Post by Betty on Oct 25, 2007 5:14:00 GMT -5
Reaction or Response
Author: Woodrow Kroll
Devotion: Woodrow Kroll
Scripture References:Mark 15:1-20
Title: Reaction or Response
And straightway in the morning the chief priests
held a consultation with the elders and scribes
and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and
carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. A converted Hindu woman had suffered much at the hands of her unsaved relatives. One day a
missionary asked her, "When your husband is angry
and persecutes you, what do you do?" The Hindu
woman replied, "I just cook the food better and
sweep the floor a little cleaner. When he speaks
unkindly, I answer him mildly, trying to show him
in every way that when I became a Christian, I
also became a better wife." Although that husband
had resisted all the efforts of the missionaries,
he could not resist the sweet silence of his
Christian wife. The Holy Spirit used her to win
him to Christ. How do you react when you meet antagonism? Whenyou are mistreated or wrongly accused, do you
harbor resentment or seek revenge? Do you attempt
to retaliate or verbally abuse those who have
abused you? Jesus had been led away to the high priest. His
agony in the garden had been interrupted by His
betrayal. To make matters worse, His primary
disciple, the Apostle Peter, had denied Him three
times. Our Lord had endured both physical and
verbal abuse all night long. "And straightway inthe morning the chief priests held a consultation
with the elders and scribes and the whole
council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away,
and delivered Him to Pilate" (Mark 15:1). As the
Sanhedrin gathered early on the morning of Jesus
'crucifixion, they attempted to make the trial
official. Yet their single purpose was "to put
Him to death" (Matthew 27:1). Jesus was falsely arraigned,
falsely accused, and falsely abused. Yet to all of the trumped-up charges, to all of this pseudo evidence, our Lord
made no reply. When the chief priests continued
to accuse Him falsely of many things, Mark
records that the Lord Jesus answered nothing. So
uncharacteristic was it for a person falsely
accused not to rise to His own defense that
Pilate asked in astonishment, "Answerest Thou nothing?"
But the narrative repeats, "Jesus yet answered nothing."
It was nothing short of remarkable that Jesus would
not retaliate or lash out against those who had treated Him so cruelly and unjustly. A young sergeant was serving the British army inEgypt under the Highland Regiment. This soldier
was an effervescent and shining Christian. When
he was asked how he came to know the Lord Jesus
as Savior, he recounted his conversion by saying,
"There is a private in this company who was
converted in Malta before the regiment came to
Egypt. We gave that fellow an awful time. On one
terrible night he came in very tired and wet. But
before getting into bed, he knelt down to pray. My boots were soaked with water and covered with
mud, and I let him have it with one on the side
of his head, and I struck him with the second on
the other side. But he just went on praying. The
next morning I found those boots beautifully
polished and standing by the side of my bed. That
was his reply to me, and it just broke my heart.
I was saved that day." Our response to those who lie against us mustnever be to lash out against them. As we arise
early in the morning, perhaps after a day in
which our character has been slandered and our
conduct has been slashed, we must arise with a
commitment to live a life like the Lord Jesus
who, when He was reviled, reviled not again. Only
then will we live happily in a world filled with unhappy people.
MORNING HYMN
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood- Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!
Author: Woodrow Kroll
Devotion: Woodrow Kroll
Scripture References:Mark 15:1-20
Title: Reaction or Response
And straightway in the morning the chief priests
held a consultation with the elders and scribes
and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and
carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. A converted Hindu woman had suffered much at the hands of her unsaved relatives. One day a
missionary asked her, "When your husband is angry
and persecutes you, what do you do?" The Hindu
woman replied, "I just cook the food better and
sweep the floor a little cleaner. When he speaks
unkindly, I answer him mildly, trying to show him
in every way that when I became a Christian, I
also became a better wife." Although that husband
had resisted all the efforts of the missionaries,
he could not resist the sweet silence of his
Christian wife. The Holy Spirit used her to win
him to Christ. How do you react when you meet antagonism? Whenyou are mistreated or wrongly accused, do you
harbor resentment or seek revenge? Do you attempt
to retaliate or verbally abuse those who have
abused you? Jesus had been led away to the high priest. His
agony in the garden had been interrupted by His
betrayal. To make matters worse, His primary
disciple, the Apostle Peter, had denied Him three
times. Our Lord had endured both physical and
verbal abuse all night long. "And straightway inthe morning the chief priests held a consultation
with the elders and scribes and the whole
council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away,
and delivered Him to Pilate" (Mark 15:1). As the
Sanhedrin gathered early on the morning of Jesus
'crucifixion, they attempted to make the trial
official. Yet their single purpose was "to put
Him to death" (Matthew 27:1). Jesus was falsely arraigned,
falsely accused, and falsely abused. Yet to all of the trumped-up charges, to all of this pseudo evidence, our Lord
made no reply. When the chief priests continued
to accuse Him falsely of many things, Mark
records that the Lord Jesus answered nothing. So
uncharacteristic was it for a person falsely
accused not to rise to His own defense that
Pilate asked in astonishment, "Answerest Thou nothing?"
But the narrative repeats, "Jesus yet answered nothing."
It was nothing short of remarkable that Jesus would
not retaliate or lash out against those who had treated Him so cruelly and unjustly. A young sergeant was serving the British army inEgypt under the Highland Regiment. This soldier
was an effervescent and shining Christian. When
he was asked how he came to know the Lord Jesus
as Savior, he recounted his conversion by saying,
"There is a private in this company who was
converted in Malta before the regiment came to
Egypt. We gave that fellow an awful time. On one
terrible night he came in very tired and wet. But
before getting into bed, he knelt down to pray. My boots were soaked with water and covered with
mud, and I let him have it with one on the side
of his head, and I struck him with the second on
the other side. But he just went on praying. The
next morning I found those boots beautifully
polished and standing by the side of my bed. That
was his reply to me, and it just broke my heart.
I was saved that day." Our response to those who lie against us mustnever be to lash out against them. As we arise
early in the morning, perhaps after a day in
which our character has been slandered and our
conduct has been slashed, we must arise with a
commitment to live a life like the Lord Jesus
who, when He was reviled, reviled not again. Only
then will we live happily in a world filled with unhappy people.
MORNING HYMN
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood- Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah, what a Saviour!
