Mark 15:1
In Mk 15:1, we read of how the enemies of Jesus bound Him in preparation for sending Him to Pilate...
“Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.”
As we read this, it is easy for our hearts to be filled with sadness, and even with a touch of “righteous indignation” for that crowd that bound Jesus in such a way. And yet, there are few today who are not guilty of binding the hands of Jesus in a “figurative” way! To see what I mean, consider some of the various ways we can be guilty today of “Binding The Hands of Jesus”...
We can bind the hands of Jesus by refusing to obey the Gospel. In His great love for us, Jesus stretched out His hands and died for our sins. Even today, through His gospel, He pleads with all to take advantage of His vicarious suffering. He does not want us to suffer for the guilt of our own sins. In truth, then, His “tender invitation” of Mt 11:28-30 is still being offered today. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."’ But when one refuses to obey the Gospel the hands of Jesus are bound! There is no way such a person can then receive the benefits of Jesus death! For him or her, the death of Jesus was in vain!
Is this true of you? It is...if you have not yet accepted the gospel by obeying the commands of Jesus – Mk 16:15-16 “And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”; Ac 2:38 “And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And if it is, then you will one day have to face the righteous indignation of Jesus Himself! 2 Th 1:7-9 “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”
But even those who obey the gospel can be guilty of “Binding The Hands Of Jesus”. How? One way is by refusing to be transformed. Christ will is that we be transformed. This transformation involves a renewal of the mind - Ro 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”; Ep 4:20-24 “But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” This renewal occurs as we read, study, and meditate upon the Word of God - 1 Pe 1:23-2:3 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”; Ph 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Many Christians neglect the instrument by which we can be renewed. We do not “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” - Ja 1:21b. Allowing other things to take precedence in our lives, we so “bind the hands of Jesus” that we do not change! Are you/we guilty of this? We are, if we neglect to study the Bible on our own! We are, if we fail to take advantage of opportunities to study with others! Neglect the transforming power of the Word of God, and we are just as guilty of “binding the hands of Jesus” as were those who delivered Him to Pilate!
We can also be guilty of “Binding The Hands Of Jesus” by refusing to pray. Jesus has become our “High Priest.” He became man for this very purpose - He 2:17-18 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” He’s made it possible for us to boldly approach the throne of grace in prayer - He 4:14-16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” As our high priest He is able to save those who come to God through Him - He 7:25a “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,” He “ever lives” to make intercession for us - He 7:25b “since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
When we do not pray as we should Jesus cannot be our high priest, our intercessor! Figuratively, we’ve taken the “praying hands” of Jesus and “bound” them behind His back! Are you/we doing this? If so, what a travesty this is! For here is Jesus, who “lives” to intercede for us, but Who can’t, because we prevent Him from doing so by our failure to pray!
There is yet another way to be guilty of “Binding The Hands Of Jesus” by refusing to do our part in the church. The church is described as the “Body of Christ”… - Ep 1:22-23 “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” As His body, we are individually members of one another - 1 Co 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” As members of one another, we are to care for one another - Ep 4:15-16 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” It is through such “mutual edification”, that Christ provides much of His help for the members of His body!
But when we fail to do our share, again Jesus is “Bound”…! Just as our physical head can do little if our bodily members fail to follow its leading, so it is with Jesus and His church! Jesus could do so much more for His members, if only more of the members did their part! Have you ever considered it this way…? That by failing to do our part, we “handicap” the body of Christ? That because of our neglect, or apathy, or lukewarmness either the whole body of Christ suffers or others are forced to do “double duty” in order to make up the difference?
Yes, there are many ways we can be just as guilty of “binding the hands of Jesus” today as were the religious leaders in delivering Jesus to Pilate! But consider just one more... By refusing to share the Gospel with the lost… Jesus has made His disciples to be his “hands and feet” in taking the Gospel to the lost. Consider Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15-16; 1 Pe 2:9. In every case of conversion recorded in Acts, Jesus used a disciple to tell the good news. Jesus works the same way today! But to the degree that we keep the good news to ourselves we have “bound the hands” of Jesus once again! We hinder Jesus from telling others of His wonderful grace! Are we “binding the hands of Jesus” in this way? Every day, countless souls die with no hope of eternal life. This need not be, if more made sharing of the gospel the primary concern in their lives! Sadly, in too many cases the primary concern of Christians is the pursuit of pleasure and acquisition of worldly treasures!
Yes, one does not have to literally “bind the hands of Jesus” to be guilty of the same sort of offense that we read about in Mk 15:1; as we have seen, there are many other ways as well! Why not today, resolve to “loose the hands of Jesus” so that in us and through us He may accomplish His full desire? Which is:
To save us!
To transform us!
To use us!
