The
Notes finds it interesting that when folks disagree, the immediate
reaction seems to be to attack the person, not the article of
disagreement. Long gone are the days of reasonable or civil debate, for
it seems that one's person is now the point of conflict or the target
of attacks. We have lost the ability to a disagreement while
maintaining a respect or, heaven forbid, love for the person. Catch
phrases such as "tolerance" and "rights" are used to further positions
of disagreement without progress for those positions being forwarded.
They traipse off the lips hand in hand with the words "racist" and
"homophobe" set out to destroy one's character. Our "exchanges of
ideas" become all too personal when there becomes a divergence from the
debated topic to the debaters themselves. This transference of dislike
for a thought to being dislike for a person has been around since the
dawn of time...
"You should see, what a lovely, lovely world this would be
If everyone learned to live together
It seems to me such an easy, easy thing this would be
Why can't you and me learn to love one another"
The
Rascals had a great thought in this song that spent 5 weeks atop the
Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Their ideas stemmed from the cultural
upheaval that was prevalent during the '60s. It seems each generation
has their "cause" that they fill out petitions for, lobby government
representatives, or demonstrate to prove their point. The lines often
times get blurred in the discussion when physical attributes and
ideological standpoints are equated. Far to often the debate of the
topic leads to the emotion of the moment and suddenly you wind up with
good people making poor decisions. In at least 1 case the poor decision
lead to going so far as to kill an innocent person...
His
dissent was very clear from the moment He entered the temple in
Jerusalem and cast out those who He thought were desecrating this holy
place. This brought the attention of the ruling class who immediately
went about stirring up people against Him. In some instances, the
religious "elite" either bought off or intimidated some of the very ones
that followed Him. The source of their problem with Him..."People Got
to Be Free"
His
was a message of love. His was a message of tolerance of people while
having an intolerance for the sin in their lives. Notice that the two
can coexist. Tolerate, even love folks, yet do not tolerate, embrace,
or qualify the wrong in their lives. He accepted the tax collector as
well as the fisherman. He healed the adulterous and the leper. He
taught in the fields and in the synagogues. He discriminated against no
one and loved the person while admonishing the moral delinquency in
their lives. He preached about the ultimate freedom that was attained
by believing He was who He said He was, the Son of God. Ultimately, it
was this proclamation that allowed His detractors to bring bodily harm
to Him, and in their minds silence His message.
In
an illegal trial, the man Jesus was sentenced for the crime of
blasphemy and brought before the Roman Prefect for punishment. Because
He was Galilean, He was sent to Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judea, where
He was mocked, but remained silent. Herod sent Him back to Pilate who
gave the mob the choice between Jesus, in whom Pilate found no fault,
and Barabbas, a convicted murderer who was scheduled to die by
crucifixion that day. He
had healed the sick in their midst, even brought life back to those who
were dead, yet they did not believe, even through the proof of these
miracles, that He was the Son Of God. The crowd chose for Barabbas to
be released and to have Jesus killed. He was crucified close enough to
the walls of the city that one could hear the bleating of the Passover
lambs as they were being prepared for slaughter. The Lamb of God was
being sacrificed for the redemption of the sins of the world, on a hill
called the "place of the skull":
He
was born surrounded by the wood of a manger and wrapped in swaddling
cloths. He submitted to capital punishment surrounded by the wood of a
cross and wrapped in what would be His burial cloths..."People Got To
Be Free" He was placed in a tomb that some believe is this place in
Jerusalem:
"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”" Matthew 28:1-10 New International Version of the Bible
In this Easter season, in this commemoration of an empty tomb, in this celebration of Jesus being alive, we must remember the motivation for why Jesus did what He did..."People Got To Be Free". God is perfect. We are not. God desires for us to have a relationship with Him, for us to be free from the "sin that so easily entangles us". The only way for that to occur is for God to view us through what Jesus did at Calvary. Jesus now waits at the right hand of God to be a mediator for all of those who believe the beauty of this day.
"Oh, what a feelin's just come over me
Enough to move a mountain, make a blind man see
Everybody's dancin', come on, let's go see
Peace in the valley, now they all can be free"
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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