REMEMBER ME – WEEKLY THEMES
“S” is for Sunday? Sixty? Or?
For the small group of Believers associated with Carluke Gospel Hall, there was the issue of how we could collectively remember the Lord if we couldn’t meet together during the period of imposed lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. Unlike some fellowships, there was a lack of technical expertise to engage in IT Technology, so the only realistic option was to compose a meditation about the Lord to share by email [or hand delivered hard copy] at the time on a Sunday morning when we would normally meet together to Break Bread to “Remember Him”. Listed below are 60 topics about the Lord spread over 60 weeks each beginning with the letter “S” as a devotional message to aid our remembrance of Him.
There is so much associated with him to think about which certainly accords with the sentiments of The Apostle Paul who says “Thanks be unto God for His Unspeakable Gift” – “unspeakable” meaning there are not enough words or suitable words to adequately describe his life and work and person. [ 2 Cor 9 v 15].
Whilst most of the content for these themes was produced Brian Powlesland, some contributions were provided by Alex Abbott, James Black, Mike Powlesland, Craig Munro, Jack Hay and Walter Alexander.
| WEEK 1 | HIS STOOP | WEEK 2 | HIS SOJOURN | ||||
| WEEK 3 | HIM STRIKING OUT | WEEK 4 | HIM STANDING UP | ||||
| WEEK 5 | STANDING BY | WEEK 6 | HIS SHINING EXAMPLE | ||||
| WEEK 7 | HIS SIGNIFICANT KNOWLEDGE | WEEK 8 | HIS SOLITUDE | ||||
| WEEK 9 | HIS SILENCE | WEEK 10 | HIS SINLESSNESS | ||||
| WEEK 11 | HIS SPEECH | WEEK 12 | HIS SCRUTINISING EYES | ||||
| WEEK 13 | HIM SITTING | WEEK 14 | HIS SORROWS | ||||
| WEEK 15 | HIS STRENGTH | WEEK 16 | HIS SAYINGS | ||||
| WEEK 17 | HIS STIGMA | WEEK 18 | HIS STEPS | ||||
| WEEK 19 | HIS STRETCHING OUT | WEEK 20 | HIS SUPPER | ||||
| WEEK 21 | HIS SYMBOLS | WEEK 22 | HIS SLIGHTS | ||||
| WEEK 23 | HIS SENSITIVITY [TO OTHERS] | WEEK 24 | HIS SENSITIVITY TO HIMSELF | ||||
| WEEK 25 | HIS SEPARATION | WEEK 26 | THE SENT ONE | ||||
| WEEK 27 | THE SHEPHERD | WEEK 28 | THE SHEEP [ LAMB] | ||||
| WEEK 29 | THE SERVANT | WEEK 30 | THE SCAPEGOAT | ||||
| WEEK 31 | THE SIN OFFERING | WEEK 32 | SWEET SAVOUR OFFERING [ BURNT SLOWLY] | ||||
| WEEK 33 | SWEET SAVOUR OFFERING [ BLENDED SYSTEMATICALLY] | WEEK 34 | SWEET SAVOUR OFFERING [ BLESSED IN SHARING] | ||||
| WEEK 35 | HIS SUPERIORITY | WEEK 36 | AT SYCHAR | ||||
| WEEK 37 | AT THE SYNAGOGUE | WEEK 38 | IN SAMARIA | ||||
| WEEK 39 | THE SAVIOUR BORN | WEEK 40 | SUMMARY OF HIS LIFE | ||||
| WEEK 41 | STARTING A NEW CHAPTER | WEEK 42 | SON OF MARY | ||||
| WEEK 43 | SON OF GOD | WEEK 44 | SON OF MAN | ||||
| WEEK 45 | AT SILOAM | WEEK 46 | AT THE SEASIDE | ||||
| WEEK 47 | HIS SPLENDOUR | WEEK 48 | HIS SUPPORT | ||||
| WEEK 49 | THE SCRIPTURES | WEEK 50 | WITH SCRIBES AND SAMARITANS | ||||
| WEEK 51 | VERSUS THE SANHEDRAN | WEEK 52 | VERSUS THE SOLDIERS | ||||
| WEEK 53 | VERSUS SATAN | WEEK 54 | IN THE SEPULCHRE | ||||
| WEEK 55 | HIS SERMON | WEEK 56 | HIS SUPPORTERS | ||||
| WEEK 57 | THE SPECIAL ONE | WEEK 58 | HIS STRUGGLES EMOTIONALLY | ||||
| WEEK 59 | HIS SHAMEFUL TREATMENT | WEEK 60 | HIS SUFFERING PHYSICALLY |
REMEMBER ME – WEEK 60 – HIS SUFFERINGS PHYSICALLY
We thought previously about the Lord’s SHAMEFUL TREATMENT [ Week 59] and about His STRUGGLES EMOTIONALLY [Week 58]. Today we turn our attention to HIS PHYSICAL SUFFERING.
THE SORROW which sums it up. Says Lamentations 1 v 12 “Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.” He was “stricken, smitten of God and afflicted” says Is 53 v 4. Unimaginable suffering was his experience in all he passed through.
THE SMITING he was subjected to. There is a passage in Micah chapter 5 that we often quote in regard to the birth of our Saviour. It says “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel”. But the same chapter has another verse which says “they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek” [v 1]. How pitiful we surely feel as we read what Matthew says “they buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands” [Matt 26 v 67]. Luke says they “blindfolded him, and struck him on the face, and asked him… who is it that smote thee?” He was pushed around [buffeted], assaulted [slapped in the face,] spat on, and belittled [ who smote thee they mocked]. He was “roughed up” just for the sake of being unkind. He did not deserve such treatment.
