Loving the Opposition

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Opening Prayer

Redeeming God, I thank You for Your Son, the foot-washing, praying, saving Christ.

Read LUKE 22:63-23:25

^[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. ^[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.” ^[1] Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ^[2] And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” ^[3] So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. ^[4] Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” ^[5] But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” ^[6] On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ^[7] When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ^[8] When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ^[9] He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ^[10] The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ^[11] Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ^[12] That day Herod and Pilate became friends-before this they had been enemies. ^[13] Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ^[14] and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ^[15] Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ^[16] Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” ^[17] But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ^[19] (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) ^[20] Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ^[21] But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” ^[22] For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” ^[23] But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ^[24] So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ^[25] He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

Meditate

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad” (Matt. 5:11-12a). Has this been your experience?

Think Further

Ian McKellan, the actor who did a masterful job of playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movies, has, in real life, been an outspoken critic of Christianity. “As an atheist,” he says on his personal website, “I don’t accept the Bible is the word of a non-existent God.” Why are some people so opposed to the Good News? That’s a challenging question woven into our reading today.

As the pretense of due process gives way to mob rule, opposition to Jesus takes three forms. First, there is mocking opposition from Herod and the soldiers (22:63-65; 23:11). They don’t care about salvation. They abuse Jesus for fun. Next, there is theological opposition from the religious leaders (22:66-71). They seemed to be spiritually motivated, but in fact they had very unholy intent. Finally, there is political opposition from Pilate (23:23-25). He was willing to release Jesus but in the end sided with the vocal majority. We cannot gloss over the fact that opposition, whether subtle or overt, is part of the Christian experience today. As the apostle Paul said, “I want to know Christ–yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil. 3:10).

There’s a second question embedded in this passage and that is, how should Christians respond to opposition? The best way is to follow Jesus’ example. Notice here that he had no fear of it (22:67-68), he clearly stated the truth (22:69-70) and he declined to participate in fruitless argument (22:70b; 23:3). Earlier Jesus had explained the most effective response to opposition: love and prayer (Matt. 5:44). That’s not easy–we’d much rather fight fire with fire–but ultimately it’s the only way to win over the doubters of the world.

Apply

Think of a critic of the Christian faith you know. Spend some time praying for that person throughout the day.

Closing prayer

Gracious Lord, I pray that You will enlarge my inner strength so that I may stay true to You.

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