The Real Jesus - Sabbath

When I was dating Joanne, I was impressed by her calm, gracious, cheerful personality – a big contrast to my anxious, self-centered, gloomy personality. She seemed too good to be for real. Maybe she was faking it, just acting when I was around? How could I find out what she was really like? I got a chance to find out when she had a huge project to complete at the end of the school term. She worked on it day and night, finally going without sleep for several nights in a row to finish it. In that state of complete exhaustion, under grinding pressure, the real Joanne was sure to surface. Would I discover that she was actually crabby, self-pitying, and prone to fits of temper?

In the same way, we have all these stories about Jesus – he seems so kind and caring. Really? Or was all that just a show? How can we find out what God is really like inside? Today’s passage shows us God stripped naked, completely vulnerable, in agonizing pain. Here is where we meet the real Jesus and find out how he really feels about us.

Read Luke 23:32-43.

Question: Look again at how Jesus treats the people around him. Listen to the words that come out of His heart. If you were in His place, what would your heart have said?

Consider the second of Jesus’ last words to people, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. They were addressed to a criminal, and Jesus in his suffering could still speak with so much compassion and forgiveness while he was suffering himself. In the last moments of this criminals’ life he had nothing to look forward to but condemnation from everyone around him, but Christ, because he looks at him and sees his faith, gives him the hope of paradise over the pit. Christ draws near to relate to this condemned man in his suffering to offer him the hope of salvation. Now think about how Christ has done that for you, how he is doing that for you even today, even now. How has Christ drawn near to you when you felt overwhelmed by the judgment of others?

Pray: Tell Jesus what you see in the real Him.

The spiritual discipline for today is Sabbath. When was the last time you had a real Sabbath? When was the last time you took a day to rest and reflect on God? Separate yourself today from the business and give yourself time to work on your relationship with God. Tell God about the moments when you have seen him moving in your life. Give God some time when you are just listening and he can speak with you. What is he saying?