It's all about the company we keep.
Well I don't know why I came
here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
- "Stuck In The Middle With You", Stealers Wheel, 1972
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
- "Stuck In The Middle With You", Stealers Wheel, 1972
For the clowns to
the left of us, and for the jokers to the right, Lord, we give thanks that
we are stuck in
the middle with you. - @UnvirtuousAbbey on Twitter
The scripture focus for today's blog entry is Matthew
27:32-40.
Matthew 27:32-40
New International Version (NIV)
The Crucifixion of Jesus
New International Version (NIV)
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from
Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They
came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There
they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he
refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his
clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him
there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him:
THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Two rebels
were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those
who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying,
“You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save
yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
Saw that tweet by
Unvirtuous Abbey on Twitter a couple weeks back.
I've had that thing floating around in my head for awhile now.
So, when this scripture dropped in my lap for this blog entry, I knew where I was going to go with it.
The thing that stood out to me right away from this passage was where Jesus is and who is around him.
There are many ways to approach this passage and many issues to discuss.
I could go into governmental areas or brutality or capital punishment.
But the center of all this is not some social paradigm or political subject, it's Jesus.
And, it was who Jesus surrounded himself with that defined who he was.
Who Jesus surrounded himself with was purposeful on His part and unintentional on another.
He didn't intend to have Himself surrounded by Roman soldiers, being beaten half to death.
Thing was, He knew it was going to happen, and he allowed it.
He intentionally surrounded Himself with those outcast by society, looked down upon by the upper crust of religiosity and social want.
When John and James asked Jesus sometime back about being on His left hand and His right, was this what Jesus meant when He responded, "You do not know what you are asking."
Jesus' focus was looking ahead, as was John and James.
The brothers might have been looking too far ahead, to a time of glory.
Jesus was looking just down the road and knew already He would have guests in those seats.
Jesus was a person always in the middle of it.
In the middle of controversy, as the religious leaders squabbled.
In the middle of pain and hurting, as he felt the crowds pushing against Him.
In the middle of class, as He explained the mysteries of the Kingdom to his student-disciples.
And, even in death, he is stuck in the middle.
In the middle between two "rebels" Matthew calls them.
Not much is said about the two men other than that.
And, maybe that's all that needs to be said, in Matthew's account.
For the most part, throughout Matthew's gospel, Jesus has been cast as a "rebel".
This gospel was written to Jewish people.
Mark's is written in a wild, flash-in-the-pan, movie-like pattern.
Each chapter is one incredible moment after another.
Luke's is clearly writing to his Greek audience, without all the Hebrew history.
But, Matthew's take is clearly written for Jewish people to hear and understand.
He references the Old Testament more than any other gospel writer.
He absolutely wants his Jewish audience to put the pieces together.
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matt. 3.3)
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40.3-5)
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” (Matt. 12.18-21)
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42.1-4)
And, the Isaiah passage that really overlays the scripture for today's blog entry...
Isaiah 53:1-5
New International Version (NIV)
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
A "rebel" who came to do what the religious establishment would not.
To care for the poor and down trodden.
To heal us in our sickness
To take our suffering upon His shoulders.
For those who felt they had no beauty or majesty, He had none either.
For those who feel undesirable, he knows the feeling too.
For those who have been despised and rejected, He was a man of suffering, familiar with pain.
For those with sin in their lives, he was pierced for those sins, crushed, punished, so that we could have peace.
Stuck in the middle of a world who did not receive Him. (John 1.11)
Pharisees to the left of him.
Romans to the right.
Surrounded by a world of bleating humans who needed comfort and assurance and direction.
And, still, He came.
He died.
He took it all upon Himself.
For you and for me.
I've had that thing floating around in my head for awhile now.
So, when this scripture dropped in my lap for this blog entry, I knew where I was going to go with it.
The thing that stood out to me right away from this passage was where Jesus is and who is around him.
There are many ways to approach this passage and many issues to discuss.
I could go into governmental areas or brutality or capital punishment.
But the center of all this is not some social paradigm or political subject, it's Jesus.
And, it was who Jesus surrounded himself with that defined who he was.
Who Jesus surrounded himself with was purposeful on His part and unintentional on another.
He didn't intend to have Himself surrounded by Roman soldiers, being beaten half to death.
Thing was, He knew it was going to happen, and he allowed it.
He intentionally surrounded Himself with those outcast by society, looked down upon by the upper crust of religiosity and social want.
When John and James asked Jesus sometime back about being on His left hand and His right, was this what Jesus meant when He responded, "You do not know what you are asking."
Jesus' focus was looking ahead, as was John and James.
The brothers might have been looking too far ahead, to a time of glory.
Jesus was looking just down the road and knew already He would have guests in those seats.
Jesus was a person always in the middle of it.
In the middle of controversy, as the religious leaders squabbled.
In the middle of pain and hurting, as he felt the crowds pushing against Him.
In the middle of class, as He explained the mysteries of the Kingdom to his student-disciples.
And, even in death, he is stuck in the middle.
In the middle between two "rebels" Matthew calls them.
Not much is said about the two men other than that.
And, maybe that's all that needs to be said, in Matthew's account.
For the most part, throughout Matthew's gospel, Jesus has been cast as a "rebel".
This gospel was written to Jewish people.
Mark's is written in a wild, flash-in-the-pan, movie-like pattern.
Each chapter is one incredible moment after another.
Luke's is clearly writing to his Greek audience, without all the Hebrew history.
But, Matthew's take is clearly written for Jewish people to hear and understand.
He references the Old Testament more than any other gospel writer.
He absolutely wants his Jewish audience to put the pieces together.
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matt. 3.3)
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40.3-5)
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” (Matt. 12.18-21)
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42.1-4)
And, the Isaiah passage that really overlays the scripture for today's blog entry...
Isaiah 53:1-5
New International Version (NIV)
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
A "rebel" who came to do what the religious establishment would not.
To care for the poor and down trodden.
To heal us in our sickness
To take our suffering upon His shoulders.
For those who felt they had no beauty or majesty, He had none either.
For those who feel undesirable, he knows the feeling too.
For those who have been despised and rejected, He was a man of suffering, familiar with pain.
For those with sin in their lives, he was pierced for those sins, crushed, punished, so that we could have peace.
Stuck in the middle of a world who did not receive Him. (John 1.11)
Pharisees to the left of him.
Romans to the right.
Surrounded by a world of bleating humans who needed comfort and assurance and direction.
And, still, He came.
He died.
He took it all upon Himself.
For you and for me.
