Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna | Friday, August 31, 2018 | Topic: Conscience 112
Scripture: And when they saw Joseph afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him. Genesis 37:18
Note: For all armchair theory proponents of the hypothesis that Jesus could not possibly have been crucified to death, the heat that was generated from His arrest and trials, coupled with what the disciples witnessed of His torture, scourging and beatings, was enough to scare the daylight out of the disciples. Fearing for their lives, they all fled away from Jesus, abandoning their Master to his fate (Matt 26:56). You can never know the hearts, motives and true mettle of people around you for their loyalty, commitment and staying power during fair weather conditions when they have everything to gain and nothing to lose or sacrifice for the relationship.
Peter in particular, had been vociferous and open in publicly pledging his support for Jesus through thick and thin. But that’s the human side of Peter talking under fair weather conditions. Even with no sword directly aimed at his head, Peter was quick to deny Jesus on three occasions, fearing the suggestion coming from a small girl of knowing Him, and not merely denying by lying his way through, but going ahead to swear on his life that he hadn’t been associated with Jesus ever in his life, his Galilean intonation easily giving him up as a liar. The frailty of the flesh and the unpredictable nature of man cannot be trusted during moments when their own lives could be at stake.
The disciples of Jesus prior to His resurrection, were cowards who made no pretensions about their fear. Having fled the horror scenes of His torture, they were still hiding in a secret place under lock for fear of the Jews. One would have thought that with all the prior information they had from Jesus and His promise to rise from the dead after three days, the disciples would have gone looking for Jesus on the third day for any sign of fulfilling His promise. Unfortunately, they didn’t take Jesus at His word to rise from the dead. They assumed it to be mere rhetoric or something meaning other things than a literal bodily resurrection as Jesus had promised. All those rich, privileged information unfortunately fell on deaf ears. The cowardice in them trusted more in the invincibility of the lock in their secret hiding place than the words of Jesus.
John 20:19 “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in their midst, and said to them, Peace be unto you.” Jesus knew about their inner and outer fears but He wasn’t disappointed in them. He didn’t even rebuke them for ignoring the promises He spoke about earlier, and neither did He reprimand them for their cowardice. Instead, He spoke words of healing to the trauma that they had been through for the past three days for His sake. Jesus spoke words of comfort to the root of their inner and outer fears. He said, “Peace be unto you.” In so doing, Jesus reminded them that His abiding presence will always bring peace to the turmoil and uncertainties in their hearts. Their lives were never the same again after that encounter with Jesus.
Food for thought: A single encounter with Jesus is worth a lifetime of man’s futile search for peace and harmony in a dying world.
Declaration: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
