The Flogging and Humiliation of Jesus​ (Matt 27:26-31)​ ​

by | Mar 17, 2024 | Har Lee John, • Timely Word •

The Flogging and Humiliation of Jesus​

Matt 27:26-31

Scripture records that before Jesus was led to the cross to be crucified, the Roman soldiers brutally scourged him with whips embedded with bits of bones which tore at his bare body and left ribbons of flesh hanging, dripping with blood. Then to humiliate him, they cloaked him in royal purple pressed a crown of thorns onto his scalp and hailed him, “King of the Jews”. They sought to demolish him in body, soul and spirit. Why did Jesus have to endure such undeserving, inhuman torture?​

All of us suffer for different reasons. Just look at all the brokenness and sufferings in this world. Sometimes, it is at the hands of others simply because the world is not a fair place. Sometimes it’s the result of our own wrongdoing or mismanagement. We live in a fallen world. ​

But in Jesus’ case, it was to fulfill God’s Word: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) ​

Jesus could have chosen a painless, triumphant route to save the world. After all, it is only human to want to avoid pain at all costs. But Jesus did not. His suffering was not without anguish, fear and dread. He struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane to obey the Father’s will. The immense price of obedience cannot be minimised just because He is God, as He is also fully human. Jesus’ willingness to suffer for our sake gives meaning to His pain; it also helps me to see how suffering is His gift to us. Here lies the difference between Jesus’ approach and the world’s approach. Jesus embraced every experience of pain and suffering because God, the All Perfect One, saw value in His suffering – the sacrifice of His sinless Son to save all of humanity from its sins. ​

Last year was an unusually “heavy” year for me. I felt like my life suddenly spun out of control. It started with a neck and shoulder pain that developed in intensity and gradually interrupted my routines and sleep cycle completely. It went on for six months. During that time, I underwent multiple sessions of acupuncture treatments that yielded no relief. I finally saw an orthopedic specialist who ordered an ultrasound scan of my cervical spine. They found some degeneration in my cervical spine due to age. This investigation led to an incidental finding of some abnormal growth in my thyroid gland. I had to undergo further investigations and procedures. In between all these episodes I also had a few isolated experiences of crippling chest and back pains that felt like I was having a heart attack. At our December church camp, I also caught Covid. So, the year was not free of “suffering”. If God was not there for me, my focus would all be on my pain. But when I surrendered each episode to Him, and at times cried out to Him, “I can’t take it anymore!”, I sensed His abiding peace. Thank You Lord for the gift of prayer and communion with You.​

“Dear Lord Jesus, during this Lenten period, thank you for being my Savior… for bearing the weight of our sins on your body, the heavy price for our redemption. You understand our human frailties. Your pain-full journey to the cross is hope-inspiring and life-giving. Thank you for making your limitless grace accessible to us. Help us to rely on You for strength when life gets humanly unmanageable and senseless. In Your Precious Name, I pray. Amen”​

By sister Har Lee John​

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Hope and Courage in Lamentation (Lam 3:17-24)

by | Mar 10, 2023 | Har Lee John, • Timely Word •

The book of Lamentations is a book of tears, for it is the lament of prophet Jeremiah over the wickedness of his people and the impending judgement and needless destruction that would come as a consequence of their sin. The only uplifting and encouraging section seems to be in chapter 3:21-24, right in the middle of the book.

What stirs your heart enough to bring tears to your eyes? Is there something in your life or a beloved’s that stirs up grief, or some sin for which you weep?

Last year, as I followed the multi-season TV series “The Chosen” on the life of Jesus, my heart rejoiced that many who watched were convicted to return to the Lord and to the reading of His Word. Yet at the same time, I felt a sense of heaviness and grief over the prevalent spiritual state and increasing evil in the world, particularly in the U.S.A. I started to pray for revival there and continually felt the urge to pray that prayer. The recent news of the ongoing revival in Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky confirmed to me that it was God who had put that burden in my heart.

Jeremiah remained sensitive to sin because he remained sensitive to God. Like Jeremiah, let us commit ourselves to filling our days with godly thoughts and actions. Ask God for the courage to stand for truth and to live it out at all times; even when it can be costly to do so. Pray for God’s truth to triumph over evil. And let us do this in unison with others in the faith.

