Daily Manna – January 20, 2016
Topic: From the beginning it was not so 66
Scripture: He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (Matt 19:8)
Note: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)
Death is irreversible. Everyone born of a woman will die. Though this fact is not lost on anyone, man will always resist death and its ugly tentacles till his last breath. Death is seen as an enemy to man and even animals. Very few people will die without a fight, when they know that they have the wherewithal to prevent death.
Death is seen as a tragedy universally. Even very old and sickly people are mourned by their immediate family and loved ones when they pass. So we can understand the enormity of the tragedy, when a talented, young man who held so much promise, not just for his disciples or followers, the family and friends, but the mass of the populace, as a potential Messiah, a deliverer of the oppressed people of Israel, is set up, betrayed, unjustly accused, arrested, beaten, tortured and without any basis in law and justice, handed over to be cruelly crucified to death on a shameful cross, as a result of a popular acclamation by the people, “crucify him.”
Gross injustice was meted out to Jesus, directly impacting his mother, siblings and the disciples, who were left to grapple with the tragic loss, the pain of premature death, the curse, shame and stigma of dying on a cross to the family and his disciples; for death on the cross to the Jews represents failure. What was worse was that Jesus had the power to save himself this pain, embarrassment and death, but he willingly chose to go through the suffering for the sake of man’s redemption.
Food for thought: No wonder that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Declaration: No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:18)
© Author: Rev Fred Aboe
