Chrissy Siggee

AND…HE REMAINED BOUND

“AND THEY BLINDFOLDED HIM”

And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? Luke 22:64

The death and resurrection of Jesus is completely in the past. It’s history. He died for sin once, and He will die no more. Death has no power over our Lord and Savior. But spiritually, the death and resurrection of Christ is ever present. Spiritually it takes place repeatedly in the very nucleus of humanity. We crucify Him again and again. Jesus Christ is betrayed, abandoned, spat at, mocked and crucified every moment of the day, every day. Every part of the passion story is characteristic. In a mystical sense, we were there when He died for our sins.

The verses related to the blindfolding of Jesus are often read as part of the story as a whole. Sometimes these verses are not even included in Easter Bible readings at all. I find that this particular incident is significant to the soldiers’ behavior toward the ministry of Jesus. There also doesn’t appear to be any recorded that Pilate directed them to carry out this specific treatment. These soldiers repeated mocked and struck Jesus while His face was covered.

I often wonder why renowned artists, past or present, have never attempted to paint this appallingly tragic scene on canvas. At least I’ve never seen one. I understand from my own research that this incident took place in the courtyard of the palace of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, in the very early morning before dawn. There would have been an open fire burning, perhaps a full moon and eerie shadows. But one thing I’m sure of is that Jesus would not have been the only one unable to see in that courtyard. Our blindfolded Jesus, Christ our Lord, would have been surrounded by a group filled with blind hatred: servants of the Sanhedrin, those hired by the high priests, witness of Jesus’ miracles, and all from His own Jewish race. But Jesus remained silent…

This portion of the passion adds more emphasis on the repulsive behavior Jesus endured before the cross. Is this what Peter witnessed and where he denied His Lord? The last face Jesus looked upon before he was blindfolded was Peter’s so one assume it was. No wonder Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus suffered for us not only to redeem us from sin and curse, but suffered to leave us an example that we should walk in His footsteps. In every incident of the passion, Jesus cries out for us to follow Him. We need to live boldly and completely for Him, without hesitation of the consequences of those who ridicule and scoff. Accept the mudslinging and hateful rejections. Be silent before your accusers, and for His sake and the gospel, do no grow weary in doing good. (Galatians 6:9)

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10

© Chrissy Siggee

Scripture Verses used are from the King James Version of the Bible

FIRSTLY…CHRIST DIED

1 Corinthians 15:2-3
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; …

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, it appears that the death of Christ, for our sins, is the heart of Paul’s message and the centre of His teaching – The one and only true Gospel and “The Good News”.

In Galatians 1:15-19 we read: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

It also seems Paul believed that the death of Jesus was the fundamental truth of the faith and doctrine of Christianity. Paul would have spent up to seven years spreading this news after the death of Jesus sharing this one essential truth. Why would someone teach something as basically simple as the first and foremost foundation of the belief of Christians?

Paul, for those who know the story in Acts 9 of his conversion, was once the enemy of the Christian believers, and yet Paul was unwavering in the importance of the cross and the death of Jesus. This drastic change in Paul had to be God’s revelation to him on that road to Damascus.

First of all – the foundation stone of the temple of truth. Without the death of Jesus Christ, there is no hope. There is no escape from the penalty of sin; which is eternal death.

The Cross is not only the universal symbol of the Gospel, it’s the very heart of the Gospel.

This is the Good New!

© Chrissy Siggee – January 10, 2010

Scripture Verses used are from the King James Version of the Bible

FRIGHTENED SHEPHERDS

Luke 2:8-21 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

At the time of Jesus birth, people who attended sheep were the least significance to the human race by other people. They lived quiet and humble lives, often spending their days, and nights, with their flocks. The sheep that they tended were probably bred as sacrifice animals for the temple in near-by Jerusalem. These shepherds were probably just doing their usual job when the angel appeared to them—and with a multitude behind him. I think I would be shaking in my sandals too. The news the angel gave the shepherds would have surprised them too. Babies would have been plentiful during the census and specific descriptions were to help the shepherds find Jesus among the crowded town.

