John 20:29-31

John 20:29-31  Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

As we conclude our breakfasts at John's table, we take the liberty of paraphrasing his final remarks:  these breakfasts were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  On our in-depth journey through John's account of Christ's life, we approached each scripture asking the same Spirit that quickened John to anoint our minds and to inspire our words with resurrection light and life.  As we wrote, we asked God to use us as his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10 KJV), for we know in the natural, as God told the prophet Isaiah, our thoughts are not his thoughts and our ways are not his ways.  (See Isaiah 55)  Every time we read the breakfasts together, we marvel at the finished products the Holy Spirit brings forth because WE ARE FED, WE ARE NOURISHED BY THE LORD.  Just as many of you have written to tell us that God feeds you through the teaching, our spirits are lifted up as we sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus through the inspiration of the Word.  As the Word seeps into our souls and expands our relationship with Jesus, making us more aware, more alive, more conscious of Christ in us our hope of glory, we better take advantage of our freedom in Christ.  The freedom is ours, the inheritance is ours, the work is finished; but we must walk in the truth and experience our position as members of God's family.  As we teach all of you through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Lord holds us accountable, and we are privileged to walk in the light of the revelations of God as He fulfills his promise: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  (Hebrews 8:10)    

As with many of you, we have faced difficult struggles in our lives.  Particularly with mom's health in the past few years but actually throughout our married life, we have experienced numerous difficulties.  In all these situations, we have kept in mind Peter's words: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  (1 Peter 4:12)  No matter what trial or daunting situation we faced ourselves or in raising our five children, we have persevered and triumphed by faith through the ever-present glorious help and mighty power of the Lord.  His precious word, his true wisdom, his constant comfort, and never-ending  sustenance have seen us through these years.  Mom said recently in our 48 years together, she could not remember a year where there was not some serious setback, but God has been with us through it all.  She loves to speak the Word of faith hidden in her heart, the Word that lifts her up when she is weak and weary in body as she has been these last few years.  When people ask her how she is at church, she answers, "I am strong in the Lord and the power of his might, and nothing else really matters."  That is not a trite religious comeback or a clever response.  That remains her statement of faith, a place upon which to stand, a rock, a foundation--Jesus Christ.  She knows in herself she may be weak, weary, walking by faith, not by sight; but she can do all things through Christ who is strengthening her right then, right that very moment, while she is speaking those words.  She is not holding the Rock Christ Jesus: He is holding her; and Jesus never fails!  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  She can declare: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  (Psalm 37:25 KJV)   

We do not want to boast in our weaknesses, except to declare what Paul professed when he prayed three times and asked God to take away his thorn in the flesh.  God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Paul did not  drawn back in depression and defeat; he did not say that must mean my work is done because I am disabled--let someone else do this difficult job God had asked me to do.  No, he said: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10)  With this same firmness Paul writes in Acts that he served the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations despite persecutions and unfair treatment.  He ignored everything else for the sake of the gospel because of his burning desire: that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.  (See Acts 20:19-24)  The modern-day church seems to have lost some of this vigor for finishing well regardless of our human situation, to persevere for the cause of Christ. 

Dearly beloved, we remind you of the Christ we discovered on this journey.  John brought a consistent message: Jesus is the beginning, the end, and everything in between.  God sent his Son--the Light and the Life--to save the world and to set an example for us to follow: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  (John 1:1-4)  Jesus shared the Father's love and light wherever He went in a dark world.  His words were not understood even when He spoke clearly: For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. . .For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  (John 6:33 & 40)  Yet despite the doubts and fears of his closest followers and the sin and rebellion of a lost creation, Jesus endured the cross to bear the sins of all mankind, offering himself as a spotless Lamb, slain from the foundation of the earth for all who would call upon his name.  We face a new year tomorrow, a new beginning as our modern society looks at reality.  Before we look forward, what a wonderful time to look back at the many views we have of Jesus: his enduring love of the people He came to redeem, his unyielding obedience to the Father He loved, and the glorious hope He offers those who will take up the cross and follow him.  Rejoice dear ones: Christ has done it, we are free!  When people celebrate the New Year, we have greater cause for rejoicing than anyone, for the Good News of the Ages remains the goods news of 2012: And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11, 12)  God bless all of you richly in the New Year in the mighty power of the risen Lord!  We thank God for each of you.  

John 20:18-20

John 20:18-20  Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”  And she told them that he had said these things to her.  On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.  The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”  A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.  Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”  Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 

On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples' first instinct was positive upon hearing Mary tell them, "I have seen the Lord!"  They came together.  However, rather than finding total comfort and peace from her encounter with Jesus, their hearts and minds strayed to temporal realities; they remained inside a locked room for fear of the Jews.  When Jesus came and stood among them, He did what He continues to do until this day, He brought peace to the room, saying, "Peace be with you!"  When Paul describes God's marvelous grace gifts to the church at Ephesus, he tells them we were all dead in our transgressions and sins, but because of his great love for us and sweet mercies, God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  Furthermore, He tore down every wall of separation, making all people, Jew and Gentile alike one in Christ because Jesus 

himself is our peace. . . 

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  (See Ephesians 2:5-18)  Consequently, Christ not only offered his disciples his peace on that momentous day; He offered them hope, power, and authority.  He showed them his hands and his side, the identifying marks of his death.  When they rejoiced, again He blessed them with peace, but He added, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  Already the focus is outward rather than merely inward upon the inhabitants of the closed environment of this locked room formerly full of fear.  In similar fashion, in the midst of explaining grace to the Ephesians, Paul exhorted them: we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  There IS a harvest field. 

