Christos Messiah

The English term ‘Christ’ is derived from the Greek ‘Christos’, which translates the Hebrew ‘Mashiah’ or ‘Messiah’. Both the Greek and the Hebrew literally mean ‘anointed’. We have seen Jesus as the anointed High Priest of God. Here we see him as the anointed King.

Envy the religious sin

He is handed over to Pilate out of envy (‘Sheer spite’, Mark 15:10, MSG) by the religious leaders. Be careful of envy. It is sometimes described as the ‘religious sin’. Jesus is subject to insults and false accusation. If you are slandered or bad-mouthed be thankful that God allows you, in a tiny way, to enter into the sufferings of Jesus and pray that God will help you to respond as he did – with love and forgiveness.

Grudge

Holding a grudge is like allowing someone else to live rent free in your head.

Hypocrisy

In the Greek, the word for hypocrisy is the same word as the word for mask (masks were used in Ancient Greece for acting). On the outside Judas was wearing a mask of love for Jesus. In reality, he was betraying him to be crucified. The kiss was the ultimate act of hypocrisy.

Line between good and evil

The Nobel Prize winner and most important Russian literary artist of the second half of the twentieth century, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008), who was imprisoned for eight years for criticising Stalin, wrote, ‘The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, nor through classes, nor between political parties... but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts.’

Peer pressure

I heard this true story: A woman was asked ‘What is the best thing about being 104 years old?’ She replied: ‘No peer-pressure.’ There is often a temptation to conform to peer-pressure and follow the standards of those around us. One area where there is a great pressure to conform is sexual morality. In this context God says to his people, ‘Don’t live like the people of Egypt where you used to live, and don’t live like the people of Canaan where I’m bringing you. Don’t do what they do. Obey my laws and live by my decrees. I am your God’ (vv.2–4, MSG). Like the ancient Israelites we live in a culture that has very different sexual ethics to God’s. God wants you to safeguard his wonderful gift of sex, and not get enticed into following those around you. Be careful to follow God’s ways. If you do, far from missing out, you will actually find life; ‘the person who obeys [God’s decrees and laws] will live by them’ (v.5). God’s people are called to be different. St Paul wrote, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world’ (Romans 12:2). This call to be different goes right back to the earliest days of God’s people (Leviticus 18).

Difficulties in life

Sometimes you may face difficulties in life not because you are doing something wrong but because you are doing something right. All of us will face tests, trials and temptations in life. You are not alone. Jesus himself never did anything wrong, yet he faced greater tests, trials and temptations than anyone in human history.