RESPONDING TO INJUSTICE
Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, please quiet my mind and heart; prepare me to hear what you would say to me and respond in word and deed today.
Read LUKE 22:54–71
Peter Disowns Jesus
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
The Guards Mock Jesus
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Have you ever been let down by a friend or unjustly treated? How should we respond to injustice?When They See Us is a 2019 Netflix series telling the story of five black teenagers from Harlem, unjustly convicted for a murder they did not commit. The series has been streamed millions of times and received multiple awards. It is, however, a hard watch. Injustice is always hard to watch, and even harder to experience. In today’s passage, Jesus was the recipient of terrible injustices from people who were supposed to love and protect him. He was denied by one of his closest disciples (vs. 54–62) and mocked, blindfolded, and beaten by guards (vv. 63–65) before being condemned by the religious authorities of the day (vv. 66–71). Peter’s sin was cowardice; the guards’ and the leaders’ cruelty, an abuse of power.
What was Jesus’ response to such sinful injustice? He was largely quiet and submissive, but his words also pointed to the bigger picture: ‘from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God’ (v. 69). Jesus saw that these injustices are not the end of the story—they were even, in part, necessary for God’s great plan of salvation to be realized. He saw that following his death and resurrection would be his ascension to heaven where he would reign at the right hand of God.
Apply
If you are experiencing injustice right now, what would help you see the bigger picture of Jesus’ purposes in your life?
Closing prayer
Precious Savior, thank you for persevering through every obstacle, every hardship, every disappointment for my salvation and abundant life in you.
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