Jesus breathed upon his beloved followers, promising, If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.  Oblivious to what his friends, seemingly deaf to their account of Christ's words and actions when He came to them, Thomas who was absent from this event suddenly decides the rest of the group are all unreliable witnesses, liars.  He declares he will not believe unless he personally touches Christ's nail-scared hands and pierced side.  A week later, still behind locked doors, the disciples gather; and Jesus appears, again blessing them with his peace.  He allows Thomas to examine his wounds; then He speaks directly to Thomas' unbelieving heart: Stop doubting and believe.  This exhortation rings through the ages to every believer, every man or woman who draws back or waits in a locked room for concrete evidence of the risen Lord.  If we fail to believe Christ rose from the grave in power and authority over sin and death, we are bound to our old ways, our old habits and inclinations, our doubts and anxieties.  If we believe Christ is alive, in the room, we are loosed by the authority of his shed blood, by the Holy Spirit power of the resurrected One.  His work at the cross and his victory in setting the captives free brings eternal life to us now and forever.  His resurrection provides proof we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; we experience the reality of a "born again" life; we will pass from this life into eternal life with him.  We are sons and daughters of the Most High.  Through Christ and the indwelling Holy Sprit we can stop doubting and believe.  Jesus said, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (John 8:34-36)   

When Paul discusses the resurrection with the Corinthian church, he declares, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  He says outside of Christ rising from the dead, we do not possess a sure testimony or a true hope for the future.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  He went on to say that he faced death every day for the sake of the cross, and that would be foolishness if there were no resurrection.  In fact, he says if he were doing such things for mere human reasons, he would not gain anything.  As he rightly concludes: "If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'"  (See 1 Corinthians15:16 -32)  Just as our only hope for eternal life is through Christ, our only hope for victory in this life is through trusting in Christ's total sufficiency now.  Thomas said he had to touch Jesus to believe.  Jesus allowed Thomas to do just that, and then Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!”  Today, every person has faith choices: doors open to those who believe; doors close for those who do not believe.  When Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame person and asked by what power or name they did such an act, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  He is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:8-12)  Because Christ arose, Peter and John received the Spirit and went forth in Jesus' name.  This Christmas weekend, Jesus sends us forth as his new creation, saying, Peace be with you!  

 

  

John 20:10-17

John 20:10-17  Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.  As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.  They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”  “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”  At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.  “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.”  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).   Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 

The angels and Jesus asked Mary, why are you crying?  Why is your heart so stressed, so burdened, so overwhelmed by Jesus' disappearance.  Of course the angels and Jesus knew why she was crying: her tears represented her heartfelt desperation over the absence of Christ's body.  This deceased Jesus could do nothing for her now, but she loved him; and in Jewish tradition she revered his body, felt concern over someone removing it from the tomb.  As with Joseph and Nicodemus, the account of how people reacted at the empty tomb reveals their love and loyalty to Jesus.  Mary loved him so much she could not bear the thought that his body might be neglected or desecrated by some grave robbers.  Her love was palpable, everlasting, and uncompromising: Christ's death had not changed her love towards him.  But with natural eyes, she did not readily recognize him when she first saw him and He spoke to her: she did not realize that it was Jesus.  She was looking for corpse, a shrouded body, not a living being.  Does our love radiate the same loyalty and unfailing constancy for Jesus or do we love him for what He can do for us and then draw back from him when we think He has failed us or neglected us in some way?

American Christians lead such a secular existence filled with so many material blessings, so many things, we do well to undergo a spiritual inventory.  We do well to search our hearts, asking the Holy Spirit to shine the gospel light on our lives.  Surely we will cry out with the psalmist: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  (Psalm 139:23-24)  So often our love and our passion for God remains situational and fleeting.  When we need something, we come to the Lord or we attend church, seeking the help and fellowship of believers.  When a prayer is answered and God graces our lives with a miracle, we shout joyfully and rejoice in our good fortune often pointing to how much we prayed for this awesome happening.  But during the lean times of pain, sorrow, sickness, and struggle; we sometimes wander afar, casting aside God and those who would stand with us to comfort, help, and sustain us through the valleys.  God seeks a people who will say with Job: Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.  (Job 13:15)  Conditional love tells us to look at what's going on instead of walking by faith and trusting God.  A person of faith does not say: "What can God do for me or my family?"  God's servant says: "What does God want my family to do for him?"  Sometimes people come to the Lord in times of great trouble, such as a war.  Foxhole prayers have saved many a soldier: "Lord, if you get me out of this war alive, I will serve you forever."  Some of those foot soldiers remembered their promises; others forgot the Lord spared their lives and went right on with their worldly pursuits.  Unfortunately, such prayers lead a person to constantly bargaining with God, treating him like a machine rather than Lord of our lives.  Rather than fully surrendering to him, giving ourselves completely and wholeheartedly, we try to make deals, saying, "If you give me this, Lord, then I will give you that."  God is not in the business of making deals.  He seeks sons and daughters to take up the cross and follow Jesus.  