As God’s people, our lives are not determined by some cold, impersonal fate or destiny. Our  lives are in the hands of the living God who is good, who hears our cries, and acts for His people. Our praises and hopes are motivated by the knowledge of this truth which Jeremiah shared: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they  are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Like him, our hope is not based on chance or wishful thinking, but on the unwavering promises of God.

In this season of Lent, we are once again reminded of the compassion of our Lord. Jesus wept over those upon whom judgment was coming (Luke 19:41-42). Let it comfort us to know that when we weep for the fate of lost people, or our own failures or sins, our Lord Himself joins us in our grief.

“Loving Lord Jesus, thank you for giving up everything for me on the cross. Teach me to grieve. Search the depth of my heart. I receive again the most precious gift in the world: the forgiveness of my sins. I echo with Jeremiah, “The Lord is my portion… therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22–24)

By sister Har Lee John

God Hears Me

by | Jul 30, 2021 | Har Lee John, • Timely Word •

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin… Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Heb 4:15, 16 (NIV)

When we read the gospels, or watch the TV series The Chosen, we cannot help but notice that we have a Saviour who has a strange attraction for the powerless, a strange connection with the undesirable, a strange love for people at the fringe of society. Brennan Manning in his book “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, aptly describes who we are before God. We come to God as ragamuffins – homeless ones with nothing to offer. The Gospel tells us that God’s acceptance of us is not based on our goodness or righteousness. This is the awesomeness of His amazing grace. God is intimately interested in each one of His children. No matter our state or lack, God will never turn His back on His own.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”  Daniel 10:19 (NLT)

It is not uncommon for us to struggle with many different issues or sense lostness, emptiness, helplessness or even unworthiness; now particularly accentuated by current pandemic. We thank God for our government that the situation in Singapore is under good and wise management.  Preparations are on the road map to transit us into a Covid-resilient society. But the pandemic will be around for a while and its long-term impact on us cannot be underestimated.

What has helped me greatly during this period is being able to talk to God about my up and down times. When you talk to someone who is a close friend, someone you feel totally safe with, you do not have to prepare a speech; you do not have to worry about speaking in beautiful prose or neatly arranged thoughts to make sense. You may even be struggling with expressing how you feel; or you may not even feel like talking. Just turning to God and not saying anything is also saying something. Because God knows what is in our heart. The important thing about talking to God is you are turning your thoughts over  to Him, rather than letting your thoughts take you captive.

  • “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:3 (ESV)
  • “But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.” Psalm 66:19 (ESV)
  • “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NLT)
  • “God gives to each of us the power and the obligation to affect the events of our time – if we have the faith to pray and the courage to act. Nehemiah has both.” (Love Singapore 40.day2021, July 8)

Start turning over your fears, anxieties, needs and concerns to our Father God. He holds everything in His hands. Ask Him to show you the step to take, give you the courage to act and the faith to trust Him – to enable you to participate in His plans for this time in history. I have been talking to Him daily and very often in the middle of the night when sleep eludes me. He hears and He has greatly encouraged my heart.

By sister Har Lee John

Reflecting on the pandemic…

by | Apr 19, 2020 | Har Lee John, • Timely Word •

 

COVID-19 was identified in Dec 2019 in Wuhan. WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic on 11 Mar ’20.  On 7 Apr ’20, Singapore government imposed a “stay-home circuit-breaker” order.  Invisible to the naked eye, the menacing virus has been sweeping across the globe, like the angel of death, taking one hundred thousand lives.

This reminds me of the Passover and its commemoration in the OT, a feast kept by the Israelites when they were slaves in bondage to Egypt (and even today). A lamb was slaughtered and its blood painted on the doorframes of their homes so that the Israelites who stayed home were spared when the angel of the Lord passed over the land to strike down the firstborn of the Egyptians (Exodus 11 & 12). It was a contest of powers – between the true God and the gods worshipped by the Egyptians. The Passover points us today to our Lord Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross which we commemorate at Good Friday and every Sunday at Communion.

