Part 1: Faith Under Fire
Day 3: Jeremiah in Prison
Jeremiah 37:11-21
In the sermon on the Mount Jesus says the following: [11] “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11 ESV) To suffer for what we have done is not a tragedy, it is justice. But to suffer unjustly is to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Most of us reading this are in a part of the world where we suffer very little comparatively, although we must remember those even in our own proximity that are marginalized or forgotten, their suffering is very real even if it is not the worst our planet has to offer. And even though it is not acute suffering to have people think ill of you for untrue reasons, it is still no fun.
Jeremiah is falsely accused of treason. His treason lands him in prison. Few of us are in prison under false pretenses but most of us know what it is like to be falsely accused. Where Jeremiah’s situation becomes his saving grace is this, while in prison the king finds him, frees him, and feeds him when there is little food for anyone else in the city. Not all the falsely accused experience this, and there will be more suffering for Jeremiah to come.
As for us we know that the ultimate false accusation came to Jesus on the night that he was betrayed. He was seized, tried, beaten, and executed all for things we had done. Jeremiah was shown mercy by the king, Jesus was not given that mercy. Where Jeremiah eats bread and is satisfied, Jesus says from the cross “I thirst.” We may find ourselves in some sort of physical prison for right or wrong reasons on this side of the cross, but because of God’s great mercy, those who cling to Jesus Christ will escape the eternal prison of Hell.
A prayer for prisoners: O God, you forgive when we deserve punishment, and in your wrath you remember mercy: We humbly ask you, of your goodness, to comfort all prisoners [and especially those who are condemned to die]. Give them a right understanding of themselves, and of your promises, that trusting wholly in your mercy, they may not place their confidence anywhere but in you. Relieve the distressed; deliver the innocent; bring the guilty to repentance; and as you alone bring light out of darkness, and good out of evil, grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit they may be set free from the chains of sin, and brought to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jeremiah is falsely accused of treason. His treason lands him in prison. Few of us are in prison under false pretenses but most of us know what it is like to be falsely accused. Where Jeremiah’s situation becomes his saving grace is this, while in prison the king finds him, frees him, and feeds him when there is little food for anyone else in the city. Not all the falsely accused experience this, and there will be more suffering for Jeremiah to come.
As for us we know that the ultimate false accusation came to Jesus on the night that he was betrayed. He was seized, tried, beaten, and executed all for things we had done. Jeremiah was shown mercy by the king, Jesus was not given that mercy. Where Jeremiah eats bread and is satisfied, Jesus says from the cross “I thirst.” We may find ourselves in some sort of physical prison for right or wrong reasons on this side of the cross, but because of God’s great mercy, those who cling to Jesus Christ will escape the eternal prison of Hell.
- Did you and your siblings falsely accuse one another growing up? Where you ever able to make the accusation stick?
- Have you been falsely accused in your adult life? Do you remember the outcome?
- Does Jeremiah’s story help awaken compassion for the falsely accused in our own justice system?
- Do you ever pray for the incarcerated, both the innocent and the guilty?
A prayer for prisoners: O God, you forgive when we deserve punishment, and in your wrath you remember mercy: We humbly ask you, of your goodness, to comfort all prisoners [and especially those who are condemned to die]. Give them a right understanding of themselves, and of your promises, that trusting wholly in your mercy, they may not place their confidence anywhere but in you. Relieve the distressed; deliver the innocent; bring the guilty to repentance; and as you alone bring light out of darkness, and good out of evil, grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit they may be set free from the chains of sin, and brought to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.