Quote: The song of the hosts of angels is very similar to the words sung during a sacrifice service in the temple when there were three blasts of the temple trumpets. This is only the second time in the whole Bible that a group of angels rather than one angel had appeared to people, so this proved that they had a very important message to give to them. We don’t know the names of the angels or how many there were of them, but in the Bible it says that there are millions of angels – whychristmas?com’s sister site whyangels?com.

They went down into Bethlehem, maybe they left a shepherd behind to keep guard on the sheep. When they had found Mary and Joseph the shepherds told them what had happened to them in the fields. They worshipped the newborn king before returning to their flocks glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. It had been just as the angel had told them.

I can imagine the shepherds telling their friends and families for weeks after the event. This incident would have made a significant change in their tedious lives. History tells how shepherds became accepted and probably even admired by many.

Jesus is related himself as the “good Shepherd”

John 10:11“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”

The next time you sing the Christmas carol “While Shepherds watched Their Flocks by Night” take notice of the words and remember their significant place in the Christmas Story.

© Chrissy Siggee

CHRISTMAS DEVOTION FOR THE CHILDREN

I remember as a young child, Christmas was the most favourite time of year. As soon as it was December, I asked my parents every day, “Is tomorrow Christmas?” It was so much fun to wake up on Christmas morning. I loved watching the lights twinkle on the tree and stare in wonder at the star that sat at the very top and the gifts beneath the tree.

On Christmas morning my dad would read the story of the birth of Jesus from the big family Bible. Dad would then say a prayer of thanks to God for sending his son, Jesus. We would all be patiently waiting for Dad to say “Amen” so he could start giving out the presents. I never grew tired of the Christmas story, but it was hard to wait just the same.

Most times the presents were just what we kids wanted. Other times, especially when money was scarce, I would try very hard not to be disappointed. I was always thankful for what I did receive, and the day was so much fun that Christmas would still always be my favorite day of the year. I always picked my favourite gift and keep it with me all day and sometimes the whole week, because I never wanted Christmas to be over.

The best gift we can receive is Jesus. God gave his only Son, Jesus, to us as his gift. Jesus was the one God promised to send us a long time ago. God loved us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to the earth to be born as a baby. Jesus loved us so much too, that when he grew up, He was willing to suffer and die for us. He died on the cross to pay for all the wrong things we do. I’m really glad that Jesus didn’t stay dead. He came back to show that he was the Son of God before he went up into the clouds to be with his Father in heaven.

Sometimes we had friends come to visit on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Some friends were a big surprise. Others were like – boring. It was always good to hear the excitement in the house though, no matter who came to visit.

To have Jesus visit, really visit, would be awesome. But it always seemed that Jesus was our special guest at Christmas. And do you know when I was six years old, I found out that Jesus could not only visit, but he would come to stay. All I had to was to ask Him.

You see, we all do wrong things. This is called “sin”. God never sins, and he hates sin. But Jesus loves us and wants to stay with us every day. God gave us his Son, Jesus, as a special gift. When Jesus grew to be a man, he died for us on the cross to take the punishment for our sin. Now we can always have Jesus with us. Jesus is the only way that we can ever be right with God. When Jesus went back to his Father in heaven, he sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit, to help us do what is right.

When I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sin, and to be with me always, I started to understand all this really makes Christmas every day of the year – Jesus is the best gift, and Jesus is with us every day.

Jesus is always there for you, waiting for you to talk to him. He wants to be close to you and nothing will stand in the way between you and God. You can enjoy his friendship everyday forever. Isn’t that the best Christmas present ever?

A prayer you can pray with your Mum or Dad:

Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to earth as a little baby. Thank you for Christmas so we can celebrate your birth. Thank you for growing up just like I’m growing, and thank you especially for dying on the cross for my sin to take the punishment for me. Let me know your love in my life every day. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me live the way I should. Thank you, Jesus, for being the best gift of all. Amen.

© Chrissy Siggee