If we love God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our might, we will say, "I love you Lord.  I want to serve you with my life, please only you.  Not my will but yours be done."  That is the love Mary evidenced for Jesus.  Such love stands the test of time.  We all die someday.  The time will come when the Creator of all things and the controller of all time will say, "Next."  Our turn will come as we pass through the throes of death.  Will our love for God say, "Your will, not mine," or will our fleshly self hold on to seeds of bitterness and anger, unforgiveness and criticism because we held onto our selfishness and rage; we kept shame and quilt alive instead of nailing everything to the cross?  When it is our time to fly away on eagle's wings to be with our blessed Lord, we do not want to be encumbered by anything, by any weights from this sinful world.  The godly love overflowing from our hearts should be palpable, everlasting, and uncompromising.  No other love will endure the trials and vicissitudes of life.  Without a doubt, the angels and Jesus knew why Mary was crying.  They knew Mary's strong and enduring love for Jesus; they knew the overwhelming circumstances that morning, but they also knew no thieves had taken away her Lord.  Jesus was not going to abandon Mary that morning.  When He said, “Mary,” the song of heaven broke forth in her spirit.  When she recognized him, she knew the lover of her soul was with her.  Jesus comforted her that morning, but He also spoke words of faith to her that would forever comfort her soul: Go instead to my brothers and tell them, "I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”   Tell them that I am going home to my father and God, and tell them that I am going home to their Father and God, and that someday they will be with me forever.  These words changed Mary and Christ's followers' lives forever.  If we truly believe them today, none of us will ever be the same.  For Christ went to his Father that his Father might be OUR FATHER.  

John 20:1-9

John 20:1-9  Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”  So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb.  He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head.  The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.  Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside.  He saw and believed.  (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Today's verses show that Jesus' closest friends and followers did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.  They lacked spiritual eyes to see what was in front of them, just as they did not comprehend fully the words and works of Jesus when He walked and talked with them, teaching and instructing them in God's truth, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of the promised Messiah.  We have seen this throughout our study of John.  The gospel writers share numerous instances where a lack of faith or actual unbelief in the disciples' hearts kept them from recognizing Christ for who He was.  Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes; afterwards, they picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish; yet when Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him in a boat and a storm rose up, they reacted as fearful children.  When Jesus came walking toward them on the water, first the disciples exhibited terror, thinking he was a ghost; finally, when the winds obeyed his commands, they were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.  (See Mark 6:41-52)  In Matthew's account, Peter is brave enough to say, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”  But after getting out of the boat and taking steps toward Jesus' outstretched hand, when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  (See Matthew 14:22-28)  Even though Jesus clearly said He would rise again, we see his beloved companions astonished that the dead body of Jesus had disappeared from the tomb. 

On several occasions, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  He understood humans could not understand spiritual realities but needed their natural ears opened by the Holy Spirit to his words of life.  The Holy Spirit had not come yet to dwell within them, giving them spiritual discernment of the truth of his message.  As Jesus had said: When the Counselor [the Holy Spirit] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.  They had been in the presence of God's Son, but they still did not understand.  Jesus had to go away to send the Holy Spirit.  He explained, "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."  (John 15:26 &16:7)   After the resurrection, Jesus would reveal himself to many.  When the Holy Spirit brought Christ's words to their remembrance, they would realize a phenomenon beyond their wildest imagination: they would begin to understand the riches of their inheritance and the provisions represented by that empty tomb.  The reality that the Jesus who had walked among them, that the One they saw suffer and die upon the cross, was raised incorruptible by the Spirit of God as Lord and Savior of all would change their lives.  The good news He lived and died and rose again for all mankind would soon become the centerpiece of the gospel message.  Messiah had come to bring God's grace covenant to a fallen creation.  This good news spread across the known world, bringing restoration, healing, hope, and redemption to all who trusted in the shed blood of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

We must realize Jesus' death created temporary turmoil for people who gave up all to follow him.  They had faced ridicule, persecution, and alienation from family and friends for their allegiance to this insignificant Jesus of Nazareth.  Unbelievers viewed him at best as a false prophet, conjuring miracles; at worst as a deceiver, calling himself God.  Truly his chosen ones did not expect their Master to die the shameful death of a criminal, not the Jesus who healed the sick and raised the dead, not the Jesus who showed compassion on outcasts and sinners, not the Jesus they hoped would establish a new kingdom.  Surely He would deliver the people suffering under the powerful Roman Empire and a corrupt religious system.  They had heard Jesus speak of freedom and utter harsh words toward the religious elite: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed."  "

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." 

 (Luke 4:18 & Matthew 23:13)  Where was this Jesus they had chosen to follow? 

However, when they met the risen Lord and received the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they went forth as a mighty army of the Lord, building a foundation of faith for us, often at the cost of their lives.  They carried the cross of Jesus that we might know Christ did not shed his blood for us to spend the majority of our time and resources pleasing ourselves by building our own kingdoms on things that do not last, satisfying our selfish desires.  He came to save lost sheep without a Shepherd, saying, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. . .My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  (John 10:9-11 & 27-28)  Christ's sheep see and believe; they listen and obey; they spread the good news and never die!  

Note:  Sorry the kitchen has been closed so often and open so rarely.  Mom's second eye surgery Nov. 1st resulted in a focussing problem--new glasses this week have made a big difference for her.  We are praising the Lord for notable improvement in her speech and balance--remarkable answers to prayer.  However, worsening health complications with other lupus issues required seeing new specialists, trying new meds, and undergoing tests.  We are still awaiting some of those results and appreciate your prayer support.  We find the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.  We walk by faith and not by sight because faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  We are blessed!  

