Subscription Lists
Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
In Luke Chapter 23 the whole united assembly march Jesus Christ off across town from the House of Caiaphas the High Priest to Roman Governor Pilate.
There is an array of false charges and when they cannot get Jesus on one charge they changes the charge. In verse 5 the charges change again. Now, these men are becoming annoyed and rattled, and they are becoming fiercer.
They say that Jesus is a troublemaker who is stirring up the people and upsetting everyone everywhere with his teaching.
As soon as Pilate hears the word Galilee, he says, O Jesus is from Galilee? It is Herod who deals with criminals from Galilee. That is his region. You have come to the wrong department. Go to Herod. Does all this sound familiar? Today's modern bureaucracy is not all that modern. And Jesus is sent from one weakling to another.
Verse 8. Herod was glad to see Jesus, for all the wrong reasons. It was as if he wanted to be entertained. He wanted Jesus Christ to do one of his tricks! He wanted to see Jesus perform some miracle. Herod was not interested in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
Jesus would not answer. Jesus would not perform. Jesus refused to cast pearls before swine. Jesus would only minister to those who were open to the truth of God.
How humiliating this is for Herod, so he turned nasty. Does all this sound quite familiar? We meet this type of thing today. Herod was so enraged that he mocked Christ, and encouraged his men to do the same.
All this has been going on for some time now. From the table to the Garden of Gethsemane, to Caiaphas’s house, to Pilate, and now Herod, and these draining hours drag on. Try to imagine what Jesus Christ was enduring in every area of his humanity.
If you are going through challenging days, Jesus Christ understands. That has been a comfort to thousands down through the generations.
Jesus is so poised and so manly - so in control and so silent.
It is to those who repent that Jesus speaks, and no-one wants to repent in this situation. And, Jesus does not challenge their sin.
We might want to say, "Now don't go too far. - don't go over the score." On this occasion Jesus does not intervene. He appears to let wickedness have its evil way and that is another area where we can have real difficulties. There is a time to speak out and a time to remain silent. We cannot answer and deal with and resolve all the sin which confronts us every day. There are situations we just have to leave to Almighty God.
If you are facing various sore and painful challenges, Jesus Christ understands.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Word from Scotland" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.