Luke 22:63-65 Blind Man’s Bluff
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: December 11, 2018 Luke 22:63-65
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) These were not Romans performing these contemptible actions. These were Jews. The men were behaving like bullies without the love of God in them, yet they claimed to be the temple’s servants, i.e. God’s servants. Jesus was to all appearances helpless in their custody, and they began beating Him with their fists. They made Him even more helpless (to human eyes) by blindfolding Him and then hitting Him. They insulted Jesus to degrade Him further. I imagine that they said lewd remarks about Him and His mother. During this whole time, Jesus did not answer them back. We know this from Isaiah 53:7. Peter must have been watching some of this and felt His belief in the indestructibility of his Master crumble. If his Master could not even save Himself, how could Jesus save Peter? Peter believed that he was on his own to survive in this horrible mess of a nightmare, so he tried subterfuge; only he was not very good at it. It was not until the cock crowed and Jesus turned to look at Peter that Peter began to realize that Jesus was still in control, and Peter’s lack of belief disqualified him from staying with his Master.
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12)
Guzik’s commentary has an interesting take on why Jesus allowed the mockery and beating without comment. “c. The idea of Jesus taking this mocking without reply is painful to us. We wonder why He, who had all the right and all the power to put an end to it immediately, why He endured it without a word. i. He did it to demonstrate that the proper reply to hate is not more hate, but love. ii. He did it to demonstrate His trust in God the Father, that God would vindicate Him and He did not need to defend Himself. iii. He did it so that every time we are humiliated we can find refuge in a God who can say, “I know exactly what you are going through.” I had already considered that Jesus’ response to hate is never retaliation and that Jesus never used His power to promote or defend Himself and that I am supposed to follow His example. However, I never thought about the idea that not answering back is a way of demonstrating trust in God. I do not need to defend myself because God will. I like the final idea that God identified with us so much that He allowed Himself to be humiliated in order to be one with us. They’re all good ideas, but I think they are results rather than causes. Jesus acted as He did because it is God’s nature not to retaliate or defend but to look at the other person with love and sympathy. He was simply acting within the parameters of who He was.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that even when nothing makes sense and it looks like God is not in control, I should still trust God. There is much that I don’t know, but I must trust that God does know. God never promised to protect me from getting hurt, but He has promised that all those hurts will be turned around and made into something good. All things work together for good to them that love the Lord. It’s difficult to trust You when something senselessly hurts me. Help me to trust You.