Get Guardian on GoogleLuke 23:35: “The people stood looking.” One of the surest proofs of the depravity of the human heart is the fact that people take pleasure in violence, blood and death.
1. We see it in the Roman and Greek arenas, where spectators cheered as people fought and killed each other. We see it in the onlookers who watched Jesus die a horrible death (vv.35-37). We see it in the history of the persecution of believers.
2. We see it in modern society as well, as millions of adults and children find pleasure and entertainment in television and other media that depict human suffering, blood, violence and death.
3. Jesus died to change this attitude and to bring love and care. He wants us to see the impact of sin on human life with eyes of compassion and to hear the groaning of suffering humanity (see Luke 13:16).
4. It is the responsibility of parents to guard themselves and their families against all influences that would desensitise them to human pain and tragedy (see Matt. 18:6).
God’s Wrath On Unrighteousness (Rom 1:18-32)
“Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them,” (Rom 1:32).
“Approve of those who practice them.” Paul’s last word on human sinfulness is God’s condemnation of a condition equally as serious as the practice itself, that is; approving the immoral and perverted practice of others. Many “have pleasure” in sin in the sense of taking pleasure in the immoral actions of others as dramatised in books, cinema, video and TV entertainment. The vicarious enjoyment of lust and evil in entertainment is thus condemned in this verse as well.
• The word “have pleasure” (Gksuneudoke), meaning “agree with,” “consent to” or “sympathise with,” points to the casual enjoyment of the sins of others that prevails in human society.
• Today, we know what great harm is produced by the portrayal of immorality that dominates the entertainment media; yet many approve of it and derive pleasure from it. Being entertained by watching other people sin and engage in ungodly actions, even while you yourself abstain, brings you under the same judgment as those engaging in such evil practices. Sin is intensified in any society, wherever it meets with no inhibition from the disapproval of others.
• Those (and especially those who profess faith in Christ) who use the immoral actions of others for entertainment and enjoyment are directly contributing to public opinion favourable to immorality and, therefore, to the corruption and eternal damnation of an indefinite number of other people. Such sin will be exposed and judged at the day of final judgment (2 Thes 2:12).
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