An Unholy Alliance
Luke 23:1-12
To be honest, I am unable to surmise from this pericope the nature of the conflict that had existed between them. But I am interested that two enemies were able to come together over the trial of Christ.
Christ is quite a controversial figure. And it's not because He does anything wrong. It is more the evil in us that does not want to respond to the holiness in Him that stirs up the controversy.
Herod is excited to see Jesus, not because he is willing to be changed. He wants to see Jesus work a magic trick. Secular people seeing spiritual realities as entertainment. You'll see large groups of them stop into the Abyssinian Baptist Church. It's simply a study in the phenomenon of the African-American religious tradition. They're coming to watch the folk emote and shout and sing. They don't come to be changed. But they want to watch.
Jesus doesn't even respond to Herod. He opened not His mouth (a reference to Isaiah 53). He doesn't respond to Herod because Herod's not serious.
Sometimes I wonder if we don't hear from God because He knows that we're not serious either. We pray these mindless prayers not really focusing to even know that He answered our prayers if He did answer them. We say what we heard somebody else say because it sounded good, not because we mean it.
Ah, it's just a thought!
A Postcript
The leaders of the temple and teachers of religious law got a confession out of Christ (Luke 22:66-71) and they ran off to the Roman governor and started lying on him! Said the brother was telling folk not to pay taxes and that he was running around declaring that He was king. When Pilate says that he finds no fault in the man Christ Jesus, they get desperate and lie again saying that He goes around stirring up people all over Judea by His teaching.
I'm back to where I started writing this morning. He is a controversial figure. And I guess His teaching did stir things up. But not because He was teaching sedition. But because our hearts are too hard and resistant to receive the truths He teaches.
The problem's not in Him, it's in us!
That day Herod and Pilate became friends -- before this they had been enemies (Luke 23:12)
To be honest, I am unable to surmise from this pericope the nature of the conflict that had existed between them. But I am interested that two enemies were able to come together over the trial of Christ.
Christ is quite a controversial figure. And it's not because He does anything wrong. It is more the evil in us that does not want to respond to the holiness in Him that stirs up the controversy.
Herod is excited to see Jesus, not because he is willing to be changed. He wants to see Jesus work a magic trick. Secular people seeing spiritual realities as entertainment. You'll see large groups of them stop into the Abyssinian Baptist Church. It's simply a study in the phenomenon of the African-American religious tradition. They're coming to watch the folk emote and shout and sing. They don't come to be changed. But they want to watch.
Jesus doesn't even respond to Herod. He opened not His mouth (a reference to Isaiah 53). He doesn't respond to Herod because Herod's not serious.
Sometimes I wonder if we don't hear from God because He knows that we're not serious either. We pray these mindless prayers not really focusing to even know that He answered our prayers if He did answer them. We say what we heard somebody else say because it sounded good, not because we mean it.
Ah, it's just a thought!
A Postcript
The leaders of the temple and teachers of religious law got a confession out of Christ (Luke 22:66-71) and they ran off to the Roman governor and started lying on him! Said the brother was telling folk not to pay taxes and that he was running around declaring that He was king. When Pilate says that he finds no fault in the man Christ Jesus, they get desperate and lie again saying that He goes around stirring up people all over Judea by His teaching.
I'm back to where I started writing this morning. He is a controversial figure. And I guess His teaching did stir things up. But not because He was teaching sedition. But because our hearts are too hard and resistant to receive the truths He teaches.
The problem's not in Him, it's in us!
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