Here we have Jesus, arrested because of the selfishness and jealousy and self-righteousness of those in religious power. Throughout his arrest, he was completely under control, even powerful, making those who arrested him fall to the ground. In verses 19-24, we see Jesus’ first encounter with his accusers.

They ask him about his teachings and his disciples. He tells them that he has taught openly, so that they should ask those who have heard him taught (which no doubt included many of those present). It is clear he says this with a confidence that threatens everyone else in the room. Following his initial reply, he is struck by one of the high priests officers, who says, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

Now ask yourself: What would I do if I were in that situation? How would I respond if I was wrongly arrested and then struck for giving a very simple, calm reply?

First of all, we would not have been as calm, cool, and collected as Jesus, but let’s just say we were. How then would we respond to being struck? No doubt, we would have either responded feeling very sorry for our plight or by trying to break through our chains in order to strike back.

But look at what Jesus does?

He replies, no doubt with the same cool, calm, collectedness, and power, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

Take a moment to imagine the scene. Hear how he said it. Envision their faces as this man responds to their injustice with perfect self-control and a power they have never encountered before.

I don’t know about you, but this certainly makes me want to worship Jesus Christ. Here he is in the most intense of unjust situations, indeed, the most unjust situation in the history of the world, facing his death, and he is not rattled. He is more at rest than his accusers. He is at peace. He is strong. He is powerful. He responds with conviction, but not with arrogance. He is firm, but not proud like we are apt to be when we know we are in the right.

It is no wonder why the religious leaders were threatened by this man. Jesus exposed them for who they really were. No doubt, this is why most folks run from him now. But it is so much better to see things how they really are, to deal with this Jesus, and to worship him for who he has declared and proven himself to be, the very Son of God who suffered and died and rose again on behalf of all who would believe in him.

One final thought: every single injustice done to us should be viewed in light of the injustice Jesus Christ suffered in perfect cool, calm, collectedness, and power. We can suffer injustice because he suffered injustice for us and empowers us to bear witness to his worth in our difficult times.

Note, however, how he found the power to suffer such injustice.

“But if when you do good and suffered for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:20-23).

Do you see the last line? He “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” Simply put: he trusted God. We are so wise to follow in his steps. Lord, to make it simple, help us to trust in you. Help us to humble ourselves before you like Jesus and to believe your promises. To bank our hopes for a happy future on you, no matter what may come. For the sake of your name, Lord, do it.

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

1) This is amazing. I enjoy access to spiritual realities concerning Jesus Christ and all that God has done, is doing, and will do through Christ that prophets and angels longed to understand and look into.

This ought to create in me first, a deep humility of heart. After all, I did not choose when I would be born. Or where. Or whether or not I would be exposed to such realities (as most people on the world today are ignorant of Christ). Only God controls such things. And He was by no means obligated to give me access to such great, life-transforming truths concerning Him and His Son.

This also ought to create in me a deep sense of awe at the truths I so readily take for granted. Everyday, I should remind myself that the gospel I know and am able to share with others was not known for years throughout human history. It is a gospel that will forever make us and all the angels marvel. The comfort and joy and security I have in Christ is never to be taken for granted. I should stand daily in awe of the central realities concerning Jesus that shape my life.

2) I should be as diligent to search out the riches of Christ as the prophets were, for I have more material to enlighten my understanding and change my life. Matthew - Revelation. These books none of the prophets of old enjoyed. And yet here they are sitting on my shelf in numerous different translations! Bible study tools and books galore are mine. If I want to learn, there is nothing stopping me. Yet I am so slow to search out such realities. I lack diligence in pursuing greater understanding into truths that shape all of human history and mine life. This is to my shame.

If angles longed to look into the realities that we as Christians, so readily enjoy and am capable of enjoying more, we ought to be more diligent in seeking greater understanding. Sure, not every Christian will be a teacher, but at the same time, every Christian should be in diligent pursuit of greater understanding. One of the primary pursuits of every Christian should be knowing his Bible (and thus, his God and Savior) very well.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

1) Every affliction is light and momentary in light of eternity. Life is so short that both the big things and the small things in life are as nothing in light of the life to come. From screaming kids to life-threatening cancer. It’s all light and momentary if we are seeing clearly. It doesn’t mean they are both equal, especially now. It just means that when viewed in light of eternity, they are a whole lot more equal that we might initially think.

2) These light momentary afflictions only work to prepare for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look no to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. That’s a clear condition. In order to be prepared, we need to develop a focus on that which is unseen and eternal. We are so easily caught up in the here and now. We desperately need to do all we can to fix our minds on that which is above, that which lasts, that which eternally matters.

This takes diligence and discipline and a heavy dose of God’s grace. But by His grace, it can be done. It has been done. It is being done by many throughout the world. No doubt it is a fight. But it is a fight that we can win because of Jesus. What is the central focus of my life? Where do me thoughts naturally wander to when they have time to wander? When any sort of difficulty comes, what am I more apt to focus on: the difficulty itself or to things unseen?