 

John 19:38-42

John 19:38-42 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Following the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two wealthy and important members of Jewish society, openly and willingly put their reputations on the line by asking for the body of Christ, taking it away, and preparing Christ's earthly remains for burial out of their love for him. Even though society now considered this man they carefully wrapped in strips of fine linen and anointed with fragrant myrrh and aloes as a criminal, they were willing to spend a significant amount of money on this extravagant fabric and these expensive spices to prepare Jesus' body for entombment. This scene reveals clearly their great respect and reverence for a teacher, a friend, and perhaps a Messiah who could no longer instruct or offer comfort and help or do anything for them, except maybe to besmirch their reputations in the community, especially among the Jewish elite. But Joseph and Nicodemus obviously were men of God who realized Jesus had influenced them with his obedience to God, touched them with his words, graced them with his goodness, and changed them forever. They were not going to abandon him to an unclean burial, lacking the traditional ceremony and the loving hands of friends to fulfill the customs of the day. They tenderly prepared his bruised body, lavished his wounded side and his pierced brow with tender care, and laid him in a new tomb in a garden where no one had been buried before. This was their love offering, the best they could give to the memory of the Jesus they loved. No amount of doubt, fear, or concern for self-preservation could have kept them from completing their assignment. They had seen Jesus crucified, and they knew the time for secrecy was past; they had to bury him.

As human beings with our emotional ups and downs and our spiritual highs and lows, we sometimes retreat from Jesus or stumble in our faith walk depending upon how we feel or what happens. We act as if Jesus is dead to us because things are not working out or our problems seem too big for him to handle because He has not answered our prayers as we think they should be answered. Perhaps we or someone we love or care about is too sick, we are too far in debt, we are too burdened down with obsessive compulsions, we are too overwhelmed with implacable family problems, or maybe we have made such a mess out of our lives we can't see a way out no matter what happens. There is no end to the list of difficulties we could name. Joseph and Nicodemus did not retreat when they faced impossible odds. They incurred the cost of burial, knowing Jesus was the fallen leader of a totally lost cause with a ruined reputation whose followers were scattered; and He had no power or resources of any kind to help them anymore. Certainly, they knew no more profound words of wisdom, no more insightful parables, no more loving touches or miraculous healings would emanate from his dead body. Yet wonder of wonders, they loved him, they cherished him, and they would not let his body be buried without their tender touches and careful burial ministrations. They literally put everything on the line for this dead Jesus: money, reputation, status, their lives. They were all in for a Jesus who could not help them anymore. Something about this man Jesus got hold of their hearts, and they said, "We will follow you, Jesus of Nazareth, even in death." They had begun to question, to seek, to want to know what He meant when He said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man [on the cross], then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:28-29)

Who is Jesus today? Is He the answer man, fulfilling all our requests like a giant computer in the sky? Is He the giver of all things good, all we want and all we need, who hands out presents willy nilly as a Holy Santa Claus, checking off our wish lists because we have been so good and we deserve all the things we ask him to send our way? Do we stop to remember that He is the Son of God, the Holy One, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the One we worship and adore whether we feel him in our lives or not, whether we are on a mountaintop or in a valley because He alone is worthy? He alone rescued us from the miry clay and set our feet upon a rock and put a new song in our hearts when we were without hope. Faith steps far beyond human circumstances, and faith always transcends finite powers of human reasoning. By faith we know Jesus is not dead regardless of our inconsistent feelings or fleshly assumptions. Every new creature in Christ cries out to all the world: "Jesus lives because He lives in me! I was blind but now I see!" Jesus is actually the breath behind our voices. John says, The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. Jesus is that light, that breath of life. Whether we recognize him or acknowledge him, Jesus is that light, that breath, that fulfillment of all that we could not do through our own limited abilities or strength.

When Paul spoke of salvation through faith rather than the law, he showed Christ fulfilled the law: “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13) For Christians, as with Joseph and Nicodemus, we bear an everlasting love for our Lord, whether we feel him or not, our love endures, perseveres by faith, even in those times of insecurity or doubt when we wonder whether we will ever again experience the emotional highs or the exultant sense of power and authority we felt in some previous experience. We know by faith in God's Word Jesus is alive and He reigns forever. He lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have victory over all things through him. Joseph and Nicodemus did not even realize Jesus would be alive in three days because if they had, they would not have prepared his body in such a manner. But God did not allow Jesus to suffer corruption in the grave. In truth, the Jesus of death Joseph and Nicodemus prepared for burial was the Jesus of eternal life, THE LAMB OF GOD, THE GRACE GIFT OF GOD WHO ROSE AGAIN IN TRIUMPH. May we receive that gift with grace and thankfulness today, knowing He is near, and He is all we need.

John 19:31-37

John 19:31-37 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

John's simple narrative of the treatment of the bodies on the crosses on the day of Preparation reveals the participants in the crucifixion of Jesus again fulfilling Old Testament scriptures pertaining to the death of the only begotten Son of God. When John the Baptist spoke of him, he knew he was preparing the way for One who was greater than he was, who was coming to do a mighty work for God the Father. John said, "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." When John saw the Spirit come upon Jesus as a dove, he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (See John Chapter One) Now we see the broken body of this same Jesus Christ who walked on Earth among men and women, setting captives free and bringing peace to troubled hearts, offered up as the ultimate and perfect Passover Lamb for the sins of all people. Yet He experiences death without the soldiers breaking his legs just as the scriptures foretold by decreeing that no bone of the Passover lamb should ever be broken: In one house it [the offering] shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. (Exodus 12:46) They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. (Numbers 9:12) As with the Jewish Passover lambs, Jesus offered himself to God unblemished, in every way perfect, holy, and in right standing with his heavenly Father. Pontius Pilate said he found no fault in him. Jesus fully paid the penalty for sin. Upon Christ's death the dividing partition, that huge wall of separation between God and mankind, tumbled to the ground just as the temple veil was rent into two pieces as we gained access into the Holy of Holies through the precious blood of the Lamb. No longer would men and women have to remain outside of God's holy presence because of his righteous wrath upon sin.

