Today’s Text: Luke 23-24
Key Text: Luke 23:1-3
“Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 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.’ So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied.”
When those who would destroy Jesus brought him to trial, they accused him of many things.
They tried playing the religious card – “HE’S A BLASPHEMER!”
They tried playing the political card – “HE’S AGAINST PAYING TAXES!”
Which led to the military card – “HE’S TRYING TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT!”
They accused him of being a heretic, a rebel, a troublemaker.
Then they accused him of claiming to be a king.
All this – so they could get the “powers that be” to do their dirty work for them.
Jesus refused to play their game.
In response to the accusation that he was a king he merely said, “You have said so.”
It turned the tables on them. They would have to keep pushing their point in order to destroy him.
Before long, they found a way to kill Jesus of Nazareth but they could not rid themselves of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
He was a king after all – just not the kind they were used to serving.
The risen Christ calls us to follow and to serve but me must realize once and for all that his kingdom is “not of this world.”
To serve Him – is to serve Him for eternity – joyfully.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
View all of Paul Simrell's posts.
IGW3 - In God's Word, In God's Will, In God's Work 