1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
REFLECTION
Read the passage. For a better picture read the whole chapter.
God appointed Moses to be His representative to speak to Pharaoh. As weak as Moses felt he was, especially in leadership and eloquent speech, his obedience to God has put him in the position of deity. “I have made you like God to Pharaoh.” (v1) He has a strength and a substance and an authority he never possessed before, even if he didn’t see it.
When we stumble after God in our humility and ignorance, we often have words and thoughts that were not available to us before. Therefore, when we act in obedience, we no longer act as individuals, but it is God who at work in us to will and act according to his good purpose (Phil. 2:13). To others it may seem like we are not ourselves.
When has God asked you to do something beyond our natural abilities? Did you obey God? How was the task accomplished?
Do you obey God humbly and simply? Or do you have too many agenda and couldn’t follow God single-mindedly? Talk with God about this.
1 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
10 So the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
REFLECTION
Read this passage slowly aloud.
The Israelites were exhausted that they’ve had all they can take. For a long time they might have endured and hung on to every promise that came their way. But nothing changed, and finally they reached a point where they could no longer hope.
It is at such junctures, when people can absolutely do no more, that a divine breakthrough often occurs. When we are most helpless, we are in a position to receive the most help. God does not chastise us when we become heartsick. He acts in ways that we were too strong-willed and self-reliant to experience before.
Why would the Israelites’ cruel slavery life cause them to lose all hope such that they couldn’t even stand listening to God’s promises? Why did God want to liberate them from slavery?
PRAYER
Lord, will I be like the Israelites to lose faith in God? Am I living under certain type of slavery, i.e. money, reputation? Holy Spirit, illuminate the deepest part of my heart and free me from the slavery that I am in right now.
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.
REFLECTION
Read the passage. For a better picture read the whole chapter. Imagine you were there, what would your emotions be?
Moses and Aaron did as God commanded them. They relayed God’s message to Pharaoh, and the result was totally opposite to what they had hoped. Pharaoh made the Israelites work harder and treated them more harshly. The Israelite foremen were savagely beaten by the Egyptian slave drivers. The foremen then appealed to Pharaoh, but were accused as lazy. Therefore, they directed all their anger toward Moses. Moses then turned around the complaint to God that He didn’t really deliver the people.
Sometimes we might be persecuted for obeying God. Even when God works, we may endure pain, frustration and hardship. Following God doesn’t guarantee a warm reception from those around us. Often God’s mission and message make things worse before they get better because His way contrasts sharply with the way of this world.
Do you suffer right now because your obedience to God? Are you complaining? To whom? About what?
PRAYER
As you think of the hardship you are going through, allow the Holy Spirit direct your attention to the millions around the world who are living in dire situations under oppression and exploitation. Ask God how might you identify with these suffering people and give them help and support?
1 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” 2 The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”6 Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. 8 “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. 9 If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”
10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
REFLECTION
If time permits, it’s best to read through the whole chapter once. Then re-read the selected portion above.
Moses had a lot of concerns and worries that caused him to be fearful at the thought of God’s task. Several times, he tried to wriggle out of God’s will. He told God that he was afraid that the Israelites wouldn’t listen to him; he claimed he didn’t speak well. Finally Moses decided to just tell the truth – he simply didn’t want to do it. But God graciously resolved every one of his fears and promised to be with him (Immanuel), and to give miracles and wonders when necessary.
We are often afraid of making mistakes and become fearful and uneasy at those things God is calling us to do. But Scripture demonstrates to us that it is not, in fact, us who are trying to do things alone, but rather it is God at work in and through us. All we need is to follow His guidance and to depend on the courage and faith from Him.
Is there anything God wants you to do that you are hesitating and resisting?
PRAYER
Read the passage one more time. Put yourself in Moses’ place, feel his hesitation, identify his lack of confidence. Acknowledge to God your weaknesses also your self-confidence. Tell God of this tug-of-war inside. Wait for God’s response.
