Thoughts on Joshua 10 & Luke 23

Today’s reading: Joshua 10; Luke 23

Both of our passages today highlight the two major ways we can respond to the works of God: Allowing our hearts to be softened and swayed by them, or hardening our hearts against them.

Joshua 10

In Joshua 10 we learn that the Gibeonites, who deceived Israel into making a covenant with them, were no schleps. This wasn’t a tiny little huddle of villages in a corner somewhere that would have been afraid of anyone coming by, but was a great city, all of whose men were warriors. This furthers what I mentioned yesterday that Gibeon’s response to Yahweh sounds a lot like Rahab’s response to Yahweh, only on a national rather than individual level. Gibeon didn’t hear there was a strong army coming by and cower, they heard about the great works of Yahweh and recognized that there was no way they could stand against such a God, so instead they sought to align themselves with Him. 

While the Gibeonites recognized the works of God and allowed themselves to be swayed by them, the other nations around them took the opposite approach and hardened their hearts against them. Despite having the same information as the Gibeonites, and having heard about the miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the parting of the sea, the stopping of the Jordan, the collapsing of the walls of Jericho, etc., rather than recognizing the works of a mighty God, these kings treated Israel as nothing more than a powerful army, and so they banded together to defeat this common foe. Ironically, it was not the strength of the Israelite army that defeated these kings, but yet another miraculous deliverance as God Himself fought for Israel, throwing great hailstones down upon their enemies.

Luke 23

This same contrast shows up in Luke 23. We have obviously read about a lot of Jesus’ works and miracles so far through the gospel account, but the criminal on the cross makes it abundantly clear that Jesus and His works were well known. From the cross we see him tell the other criminal that Jesus has done nothing wrong. But how would he know that? He wouldn’t have been at Jesus’ trial, he himself was imprisoned and awaiting execution. Jesus’ reputation was such that even a common criminal is not only away of Him, but is well aware that, regardless what they are accusing Him of, He is innocent.

And it’s really ironic who we see responding to the works of Jesus in this chapter. Pontus Pilate over and over again declares Jesus’ innocence and tries to release Him. The criminal on the cross recognizes, not only Jesus’ innocence, but also His divinity, and asks Jesus to remember Him in His kingdom. The Roman soldier sees how Jesus carries Himself and declares Him to be innocent in Luke’s account, and in Matthew’s account even recognizes Him as the son of God! Jesus’ life and works painted such an undeniable picture that a criminal, a Roman governor, and a Roman centurion look at the evidence and recognize the reality of who it is they are dealing with (at least to some extent).

And while the criminal and the antagonistic pagans were seeing and responding to the evidence before them, the Jews were actively suppressing that evidence and calling for Jesus’ death. The same crowds that had watched Jesus give sight to the blind, heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead were gathered outside Pilate’s palace arguing for His crucifixion. It was not that they were unaware of the evidence or hadn’t seen the miracles, it was that they had already made up their minds not to believe and no evidence would ever be allowed to sway them. The more they saw from Jesus, the more they hardened their hearts to the Lord and refused His voice.

Today

What was true in the days of Joshua and was still true in the days of Jesus continues to be true today, as people still respond to the works of God in these two ways. There are people who will not respond to the gospel no matter how well you articulate it, or how good of illustrations you use, or how much apologetic evidence you provide, because every clear indication of the work of God is a chance to harden their already decided hearts. However, that is not to say those things have no value because there are others who will listen and see and allow themselves to be swayed, though it may take time. The centurion was convinced that Jesus was the son of God, but it took time for him to be convinced. The criminal on the cross was insulting Jesus at the beginning, but by the end rebuked the other criminal for his insults and turned in faith to Jesus.

Practically speaking, I think this is an important thing to pay attention to. If you are trying to share the gospel with someone and it becomes clear that they don’t have any doubts or issues, but are simply unwilling to be convinced, then to continue to approach them with arguments or evidence may be doing nothing more than further hardening their heart to the Lord, making it more difficult for them to respond to God’s grace. However, it’s also important to remember that just because someone hardens their heart to the evidence at one point does not mean they will continue to do so forever. Many of the same Jews who were calling for Jesus’ crucifixion before Pilate were responsive to Peter’s preaching on Pentecost and turned to Christ. While no argument or evidence would have swayed them that day, as time passed their defenses dropped and they were willing to consider from Peter what they were unwilling to consider from Jesus.

So while it may not be helpful to continue to try to convince someone who is unwilling to be convinced, keep praying for them and testing the waters from time to time, because they may very well be responsive another time.