Tenebrae: The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross - the Word on Hope

I was honored to be part of our church's first Tenebrae service (Latin for darkness or shadow) where we recall the 7 things Jesus said while hanging on the cross. I had the opportunity to study Luke 23: 39 - 43 and provide a short reflection to go along with it. As the second of the 7 words of Jesus, the focus here is on the hope he provides to each of us. 

Luke 23:39-43English Standard Version (ESV)

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[a] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

As Jesus is hanging there on the cross, fully God, yet fully human, he is feeling the very real pain of the physical wounds he has sustained and the mental anguish of rejection from the soldiers, the crowd, and even another man condemned to die beside him on his own cross. 

If you've ever felt rejected by everyone around you, it can be one the loneliest, most depressing feelings to know. But during this time, God ordained that there would still be someone beside his Son – someone in the unlikeliest position to be of encouragement. Another thief, hanging beside him. 

In the midst of the rejection and jeering, this man makes several truthful statements. He admits that he is guilty of his crimes and that his punishment is justified. He also correctly declares that Jesus is innocent of his crimes, yet hangs unjustly for them. 

It's this person – a thief, a criminal, justly condemned to death that steps up to support Jesus with his words. Not one of the Twelve, not one of the disciples. And this is the one person that Jesus responds to. The laughing, anger, and mocking earned no response. 

If you've ever had someone come to your side during a season of rejection, it can be the most incredible feeling and give you the strength to face it. Jesus knew what he was doing on that cross, he knew why he was dying, and he was there willingly. But what an encouragement it must have been to hear the words of this criminal – both because of what he said but also the faith that it showed he had. Faith that Jesus is who he says he is, is going where he says he is going, and that this man desires to be with him.

And Jesus turns to this thief and says “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Following the admission of his guilt and acceptance of punishment, with nothing he can possibly do to save himself, the thief places his faith in Jesus. With witnesses surrounding the scene, Jesus guarantees this thief's salvation by his own words – the words of God the Son suffering as the Son of Man. 

It strikes me that not only does Jesus show us what is required for salvation – confession of guilt and faith in him – but that there's more going on. There are witnesses all around and it's logical to think Satan himself would not miss this. Appearing weak, vulnerable, and on the verge of defeat, but encouraged, Jesus calls his shot. It's as if he subtly, yet at the same time boldly says, “That's one, wait and see what happens next.”

The Political Rantings of an Intelligent, Rational Individual Who's Really Quite Insane

As I sit here and wonder how to communicate thoughts that I hope will instigate an open-minded discussion on both sides of the table, the reality is that I'm afraid of the backlash that will come from those who don't agree with me. But that's the culture we've created – make people afraid to speak up about what they actually believe as the crushing tide of social change comes rushing through under the banners of progress and tolerance.

I'm not hoping to have a conversation with the left as a representative of the right. I'm hoping that I will talk to you – the intelligent, rational individual who holds dearly to your beliefs and values. I'm hoping that you're willing to sit down with me – an intelligent, rational individual who holds dearly to his beliefs and values. Those are the terms that I'm setting for this conversation. If we can't agree to that and one or both of us insist on holding onto our mob mentality, then I'm afraid no amount of conversation will ever move us forward.

The election of Donald Trump has sparked a series of protests. To be fair, some of these have been legitimately peaceful while others have degraded to a level of criminal activity. But no matter where protesters fall in the spectrum, it has been the election results that have unified them.

There are several things that concern me about this behavior. The first is that when we each register to vote, we agreed to the conditions in which our elected officials gain office. By claiming that Donald Trump is "not my president", a statement is either being made from ignorance or as a rallying cry to elect what is believed to be a legitimate candidate.

In the first case, there's no debate – Donald Trump will be the next rightfully and legally elected president of the United States. To say that he is not your president is just as effective as saying that God is not your God. You can say it or believe it is much as you want, but that doesn't make it true.

In the second case, you tread dangerously close to treasonous thinking. Many of us who are passionate about our beliefs have wondered, "how far does this have to go for me to actively join a rebellion against my government?"

It's the same question our founding fathers had to ask themselves when they committed treason against Britain in order to form the United States of America. Regardless of your beliefs and party affiliation, I hope that question is pondered in your mind based on your love for this country and its foundation in the Constitution.

Something else that disturbs me is how we progressed to the point that we are at today. There was certainly plenty of backlash against Trump from both sides of the aisle during the early election process. Leading up to the general election, the contest got downright ugly and supporters on both sides crossed lines that ought to never have been crossed.

But it wasn't until the election results were finalized that the anger and protest turned to the process itself. Many are angry that our country operates with the electoral college while others have simply – and rather loudly – decided that they refuse to acknowledge Donald Trump as a rightfully elected president.

