Route 55 Lenten Devotional Week 3
Posted on 3/3/2021 12:00:00 AM
THUS IT IS WRITTEN 2
ISAIAH 53: 7 HE WAS OPPRESSED AND AFFLICTED, YET HE DID NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
I do a lot of stupid things in my life. My poor wife comes home and finds the mess I've made, the lamp I've ruined, the hole in the wall. the stain on the sofa. "But I can explain". In my mind it all makes perfect sense: let me explain how this happened, I'll show you what I was trying to do, I was being so careful and it just slipped...
On the morning of his crucifixion, Jesus was taken by the High Priest and other members of the Sanhedrin to Pilate. Since the Jews were not allowed by the Romans to carry out an execution, they would ask Pilate to do it. When Pilate learns that Jesus is from Galilee, he sends him to Herod, who would have jurisdiction over him. This actually pleases Herod because he had heard about Jesus and was hoping to get Jesus to perform some of the magic tricks that people said Jesus was able to do. "When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer." (Luke 23:8-9)
Jesus wanted people to know and understand the truth. When people came to Jesus with real questions and concerns, Jesus answered them. He taught them about his Father's love. He told them what God wanted to see in their lives, how they could come back to their Father, how they could find hope and healing. But for Herod, it was a game, an amusement. Nothing more. In the rock musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Herod taunts Jesus to "walk across my swimming pool". Luke records that, though the chief priests and teachers of the law were "vehemently accusing him", and Herod and his soldiers were making sport of him, Jesus was silent. The one who is the “Eternal Word” did not answer Herod. His last statement of truth would be through his act of sacrificial love. But the time of teaching had passed. To Herod, he did not open his mouth.