ICS Daily Devotions
Jesus Chose to Bear Our Shame
Luke 15:12,20 (NKJV) And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood…. “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
Some of us may have come from very traditional families where some of the practices are harsh, while some of us may have strained relationships with our children, siblings or parents because of what they have done. While we may have every right to be angry, offended and bitter because of our suffering—in fact, every party is suffering—we should extend grace instead to those we are bitter and angry towards. Let’s choose to extend grace by reaching out to them and initiate reconciliation.
When we encounter difficult people, our flesh will want to retaliate and get even with them. However, it would be wise for us to extend grace to them and keep the channel of communication open in order to pave the way for restoration, and to maintain the ability to continue speaking into their lives in the future. This is especially true when it comes to tense situations or relationships amongst family members. We need to constantly choose to extend grace, keep the peace and walk in love.
Luke 15:20 revealed to us that the father was constantly looking out for the return of the prodigal son. The son was an adult, so surely there wasn’t a need for that, but there is a reason behind the “looking out” for him and the “running towards” him as he approached the village. According to the book “The Cross And the Prodigal” by Kenneth Bailey, the Jewish cultural practice called “Kezazah” is a ceremony to reject someone by breaking a pot and shouting, “You are rejected from the community for what you have done to your father.” Therefore, the son would have been judged and completely cut off from the community. This explains why the father ran even though it was a shameful thing to do in the Jewish culture to raise his tunic and run. The father ran ahead of the crowd, threw himself on the son and kissed him in full view of the community, showing that he had chosen to forgive him and restore to him everything that belonged to the sonship. This would stop the community from performing the “Kezazah” to shame the son in public. Another view is that the villagers were going to stone the son for his attitude towards the father. Either way, the father took the shame on behalf of his son. Likewise, Jesus was sent to die for us on the cross while we were yet sinners. God chose to shield us and deliver us from the judgement that we deserved.
Sermon Series: Extending Grace