Now, because of the blood of the Lamb of God spilt on the cross, all who called upon the name of Jesus and trusted in his saving grace could enter boldly into God's presence and call him Abba Father. The true Passover Lamb made it possible for mere men to be the temple of God, inhabited by God's Spirit. The Lamb of God took away our sins so that we might be the very essence, the impression, of God's presence on Earth. Many gospel songs have captured the heart of this miraculous life-changing event. We should not merely sing "He Arose" on Easter. "Up from the grave He arose"; and because He arose, we rise also from all sin and darkness; and we have victory over sin and death forever and ever. He "arose the Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with his saints to reign." This is the truth of the gospel. Yet so often we are downcast and discouraged. "He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!" Christ's death was not a victory for the world of sin and darkness. He arose, and because He lives, we live forever. Yes, we live challenging lives, full of distractions, stony places, trials, temptations, and even pitfalls along our paths. But we are not supposed to be taken aback by such events because Jesus warned his disciples they would face troubles and promised to send the Holy Spirit to help them, saying, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me." Christ's followers sorrowed in his death; yet they had hope, a promise from Christ for a better day. He had gone on to speak of glorious things to come: The Helper, the Spirit of Truth, who would come from the Father. Jesus told them "He will bear witness of Me, and you will bear witness also." (John 15:18-21 & 26-27)

We have that glorious hope, that blessed hope through the risen Christ and the power of the resident Holy Spirit. As believers we have every reason to rejoice and to give thanks. The Word is full of reminders, rich and overflowing with light and love, water and food for our thirsty and hungry souls. The Bible shows us we are the redeemed in Christ. We must choose to walk in our inheritance, according to the abundance He has provided for each of his co-heirs regardless of our earthly situation. God does not force us to enter into the Promised Land: we always have a faith choice. We can look at the giants or see the land of milk and honey. Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they (children of Israel) did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. . . It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. . .Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:1-2, 6-10, & 14-16) CHRIST IS THE LAMB OF GOD: our Lamb, our sacrifice, our shelter, our rest, all we need right now. We pray each of you enter in that rest by faith today.

John 19:23-30

John 19:23-30 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

As John looks back in time through the anointing of the Holy Spirit to recount his memory of the crucifixion of his Lord, his description of Christ's death takes on a simplicity. From the moment we hear the people cry, "We have no king but Caesar," until we hear the Son of the Living God cry out, "It is finished," we read very few words, no parables, not discourses or long debates, no detailed accounts of the import or the impact of the situation. John shows us the last moments quickly as the soldiers took charge and Jesus, carrying his own cross. . .went to the place of the Skull where they crucified him. As we saw in our last study, Pilate prepared a sign to fasten to the cross, reading: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Now all the characters in the final moments stand at the foot of the cross in a tableau as John describes what they did, how they acted as Jesus drew his last breaths on this earth. Soldiers divide his garments. Three women, all named Mary, stand near the cross. When Jesus sees his mother, He commits her into John's care, showing that even in the midst of the agony of his death, Jesus exemplifies a servant's heart and models lovingkindness for those witnessing his suffering. Later, realizing He has done all He needs to do, Jesus thirsts and receives a sponge soaked with wine vinegar on a stalk from a hyssop plant, fulfilling these Old Testament prophecies: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. (Psalms 22:15 & 69:21) Finally in the most effective use of understatement ever penned, John writes: When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

It is finished! Wonderful words of life, hope, peace, and victory for all who would call upon the name of the Son of God who had just given all for God's beloved sons and daughters that they might find eternal life. Christ's death and his resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit opened wide the door for every man, woman, and child to find eternal life. Jesus said those words trusting in the Father's love and in the fulfillment of scripture as well: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10 KJV) We all memorize scriptures as children in Sunday School or we hear this word preached: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17) But do we realize what these words mean: the power and authority behind the words, the cost to the Godhead. Christ's life, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection fulfilled the plan of God, confirmed Old Testament scriptures regarding the Messiah who would suffer and die to redeem mankind. Jesus' redemptive work on the cross satisfied God's anger and judgment against sin. He paid the penalty of death for all people for all time. Man, originally created in the image of God, would not merely be restored to walking in the garden with God as his created beings. Through the blood of the Lamb, all who received Christ would literally be adopted into God's family as sons and daughters, joint heirs with Christ, partakers of his life and love. With the indwelling Holy Spirit, believers now have a wellspring of living water flowing from our innermost being. As we choose light and love in Christ our old lives are finished and we have new life, new water to quench our thirsty souls and new water overflowing in a dry and thirsty land where others thirst for water that satisfies forever.

