Revelation 2:18-29 – The message of Christ to the church in Thyatira

The message to Thyatira began with the Lord calling Himself the Son of God, as opposed to the many deities common among the people of that city. As the Son of God, He is the Messiah King. His eyes like flame of fire speaks of His holiness as well as His righteousness. These eyes could penetrate the heart and see through one’s attitude towards false worship. Thyatira was a city located in a broad valley southeast of Pergamum. In this city dwelled many Greeks and Macedonians and Roman business people. The social fabric of Thyatira was much like the other six cities yet as a city it was not as significant as them. One thing Thyatira was known for was their trade associations, among which was the guilds for people in smelting copper and bronze.  This could well explain why the Lord referred to His feet as burnished bronze.

Christians there were in some ways pressurized to conform to Greco-Roman social norms of that city. The trade associations had created a problem for the believers in this city. Every trade guild in Thyatira had some patron deity, whom they would go to, to invoke blessings. The primary social events those trade guilds would organize were festive meals, where food sacrificed to their patron deities would be served. Frequently, at those male-only feasts, “girls” were made available and the meals would become an occasion for sexual immorality.

The church in Thyatira had some areas worthy of commendation. They had love, faith, service and patience that were becoming increasingly better. But still there was a major problem. While Pergamum had a Balaam, Thyatira had a Jezebel who called herself a prophetess. Like the Jezebel of old, who led her husband King Ahab and Israel astray to the worship of Baal, Thyatira’s Jezebel was also leading Christ’s bond-servants astray. Here we surmised that not all the people were snared by this Jezebel, who was teaching them to commit acts of immorality and eating food offered to idols. Second Kings 9:22 summed up the sins of Jezebel, calling her whoredom and sorceries. Here Revelation 2:20 Jesus calls it immorality. It is a metaphor for spiritual fooling around with other deities. While not all the believers in Thyatira participated in the teachings of this false prophetess, they were indifferent toward it. They had allowed her teachings to go unchecked. Jesus would have nothing of their indifference and compromising stance. Like them, some believers today are also being misled to believe that one could follow Christ and at the same time engage in some questionable practices as well. In the case of the believers in Thyatira, they didn’t want to lose their trading partners so they accommodated them. But what about us today? Perhaps because of friendship, many also refuse to leave their wrong teachings as well.   

Here we learned that the merciful Christ gave that prophetess an opportunity to repent of her immorality. This only meant that this was not the first time she was dealt with. But she was unwilling to repent. The Lord warned her that He would bring her through some physical suffering and bring all her followers through tribulation. Unless they all repent of her deed, severe judgment would be their experience. There are two difficulties here. (1) Are the children referred to here, her spiritual or natural off-springs? (2) Is the death referred to, literal physical death?  They are probably symbolic language of the real actions the Lord will take, as one Who searches minds and hearts to purge them of their sins with his the eyes of flames

From verse 24 Christ addressed and counseled the rest of Thyatira, who did not subscribe to that Jezebel’s teachings and thus not know the deep things of Satan. It was likely that what she taught as the deep things of God was in fact the deep things of Satan in disguise. The Lord would never place any burden on them who did not follow this Jezebel. Then the Lord encouraged them to hold on to the truth they already knew and were practicing. They were told to hold fast and be faithful to the truth until He comes. To the overcomers, those who would endure till the end, He would allow them to share His authority. Quoting from Psalm 2, Christ was talking about that kind of authority which He as the Messiah possessed. Jesus further promised the overcomers the morning star. In Revelation 22:16 Jesus is referred to as the morning star. This is another hint of the intimacy He offers to His people.

And so we too need to deal with our passion for all other love in our life, and press in to gain the Morning Star, Jesus Himself. He is worth our giving up of everything to possess Him. It will mean having a deepened intimacy and a deeper walk with Him. What an invitation!

Revelation 2:12-17 – The message of Christ to the church in Pergamum

Christ’s message in Revelation 2:12-17 was sent to the church in Pergamum. This was a major city located some 65 miles north of Smyrna by road and about 15 miles from the Aegean Sea. The population of the city include residents from nearby regions of Mysia and Lydia as well as Greeks and Roman business people. Pergamum depended on textile production, many people worked as dyers and cloth makers. As the One Who has the two-edged sword, Christ has the judiciary power to judge. He has the superior authority and His word, as the author to the Hebrews had said, is sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.    

Here Christ called the city of Pergamum the place where Satan has his throne. The reason why Christ called it Satan’s throne is not fully known. But it is known that in the city there was a sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of healing, who was sometimes referred to as “the savior.” The symbol for Asclepius was a serpent. Furthermore, Pergamum was where Asia’s first provincial temple to the emperor was located and was another major city for imperial cult. Christians living in that city would have to discern and consider the limits of their participation in any of the cultural festivities. Where should they draw the line? One such issue was probably about food offered to idols. Should they partake of them?

Many there did hold on to Christ when faced with the challenge. They refused to compromise but held on to their faith, refusing to deny Christ. They chose to act in accord with their faith. One such person was Antipas who was martyred for his faith. Sadly however, there were some that could have become a bit freer and way too flexible, and were being assimilated into the culture. This is an all too common scenario, isn’t it? After living in such an alien environment for a while, one’s spiritual sensitivity could be dulled and unwittingly get sucked in to go with the flow. For these people, Christ sent a stern warning. They were committing the same mistake the Israelites in the days of Balaam did. Balaam was enticed by the riches offered by Balak, the king of Moab, to proclaim a curse over the people of Israel. When God forbade him from his task, he devised a scheme to lure the people of God into sexual immorality through inter-marriage with the foreigners. And slowly but surely, the Israelites were induced into worshipping foreign gods, into sexual immorality and also the eating of food offered to idols.    

What about the Nicolaitans? They, as we said previously, were a group with deviant teachings. It could well be that they were propagating the teachings of Balaam. In some way some believers in the church in Pergamum had begun to be jaded witness. They had lost their spiritual sharpness and found it difficult to say “no” to the luring temptations.  So Jesus told them to repent, or find themselves having to face His the judgment of His two-edged sword that would be coming out of His mouth. His Word would be swift to cut through any mediocre spirituality.  

Like in the other two earlier churches, Ephesus and Smyrna, the Spirit of God has spoken. It is up to the discerning ones to hear it and act on it. Those in Pergamum who readily opened their spiritual ears to listen and respond will be given “hidden manna”. Spiritually speaking, they were living in a place depleted of truth, yet Christ Himself would supply them with spiritually nourishing food. If only we are prepared to come away and sit with Christ awhile, He will feed us with what is truly spiritually nutritious. In addition to the hidden manna, an overcomer would also be given a white stone with his new name. Buildings in Pergamum were constructed with black stones. For the inscription, they would use a white marble to carve the name on it so that it could stand out. There was also a custom where guests to a feast were given a white stone with their names as the admission ticket.

