There were ten major events the night that Jesus died. It is very enlightening to piece the four accounts together for no one record includes all the events. Please take the time in your personal devotions to look up these Scriptures and mediate on what Jeus did for you and me. Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-29).Disciples had an argument (Luke 22:24). Mt. of Olives (Matthew 26:30-35).Predicted denial. Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:31-46; Luke 22:39-46).Prayed on face (26:39) Betrayal & Arrest (Matthew 26:47-56; John 18:1-14).Bound (John 18:12). Jewish Trials (Matthew 26:57-75).First to Annas (John 18:13). Next to Caiphas (John 18:24).Taunted, spit upon, buffeted, slapped (margin: hit with rods) (Matthew 26:67-68). Struck (perhaps in mouth) (John 18:22). Servants join in (Mark 14:65). Kept up all night (Matthew 27:1) (no food or drink since last supper) Convicted of blasphemy (punishable by death) Roman Trials (Matthew 27:1-26).Jews changed charge to revolt (Luke 28:2).Judas tried to stop (Matthew 27:3-10–hypocrisy of Jews, 27:6; John 18:28!). Pilate tried to stop by releasing Barabbas [Matthew 27:16; guilty of insurrection/sedition (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:18), robbery (John 18:40), murder (Mark 15:7)]. Pilate’s wife tried to stop (Matthew 27:19). Denied by Peter (Matthew 26:69-75; looked at him, Luke 22:61). Herod (Luke 23:6-12). Mocked. Pilate (Luke 23:22-23). Washed hands (Matthew 27:24). Scourged (Matthew 27:26; John 19:1).Stripped (It was cold, John 18:18).Beaten. Reclothed (Matthew 27:28). Soldiers at Praetorium (Matthew 27:27-31).Stripped (re-open wounds?), clothed in purple robe, crown of thorns, hit with reed on hiead, spit upon, smote with hands.Pilate presented Him to the people …
Warning: Undefined variable $condition in /srv/users/gospelgazette/apps/gospelgazette/public/wp-content/themes/pro/framework/views/global/_index.php on line 23
In the Shadow of the Cross
Jesus lived a lifetime in the looming shadow of the cross. He was conceived for Calvary, born to die, begotten for burial and reared for the resurrection. He spent three decades on death row. He was aware of the agony that awaited His body and the anguish that would tear His heart. We are largely left in the dark concerning His early years. At what point He knew who He was, we do not know, but it must have been early. Mary pondered the things concerning His remarkable birth and early days in her heart (Luke 2:19) and, without doubt, shared them with Him (cf. Luke 2:40). By the age twelve He was “about his father’s business” (Luke 12:49). He grew up reading the prophecies about Himself. He saw His sacrifice implied (Genesis 4:3-5), prophesied (Genesis 22:8), typified (Exodus 12:5) and personified (Isaiah 53:7). On earth, He was identified by John (John 1:29) and verified by the apostles (Acts 8:30-35). Presently He is glorified in heaven (Revelation 5:12-13). What was it like to grow up in the shadow of the cross? He was not isolated or sheltered from events that depicted His own future. Imagine Jesus As A BoySeeing His First CrucifixionGary Stanley has recreated what might have happened in “An Imaginary Conversation Between a Boy and Centurion Soldier” (edited). The legionnaire leaned against his spear to study the boy standing at the base of the cross. The old soldier had handled hundreds of crucifixions, and this one was no …
Jesus’ Unwilling Helper
Jesus has been sentenced to death. In company with two rough outlaws He makes His way to that skull-shaped hill called Calvary. (This paragraph is roughly based on the imagination of Clarence chapel in Faces About the Cross (c. 1925).) Evidently about the same time this procession was marching from Herod’s palace, a man named Simon started toward the feast at Jerusalem. He must have encountered the large crowd going out of the city, and perhaps even heard someone say, “We’re going to Calvary to execute some prisoners!” His curiosity must have gotten the best of him as he elbowed his way through the crowd till he had a ring-side seat. As he watched, one Prisoner staggered and fell. He must have grimaced as the cross crushed the battered Man into the cobblestone street. At that sight, perhaps, having satisfied his curiosity, he decided to lose himself in the crowd and continue toward the festivities. But it was not to be. Though he did not know it, he had a part to play in the world’s history. The centurion’s eye had already lighted on him as a replacement back on which to put the cross. Having been drafted, he carried the cross the rest of the way to Calvary. Life did not go according to script. As Simon went his carefree way, suddenly his day’s plans were knocked to pieces. He was forced to go the opposite direction from what he had chosen. He was on his way into the city to enjoy the …
He Is My Everything
What is there that could be written about Jesus that has not been written about Him? As we sing, “He is my everything!” When it comes to our atonement, He is our High Priest, our Sacrificial Lamb, and, even the Altar on which sacrifices are made. Jesus, my High Priest, makes intercession to God for me (Heb. 7:25). A priest is one who is duly authorized to minister in sacred things, particularly to offer sacrifices at the altar, and who acts as mediator between men and God (Exod. 28:29) (ISB). More specifically, a priest’s job consisted in offering gifts and sacrifices (Heb. 5:1), making atonement (Lev. 16:1-34), inquiring of God (1 Sam. 23:9-12), leading in the selection and ordaining of religious and civil leaders (Num. 8:11-21; 1 Kings 1:34), blessing the people (Num. 6:22-27), and teaching the law (Neh. 8:1-8). Jesus offered a sacrifice to God, made atonement for sinners, revealed God to men (John 14:7), selected the apostles who still serve as leaders in His church (Eph. 2:20), blessed mankind with an opportunity of salvation (Matt. 11:28-30), and taught men the Law of God (John 6:44-45). There were two priesthoods in the Old Testament: Melchisedec’s and Aaron’s. Jesus is a Priest after the order of Melchisedec because he will never be replaced (Heb. 6:20). Jesus is a compassionate High Priest. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without …