How much is an eternal weight of glory worth to us? We can tell by how we respond to the various light and momentary afflictions of life. O we do so well to fight for a focus on things unseen!

“So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.”

A few lessons…

1) “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17)

Pilate seeks to clear himself of injustice with words and a symbolic washing. But his indecisiveness was a decision for injustice itself. He knew why the leaders had come. He realized that Jesus was innocent. But he gave way to the crowd. He protected his own temporal status and in turn, lost his soul. And, no doubt, his temporal position was soon to give way as well. For anytime you seek to maintain power by appeasing the crowd, you inevitably face a day when the crowd can no longer be appeased.

2) Let us beware of speaking for our children.

The Jewish people present at the ‘trial’ of Jesus cry out, “His blood be on us and on our children!” So sure were they are their righteous stance, that they put the lives of their children on the altar of injustice and sin. Let us beware. For in 70 A.D. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. And anyone who believes the Scriptures cannot doubt that such a judgment came from the hand of the Lord. The legacy of those who crucified Jesus did not end well.

I have read this account numerous times, but every time I do, I find that there is something within me that wants Jesus to act just a bit different than he really did. In particular, I would like Him to switch things up a bit after He was spit and struck in the face and challenged to prophesy to the leaders, and to tell them who it was who struck Him.

Every time I read such words, I want to hear Jesus cry out, “Listen here and listen well, religious leaders, the first one who struck me was ‘John’, son of whoever, from the town of whatever, who grew up and did this and that at the age of nine, and who just did this or that yesterday, and who is thinking this right this moment.”

Interestingly enough, I imagine Jesus saying all this and the religious leaders stopping for a moment or maybe even bowing down before Him. But the fact is, this is not what would have taken place. And, more importantly, if Jesus had uttered such words, His glory would not have been more fully revealed. In fact, He greatness is more revealed by His silence than if He has chosen to speak…at least at this time.

If He had said the words I offered above, the fact is that the religious leaders would have probably said He was demon-possessed. Their hearts were too hard. They were much too concerned about their own position of authority and privilege to allow the truth to get in the way. They were the ones who had succumb to darkness. For they were the ones who could not keep their wicked mouths shut.

But then there is Jesus, who “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:22-24).

Jesus endured His suffering on His terms. Amazingly enough, He was in full control in the midst of the greatest injustice the world has ever seen. Where I would have let lose on the foolish and wicked Pharisees, Jesus opened not His mouth. Or at least He opened His mouth exactly as was best, for the glory of God and the good of His people.

May such simple silence in the fact of such great injustice make us marvel at our Savior as we ought. And may it also help us learn when it is wise for us to speak and when it is wise for us to keep our mouths shut.

First, in verses 23-27, we see Jesus’ dominion over the natural world. Then, in verses 28-34, we see Jesus’ dominion over the supernatural world.

It is interesting to note the questions of the demons: “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?”

They understood who Jesus was while also understanding that there would come a day in which He would torment them. If demons understand this (as they should), then they are apparently out to wreak as much destruction as they can before the time. It would seem like they have enough sense (particularly after the cross) to recognize that they cannot ultimately win, for they are already defeated. Yet they are enslaved to doing evil, as much evil as the Lord will allow. Until the day when they are completely wiped out. O what a happy day!

v. 20-22 Immediately after being confronted by the risen Christ, Saul (Paul) walks into their synagogues to proclaim, “He is the Son of God.” Naturally, the Jews were taken off guard, because they knew Saul had come not to preach to them, but to imprison those who were preaching! Verse 22 also tells us that Saul “increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.”

It must have been amazing for Saul. No doubt he knew his Scriptures well, maybe had even memorized them. But it wasn’t until he saw Jesus Christ for who He really is that he really understood the Scriptures he had studied so well. So it is for us all. If we get the wrong answers about Jesus, we get the wrong answers about the Bible. Jesus is the center, the key, the One thing that unlocks all other things in Scripture. Apart from a sound understanding of Christ’s Person and work, we are bound to be full of misunderstanding. But if we understand who He is and what He has done and will do, a thousand doors open up to us. Then and only then can we increased all the more in strength and confound those who do not believe in both word and deed. We should never tire of studying Scripture in light of what Jesus has done and will do.

v. 29 Before seeing Christ, Saul was the one pursuing the lives of others. Immediately after believing in Christ, Saul was the one being pursued. Jesus had said to Ananias that He would should Saul how much he must suffer for His name. The suffering and difficulty for Saul began immediately after his conversion. Yet Saul took it right on. As convinced as he was about persecuting believers before, he was equally convinced about the reality of Jesus Christ and the importance of making Him known, suffering or not.

When others are converted through us, are they well prepared to suffer? If not, they ought to be…at least at some point soon.

v. 31 It seems that Saul was quite the catalyst for the persecution of believers, because we are told in this verse that after his conversion and escape from the hands of the Jews, the church in Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. In any movement, there are certain leaders that organize resistance (good or ill). Saul was the church’s prime persecutor and presumably, the one who organized much of the persecution. So it is with any movement. One man naturally arises with great zeal and organization and contacts to bring change (for good or ill).