Let me try to help you understand what this looks like from my perspective. Donald Trump is seen as an offensive person by many people. I get that. However, the issue didn't seem to be his legal right to participate in the presidential election process. Members of both the left and the right did their best to discredit him, but in primary after primary, Republican voters seemed to say that they wanted something different by their vote. Though the established right did their best to stop him, he won the Republican nomination. His legal right to continue in the presidential election process was not in question at that point either – only the quality of his character, which is not a disqualifying factor.

During this entire time, members of both the left and the right along with various other parties went on with their established voting practices in order to give their chosen candidate the best possible opportunity for victory.

Then the results came out and both our country and the world were shocked and in some cases, appalled. The protesting that evolved against the system and in taking the form of the refusal to accept the results appears the same as an angry child who did not get his way.

Now I'm not saying that your feelings aren't valid – they absolutely are. Many of us were deeply afraid during this election process and quite obviously many are deeply disappointed in the outcome. But just like a loving parent treats an angry child, it's important to dig down to what is actually at the heart of the problem. And in this case, I would say it is me.

Let me explain.

I get that many of you do not like Donald Trump because of who he has been and who he currently is. The fact of the matter is that I feel the same way about Hillary Clinton. I'm not a huge fan of Donald Trump – he has some policies that I generally agree with, but I think the man is deeply flawed.

I was more afraid of what Hillary Clinton would do in office than I am of what Donald Trump will do now that he's been elected. Say what you would like about political convictions and how you should vote based on them, but the reality for many of us is that we voted in this election out of fear.

I view our Constitution in a similar way that I view the Bible. I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that to understand the concepts that are not clear in the English language, we go back to the original language and historical context to understand the significance of each part. However, it is not up to us to help the Bible evolve. Written by an unchanging God who inspired the text, what was true back then must still be true now.

Constitutionally, I think we ought to take the same approach. Break down the original language and consider the historical context to understand what the Constitution's authors were setting up as the foundation for their country. Their convictions were strong enough to commit treason and while they set up a system that allows us to amend the Constitution, they did not instruct us to make it evolve into a system of laws that are unrecognizable compared to their original goal.

You see, I don't think the issue is so much that Donald Trump was eligible to become president as much as it is that people like me would vote for someone like him. The left seems to believe that a progressive march toward socialism is in the best interest of our country while those on the right wish to preserve a representative democracy. But these two paths diverge more and more every year. We struggle to pass regulations that will make our belief into law and force everyone to comply with it. But coercion is not freedom, my friends, it is slavery.

I believe in your right to hold your beliefs and values as closely as you want to. I believe in your right to disagree with my worldview and my faith. I believe that each one of us has incalculable value as proven by the incarnate son of God, Jesus Christ, and his blood that was shed for any who would believe in him. Ultimately, my freedom is found there at the cross. My hope is realized in an eternity made possible by Jesus. But that doesn't mean I don't seek peace and rest and comfort here and now.

I'm part of the problem because I refuse to comply with what the left demands I believe to be true. I'm part of the problem because I believe that there is absolute truth found in Scripture defined by the Creator of the universe.

Look, I'm not here to convince you that everything you hold dear is wrong. We can certainly talk about any of the issues as long as we can sit down rationally and calmly. But where you and I seem to refuse to agree is that I not only have the right to believe differently than you but that I have the right to live that out in every aspect of my life - including my political convictions.

You see, we are quickly reaching a point where many believe the definition of absolute right and wrong lies within the individual. Those that believe God defines right and wrong are at odds. Fundamentally, that is where we are divided.

I can tell you this - God isn't going to change his mind about who he is or what is right and wrong. The tides of social change will continue to ebb and flow with each new regulation, ruling, and election cycle. As our culture moves further away from the truth of Scripture, I will continue to be disappointed by the outcome.

Just don't expect me and my brothers and sisters in Christ to be okay with being told what to believe from any source that isn't fully Scripture based. You're always going to have pushback and lack of compliance. It's awfully hard to move someone who has a foundation built upon a rock. Not all of us are willing to float around on shifting sands.

To be honest, I think our country is headed down the road that we cannot turn away from. I think the train is moving too fast to stop. It's hard to imagine that this goes anywhere other than our country being split or the conservative right being bullied into a socialist form of government.

I hope that's not the case. I hope that intelligent, rational-minded people from the left, right, and center can sit down with open minds and calm hearts to push for the freedom that our founding fathers dreamed of. I hope that we can somehow rally around a new age based on respect and the freedom that comes with it instead of on hatred and restrictive regulations that make us pretend to play nicely.

But ultimately, I hope that I will hear "well done good and faithful servant" when my time comes, no matter what direction our country and this world takes.