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold,the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
REFLECTION
If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read the passage for today.
Moses is shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep. In the distance he saw a bush in flames, but the bush mysteriously didn’t burn up. He walked closer, perhaps expecting a miracle, only to have a more unique encounter than he ever imagined. He interacted with the living God.
What has your experience of God been like? When have you felt like you have heard God speaking to you?
When God asked Moses to remove his sandals from his feet, God was reminding Moses that where God is, that place becomes holy. In addition, in the ancient near east, a servant takes off his shoes to show deep respect to his master.
God is holy. What difference does that make in your life and how you think about the Holy Spirit in and with you?
Moses heard from God when he paid attention. Like Moses, we often encounter God when we pay attention to what’s going on around us. Find a quiet place and spend a few moments in utter silence, paying attention to those aspects of your life that you often neglect: people, situations, quiet moments, creation, and so on. As you do this, look for God to interact with.
PRAYER
Ask God to reveal himself to you today in a fresh way, a way that he has never revealed himself before.
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
God Hears Israel’s Groaning
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
REFLECTION
If time allows, read the whole chapter. Then read vv11-24 slowly once more.
Toward the end of the 430 years, God chose Moses to be the leader to deliver His people out of hardship. But, God seemed to take a long time and a convoluted path to shape the soul and destiny of Moses.
Are you aware of God’s hand in shaping your soul and destiny? What is it? How are you responding?
Have a conversation with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help align your feelings and will with those of God’s.
Read this hymn based on Ps 6:10-12 “God, you are re-arranging my future” by Watchman Nee as a conversation with God. www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/8273
God, You are now rearranging my way
God, You are now rearranging my way. All I have built You’re destroying today.
Those serving faithfully daily decrease. Dishonesty, misunderstandings increase.
My eyes are teary; I can’t see You clearly, As though all Your words aren’t as real as before.
You make me decrease, that You might thus increase, To make Your will sweeter than ever before.
For Your hand stopping I’d almost implore, When I feel I cannot take any more.
Yet You are God! Oh, how can You give way? Please, Lord, do not give in; wait ’till I obey.
If Your good pleasure and will should decree That I must take suffering’s yoke upon me,
Then may my heart’s deepest joy be this thing— Obeying Your will to take the suffering.
It seems the price that’s required for Your joy Is that I’m hindered and knocked down by You;
Therefore I’d welcome Your hindering pull, If thus I could cause Your heart to be joyful.
You’ve given chariots to others instead. You have made them thus to ride o’er my head.
You stretch Your hand out my all now to take, Yet please leave Your stripping hand here for my sake.
The books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers continue the story of how God formed the nation of Israel to play a special role in his plans for the whole world. When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, God came to them and worked powerfully through Moses to deliver them. At Mount Sinai, God revealed his laws to Moses, including the Ten Commandments, and confirmed his covenant with the young nation. Israel built a “tabernacle,” or “tent of meeting,” so that God could live among them. The people then traveled through the wilderness to the land of Canaan.
The boundaries between the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are not sharply drawn. The key structure throughout the books relates to the various places the Israelites stopped on their journey. Each location is noted, and the events at each one are described. The key location is Mount Sinai; the second half of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and the beginning of Numbers describe what took place there. Leviticus specifically contains the laws and regulations the Lord gave to Israel. Numbers reports how the people were organized into a fighting force and moved toward the Promised Land.
Numbers reaches back across Leviticus and Exodus and repeats the phrase that structures Genesis: This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses (Num. 3:1). Appropriately, we hear this phrase for the twelfth time as the twelve tribes are being organized into a nation. Near the end of Numbers the prophet Balaam says to Israel, May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed. This recalls God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. These references show that together these books tell a single story of the beginning of God’s redemptive work in the world.
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
Pharaoh Oppresses Israel
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
REFLECTION
Read this passage slowly. If time allows, read through the whole chapter once before reading the selected portion to gain a better and fuller picture.
The Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt after Jacob’s family traveled there (as we read in the last chapters of Genesis). Their privileged lives in Goshen have been taken away gradually. When their exploding population reached a point that it became a threat to the Egyptians, the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all baby boys at birth. During this long period of hardship, God appeared to be silent or absent.
There are times in our lives when God seems to ignore or be unaware of our difficulties. The story of Exodus helps us realize that the sense of God’s absence is part of a greater narrative in which, though we may not be able to see it, God continues to be at work.
Usually our understanding of God’s salvation includes God’s continual and active protection against sickness, relationship conflicts, unemployment, death, disappointment and failure. Therefore, when we experience “God’s absence” whether it’s a few weeks, months, or years, for most of us, we don’t think of it as “normal”. But this text, along with numerous others throughout Scripture, argues otherwise.
Have you had any “God’s absence” experience? What was it? How did you feel? Was it resolved? Recall Joseph’s experience in Genesis 37-50, how would that help you see the “Immanuel” God in your own experience?
PRAYER
Tell God your situation right now. Whether you feel “God’s absent” or “Immanuel”, ask God to help you become aware of Him through a small incident today
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
REFLECTION
Matthew 28 focuses on the messengers of Jesus’ resurrection—the angel tells the women, the women tell the disciples, the disciples tell the nations, even the guards tell the religious leaders. As Matthew concludes his Gospel, we are invited to join with those who throughout history have been witnesses and messengers of Jesus, the victorious resurrected Lord.
The eleven did go to Galilee, and Jesus appeared as promised. He gave them the Great Commission and authorized His disciples to make disciples of all nations, and promised to be with them until the end of the age.
Why did Jesus tell the disciples that He would be with them to the end of the age? In what way is Jesus Christ with you today?
How can you be more involved in making disciples and fulfilling the Great Commission?
On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.
32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
REFLECTION
This chapter began with the news that Judas hanged himself. Jesus was condemned by Pilate, mocked by His executioners, and crucified. He was buried and His tomb placed under guard. But death is not the end!
The central event of Christian faith is the incredible humiliation of our God. His own people demanded His death, His friends deserted Him. And now even His loving Father has turned away.
Imagine yourself there at the scene watching as Jesus hangs on the cross, and is repeatedly mocked and insulted. And then as death begins to engulf Him, you heard Jesus’ crying out to God.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. (Ps 22:1-2)
What wells up inside you as you meditate on Jesus’ death? Read the passage again. Allow yourself to sink into the event deeply, be aware of your reaction and talk to Jesus about it.
Find a place to be silent, such as walk in a quiet place or sit in an empty church sanctuary. Continue meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice for you, and wait for what God’s response to you.
Prayer & Journaling:
On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
REFLECTION
With these last chapters of Matthew, we enter the Christian’s holy of holies. We witness with a deep awe again the death and the resurrection of our Lord. Jesus predicted His imminent death as Judas plotted with the chief priests to betray Him. During a final meal Jesus instituted Communion, and predicted Peter’s denial. Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, where He was arrested and taken before the Jewish high court. Peter did deny his Lord.
Here recorded three times of Jesus’ prayer. It clearly portrayed Jesus wrestling with God’s will and then finally accepting it. It started with Jesus asking if it is possible for the cup (referring to God’s judgment expressed in and by the cross) to be removed from Him. Jesus’ cup was not so much the physical torment He was about to experience, as it was the awful prospect of taking on Himself the sin of humankind. At that prospect, He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (v38) The next two times of prayer He says, “If this cannot … your will be done” (v42). In all cases, Jesus addresses God in the most intimate terms as “My Father” (vv39, 42).
The disciples could not understand, or even stay awake to share the awful loneliness with Him. Jesus then said to the disciples, “Watch andpray … The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (v42)
Meditate on Christ’s agony and share in His suffering. Quietly sing this Taize song:
On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.