So here to every overcomer, Christ has promised a white stone with a new name written on it. What is that new name? No one would know except the person to whom it was given. What’s the point of this? Jesus was likely saying that this is a personal thing. When one is faithful and living an overcoming life, he or she will be sharing an intimacy with the Lord Jesus and have secrets only the two of them would know. Let’s refuse to compromise in the most trying of temptation. Let’s stand firm in our witness for Christ. We must constantly draw near to the Lord. As we do so, we will find that we will be sharing an intimacy with Him that no other would or need to know!                 

Revelation 2:8-11 - The message to the Christ to the Church in Smyrna

In these verses, the message of the crucified and risen Lord was written to address the congregation in Smyrna, a port city located forty miles north of Ephesus. It was known for its culture, wealth, and beauty. The population of Smyrna comprised of Greeks, Jews and Roman business people. Christians there also faced social pressures to accommodate Greco-Roman practices. Here the Lord referred to Himself as the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life. As the first and the last, He is the One in whom time and history began, and will be the One that time and history will find its climax. In saying that He was the One Who was dead and has come to life, He was referring to His death and resurrection. This reference could also be an intentional allusion to the city of Smyrna, which was destroyed once and then rebuilt again.

Although the Christians of Smyrna appeared to be poor materially in comparison with the richness of the city, yet they were rich because of who they were in Christ. Isn’t this the same for us too? To be materially rich is really unimportant. As believers we are infinitely richer when we are vitally related and connected to Christ. However, this exhortation is not a commendation for poverty but an encouragement for those who are poor, to remain faithful to Christ.

Bear in mind that Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism. It is not a new religion born out of nothing. Its foundation is deeply rooted in the ancient promise made to Israel. The God of Israel had given His people the promise of a Messiah. The Christians insisted that Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Lord is the Messiah. A true Jew recognized and acknowledged this Messiah and put their faith in Him. If the followers of Jesus belong to the God of Israel, those who reject them would be rejecting God. Hence those Jews of natural descent who refused to acknowledge Jesus are in effect not true Jews.  

The synagogue in Smyrna were made up of both Jews who didn’t acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and those who did. When those who did made their stand that would immediately become a problem. Members of the synagogue who did not accept the claim would persecute them, and added their own blasphemies upon the Lord. In rejecting Jesus, and renouncing the Christians, they were also hurling all kinds of wicked accusations on them and the Lord. They were in effect acting in accord with Satan, hence they were called a synagogue of Satan.

However, the call Christ gave in the message to Smyrna was an exhortation to the believers not to cave in to fear, especially in the coming tribulation that they were about to go through. The duration of this test would be “ten days.” What do we understand by “ten days”? It simply means a period of time. And in that duration, they would be threatened with incarceration. This threat would have made some Christians ready to relinquish their faith in order to avoid that outcome. This was a test. And believers were challenged to remain faithful until death.

And again this challenge is accompanied by a promise of the crown of life. Overcomers, people who remain faithful, will be marked by the crown of life. That will be the true and pure resurrected life in God’s eternal presence. It is interesting to know that Smyrna was shaped like a city with a crown, created by the brilliant architecture of the steep hill surrounding it. Here the overcomers were also promised that they would not taste or be touched by the second death. The first death affects both the non-believers and believers in Christ. The second death will only be experienced by those condemned by God. The second death will do to one’s entire personality what the first death would only do to the physical body.

Faithfulness is prized by the Lord. In the face of tough time and death, fear is often the common cause for why a person would renege on his or her faith. Here the Lord again challenges us to remain faithful, no matter what tough situation we may encounter in life. If we are going through something that seems to threaten our relationship with God, the Word of Christ is: Be faithful till the end! When we persevere and stand firm, awaiting us is a life in its purest and truest essence.  

Revelation 2:1-7 – THe message of Christ to the church in Ephesus

Apparently in Ephesus today, there is no dynamic church. This may seem incongruous since the church in Ephesus during Paul’s days was at its height. It was a major centre of Christianity. It was a model for Christian life and faith and witness. Reading the letter of Paul to the Ephesians would give us the impression that it was a thriving church. With no great church, or lively Christian fellowship from that once vibrant hub of Christianity, leaves one wondering and baffled. From Christ’s message to the church in Ephesus we now know the reason why the church there is in such a predicament today. This happens as Christ had warned them in His message recorded in Revelation 2:1-7. In verse 5, He said to them, “…remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.” Like much of His message to them, this was indeed a severe warning.

The messages of Christ to the seven churches in Asia Minor were indeed incisive and piercing. They were messages with all the warnings to them. The message to the church in Ephesus was the first. While what Christ had said was addressed to each of the seven churches in particular, they also served as a message to other Christian fellowships around that area at that time. And they are indeed accessible and relevant to all churches today. A close look at the seven messages tell us that each one began with some reminders of certain aspects of Christ presented in Revelation 1. Then the message would highlight certain praiseworthy characteristics of that particular church. We know that the seven church each had something praiseworthy except the church of Laodicea. And of the seven churches, only in Smyrna and Philadelphia that the Lord had found no fault. Each message would also end with a serious warning and a promise. Through them the Spirit is still speaking to the churches today. He is calling on us believers to be overcomers. He is also making promises of some outlooks of the glorious future that God has installed for us. All the warnings and all the promises Christ made to the seven churches are applicable to every believer then and now.

Here the Lord began by reminding the church in Ephesus that Jesus is the sovereign Lord. He is the one who still holds the seven stars in His right hand and the One who walks in the midst of His church. Jesus was pleased with the Christians of Ephesus then. They apparently were diligent and patient even when they faced great threat and persecution and did not grow weary. They had even drawn a clear line between the real followers of Jesus and those who were obviously not. They tested all self-proclaimed apostles that came to them and wisely discerned and saw through their falsehood. They would have nothing to do with their false teachings. While all these were well and good, they had fallen into a trap. Being diligent and adhere to strict orthodoxy were well and good, but they had fallen into a snare - they had deserted their first love. It could possibly refer to their love for Jesus. This is something that all of us must keep firm and central in our walk with Him. But Jesus was most probably referring to something which they did not do. Hence He told them to return to what they were doing at the beginning. Love is an action word. Showing hospitality and being generous to those in need are love in action. Practical help to the poor, the sick and needy are love in action. The early church was marked by such activities. This was and still is the best way to demonstrate God’s love. It is the best way to show our faith in Christ, our self-giving God.  We can be so self-absorbed, putting our own needs first that we forget to extend a hand to the needy. Like the Ephesians, if we have forgotten the plight of the needy, we need to wake up and remember what is pleasing to God, and repent and get back to those activities.

