Lent Part 13- Disarmed

April 16, 2019 by Cee Maria in Lent

Colossians 2:15 NLT (parenthesis added)

He (Jesus) disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Jesus totally disarmed the greatest enemy known to God and to mankind. Let’s deconstruct this passage in Colossians for today’s reflection.

Who was Jesus disarming?
According to Strong’s Concordance these terms are defined as:
Spiritual rulers- the leader in first place, the principality, ruler, magistracy of angels and demons (1).
Authorities- the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed) (2).

How did Satan and his demons become rulers?
Adam and Eve were our first parents, who represented all of mankind. They were children of God (position) and were blessed by God to rule (authority) everything in the earth. They disobeyed God and judgement was passed. Satan became the god of this world (position) and held the power (authority) to rule over all the people living in it. Every descendant of Adam and Eve are born in sin and live under the curse of sin because of this transaction.

How did Jesus disarm Satan and his rulers?
Jesus, the Son of God, was born a man and became the second Adam. Jesus now represented all of mankind. He took our place and suffered the penalty of our sins when He died on the cross. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered Satan's position as ruler over us. Satan could no longer decree the curse of sin to dominate over our lives or pass the judgement of sin which is eternal damnation. Once again, Jesus has authority to rule our lives, but only with our permission.

Jesus made a way for us to disarm Satan and his rulers
We must acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God, who suffered our penalty of sin and death. We must acknowledge that He rose from the grave to live forever. The moment we believe and verbally admit this truth, we enter into covenant with Jesus. When Jesus becomes our ruler, we rule with Him and inherit:

1) Position because we are children of God (John 1:12) and,
2) Authority because we are seated in the heavenly realm with Christ (Ephesians 2:6).

How did Jesus shame Satan and his leaders?
Satan used every arsenal to cause Jesus to sin. His body, soul, and spirit battled to resist temptation until the very end when He gave His life.

Just as Satan was unsuccessful in luring Jesus into temptation during His 40 day fast in the desert, he couldn't dissuade Jesus from carrying out His Father’s will. Can you imagine how attentive Satan must have been when he heard Jesus ask God why He had forsaken Him? (Crucified)

Throughout this entire ordeal, Jesus used the divine wisdom of the Word of God in response to every attack. This is His testimony of how He shamed and humiliated Satan and his followers. Wielding the Sword of the Spirit, Jesus disarmed and slew the heart of His enemies where it hurt the most, their pride. Jesus refused to worship him and kept His love and faith in His Father sending Satan and his cohorts reeling.

When Jesus bowed his head, His spirit left this earth and He descended into the depths of hell. As He entered every hideous realm, Satan and his wicked rulers were forced to bow down and declare Him "Lord". To their utter shame and defeat, they handed over the keys of authority they used to abuse humankind. It was 'the' public display of defeat in Satan's own territory.

Let’s pray:
Father, it humbles me when I meditate on the most famous battle ever fought, the battle between Jesus and Satan. Jesus disarmed Satan and his demons by understanding His position, using His authority, and speaking the wisdom of Your Word into every situation. Give me the grace to follow the example Jesus set for me. When the enemy attacks, I will disarm Satan and his demons by understanding my position as a child of God, using the authority You have given me in Jesus name, and speaking the wisdom of Your Word into every situation. Jesus, You are my Lord! I give You my life. You may do with me as You will. In Jesus Name, Amen.

References:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G746&t=NLT
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1849&t=NLT

Lent Part 12- Crucified

April 13, 2019 by Cee Maria in Lent

Mark 15:33-34

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Mark 15:39

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.

Recorded here are Jesus last words and last thoughts before His death. Let’s deconstruct this passage for today’s reflection.

'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani', is the first verse of Psalm 22 written by King David 1,000 years earlier. The Holy Spirit revealed to David a vision of the crucifixion as perceived through the eyes of Jesus. It would stand to reason that the Holy Spirit brought to Jesus’ recall Psalm 22 which is why He spoke those words in His last moments on the cross.

Here is a brief synopsis of Psalm 22:

Verses 1-5
Traumatized and in insufferable agony, Jesus voiced His emotions to His Father and asked why He was being forsaken. But, Jesus reviewed His Father’s history of perfect faithfulness to His people.

Verses 6-11
Jesus tells the Father how the crowd perceived He was forsaken by God. He reflected on how the Father took care of Him from the moment of conception until this point in His life.

Verses 12-18
Jesus portrayed His enemies as powerful and violent bulls; and as lions that used their jaws to strangle and devour their prey. He further described the depth of His agonizing emotions, the condition of His tortured body, and the dehumanizing treatment from His enemies.