Today we know for certain, IT IS FINISHED. We no longer have to display the anger, pain, sorrow without hope, and the viciousness of the flesh that demands an eye for any eye, a tooth for a tooth, and the "I will get even no matter how long it takes" mentality of the world in which we live. We can become as Christ, servants of the world with genuine love and forgiveness in our hearts. Jesus made that possible for each of us by shedding his blood and sending the Spirit of Truth to abide in our hearts, filling us with the fruit of the Spirit that we might show the world we are Christians by our love. As Jesus was dying on a cruel cross between two criminals, He could have done and said so many things. He could have judged the world for its sins and wicked deeds, but He did not. He cried out, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Then when the criminal at his side said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:33 &42-43 KJV) As always, Jesus was doing the work of his Father, listening to the Holy Spirit's voice, loving the unlovely, holding forth mercy and grace, reminding the people God is slow to anger and quick to forgive, full of tender mercies for a fallen people, not willing that any should perish. When we receive God in all his fullness, yielding to his will and not our own, the Spirit leads us into all truth. He shows us the nature of God. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4) This is the perfect will of God; this is his plan, his purpose, his design. We are his workmanship, his beloved, his chosen ones. Rejoice, the battle is over: Christ has won!

John 19:16-22

John 19:16-22 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others — one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

We have seen Christ take the final steps to Golgotha quickly. No jury of his peers debates his fate; no governor ponders long a pardon to free him from an undeserved death on a cross between two criminals. When Jesus tells Pilate he has no power over him except what is given to him from above, Pilate tries to free Jesus. But when Pilate hears the people say, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar," he sits down on his judge's seat and says, "Here is your king." The people do not see a king before them: they shout, "Take him away! Crucify him!" When Pilate asks if he should crucify their king, the chief priests declare, "We have no king but Caesar." Now almost as if he must make a statement contrary to the evidence at hand, Pilate commands that a notice be prepared in three languages that all might know and be fastened to the cross where Jesus will suffer and die, a proclamation he refuses to change even when the chief priests protest yet again. Pilate posts the powerful words: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. How the words must have angered those who cried out against that notice. Pilate may have wanted to ease his conscience a bit or he may have had a sense of wanting to show his authority in the situation by standing firm, saying almost as a prophet, “What I have written, I have written.” Human motivations matter little in eternity except as they line up with the plan and the will of God. What mattered then and remains of eternal significance is that God had the last word. He spoke last as He always does: Behold, my Son; Behold, the Lamb; Behold, THE KING OF THE JEWS! Jesus faced the cross, but He faced it as He was, as the King of kings!

At times believers face trials: difficult circumstances may momentarily dim our focus or draw us away from the Lord or make us wonder why events happen as they do. During the ups and downs of living, we must remember who is in control, where we are heading, and why we are alive. If we read the Bible, countless scriptures tell us life is difficult; regardless, we have a higher purpose than earthly satisfaction and carefree living. We act surprised by trials, but Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Peter wrote to the church: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:12-14) Under house arrest, Paul told the church to rejoice always and not to focus on earthly things. As he said, Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11) If we are totally cast down and despairing over the trials and struggles of daily living, we need to practice the presence of Jesus. In him is fullness of joy, peace, and all we need to overcome.

We do sorrow and grieve, yet we do not despair as do the rest [of the world] who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) We know Jesus overcame when He went to the cross for us. We have a King who paid a tremendous price that we might have eternal life: his name is Jesus. We are reminded of his faithfulness in little and large situations. Over the past months, we have struggled with Mom's illnesses and the added stress of PTSD. This past week, her second cataract surgery went well. She is seeing better than she has in years; working at the computer today without making the letters large. This is a tremendous blessing! But other than Mom learning coping and processing methods, God has not taken away the daily pressures of dealing with PTSD. She still has flashbacks that torment her when she is awake and asleep. God has provided a wonderful Christian counselor, and Mom relies upon the Word and the blessed Holy Spirit (the Wonderful Counselor); but God has allowed this affliction to remain. She often describes this disorder as the feeling of losing her essential self and continually drowning with the water lapping at her chin. She knows she is making progress but often feels as if she is treading water rather than making progress toward a distant shore. BUT ALL OF THE TIME, JESUS IS THERE. The tormenters speak lies, BUT JESUS HAS THE LAST WORD, and He says: "I am with you, Jacqueline. I am above you, below you, beside you, behind you. I cover you, hover over you. You can trust me: I will never leave you or forsake you. You will not perish. You will not drown in the deep waters. I will bear you up on eagle's wings. I am the God who heals you; I am your Healer. I am your Strength, your Song, your Joy, your Peace, your Everything, Enough. Abide in me: I am your Dwelling Place, your Shelter in the time of storm." He is always speaking, but we have to believe that He has the words of life, the final words, for He is the King of kings!

John 19:13-16

John 19:13-16 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Throughout the proceedings leading up to Christ's death, Pilate's actions and words provide a picture of a powerful man in conflict with a people he rules and a man he little understands. From his initial contact, Pilate does not want to involve himself in the matter. When he asks about the charges against Jesus, he tells the Jews, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” When Pilate does question Jesus, they engage in a philosophical discussion on truth with Pilate allowing Jesus freedom to speak of his kingdom and the reason for his birth. Finally he tells the people, “I find no basis for a charge against him [Jesus]," and Pilate says perhaps half seriously and half mockingly to irritate the religious leaders, Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” (See John 18:34, 38 & 39) Nonetheless, whatever his reasons, representing Jesus as their king would have enraged this angry crowd. The Jewish elite and those who followed them forcefully responded, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” They were not going to accept Jesus even in derision as king, for Jesus and his teachings were an anathema to the Jewish leaders who sought his death. Even on the day of Preparation of Passover Week, they felt so threatened by Jesus, their hearts were full of rage. They would not believe God sent Jesus to usher in the long awaited new covenant: “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

