Everyone who does evil hates the Light

Luke 22:54-23:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now they arrested Him and led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵ After they kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” ⁵⁸ And a little later, another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he, too, is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³ The men who were holding Jesus in custody began mocking Him and beating Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.

⁶⁶ When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, ⁶⁷ “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “So You are the Son of God?” And He said to them, “You say correctly that I am.” ⁷¹ And then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!”

23 Then the entire assembly of them set out and brought Him before Pilate. ² And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” ³ Now Pilate asked Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” ⁴ But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.” ⁵ But they kept on insisting, saying, “He is stirring up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, as far as this place!”

⁶ Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, since he also was in Jerusalem at this time.

⁸ Now Herod was overjoyed when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. ⁹ And he questioned Him at some length; but He offered him no answer at all. ¹⁰ Now the chief priests and the scribes stood there, vehemently charging Him. ¹¹ And Herod, together with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressing Him in a brightly shining robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² And so Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.

Today’s text ends saying: And so Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.  It should not surprise us then that there will be unusual alliances formed against those who are called by the name of Christ. Those who say Christians are intolerant in their views of sexual immorality, will align themselves with those who would kill homosexuals and adulterous women. In Matthew 10:21-22 Jesus says: “Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”  Luke 21:16-17 says: “You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of My name.”  I don’t believe that people really hate Christians, only that darkness hates the light. In John 3:19-21 Jesus says: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

In today’s text it says: Peter was sitting among them. And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” And a little later, another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he, too, is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. And then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.  For us, we need to decide if like Peter we will allow our fear of the hatred and persecution of the world will cause us to deny that we know and are with Christ, or if we will stand with Him and for Him. In Luke 9:26 Jesus says: “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”  In Matthew 5:10-16 Jesus says:  “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, I will rejoice and be glad because You have rewarded me in heaven and on earth. I am blessed. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may I shine Your light in the darkness. May I never fear or be ashamed. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, both in and through my life. Amen.