Verses 19-31
For every negative circumstance and emotion, Jesus countered with previous experiences of deliverance and truth. With confident faith Jesus eagerly expected to be saved from these evil circumstances. Jesus’ soul erupted with love, praise, and adoration for all that God had done and would continue to do. With prophetic eyes, He gazed into the future and recognized the glorious harvest of souls that would result from His crucifixion and resurrection.

Psalm 22: 22-31 NLT

“Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help. I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations. Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust. Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.”

To everyone there, it appeared that Jesus was murdered under the most profane circumstances possible, and His religious movement would die with Him. However, the unseen reality was that Jesus victoriously won this spiritual battle by resisting hatred and offense, loving His Father, and keeping the faith. With those words from Psalm 22 ringing in His mind and heart, Jesus willed His death and released His spirit into the hands of His Father.

Let’s pray:
Father, What an amazing example Jesus modeled for me in His darkest hour! Whatever battle I find myself in, no matter how hopeless it seems, I will follow the steps that Jesus took. I will counter negative circumstances with previous positive experiences. I will ask the Holy Spirit to bring to my recall the scripture I need for that situation and worship You. I will resist hatred and offense, love You, and keep the faith. I give You my life. You may do with me as You will. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Lent Part 6- Judas

March 27, 2019 by Cee Maria in Lent

Matthew 26:15 NLT

“How much will you (religious leaders) pay me (Judas) to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him 30 pieces of silver. (parenthesis added)

Mark 14: 43-46 NLT

And immediately, even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests, the teachers of the religious law, and the elders. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard.” As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

Judas' betrayal had to be one of the most painful experiences that Jesus ever encountered. Let's deconstruct this passage for today’s reflection.

Who was Judas?
First of all, what do we know about Judas? He did not associate with the religious leaders or their crowd, but was one of the original twelve disciples, and part of the intimate circle of Jesus. Mark 6 tells us that Jesus dispatched the twelve men in pairs to preach the gospel of repentance, heal the sick, and cast out devils. Jesus revealed the mysteries of the parables to his disciples in Mark 4. In Mark 10, Jesus alerted His disciples about His forthcoming death and resurrection. Judas was present and a participant in all of these events.

What was his experience with Jesus?

Judas witnessed the numerous times the religious leaders endeavored to make Jesus look like a fool or catch Him in the act of breaking the Mosaic Law. Every attempt was not only thwarted, but boomeranged. Judas also witnessed the times when the crowd would rise with fury against Jesus and attempted to kill Him, but miraculously every venture failed. Judas had concluded that Jesus was indestructible.

Judas’ logic

This is my opinion. I believe that Judas did not believe Jesus would actually be condemned to death. He figured that Jesus would escape destruction once again. For quite some time the religious leaders unsuccessfully endeavored to capture Jesus. Judas provided them with an excellent and seemingly foolproof plan.

30 pieces of silver

Once Judas delivered the perfect plan, he demanded payment . The Pharisees insultingly offered only thirty pieces of silver, the monetarily value placed on a slave, considered the lowliest of humans. Judas could have easily negotiated with the religious leaders for an exorbitant amount of money, but it was necessary for Scripture to be fulfilled (Zechariah 11).

The 30 pieces of silver are very significant here. In Exodus 21:32, is the first mention in the Bible of 30 pieces of silver as a price to pay for a slave accidentally killed. Why is this important? Because Jesus took the position of a slave when He became a human being.

Philippians 2:7,

He (Jesus) gave up his divine privileges, he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. (parentheses added)

Failed plan

For 3 ½ years, Jesus dodged every accusation and death trap. Filled with the devil, Judas reasoned he would deviously maneuver Jesus into a scenario where He would be compelled to make the greatest escape of all time. In his self important mind, Judas would be indispensable to Jesus and have accepted the responsibility and the glory of such an achievement. But, contrary to his assumption, this evil plan backfired and Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.

Satan exploited Judas

When the court condemned Jesus to crucifixion, it dawned on Judas there was no way out of this predicament. His plan miserably failed and he accidentally sent Jesus to His grave. Filled with deep emotional remorse, he refused to ask God for forgiveness and forgive himself. It was at this point when Judas returned the silver to the Pharisees and hung himself.

Judas exploited the Lord’s goodness. He learned how to operate in the Kingdom of God. He understood and experienced the goodness of God but took advantage of it for his own purposes. Judas tempted God and horrifically set himself up for destruction.

Let’s pray:

Father, Thank You for bringing to my attention yet another one of the devil's traps. I will not test You or take advantage of Your goodness and mercy. I ask that You help keep me truthful and to never exploit You or anyone else in any way. Keep me safe from evil and the evil one. I give You my life and You may do with me as You will. In Jesus Name, Amen.