A Dark Night And A Darker Day
Of all the nights in the world’s history, the night they arrested Jesus was the darkest. Treachery, intrigue, betrayal, deceit, hypocrisy, and disappointment followed one on the heels of the other. Think again of the dark night that led up to the afternoon the sun refused to shine. Betrayal and Arrest (Matt. 26:47-56; John 18:1-14) After some private time with His disciples, and prayer time with His Father, Jesus was arrested, probably sometime after midnight (Matt. 26:47-57). Of all the faces about the cross, none is quite so tragic as Judas’. Having heard all Jesus’ sermons, seen as many miracles as any man alive (except maybe the inner circle), having been privy to personal talks with God’s Son, and having carefully watched the life of the world’s only sinless human, he still was able to sell out his Master for the price of a wounded slave (Zech. 11:12)! Remarkable! Better to have never been born than to have betrayed the Son of God into the hands of sinners (Matt. 26:24). Beating and Trials Jewish Trials (Matt. 26:57-75). Following arrest, Jesus was taken first to Annas (John 18:13). He in turn sent Him to Caiphas (18:24), his son-in-law. Between 1 a.m. and daybreak, Jesus endured hours of cross-examination before the political Sanhedrin. He was lied about, threatened, abused, and eventually, condemned. Further, He was kept up all night (Matt. 27:1), deprived of food (nothing since supper), taunted (Luke 22:63), spit upon (Matt. 26:67), buffeted (bruised), slapped (margin, “hit with rods”) (Matt. …
A Trial of Grief And A Trail of Tears, Part 2 of 2
Jesus endured a merciless emotional and physical ordeal as He made His way from Pilate’s courtroom to God’s throne room via a gate marked death. He faced a trial of grief before Pilate and a trail of tears as He was led through the city gates to the place of the skull where worthless men were disposed of. It is interesting to contrast Jesus’ divine strength and perfect character with what He put Himself through for us on His last day. Christ, whose yoke is easy, struggled beneath the weight of the cross. It was customary for the condemned man to carry his own cross to the site of crucifixion outside the city walls. Since the weight of the entire cross was probably well over three hundred pounds, only the cross bar (patibulum) of perhaps one hundred pounds was carried. (The vertical part, called stipes, was kept on site at Golgotha.) Jesus evidently carried His cross for a time, but under its weight, and in His weakened condition, His strength gave out and He fell beneath the load (John 19:17; Luke 23:26). It is interesting that Jesus struggled with that weight. He who made the world (John 1:10) and keeps it together by “the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3) struggled to carry a tiny part of it. He whose curse could wither a live fig tree (Matt. 21:19, withered beneath Calvary’s dead tree. This simply points to His humanity–He set aside His divine strength to die as a man. Consider …
A Trial of Grief And A Trail of Tears, Part 1
More has been written about Jesus’ life than any man who has ever lived. More has been written about His death than His life, yet the material is not exhausted. Writers can find no more appealing story and readers never tire of the theme. He faced a trial of grief before Pilate when justice was executed before He was. Then there was a trail of tears as Jesus was led to Calvary as the women followed weeping over His eminent demise. A fascinating angle to explore is the different functions of Jesus in light of those who interacted with Him on the way to Golgotha. Christ, judge of all men, stood in front of Pilate, a judge. He who will judge all men (Rom. 14:10), knows what if feels like to be judged. The Prosecutor knows what it feels like to be the defendant. Jesus promises to be fair, and merciful (to His own, 2 Tim. 4:8), something that was foreign at His trial. He will say to many imperfect and undeserving children on that day, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21). Though perfect and deserving, He heard no such words. The words He heard went something like this, Illum duci ad crucem placet. We learn this from Barclay, who writes: “The Roman ritual of condemnation and routine of crucifixion were fixed. They did …
Jesus: The Good Shepherd
“. . . We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psa. 100:3). “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand . . .” (Psa. 95:7). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, cares for the sheep individually. “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (John 10:3). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, leads his sheep in the right way. “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:4). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, saves the sheep. “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, gave his life for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: an I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, protects the sheep. “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose won the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, an scattereth the sheep” (John 10:12). Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, unifies the sheep. “And other sheep I …