The Lord also commented the Ephesians for rejecting the “Nicolaitans.” There are debates concerning who this group of people were. We will not dwell in this needless pursuit. Suffice to say that they were a deviant group. As followers of Jesus we know we must evaluate all teachings with His Word. We can only accurately discern truths from what is false by our own prayerful, careful, and Spirit-guided study of God’s Word. Like the believers in Ephesus we must be discerning.

The worship of Artemis or the goddess Diana was common in Ephesus at that time. Apparently, in the temple of Artemis or the goddess Diana, there was also a tree used as an asylum. Criminals who came within certain distance of that tree would be free from capture and punishment. Hence it is no accident that John should conclude here with the tree of life in the paradise of God. But this tree is not a place for unrepentant sinners, but it is for those who repent and those who conquer. They are those who would have the right to partake of the fruit of this tree of life. The kind of life that God had intended for us to experience but had been kept from reach by our sin. This tree of life was in the Garden of Eden and will be there again in God’s New Jerusalem.

Bear in mind that Jesus was preparing the young church to face the threat coming against her. The call is to conquer persecution from the pagan. Like them we must also conquer by following the examples of Jesus who won through by His patient endurance. We may have to face hardship for our faith, but regardless of how tough our situation may be, we do it all to witness for Jesus by conquering through patience and not by fighting back.

Revelation 1:17-20 – To see Christ more clearly

Consider this for a while, John was part of the body of believers undergoing suffering. What they were facing was not just hard and harsh, but also seemingly and agonizingly long. They had to endure the hands of brutal and ruthless rulers, one after another. Everyone imposing their will upon them in one city after another. The Christ whom John was given the privilege to see, is the same Priest and Judge standing in the midst of the seven churches. In His right hand are the angels or leaders, each one is to look after each of His local churches. We know that the seven churches were located in Ephesus, Smyrna Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. The seven churches as a whole stood as a symbol of the universal Church of Jesus Christ, both then and now. This is an assurance that when we are in the church committed to Christ and His truth, we know that the leadership of that assembly is in His right hand.  

   

Now try to stand in the shoes of John and imagine what he had experienced. Just imagine the magnificent Christ John had described. This glorious Christ whom he saw in that vision was the same Jesus now resurrected and glorified. Hence, John’s immediate reaction of fear was natural. He just fell down at His feet like a dead man, too petrified to move. But the wonderful Lord Jesus, with His hand extended, reached out to touch John. And with a calm and soothing voice, He allayed his fear. What He told John implied that the one whom he saw walking in the midst of the churches is none other than He, Jesus, who was dead but is now alive. More wonderful was the announcement that He now has the key to death and hell. And there is nothing any believer needs to worry or fear henceforth. In verse 20, the Glorious Lord unravels the mystery of the seven stars in His right hand and the seven golden lampstands, saying they represent the angels or leaders overseeing the church, and the seven churches He delineated earlier. 

Revelation is a book that would not appeal to our logic but our imagination. In it God is unravelling His program and we are asked to imagine. What would Jesus look like when the curtain between heaven and earth is lifted? The Apostle John wants us to see a Jesus Who is both dramatically powerful, yet tender and considerate, compassionate and caring. This same Jesus who died on the cross and rose again is our key to knowing the Father. In and through Him, we see our Heavenly Father, the Creator God, in the way He wants us to see Him. This same Jesus was the one who spoke and is still speaking words revealing what’s presently taking place, and yet warning of future events and all that will certainly take place.

We have started in our venture to explore the dynamic and explosive visions of John in this book. In order for us to find satisfaction and gain spiritually, like John we must locate our own “Patmos.” Then in solitude, with the discipline of prayer and reflection, bid God to reveal Himself to us like never before!    

Revelation 1:9-16 – Christ, our glorious Priest and Judge

In verse 9, John referred to himself as a brother to the believers he was addressing. This reference is understood, as all Christians belong to the family of Christ. Hence each believer is a brother or a sister to the other. We also get to see what John was going through. Like many Christians under the rule of the Romans then, he was also suffering tribulation because of their refusal to worship the Emperor, who claimed to be divine. He was there more specifically for his belief in Christ Jesus whom he was convinced would return again to judge the enemies and all wickedness. What John was narrating took place while he was on the Isle of Patmos, located in the Aegean Sea. He was banished to that island because of his faithfulness to God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus. It was on the Lord’s Day, as he was totally yielded to the Holy Spirit, that he had this vision of the resurrected Christ.

He heard a voice like a trumpet blast from behind him. The voice of Jesus instructed him to record all that he was about to see and to write it in a book, and sent it to the seven churches. The voice identified the seven churches in seven locations - in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

John’s immediate response was to turn to where the voice came from. It was then that he saw this magnificent vision of Christ. In verses 12-16, he began to describe the magnificent Christ. We need to know that John was not describing the physical appearance of Christ. He was in fact giving us a symbolic description of Christ showing His attributes as Priest and Judge, as He walks in the midst of the church as the Glorified Son of Man. The combination of the seven churches located in Asia Minor is a picture of the universal church of Jesus Christ.

John first indicates the position of Christ to the church. Here Christ is described as walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (lampstands), a symbol of the altar of the church. As Priest and Judge, Christ inhabits a central position in the church. His dressing, a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash, is a symbol of His Priesthood over His church. Christ’s pure and sinless character is being depicted by His head and hair that were like white wool, like snow. His eyes of flame and fire speaks of His capacity to see all things, hence His knowledge of all things. “His feet like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace” is a picture of His judgment of all sin in the churches. His voice was like the sound of many waters which tells us of His authority and power that could not be resisted. His authoritative voice would easily drown out all other voices. The seven stars in His right hand are the angels, the messengers or the leaders of the seven churches. They are in His hand because He owns, controls and safeguards His appointed leaders. Verse 16 also said that “…Out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.” This is a symbol of His judgement on all false believers. Today Christ is still judging all false believers by His infallible and inerrant Word. His face was like the sun shining in its strength refers to Christ’s visible glory. It’s a glory that will bring terror to all sinners, but to us who follow Him committedly and faithfully, it brings hope.   

Let us take a few moments and imagine the searing look of His eyes of flame and fire. Let’s shut out all voices and listen to the sound of His voice with all the resonance of the sound of many waters. Just allow His hand reaching out to touch us, and His glorious brilliant face with all the brightness of the sun shining at the intensity of the noon day brightness, beckoning us to bask in His glorious presence. Let us not allow our mundane life and all its weight keep us from entering into His glorious presence and fellowship and commune with Him!

