Does Jesus love the Rebellious?
40 Days with Jesus – November 23rd – Luke 23:32-43
I love my kids. I love everything about them. They make me laugh. They teach me about patience. They teach me things about myself I didn’t know before. One thing I’ve learned is they will have the tendency to rebel against me, but in spite of their rebellion, I still love them greatly.
For example, I will say to Whittaker, our two year old, ‘Don’t push your brother.’ What does he do? He looks at me and
then proceeds to push his brother anyway. He is acting according to his sinful nature, to disobey his daddy. In spite, of his rebellion and disobedience, I still love him and care for him deeply. Sometimes it’s frustrating and tests my patience, but I still love him very much.
But, when I consider the love that Jesus has towards his church, it makes the love I have for my son seem so small. In Luke 23:32-43, we come to Luke’s account of Jesus being crucified. We find that Jesus was already on the cross, he was being mocked and scoffed at, and the crowds were in disbelief of who he was.
In the midst of Jesus’ crucifixion, we find Jesus saying ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Do you realize that in the midst of the crowd rejecting and scoffing Jesus, He still offered forgiveness to the crowd. After the same people beat him, mocked him, spit on him, and scoffed at him Jesus, still offered forgiveness. This section of scripture gives us one of the greatest examples of how gracious and loving our God is towards his people.
- He offers forgiveness to people who don’t understand who he is.
- He offers forgiveness to people who reject him.
- He offers forgiveness to people who mock and scoff him.
- He offers forgiveness to people who willfully sin against him.
You must realize, that the worst of you is forgivable and because of that, it ought to promote in you a sense of gratitude. Do you realize how much Jesus loves you . . . that in your rebellion, he still died in your place to pay for your sin?
Take a few moments today to realize that your darkest sins are forgivable. Your dirtiest stains can be washed away. If you are reading this today, and you have never asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin and come into your life, I would challenge you to simply pray, ‘Jesus, I repent of a life of sin, I ask you to forgive me, I surrender my life to your Lordship and ask you to be my Savior. I commit my life to you.’
Boyd Bettis
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