THE STRIPPING. They tore off his clothes [Matt 27 v 27] – that beautiful seamless garment [which portrays the unique and beautiful character of the Lord] and they cast lots to decide who would be its new owner. They put on him a crown of thorns and a purple robe - symbols intended to ridicule the claim of kingship. They would have no idea that draping him in purple cloth had a symbolic meaning as foreseen in the Old Testament. When God’s earthly people broke each camp site in the wilderness to move to the next stage of their long journey towards the promised land, all the items of furniture that were sited within the structure of the tabernacle had to be covered for the journey and there was only one item of furniture covered in transit with a really striking purple coloured cloth. That item of furniture was the altar of brass – the very altar on which animals were slain for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. Thus, when they put a purple robe on the Lord it conveyed the fact that he was going to be a sacrifice on the altar of Golgotha for the sins of the whole world.
THE SCOURGING. Scourging [or flogging] is practiced in many parts of the world today. Recently there was an outcry because a man was sentenced to be flogged in Singapore with 24 lashes with a new whip and new person doing the scourging every 6 strokes to maximise the pain endured. The Lord knew what was coming. Remember how in Matt 20 v 17-19, he takes the 12 disciples apart in the way and says to them “Behold we go up to Jerusalem… and I shall be delivered to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and to be crucified”. Psalm 129 v 3, portrays those that would make his back like a ploughed field with deep furrows [gouges]. He says “I gave my back to the smiters” [ Is 50 v 6]. How many stripes did he receive? A Jewish scourging had a maximum of 40 stripes [ Deut 25 v 3.] A Roman scourging could be unlimited!
THE SPIKES. Nails – coarsely made. Hammered in. O the pain. But nails didn’t hold him there. We sing “Was it the nails, O Saviour That bound thee to the tree? Nay t’was thine everlasting love, Thy love to me, for me”.
THE SPONGE. He cried out in thirst to a Samaritan woman at a well and she gave him water to drink. On the cross he cries again for a drink and they gave him vinegar – sour wine. How relationships had soured between man and God but the man on the cross was there to make peace with God. No wonder we sing “What he endured no tongue can tell, to save our souls from death and hell.” Hallelujah – praise the Lord for the one who was “Wounded for me, wounded for me”
REMEMBER ME - WEEK 59 - HIS SHAMEFUL TREATMENT
THE SILVER. Exodus contains the laws of God - the 10 commandments. It also contains some lesser known laws e.g. “the law of compensation” [ Ex 21 v 32] which makes provision for a person who loses the services of a servant because of the action of a third party. This law required such a third party to compensate the servant’s owner by the payment of compensation in the amount of 30 pieces of silver. Judas Iscariot thought to make money for himself by betraying the Lord. He goes to the authorities and says “What will ye give me and I will deliver him to you? [Matt 26 v 15]. They covenanted with him for 30 pieces of silver. The valuation by Judas reflects the views of many others. The one who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the gold in every mine”, was worth just the price of a slave to some minds. What shame he must have felt at being so undervalued – “I am a worm and no man” - a nobody [Ps 22 v 6].
THE SCANDAL. Think of the news that would spread about the Lowly “Jesus of Nazareth”, when arrested and held by Roman soldiers. Would tongues exaggerate the causes and would fake news be evident in those days long ago? No doubt there were those who would be happy with the situation whereas others would grieve at what was happening and would want to be assured that there was no truth in the charges laid. Surely they would be relieved when Pilate delivers his trial verdict “Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people, and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man, touching those things whereof ye accuse him” [Lk 23 v 14]. Yet they cried “Away with him, we will not have this man” [Jn 19 v 15]. What a scandal.
THE SHAME. Gal 3 v 23 says “Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree”- oh the shame and stigma of it and an often quoted verse in Hebrews 12 v 2 speaks of the Lord “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame”. “Endured” means he took its suffering without complaining or murmuring but stoically and without wavering. “Despising the shame” means he regarded ignominy, persecution, shaming, being despised and hated of men and of being humiliated as being of lesser importance in contrast to the will of God and the future blessing of those who would trust in him and the value of his work at Calvary. We sing “All the shame men heaped upon thee, thou didst patiently endure; Not the pains of death too bitter, our redemption to procure. Wondrous thy humiliation, to accomplish our salvation: thousand, thousand praise be, Precious saviour unto Thee.”
THE SPITTING. The Lord had put his own spittle to good use when he used it to prepare a paste with which to anoint the eyes of a blind man [Jn 9 v 6]. Here men spat on him to show their distain and contempt for the Lord and made a mockery of him to shame him [Mk 14 v 65]. Most people would recognise how insulting and degrading and shameful this spitting must have been.
THE SENTENCE. During the period of Covid lockdown I watched a u-tube sermon by a converted Jew talking about the trial of the Lord Jesus. He stated that he had found 27 material faults in the trial procedure. That is to say, the Jewish and Roman authorities had not followed standard procedures in his trial such was the determination of the Jews to have him sentenced to death – even though no cause worthy of death was found in him. Pilate chooses the easy way out and simply says “Take ye him and crucify him” - that is to say the Jews were given consent to put to death the Prince of Life“
THE SUPERSCRIPTION. A Roman crucifixion entailed the name of the victim and the charge being written on the cross. Luke says the “superscription” in Hebrew, Greek and Latin was “This is The King of the Jews” – so no doubting the identity of the man on the cross. His “accusation” [fault] says Matthew 27 v 37 was not a fault at all but a fact, for he was their king, albeit a rejected one. John describes the inscription on the cross as a “Title” and Pilate was unwilling to amend it because it was true - he was born to be king but was never accepted as that. What shame was heaped upon him!