Revelation 1:1-8 – A glimpse of our Glorious God!

As we have said, Revelation was a circulatory letter sent and was read in the seven churches. Here John made it clear in his salutation by acknowledging them. Like the other epistles in the New Testament, grace and peace are the two common elements in the greetings. Sanctifying grace and experiential peace are two things priced in Christian living. They are both essential to a wholesome Christian life. No wonder all the New Testament’s writers wished their readers with grace and peace. John also made it clear here that he was talking about the grace and peace that issued from the eternal Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is the Divine Source of the grace and peace he had pronounced. He then gave us a brief citation of each Godhead.

He began by talking about the eternalness of the Father, Whom he described as “Him Who is, Who was and Who is to come.” This phrase expresses the eternity and identity of God with Himself in past, present, and future. John meant to express the fact that God is unchangeable. He has been and is and always will be the One who orders times and controls history. In the coming of Jesus our Lord, God’s power and control over history is evidently accomplished. The Holy Spirit is described here as “the Seven Spirits that are before His throne.” This phrase is better translated as “the sevenfold spirit.” It is used to refer to the Holy Spirit with His seven-fold or absolute perfection. The Holy Spirit is ever before the throne of God waiting to execute God’s wise command.  

In referring to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, John described both His life and His redemptive works in three stages. Regarding His life, John described Him as the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. As God’s faithful witness, He had shown the truth concerning God, man and sin, and God’s redemption when He was on earth. As the first born from the dead by His resurrection, that He is alive and the One in whom the power of death has no control. Now He has both priority and pre-eminence. And as King of all the earth, He is now installed as the ultimate ruler. This will be more visible at His coming, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Regarding His work, we also see three stages. In dealing with our past, He had cleansed and freed us from our sins by His blood. Not only that, He had also made us kings and priests to serve God our Father. In mentioning God, John was overwhelmed by a sense of awe and reverence that he let out a great doxology praising God and ascribing to Him glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen! Concerning His work in the present, the Lord Jesus still loves us with the same love that He had expressed through Calvary. John tells us here that He keeps loving us. What a marvelous thought to know that He had loved us and is still loving us with an everlasting love. John quickly turns to look at the future, telling us that He (Jesus) is coming in the clouds. It’s the clouds of glory. This is a reference to His physical appearing. The coming is certain and unmistakable because every eye shall behold Him. He will be seen by those who had opposed Him. At His coming there will be a climatic mourning because wickedness shall be destroyed and many will have to mourn and pay for their wickedness.

In Revelation 1:8, God spoke concerning Himself through the mouth of His prophet for the first time in this book. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and Omega are respectively, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In saying this about Himself, God is indicating that He is in total control of the whole duration of history and its activities. The period, franked by the beginning and the end, is all in His hand. He was there at the beginning and will be there at the summation to bring everything to its glorious conclusion.  

Nobody knows when Christ would return, the early Christians didn’t, and neither do we. But the hope of Christian life is made exciting by our anticipation of His return. We anticipate because we believe He is coming again and He certainly will. Though we do not know when He will return, we live the best we know how, guided by His Word. Meanwhile, we must do everything to live in readiness for that climatic moment. We must redeem the time in these evil days. We must seek to understand what the will of God is and live by them.  Let us be found diligent and faithful to the very end!

Revelation 1:1-3 – A brief preamble to the book of Revelation

As we begin our contemplation in the book of Revelation, let’s be familiar with some fundamental facts to help us come to grips with the message of the book. Many have link the author of this book to John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, the same one who wrote John’s Gospel and the three epistles linked to his name. This book contains prophecy revealing God’s purpose. It was sent as a circular letter to the seven churches in the Roman Empire spread around the Mediterranean. Bear in mind that it was not seven letters but one that went around the seven churches.

The basis of Revelation is that in Jesus Christ, heaven and earth had met. As the early Christians dwelt on the thoughts of Jesus of Nazareth, especially His death and resurrection, they believed that they could see right into God’s purpose. At that time, they were also facing persecution, and in the midst of their hardship, must have wondered if it was worthwhile to follow a crucified Jesus. Where was the church headed ultimately? Revelation was written to address these issues.

There are things we need to take note at the onset. Firstly, at the core of this book is a fresh revelation of Jesus, the Messiah. On one occasion while John was in prayer, he found the curtain drawn back and he came face to face with Jesus Himself. Verse 1 clearly tells us that the message he had for the church was a four-stage revelation: God - Jesus - angel (messenger) - John - churches.

Verse 2 tells us that John could vouch for it and would stand up for its truth. He made clear that he did not invent anything. What he was recording in this book were not things out of his own imagination. The visions recorded were all about the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. He did not add anything to it, and neither did he keep back any part of God’s counsels. He merely told them as He saw it. In verse 3, we are promised blessing. In order to be blessed we must not only read it but also to listen and obey what’s in it.

The message of Revelation will help us to take a fresh look at our crucified and resurrected Lord. As we have professed our love for Him, we must seek also to know Him better. Let’s appropriate the promise of verse 3, as we engage our minds, and prayerfully seek to know and experience more of Him. We must read this book, listen to it and more importantly OBEY what the Spirit of Christ will reveal to us through our journey.  

Matthew 28: 16-20 – The Great Commission

Having heard from both the Mary’s as instructed by the Lord. The disciples proceeded to the mountain in Galilee that Jesus Had designated. Matthew used mountain quite a fair bit in his presentation. Here Jesus met the eleven disciples at a mountain in Galilee. Mountains are also referred to in connection with the temptation in Matthew 4:8. The Sermon of the mount in chapters 5–7 was given on a mountain. It was also a place of solitude for Jesus in Matthew 14:23 and it was also where he met the crowds in Matthew 15:29–30. We also see that He was transfigured on a mountain in Matthew 17:1.

On that mountain in Galilee, Jesus met the eleven disciples. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him. What’s disconcerting in this short passage is the phrase “…but some were doubtful.” It could mean that some of them were unsure if it was Him and hesitated. It could also be that being monotheistic, some of them wondered whether it was right for them to worship Him. However, we can never fully know who and for what reason they doubted.        

Matthew specifically said Jesus then came and drew near to them, and told them that He has all the authority in heaven and on earth. God has given all authority to Him. With that He gave them the Great Commission. They were tasked to do three things: make disciples, to baptize those who believe and to teach. The task they were called to do was not only in Israel but to all the nations of the earth. He then reiterated the promise that God made at the onset of His incarnation. He was named Emmanuel, meaning God with us. Now He promised to be with them even to the end of the ages. What a promise!