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angles proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

These are verses that I am compelled to meditate upon every single time I read them. For no matter where I might be in my walk with the Lord, I need to take heed to these words. For if ever I fail to pay close attention to all that I have heard concerning Jesus Christ, I am in danger of falling away. Let him who stands firm, take heed lest he fail. More specifically, let him who stands firm, take heed to the word concerning Jesus Christ, lest he fall.

Notice that the concern of the writer of Hebrews is not a blatant turning away from the faith. It is not our waking up one day and rejecting all we have heard concerning Christ in one fell sweep. No. It is drifting that is the danger. Or more specifically, drifting through neglect that is the danger. Turning from Christ usually does not happen in a moment. Indeed, even if it seems to happen in a moment, that moment is just the culmination of consistent neglect…consistent drifting.

The danger in the Christian life is a the danger of drifting. The danger of coasting. Cruising. Going with the flow. A sort of relaxed mentality that refuses to fight for life. A ‘chill’ mentality that fosters a false security and fails to pay consistent and persistent close attention to all we have heard concerning the Word of Life.

The truth concerning Jesus Christ is so great, so glorious, so awesome that it is deserving of our consistent and persistent meditation. If it is boring to us any day, that is not because the truth itself is boring, but because we have a problem. And we fail to realize the importance of keeping our hearts hot and humble. The words above are plain: if we do not pay consistent close attention to all we have heard concerning Christ, there is a very good chance we will fall away. Consistent neglect inevitably precedes persistent unbelief. Drifting hardens millions more than any one single attack. Our greatest danger is our own tendency to cruise.

And lest we think that a great deal of religious activity guards us from cruising, we are wise to recognize that we can cruise even amidst much religious activity. Practicing the spiritual disciplines guarantees nothing, though such consistent practice is vital. For we must practice the disciplines with a certain desperation. A certain recognized need. A certain realization that we need to keep our hearts hot and humble today. That we need the Lord. That we need Him to guard us from persistent neglect and drifting.

The warning given to us by the writer of Hebrews should serve to produce in us that sort of humbling realization. And in turn, should stir us to consistently and persistently meditate upon the truths concerning Jesus Christ. If we coast, we die. Therefore, we must take pains to consistently pursue, seek, take heed….for our good and the Lord of God.

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Oftentimes we are pleading to the Lord for the removal of some weakness or hardship or persecution or calamity. We cannot understand why we continue to struggle as we do. The same circumstances arise to humble us, to show us our need, to bring us low. And God will not remove them.

Are we content to realize that the Lord might not want to remove them? That He has a wise and loving purpose for whatever it is we want to be removed? Can we find rest in the reality that the Lord wants us to be weak? That He wants us to see our need for Him continually? That He loves us enough to never let us grow too independent? That He will do whatever it takes to make us grow in a humble reliance upon Him?

Paul learned the secret of embracing all that revealed his weakness, because he valued the power of Christ more than present comfort. Indeed, he learned the power of being content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. He went so far to make them the things in which he boasted. Why? Because he knew that they were all worth it if he could but walk humbly with Christ.

If these various difficulties were the means to the power of God resting upon Paul, why are we apt to think that the Lord wants us to comfortably cruise along in the Christian life? Why are we inclined to believe that we somehow do not need these difficulties? Our standard is much too low. Our goal too here-and-now.

How much do we want the power or Christ to rest upon us? To that degree we will welcome difficulty. To that degree we will boast and embrace all that exposes our weakness and leads us to throw ourselves upon the mercy seat of Christ.

What is it that you are struggling with today? If the Lord will not remove, maybe He means for it to be embraced as a sweet means of humbling you and revealing His power.

O Lord, make us want You more than we want comfort and ease. Make us long for your power to rest upon us and to, in turn, embrace whatever the means might be for your power to be perfected in us. For the sake of your name, O Lord, hear us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

So zealous was Paul for Jesus Christ and his gospel that he was willing to suffer and die. Paul was indeed a man of vision. A man of passion. A man of resolve. And he was so captivated by the gospel of the kingdom that he was willing to lay down his very life for it. He did not account his life as any value, nor as precious to himself, if only he could be faithful with his charge.

When reading such verses, we are wise to humbly reflect upon our commitment to this gospel. Sure, it will not look the same as it did for the Apostle Paul, but every one of us needs that resolve, that passion, that fire for the good news of Jesus Christ. We need to embrace suffering more and to seek comfort less. To be so captivated with a vision to making Jesus known that all our own comforts and pushed to the background and relegated to positions of relative unimportance.

To reach such a state, much prayer and study is needed. We are wise to cry out to the Lord to captivate our hearts with the truth of His Word, with the reality of His kingdom, so that we might truly seek first His kingdom no matter the cost.