Many of us have never been through a crisis of this proportion. The COVID-19 pandemic is earth-shaking. For the first time in history perhaps, churches worldwide went online to meet and worship. The pandemic was a wake-up call for all. Life is no longer the same. Christians have to rethink church, mission, ministry, and outreach. As young and old, rich and poor succumb to the virus, non-believers too have to contend with their mortality and contemplate the purpose of life, if perhaps death is not the end. Will this crisis result in more turning in desperation to God? We pray so.

As a pastoral staff, I have an inside glimpse of a church in this tumultuous time that strives to do the responsible thing, by God, by the ruling authorities, and for the sheep, God’s Family. Some things that I give thanks for…

  • Caring and wise pastors and leaders God has placed over YCK Chapel, who have the courage to move and innovate with the times
  • Understanding and supportive members who trusted the leadership and were willing to keep meeting as a church, in small groups and then online, to encourage one another
  • Members rising up to show care to health-care workers and others serving on the front-line
  • Ministries like Youth and Children Ministries willing to take up new challenges, unleashing creativity and using their gifts to serve the church and community
  • Many learning to move from over-using and misusing resources to better stewardship
  • BCS opening up our S3P shelter to more homeless people, and church members continuing to volunteer to share Christ’s love

On the home front, the crisis has enforced and extended family time for all during the circuit breaker. For some, the isolation brings on a greater sense of loneliness and feeling of abandonment. Every situation comes with a lot of adjustments, tension and challenges. This departure from our usual environment brings with it much soul-searching and valuable lessons… It helps us prioritize what or who we really value. Have we sacrificed our loved ones and children on the altar of materialism and personal pursuits? How do we love them? How have we been investing our time and resources? How do we make them count for eternity? What have we taken for granted? How can we become more grateful? How can we contribute to enhancing someone else’s condition? How can we use technology to connect and build up one another? What can you and I thank God for?

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11)

By Har Lee John, Pastoral Staff (YCKC Bulletin 19 April 2020)

WIRED FOR LOVE

by | Aug 18, 2019 | Har Lee John, • Timely Word •

Human beings are made for LOVE. Someone said, “Four vital things that make us human: the need to love; the need to be loved; the need to be accepted; and to be respected as a human being…” I can’t agree more with this statement. Every person has a basic need to be loved and accepted.

Do you know that God’s desire for human beings is that they would know they are loved by Him, that they would love Him in return and that they would love one another? (John 3:16; 13:34)

Jesus tells the Pharisees that the greatest commandments are “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matt 22:37-39)  Jesus, our Master and Saviour lived out these two commandments.

In our pursuit of the need to be loved, however, most of us fail to recognize that we have a parallel need: the need to love and care for others. Many fail to see that we are hard-wired by God for that. The fulfilment of loving others which God builds into our DNA enhances our own happiness. Loving others benefits not just the recipients of our love, but also we who give it.

“The most loving thing we can do for others is love God MORE than we    love them (people). For if we love God most, we will love others best.” (Jon Bloom, desiringGod.org) Love in its truest, purest form only comes from God.

That love is self-giving and rich in mercy. Truly if we love God most, we will love others best.

As a community at YCK Chapel, how can we put into practice the greatest commandments? Here are some suggestions…

─Individually, get our fill of God’s love. If we are not feeling enough of God’s love, ask Him to help us experience more of it today.

─Get out of our comfortable corner. We can’t do life by ourselves, join a small group or be a volunteer. The first step will be hard. But don’t let that stop us.

─Ask God to open our eyes and heart to see life around us. Don’t let life’s opportunities to love and be loved, pass us by.

─Ask for God’s grace to be a blessing to someone every day.

─Set aside each week, time for God, time for yourself and time for others. Be specific. Log it into your calendar.

Today, as young parents step up to dedicate themselves and their children to God, let us see how we as the loving community of God at YCK Chapel can come around them and bless them. How can we help these young families thrive for the Kingdom of God? Become Kingdom families? How can we pray for them? How can we support them? As we mouth the pledge to dedicate ourselves to walk alongside them, ask God to help us to look for opportunities to love them, encourage them and serve them.

“My life is full because I am loved. My life is fuller because I am able to love others.”

By Har Lee John, Pastoral Staff (YCKC Bulletin 18 August 2019)