As we close our reflection in Matthew, bear in mind that the Great commission is not just given to those eleven on that mountain. It was a commission given to us who have believed what they had passed down. And the command is to go. As we go about our daily task, discipleship should be part and parcel of our journey. Let’s remember that Jesus the Sovereign Lord has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has commanded us to go with that authority and made disciples of all the nations.   

Matthew 28: 11-15 – Priests fabricated lies to refute Christ’s resurrection

On the instruction of the Lord, the two Mary’s then went on their way to tell the disciples of Jesus’ resurrection. While they went on their way, some of the guards came to report to the chief priests all that had taken place. Verse 12 suggests that the chief priests then quickly assembled the elders for a consultation. If we imagine ourselves there at the consultation, what would we have recommended? To come out and tell the truth as it is or to create a false story and hide the truth. As far as the Jewish authority was concerned, they had already wet their hair and were too deeply entrenched to pull back. Isn’t it sad to see the religious leaders and the authority so bent on discrediting the truth? It’s already bad that they had failed in what they were called to do, but it’s really sad to see them trying to save their face by fabricating a lie. That was exactly what they did to prevent the truth from going forth. They had chosen to distort the truth.

They bribed the soldiers with a substantial sum of money to tell their fabricated lie. The soldiers were told to say that ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ In their blind deceit, the Jewish authority would even offer a crazy and foolish story. How would the soldiers know who stole the body of Jesus if they were asleep? Surely the soldiers knew that it was utter foolishness! In fact it was dangerous for the soldiers to agree to the scam. It’s almost like signing their own death warrant by sleeping on the job. But the chief priests and elders assured them that they would take care of it should Pilate come to hear of it. Despite the danger, the soldiers went for the bribe and told the concocted story that became widespread among the Jews. Matthew probably intents this whole fabrication to be a humor.

Think of it this way, if Jesus’ resurrection was a fabrication of the disciples, then of all people they were most foolish. For who in the world would be prepared to be tortured and die for a lie? We know that people would die for truth but never for a lie. Like it or not, the fact of Christ’s resurrection is here to stay. It is needful, time and again, to defend the fact of the resurrection whenever we are called to. But for all that we would say, they would mean nothing if we are not presently living the kind of life impacted by the truth of the resurrection.      

Matthew 28: 1-10 – He has risen!

While the cross is the climax of Christ’s mission, the resurrection is God’s greatest moment in history. It’s not a fiction, it’s a fact. More than everything, the resurrection of Jesus is the climax of faith. Unlike the suffering, the agony and death of Christ at the cross that was witnessed by many, the resurrection did not happen in full view of many. Here in these ten verses, we see how Matthew presented the fact of the resurrection through the witness of the two Mary’s.

In verse 1, we see the women coming early to the grave of Jesus. They had rested on the Sabbath day, and had come to the grave early in the morning of the first day of the week. Matthew explicitly emphasized their devotion. The last we saw of them was in Matthew 27:61 to prove that the empty tomb was indeed Jesus’. They had hung around both at the cross and the grave; now they came early to see the tomb. When they arrived that morning, what they encountered was an angel. Jesus’ birth was announced by an angel and now in His resurrection, the angel again came to announce it.

The women did not expect the tomb to be opened, but something miraculous had taken place, an earthquake had just occurred and an angel came down from heaven and rolled away the stone. It was a brilliant sight. For what purpose was the angelic encounter? Matthew made it clear that the angel came not only to announce Christ’s resurrection, but also with a commission for the women. They were tasked to report the fact of Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples. What the angel said corroborated with Jesus’, who told them that He would go before them to Galilee.

The joy of the women at the news turned into worship when they encountered the living Jesus on the way. When He greeted them, they responded by prostrating themselves before Him in worship. Jesus then reaffirmed the commission of the angel to them. They were told to take His word to the disciples to tell them to leave for Galilee where He would meet up with them there.

The resurrection of Christ had changed the world forever. Death is indeed defeated! The resurrection is the ultimate announcement that the Kingdom of God has indeed come. And this Kingdom will continue until the nations of the world have been brought into obedience to Christ. It makes perfect sense when we see the one who came to teach, heal and restore mankind, and who suffered and died at the hand of His creatures, is none other than the Risen Lord. Like the women at the tomb, we who have also encountered Him must also worship Him. Like them, encountering Jesus is also a commissioning for us – a commissioning to do His work and to live the life that He taught and demonstrated.   

Matthew 27: 57-66 – Christ was buried

In these verses, Matthew was obviously describing the burial of Christ. Through his narrative here we can sense some mixed emotion. There were sorrow, fear and of course, gratitude. Have you wondered why Matthew took such great pain to describe in detail the various details connected to Jesus’ burial? It’s because he wanted the pivotal truth of Christ’s resurrection to be irrefutable. He anticipated that all kinds of reason or excuse would be generated to debunk the fact of the resurrection. So He made sure that everything would be in place to answer any doubt.

Joseph Arimathea, a rich man and a disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and requested for the body of Jesus. The governor granted his request and ordered that the body of Jesus be given to him. This fact was included to make sure that we know Jesus had indeed died. The Romans apparently were masters at tortures. They don’t believe in half-measures. And they would never let a death-sentenced prisoner go without ensuring that he was truly dead. This fact that Pilate gave the dead body to Joseph would take care of claims that Jesus did not die. It would disprove the claim that His badly wounded body was nursed back to health by His disciples so as to concoct the claims of Christ’s resurrection.

We are told that Joseph took the body of Jesus, cleaned and wrapped it and placed Him in a new tomb which was hewn out of the rock. The first obvious point about the tomb was that a large stone was rolled over it. This would take care of the rumours that His disciples came and stole His body and hid it somewhere to stage His resurrection. In that culture, Jews buried their dead by placing them in caves. Sometimes, tombs were found underneath where they lived. They would then place the bodies of their demised family members in the tomb on a ledge, after they had been embalmed and nicely wrapped in linen cloth. No coffin was used. In fact they put more than one body in the tomb. When the bodies had decomposed they would collect the remains and put it in what is known as an “ossuary.” A large circular stone would then be used to cover the tomb. This was to prevent grave robbery from taking place. Matthew makes sure that we know that Jesus was buried in a new tomb yet unused. And He also deliberately described the presence of the two “Mary’s” watching from a distance. This was to tell us that Jesus was indeed buried there.

The fact that Jesus’ disciples went into hiding added to prove that they could not have stolen the body of Jesus. This coupled with the fact that the chief priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate asking for the tomb to be made secure and guarded. They remembered that Jesus said that He would rise on the third day. And they did not want anyone, particularly His disciples, to steal the body and then claimed that Jesus had resurrected and deceived the people. Pilate granted their request so they had the tomb secured and sealed, and a guard was placed to guard the entrance.

