A further lovely blog from Stella Doggett.
I believe the Holy Spirit would like us to continue thinking about the Lord’s kindness that He demonstrated during and after His passion. We will have a look at some more examples of this wonderful characteristic of our Saviour. We saw yesterday at how tender Jesus was with Peter after his denial of Him. He was even kind in His hour of pain and agony, to those other disciples and those who stood around the cross. I know that when in pain, or even in minor discomfort like feeling too cold, or needing some food or drink, I can become very irritable. That then makes it hard to think about the needs of others, or even stop the feeling of impatience with them and their needs; but Jesus’ level of kindness was amazing.
First of all there was His mother Mary. She had been told soon after His birth of the pain ahead for her as His mother, (Luke 2:35), and she had seen the gathering storm as He had pressed on with His ministry, regardless of the opposition coming against Him. So there is Mary at the foot of the cross watching her beloved Son dying in the most cruel way imaginable. So much must have flooded through her mind, and surely there must have been the hope that suddenly, at the last minute, He would be delivered by an army of angels.
Whether Jesus read that in her eyes, or not, we will never know, but He gently lets her know there will be no deliverance, not at this moment anyway. We are told that, ‘when Jesus saw His mother there and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son”, and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” John 19:26. Even in this much pain and this close to death He takes care of her, kindly entrusting her wellbeing to His beloved friend John.
Then there is the very tender encounter with Mary Magdalene at the tomb, when she mistakes Him for the gardener. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” John 20:15. He lets her tell Him the cause of her grief before He says her name, as only Jesus could say it. There must have been so much love and warmth in that single word – ‘Mary’, because she knew immediately it was Him. It is just so beautiful that He chose to honour her by showing Himself to her first of all, the lady who had been so scorned by society and out of whom He had cast seven demons. (Luke 8:2).
Sometimes it was what Jesus didn’t say that shows us His kindness. For example when He appears to the disciples locked in their room, still unbelieving and afraid of the Jews even though the women had told them that they had seen Jesus alive again. (Luke 24:11). Jesus’ first words are “Peace be with you!” and the disciples, John tells us, were ‘overjoyed’, John 20:20. There was no rebuke for unbelief, there was no questioning of their behavior when they all ran away when He was arrested in Gethsemane; He just lets the moment fill them with joy and delight.
We see the same thing with Thomas, ‘the doubter’. Jesus comes again to the gathered disciples and this time addresses Thomas, giving him exactly what he said he would need if he was to ‘believe’. Jesus shows Thomas His wounds and lets him touch them. (John 20:26,27). There is no rebuke, only a gracious willingness to let Thomas see and feel what he needs to see and feel. Thomas is met not with an impossible standard, but Jesus meets Him where he is at, and with great kindness..
Then there are the two on the road to Emmaus, who we are told were downcast, even though they had heard from the women that the angels had told them Jesus was alive. There was a rebuke this time from Jesus, a very kind one, “How foolish you are, and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” They then get a great Bible Study, and finally Jesus reveals Himself to them as He breaks bread with them. (Luke 24:15-32).
I believe the Lord wants us to see His kindness, as it is revealed in these interactions with His very failing disciples. I believe He wants us to know that we will always be met with kindness when we turn to Him. This might be when we have been cowardly, disobedient, forgetful, negligent, or just fearful. The Lord will always meet us where we are, and know what we need to hear. He will always seek to lift us up and build our faith. Unlike the devil He will never put us down.
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Activation…..
Today give thanks that you can always go to Him with your mistakes and He will deal kindly with you, with never a put down, or a harsh rebuke, but gentle correction. If we can understand this it will change how we behave when we are aware of failure. Recognising that His voice is kind in these times will give us an expectation that even our failures will be turned into great opportunities to grow.
Journey into Hope 