If Jesus came from God as He said, the Jewish leaders knew their preferred place, their role in the religious activities and culture, would change dramatically or possibly disappear. Jesus spoke of a kingdom established in the hearts of men, a kingdom of righteousness through faith and service to God. His kingdom necessitated a born-again experience: new wine in new bottles. If the old life with its intrinsically important and meaningful Jewish rituals passed away and Jesus established a new order or a new kingdom, where would that leave the Levitical priesthood and the present leadership of the Jewish people? If new life came through a personal spiritual experience and this experience led to a new form of worship, what about the old ways of worshipping God? If a new covenant truly came forth from this man Jesus to replace the old ways and He was the promised Messiah, then scripture would be fulfilled: God's words would no longer merely exist on tablets of stone and holy scrolls but would be found in the hearts of men. Flesh and blood would be cleansed and made holy by the shed blood of the Lamb of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Men and women would be the new temple, God's dwelling place. When Solomon built the Temple, the glory of the LORD filled the temple; and God said, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. He also warned them of his wrath if they disobeyed him how the people would speak of the disaster He would bring upon them. (See 2 Chronicles chapter 7) Knowing the wickedness of their own hearts that they kept the law outwardly while inwardly they were far from God, the Jewish elite could not allow this man Jesus to exist. If He was the promised One, He would turn their world of preference upside down. They were not ready to trade their decorated robes for the robes of humble servants. They enjoyed sitting at the head table and receiving homage and the praise of men. They would not consider a kingdom built upon humility, contriteness, kindness, forgiveness, and love. This, the Jewish leaders could not accept. They cried: Take him away! Crucify him! In reality, they said, "We have no king but OURSELVES. We serve ourselves."

At times we are guilty of making Jesus into our own image. We ask him to construct our lives as we want them, not to change them and make them according to his perfect will. Is He the Jesus we see in the manger scenes with light brown hair and blue eyes, the Jesus we want to fix all our problems and to take away all our weaknesses? Have you ever thought of how many people right now are asking Jesus for something or telling him what He needs to do, like little chicks begging their mother to drop the worm from her beak? Is this our religious life, our worship, our sacrifice of praise to him? Are we really praying: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13) Do we really want God's will to be done in our lives if He turns our world upside down? The Jewish leaders did not want Jesus in their lives because they knew Jesus intended to turn their lives 180 degrees. They did not want this commitment, this loss of control. They had good reason to fear what He might do because they had a lot to lose; yet they had so much to gain. They were not ready to lose their position of prestige and preference, control over their personal lives. Are we ready? When things do not work right in our lives, when our prayers for security and well-being hit a blank wall, are we ready to yield control and to allow God to change our lives drastically? When hard times come do we stop seeking God's presence, reading the Word, praying, worshipping, gathering together. Do we begin to ostracize Jesus from our personal lives. Are we saying in our hearts: Take him away! If so, we are saying, “We have no king but Caesar." Jesus does not turn away from you. He is waiting and watching, loving you just the same, all of the time. Reach out to him today. God loves you with an everlasting love. His mercies are new every morning, fresh TODAY!

John 19:7-12

John 19:7-12 The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

The account of Christ's crucifixion reveals the essence of God's unfathomable love for his fallen creation: God's hands of mercy allow wicked men to bind Jesus; take him before Pilate; choose him for death over Barabbas; humiliate, scorn, and beat him. God's hands led Jesus to the slaughter to make a way where there was no way for mankind's redemption at greater cost to the godhead than we can comprehend. Neither the Jews nor the Romans killed Jesus. The ineffectiveness of Christ's earthly mission did not result in his demise. Father God gave his Son to save sinners. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9) Jesus in total obedience to his Father made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he (Jesus) humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:7-8) Our human understanding of love falls short: we do not understand God's love. We do not hold long in our hearts what know to be true: God is light. God is love. (1 John 1:5 & 4:8) Because of his great love for us, while we were lovers of the darkness and haters of his love, He was loving us and planning to send the Light of Heaven into this dark world. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10) God did not love us for what we were doing or what we could do: He loved us because He made us in his image and said it was very good! He longed not only to restore fellowship with his creation, but to adopt us into his family as his beloved children. We know the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:5-6 KJV) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1) This is grace love, God's love.

Through the eons of time, Father God held redemption close to his heart. The promised Messiah spoken of in numerous Old Testament prophesies stood willing as the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13: 8) to go when the Father set his grace plan in motion. For example, Psalm 22 begins by foreshadowing Christ's agony on the cross and ends with his victory over sin for all people: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him — those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn — for he has done it. (Verses 1 &28-31) Likewise we see a clear foreshadowing of Christ's atonement when Isaiah sees the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Knowing he is unclean, Isaiah says, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” A seraph touches his lips with a live coal from the altar, saying, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then Isaiah says in faith: I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (See Isaiah 6:1-8) We see a loving God continually seeking lost sheep, needing a Shepherd: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day." (Ezekiel 34:11-12)