We can tell that Matthew was waiting eagerly to tell what had happened to Jesus after His burial. This will have to wait till we come to the next chapter. But as we think of the death and burial of Christ, we take heart to know that our sins and all the consequences were buried with Him. What’s more heartening is the fact that death could not hold Him and He would come through it to bring us hope. That one day we too will rise from our death to join Him in the new world! What hope! What assurance! 

Matthew 27: 45-56 – He died for us

Imagine for three hours sunlight was shut out. When Jesus was hanging there on the cross, midway between heaven and earth, the whole weight of the world’s evil saturated and converged on Him. So heavy and thick was evil that the sunlight of God’s love was blotted out, just as the sunlight of the world was shut out for three solid hours. Feeling the heavy load, Jesus loudly cried out quoting the first part of Psalm 22, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani.” At that precisely point He felt so forsaken by God. For these words translated, literally mean “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was bearing the weight of the sin of the whole world. The repulsiveness of sin had forced the face of God to be turned away from the Son who was bearing all of it at that moment. Here Jesus was giving His life as a ransom for many and the sin of “many’ was what caused the separation between Him and the Father He found great delight in.

Some on-lookers thought He was summoning Elijah to come and help Him. Of course this was furthest from Jesus’ mind. Matthew had referred to Elijah in chapter 17 at the Mount of Transfiguration, and also John the Baptist. Elijah had indeed come, not to rescue Jesus through His critical moment, but to point Him toward it, to assure Him that He was on track in the Father’s will.

Finally we see in verse 50, that Jesus let out a loud cry and then gave up the spirit. In other words He died. The crux of Jesus’ mission is this: He remained faithful to God, even at the point when He was forsaken. And He took hold of sin that hanged around the necks of incalculable millions, yours and mine included, and dragged them with Him into the obscurity of death to be destroyed. And the first to respond to what He accomplished was the physical and natural earth. The thick veil in the Temple that separated the Holy place from the Holy of holies was tore from top to bottom. Presumably by the earthquake that also took place in the city at the time of His death. In that, God had removed the veil that prevented entrance into His presence. Not only was the veil torn, the earthquake had also split open tombs, and some believers of God of old were revived and went into the Holy city of Jerusalem to show themselves to many.

For a while now Jesus had been sending warning to the priests and they had opposed and rejected Him. His death spelt the beginning of the end of the old system. They had refused to be that city set on a hill to radiate God’s light. So from now on the light would come from another hill, the hill called Mount Calvary. It was on that hill that the King of the Jews was put to death, cruelly and shamefully. And here we borrow words of the song that say, “There is a green hill far away, outside the city wall, where the Lord was crucified and died to save us all.” Here Matthew tells of another centurion, who stood and saw all that had taken place, and in a moment of shock had a quick enlightenment. He exclaimed “Surely this is the Son of God!” Hasn’t this scene been repeated many million times over? Many over the course of time, reading the same account had in shock surprise received the revelation of truth and exclaimed – This is truly the Son of God!  

As we read the account of Jesus’ death, we should anticipate the glorious result it would bring, not as the disciples and the women that were present looked at the whole scene. To them, that day was the gloomiest, darkest and filled with death. So to them the situation was a dim and hopeless one. They did not have our advantage of knowing what took place three days later. Today, like that centurion, we know without a shadow of doubt that Jesus is indeed God’s Son. We must, therefore, live out our life based on that conviction, that this is truly the Son of God! We must live in ways that can best attest to the world that we have indeed been impacted by His life that was given up for us once and for all!  

Matthew 27: 39-44 – Jesus, facing His mockers

Earlier, we saw Jesus before the cowardly Pilate, who knew He was not guilty but had too weak a conscience to own up to the truth. The charge was about Him being the King of the Jews. And we saw how the soldiers and the Roman cohorts mocked Him for the same reason. Now in these verses we see the Jewish leaders, the chief priests and the rest hurling all sorts of insults to the face of Jesus. They took issues with Him for claims that He had made directly or indirectly concerning the Temple, concerning Himself and particularly concerning Him being the Son of God, the Messiah.

Matthew in these verses take us back to the trial Jesus had with Caiaphas, where all these accusations came together. We are reminded of things that Jesus had done or said that claimed that the Temple would be destroyed. He also takes our minds further back to His baptism and Temptation. At His baptism, the clear voice of the Father was heard, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Jesus had lived all His life consciously aware of Who He really was. And now at the cross He was facing the hardest and harshest challenge. Wasn’t it in the wilderness that the devil challenged Him concerning the same thing? Three times He was asked to prove that He was truly the Son of God.

In this passage we see the same challenge over and over again. In the same pitch, the passers-by, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, all hurled the same challenge. Casting insults upon insults they defied Him incessantly. If you are the Son of God why don’t You destroy the Temple and build it up again? If You are the Son of God why don’t You come down from the cross? If You are the Son of God, why isn’t God delivering You? If You are God’s Son and saved others, why can’t You save Yourself?

Matthew here is telling us where the story is heading toward. Jesus was opposed and rejected by His own people and together with the hatred and anger of the non-Jewish world, the Romans, the conspiracy was reaching its climax to put Him on the cross. Throughout Jesus’ ministry many were enriched by Him and His teachings. Many were touched and none would have imagined the cross to be where He would end. None except Jesus, that is.

Of course we know that Jesus is God’s only begotten Son. And precisely because He is, He must stay on the cross. For this is the way the world will be saved and death defeated. This is the way Christ Jesus must finish the mission that the Father had entrusted Him. This is how He would delight the Father and to make His delight full. The question to us as we close is: will we continue to trust and follow Jesus, the Son of God, despite the insults we will have to weather in following Him?    

Matthew 27: 27-38 – The effect of the suffering and agony of Christ

The road Christ had taken was inching closer to the climax. The soldiers, the Roman cohorts that surrounded Jesus were well accustomed to fighting Jewish rebels in their course of work. And they had to be alert for anytime somewhere a dissident group might just arise. Perhaps, some of them might have even seen some of their comrades killed by those rebels. Having encountered all sorts of rebels, they must be tired of having to keep calming riotous mobs and dealing with rebels. But this Jesus was different. And we will never fully know why they did what they did to Him.

Here was a Jew who was being accused of making himself the “King of the Jews.” His death was imminent. The soldiers must have thought to themselves, “Why not have a bit of fun with Him before He dies? Let’s use Him to show what we Romans think of the other people’s king?” When we recall all that Jesus had done earlier, it’s so heart wrenching. Just days before, He drove out the money changers in the Temple and overthrew their tables. All His journey up to this moment, He healed so many on the road. Just think of His teaching that had impacted so many. But Matthew had cleverly arranged his account perfectly, to show that this moment Jesus was moving toward was not incidental. It was the ordained climatic moment of His whole mission.

