his actions to lead to Jesus’s execution (vs. 3). He regretted his actions, proclaimed Jesus’s innocence, tried to give back the money, and hung himself. This paints a more nuanced picture of Judas. Note, though, the text does not say his remorse led him to seek forgiveness or place his faith in Jesus. Many may regret their sins, but that is not the same as being saved. Also, consider how, like Judas, we can disastrously underestimate the eventual consequence of our sins. BE HOLY BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY. 

Religious Leadership. Their response to Judas (vs. 4) proves they had no interest in the truth. They acknowledged they understood all along that Jesus had predicted his resurrection (vs.62-63), not His destruction and rebuilding of the temple as they earlier alleged. Even Pilate, the Roman governor, knew their motive was envy (vs. 18). They used positions of trust to shape   public opinion to call for Jesus’s execution. They even took no pity on the innocent Jesus  

READINGS FOR MARCH 12, 2024 Continued: Matthew 27, Psalm 18:20-30                           while He hung on the cross. Instead, they mocked His seeming inability to save Himself as He was dying to pay the price for their sins. This is a gross example of how the desire to hold power can seduce even religious leaders to heights of injustice. WE ARE ALL SUSCEPTABLE.

Roman Soldiers. The behavior of the Roman soldiers described in verses 27-37 was disgusting. It was in the tradition of military abuses displayed in more recent times during the Bataan Death March and at the Abu Ghraib prison. That said, they were eyewitnesses to how Jesus died and all the accompanying dramatic events:  three-hours of darkness, an earthquake, saints coming out of their tombs, and the veil in the temple tearing from top to bottom. They responded with the clearest statement of the truth of Jesus: “Truly this was the Son of God.”  As we continually learn, NEVER ASSUME OTHERS WILL NEVER BELIEVE THE TRUTH OF JESUS. 

Theological Implications for us: 

  • The tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom shows how Jesus’s atoning death fully paid for our sins. The sacrificial system only pointed to this result. ACCESS TO GOD IS NOW ONLY THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS, not a priest making annual sacrifices. Christians are now the temples of the Holy Spirit. 
  • As Jesus hung on the cross, He quoted from Psalm 2: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Some believe Jesus did not really feel forsaken because the Psalm in its totality eventually voices confidence in God’s goodness.  Others just cannot accept the Father would treat Jesus this way. Still others believe that the Father did have to turn His back on His Son so that He would experience the full weight of God’s wrath on the sins of the world. Part of that wrath included separation from the Father. Of course, Jesus knew the eventual result would be positive: bringing those who believe into eternal relationship with God. But looking back to His plea in the Garden to avoid the cross, if possible, we cannot dismiss the fact that His death was unlike any other: bearing the full wrath for the world’s sins as He separated from the Father.  JESUS WAS FORSAKEN BY THE FATHER IN OUR PLACE!

PSALM 18:20-30  This is a Psalm David spoke after God delivered him from his enemies. As we saw from the first 20 verses, David was over the top in His praise to God for rescuing Him. No one could accuse him of thinking he achieved this result on his own. These 10 verses might make us a little uneasy, though. Is David being a bit too self-righteous?  Here is a perspective from Biblical scholar Dr. R. Herbert: “In the Hebrew Bible the word sedek, which is often translated as ‘righteousness.’ literally means ’straightness’ as opposed to ‘crookedness,’ but it is usually used of the status of relationships rather than as a measure of perfection.” Indeed, sedek is the word used here. David is far from perfect, as will become increasingly clear. He did, however, start out walking with the Lord and here rightly ascribes all credit to God: “For Thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness” (Psalm 18:28).  As David did, let’s walk in the light of God’s word. In addition, let’s balance any confidence we might feel from our relationship with God with wisdom from the New Testament: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10).