Outside of God's mercy, mankind stands guilty for Christ's death, for we all have sinned, gone our own way, set upon doing our own will. Pilate, a powerful Roman ruler with soldiers to command, thought he reigned over the affairs of men on that day. The ultimate power did not lie in his hands: Pilate could not restrain treacherous mankind. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." God's will encompassed the circumstances involving Pilate and everyone else. Yes, specific people and groups stood guilty of creating or taking part in situations and choices leading to Christ's death. They represent the players on the stage of life: Pilate, religious leaders, scribes, teachers of the Law, sarcastic soldiers, even the onlookers; but all of these persons were instruments in the hands of the God of the universe who ultimately controlled each scene, the entire tableau. He knew how they would choose and used their choices for his divine purposes. God's eternal will was done that day. For the joy that was set before him of seeing creation restored to fellowship with the Father, Jesus endured the cross because of God's great love for us. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, willingly bore the weight of our sin and shame that we might walk uprightly as sons and daughters of the Most High God. Now He is set down at the right hand of the throne of God, making intercession for us, perfecting us through the power of the Holy Spirit. (See Hebrews 12) Had God desired to stop the events of that day, He could have stayed the execution of his precious Son. He could have stretched forth his hand and said: Enough! But the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5) allowed his lovely Son to go to his death on the cross because the story had a power ending. Up from the grave Christ arose! He arose in victory because God is Light and Love! Salvation remains his eternal grace gift. Walk in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit today, standing tall and strong through faith in him. Let his strength be your strength; let his love be your love. He is Lord of All; let him be Lord of YOU!

John 19:1-6

John 19:1-6 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

The day Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged represented an ignominious day for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Thinking they would mock Jesus because He called himself King of the Jews, the pagan Roman soldiers dressed the Son of God in a purple robe, the robe or garment of a royal personage, one deserving special homage and worthy of praise. They formed a crown for his head by twisting painful thorns into a rustic diadem to press upon his tender brow. Perhaps they thought parading Jesus before the Jewish people attired as a king in derision of the Israelite faith and calling out again and again, Hail, king of the Jews would reinforce upon the Jews the power of the Roman Empire. Maybe they wanted to remind these people crying out for blood that only Caesar held the power of life and death in the world as they knew it. Only he possessed principality authority in their land, never a Jew, not ever a Jew. How the religious leaders and Pharisees must have chafed against this irreligious behavior and show of power, but they would not have been able to speak out against the soldiers' behavior or anything else the Romans decided to do. But they could appeal to Pilate to fulfill their cruel plan: As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him [Jesus], they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!"

Pilate introduced Jesus as THE MAN. But Jesus was not the man, He was THE SON OF GOD, the KING OF KINGS. Looking at this scene, we see the chief priests and officials stung by the Romans' cavalier and demeaning reactions. We hear them cry out for Christ's death, totally ignoring Pilate's assessment: I find no basis for a charge against him [Jesus]. To these religious leaders entrusted with caring for God's chosen people, Jesus represented a threat to their position. His words, teachings, and miracles undermined their respect and authority in the Jewish community. Perhaps they instinctively knew and rightfully feared the complete implementation of a new covenant meant the end to the priesthood as they knew it. Their vocation and purpose for living would no longer have meaning or set them apart from others in the community if people believing in Christ completely undermined their position. Men might no longer try to win their favor or come to the temple to serve God if the kingdom of God could be found within people as Jesus was saying. Religious symbols and activities might be put aside if these things were a shadow of what was to come, and Jesus was the fulfillment of that shadow. If men and women could enter the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus, then what would happen to the whole established religious order represented by the many laws and ordinances the teachers of the law studied and explained to the people daily in the temple courts? What about this salvation plan and the Counselor Jesus said He was going to send after He went away? Far too many unanswered questions and too many uncertainties existed for those who had been in power so long to lay down their power at the feet of Jesus and to surrender to him. In fear of what they did not understand or comprehend, they said, Crucify! Crucify!

When Pilate asks him if He is the king of the Jews, Jesus says, Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me? Jesus goes on to say, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. Without argument, Pilate quickly concedes, You are a king, then! Jesus follows with further heresy according to Jewish Law: You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. But Pilate does not truly believe Jesus is a king or he would not have had him beaten; he would not have said, Here is the man! You take him and crucify him. No, Jesus was not the man: not a man that any mere human soldier or any Roman ruler possessed the power to mock or to curse or to pass judgment upon him without falling down dead unless God stayed his mighty hand of retribution. Jesus, the Word made flesh, was and is and always shall be God: the God who walked on Earth in human form: born of a woman; tested in all ways as we are, yet without sin. He was willing to die a most cruel death that all might live forevermore. Standing before the people a true king, the Most High King of all kings, Jesus defends not himself but places himself in God's hands and faces his destiny.

To the ungodly, the unknowing, this scene might appear as the nadir, the midnight hour, of Jesus' existence as they watch his demise draw nigh. But in the heavenly realm, on that day a mighty host prepares for a day of rejoicing as Father God sees the zenith of his greatest victory soon to appear in the sunrise of an empty tomb. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus the Christ will rise victoriously from the grave, bringing light and life to the people who sit in darkness in triumph over sin and death. Satan will topple in defeat, his grip on man forever loosened. Christ is ready. The time has come for the perfect Lamb of God to offer up his own life as a sacrifice for all. Jesus knows He will arise from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through his death and resurrection all people will find new life. Mankind will shout the victory throughout the ages: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55) No, Jesus is not the man: He is God's beloved Son who will die and rise again. The works He did on Earth no man could do: the work He will do at the cross no man could ever do. That was established before time began. He lives; therefore, we live also: now and forever. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15) Praise the God of our salvation: praise him all you saints of the Lord!