A placard stating the crime of the person being sentence to the cross would usually be displayed on top of it. For Matthew, the placard on the top of Jesus’ cross was not describing His crime, but was the sobering truth that He was truly “The King of the Jews”. This cross that King Jesus died on was the throne through which He was establishing His Kingdom. And as He Himself had earlier told the two Zebedee brothers, that there would be two others who would be suffering with Him, one on His right and one on His left, He actually had the cross in mind. We know that the Kingdom Jesus came to establish has always and will always be about the Kingdom of God. And it could not be accomplished through military might. It can only be done in the way God wants. And God had chosen to use self-giving love to establish it.

A closer examination of this passage reveals that what Jesus went through was part of the Sermon on the Mount being played out. Like Matthew 5:39, He was struck on the face by the soldiers; and Matthew 5:40, they stripped off both His inner and outer garments. Even Simon of Cyrene, who was made to carry the cross on Jesus behalf, bore the very essence of what He said in Matthew 5:41.  Matthew was showing us that Jesus was leading the way. He was soon to be the true Light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The light which Israel was to be but failed to be. And now Jesus, the true Light would soon be set on a hill forever to be seen. It’s the Light of God’s love shinning into all the dark corners of the world. This Light would shine by taking all the world’s wickedness, sin, scum, hatred, mockery, and violence and the endless list, and let them do their worst to Christ.

We must know that Christianity is about real life experiences and struggles. It is not just about having good times and wonderful spiritual experiences. At the cross we see up close the ravaging effect of sin and evil coming together and doing their worst against the One Who has come to demonstrate the perfect love of the creator God. Like it or not, all that took place at Golgotha was the effect of the ugliness of sin at its height. Shocking and violent as the scene might be, yet its enduring healing effect is still felt today. Having felt and experienced the healing effect of the cross, what must we do? Here are the ways to respond to Calvary’s unfailing love. Let us share our experience with people within our sphere of influence and let them know that they too can experience the same. More importantly, we must be truly grateful to Christ who for our sake, went through all the suffering, torment and traumas and ultimately death. Let’s forever love, adore, worship and serve this Jesus, Who had caused the face of God to turn towards us in love. 

Matthew 27: 11-26 - Jesus died to make us true sons of the Father

As the account of Jesus advanced closer to its climax at Calvary, we see more people introduced into the scene. Jesus now faced Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor whose consent the Jewish authority would need to put Him to death. When asked by Pilate if He was the King of the Jews. Jesus did not deny but just said, “It is as you say.” Meanwhile the chief priests and elders continued to pour their drummed up accusations. Jesus remained silent much to the amazement of Pilate, who asked if He had no response to all the accusations. Jesus remained silent, like a sheep led to the slaughter, as Isaiah had put it.

The next person to be introduced is the main point of the whole passage. He was none other than the character named Jesus Barabbas. He was a brigand and was waiting for his death sentence. It was a custom that during the Passover, one of those notorious prisoners would be released. Pilate’s wanting to free Jesus and instead put Barabbas to death, was a clear demonstration that he knew the innocence of the Messiah deep inside his heart. But he did not want to offend the Jewish authority so he thought the swap would be a perfect arrangement – a truly guilty man for one without any guilt – would ease his conscience. Even his wife intuitively knew that Jesus was innocent and sent words to him. Though Pilate knew it, he chose to ignore his inner voice plus that of his wife.

It’s interesting to note that the name Barabbas means son of the father. Between Jesus and Barabbas, the person who was guilty of death was obvious. Pilate already found no incriminating evidence against Jesus and the choice should also be obvious. But Pilate was a coward. He dared not face up to his own conscience. So he turned the decision-making over to the crowd. The Jewish authority persuaded the people to demand for Jesus to be crucified when Pilate asked, “What shall I do with Jesus the Christ?” Goaded by the chief priests and elders, the crowd chanted “crucify Him, crucify Him!” The pun in the name Barabbas is clear. Know it or not, all of us have the nature of Barabbas and deserve the death sentence. But Jesus, the Son of the Father, went to the cross and died in our place so that we, represented by Barabbas, could be set free and truly become sons of God. Playing to the crowd, Pilate washed his hand and sent the true Son of the Father to be scourged and then crucified.

The point of Matthew in this passage is clear – Jesus is innocent. Everyone else is guilty – Judas, Peter, Barabbas, chief priests, elders, and now Pilate. And the Roman governor only showed the hypocrisy of the Roman justice. Pilate knew Jesus’ innocence, yet dared not set Him free. This set the perfect stage for the innocent Son of the Father to die for the sin of lost humanity, you and I included. He died to set us all free – free now to worship and serve only Him!  

Matthew 27: 1-10 - The tragedy of indifference

From the ways Peter and Judas acted to their own wrongs, we get to see the difference between repentance and remorse. The response of Peter, on realizing his wrong, was to cry bitterly, but the reaction of Judas Iscariot was to return to the chief priests and elders in anger. He threw the money back to them and went out and hanged himself.  Judas’ action, much like rain drops that fall on the east side of Mount Jerusalem, it always flow into the Dead Sea. On the other hand, repentance like the rain drops that fall on the west side of the mountain, always flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Both remorse and repentance began much the same way i.e. by looking at what one has done. Remorse always cascades down the peak to the side of anger, blame, retaliation, accusation, self-hatred and finally self-destruction. Whereas repentance always flow in the direction that Peter took. Regrets, shame and tears, and a change of heart that would lead to life.

In this account, bad as it seems, at least Judas showed remorse. But the chief priests and elders showed no sign of remorse, much less repentance. They felt that what they had done was right for God and their country. They couldn’t care less if Jesus was guilty or not. What they saw in Jesus was only potential trouble with the Roman authorities. It was very likely that they were afraid that the Romans could see in Jesus an uprising among the Jews, and would come down hard on them. The best way was to keep them at bay, even if it meant sacrificing innocent blood, they would do it. If the Romans, like vultures, were seeking for a corpse to devour, they would throw the Messiah to them to keep them busy and away.

In Judas, we see a man coming to the Temple, seeking for some help for betraying innocent blood. After all, was it not built for the purpose of helping people in their struggles? However, this account was written not to show us how a wretched man came seeking help but that the Temple was built on sinking sand, and about to be destroyed. The authorities couldn’t help a man seeking relief from his guilt. The tragedy of Judas was real, nasty and horrifying, but the tragedy of the Temple would be worst. For the people appointed to help were consumed by their own self-interest in politics and were oblivious to the warnings of Jesus. They failed to see the cracks appearing in the structure or feel the ground of the foundation shaking. 

What was on Judas’ mind when he approached the chief priests and elders? When Judas betrayed Jesus, he probably did not think that it would lead to such bloody conclusion and death. Like him, why do we always need to be awakened by some un-pleasantries or some impending tragedies? Judas was perhaps hoping that by engineering the confrontation between Jesus and Caiaphas, he could goad the Messiah into doing some positive action for the nation. Or it could be some other reasons. We will never know why he took the 30 pieces of silver. But what we do know is that evil is always unpredictable, illogical and irrational.

Here we are also introduced to the man under whom Jesus would soon be tried. Pilate was a Roman governor whose permission the Jewish authority had to seek to put Jesus to death. Pilate was a representation of Caesar, the self-acclaimed Lord of the world. The clash between Pontius Pilate and the Messiah would soon reveal a showdown between two powers – Christ and Caesar. One seeking to assert its system of justice, the other would be a show of the irrefutable power of Christ through the cross.

Like God’s warning to Cain of old, we need to be alert to the potential of sin crouching at our door. If we show indifference and don’t take care to deal with it, we may find ourselves snared and brought to an end we least desire! Let him who thinks he stands, take heed, lest he falls!

Matthew 26: 69-75 - Lessons from Peter’s denial of Christ

It’s disconcerting to read in Matthew 26:46 that “All His (Jesus) disciples left Him and fled.” But to Peter’s credit, he followed Jesus to Caiaphas residence, even if was only outside the courtyard. Why he did that we may not really know. All we can tell is that he was doing the right thing in following Jesus, but only for the wrong reason. Perhaps he recalled that he had vowed to follow Jesus to the end, even if all were to desert Him. He had to deceive his conscience that he was doing the right thing. In this account, what made Peter different from Judas Iscariot was his tears at the end. Judas in angry remorse went and hanged himself. Peter in deep repentance buried his face in tears. One led to death the other led to liberation and life.

Tired and lack of sleep, Peter stationed himself, probably uncomfortably, at a distance to watch the whole trial. He did not realize that in his worn down condition he was far from able to handle the remarks from a couple of servant girls, and a person who could recognize his northern accent. When told that He was a member of Jesus’s band, he denied it, at first nonchalantly and then vigorously. At the third suggestion that he knew Jesus, Peter cursed and swore and insisted that He did not know Jesus. As sure as the sun would shine in the morning, Jesus’ words about the cockcrow and Peter’s denial of Him three times came to pass. Surely this, among other things, tells us that Jesus was indeed a prophet. Remembering what Jesus had told him, Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Denying that he knew Jesus was certainly a wretched thing to do. One key reason why this account appears in all four Gospels underscores how easily we can fall into a similar situation. This account presents a clear cut example of how one can start the journey with Christ in red hot steam, and run the risk of losing the plot midway. If we think that this was just peculiar to Peter, then we are sorely mistaken. We could be living in a different culture and face different situation from Peter’s, but how often have we found ourselves in similar circumstance, exactly like where he was that night. To conform to the norm of our environment, a question such as, “I am sure you can’t be one of those Jesus fanatics, are you?” can make us feel absolutely uneasy. Sometimes, off-colour, we can even think that telling a little “so called” white lie just to save our skin is alright. We would even convince ourselves saying, “This is just a once off kind of a thing and it should be okay.” What would Peter say to us, if he could see us in one of those situations?  

Watch therefore, that we would not fall into temptation!

Matthew 26: 57-68 – Jesus on trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest

Caiaphas was the High Priest at that time. He was a Jewish religious figure. The drama that took place had shifted from Gethsemane to the courtyard of the High Priest. Shortly after the arrest, Jesus was brought to the residence of Caiaphas. John 18:3 tells us that Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas, the previous High Priest. Present at the scene were leading representatives of the Sanhedrin, the council of 71 elders or the Jewish Supreme Court. While the trial was on Jesus, Matthew describes the presence of Peter following at a distance, facing a personal trial. Would he, as he had so vehemently asserted that “Even if I had to die I will not forsake You”, desert the Lord?

To start with, the Jewish authority was biased. They were evidently not interested in pursuing the truth. Or else they would have first obtained incriminating evidences, before putting Jesus on trial. Here we get to see the intense level of animosity they had against Jesus. Their sole intention was to convict Him and put Him to death. They had no conscience concerning the truthfulness of the evidences, for all they wanted was to find enough evidence to sentence Jesus to death, even if they were false. Clearly all they heard did not warrant the death sentence. We are told that many false witnesses came forward with false testimonies but were not enough to send Jesus to His death. Finally, two witnesses came forward with testimony that appeared like truth, even that was a distortion of what Jesus had actually said. They accused Jesus of saying that He would personally destroy the Temple and rebuilt it in three days. We know that Jesus was talking about His death and resurrection. The authority was trying to get Him to respond to this accusation, but Jesus refused to be drawn in. So He just kept silent.  

As the drama heightened, the High Priest posed the decisive question, putting Jesus under oath to tell the truth. He demanded of Jesus, “Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God?” To that Jesus did not deny. His answer was in the affirmative, but without giving them room to accuse Him. He wanted the High Priest to take the responsibility for the statement that He had made. Jesus then replied by talking about the reversal of roles in the future. They might reject Him as the Messiah, but one day as foretold in Daniel, they would see Him, the Son of Man, sitting in His glorious throne, endowed with the ultimate authority to judge the nations. Horrified by such a suggestion, the High Priest went into a tirade, and in extreme grief, He tore His robes and charged Jesus with blasphemy. They were accusing Jesus of insulting God and arrogantly claimed Himself to be God. They refused to accept that Jesus was speaking the truth. They reckoned that what He said was sufficient to incriminate Him and no further witness was required, only a death verdict could suffice. So they pronounced the death sentence on Him. They then mocked Jesus and senselessly and brutally demeaned the Messiah. Unwittingly they were fulfilling prophecies that said the Christ would have to experience such humiliation. The spitting in his face, the beating and the taunting were designed to discredit him and to show how powerless He was in their hands. In all these, they had failed to see the crux of the matter – it never was about power, it’s about God’s ultimate will to save mankind.

This passage makes us question the intention of Jesus’ accusers. Were they interested to find out the truth at all? What about our present time? How do we speak the truth in an environment where truth and lies, ambition and justice, are interpreted so differently? In the light of such a situation, as witness of the truth of Jesus Christ, we must find a way to demonstrate our loyalty to Him. We need to discern when we should speak and when we should keep silent. This we need to learn from our Master.