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!

John 18:33-40

John 18:33-40 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “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.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “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.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

What is truth? Using the Large Hadron Collider, researchers at the CERN nuclear research center in Switzerland recently discovered a sub-atomic particle that travels faster than light. Some say this "truth" negates many of our ideas about the physical world, placing in question Einstein's theory of relativity and well-established ideas about quantum physics and reality itself. Of course all of this is out of our league, yet it does remind us "truth" provides a slippery topic when it comes to human standards of interpretation. Even the finest minds with the keenest understanding of the substance of what we think of as the essence of all living things cannot agree upon this subject. Jesus says, I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Faced with one so honest and true, Pilate asks, What is truth? Then he rightly tells the Jews, based on the truth before me, I find no basis for a charge against him. The Christ who stands before Pilate definitely speaks of the "truth" of existence itself. Jesus knows his teaching, his miracles, his presence alone in the midst of people manifested his divine nature, his supernatural calling, and God's anointing upon his life to everyone He met, to everyone He touched and to all who touched him. This same Jesus who is now a captive was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:10-11)

Jesus explains to Pilate how his kingdom differs from the nature of the world Pilate sees around him. In Christ's kingdom, THE KING OF KINGS reigns: the giver of all life dwells forever. The Bible says, In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:4-5) This Truth never dies, never passes away. Yes, Jesus is life, He is existence: his kingdom lasts forever. He alone stands in purity. Here is the One spoken of in the Psalms and again in the New Testament: Jesus, the One who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. (Psalm 32:2, 1 Peter 2:22) Christ alone will wear the royal robe of God's holy righteousness. Jesus Christ, sent from the Father in his likeness with the light and life of his nature in human form, brought salvation into being as God planned since the beginning of creation. Standing before mere men who dare to judge him, Jesus knows just as He created all things, He will create new life in every new child of God who accepts God's salvation plan. He not only controls the three dimensions of our earthly reality, He controls all the dimensions of every reality. He who spoke the sub-atomic particles into existence will speak life eternal into every person who answers his call. Jesus reveals perfect truth to Pilate: "All who listen to me will align themselves on the side of truth, on the side of absolute reality, on the side of incontrovertible facts that none can deny. They will know I AM LIGHT AND LIFE and without me nothing exists; for everything is my handiwork. Because I live, they will live also." Recognizing he is in the presence of someone far greater than himself, Pilate simply says, Do you want me to release "the king of the Jews"? Blind and deaf, the people cry, No, not him! Give us Barabbas!

Jesus exposes Pilate to the Truth. 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. Christ's kingdom remains in another place. The scientists of our world perform experiments to find another dimension where perhaps unheard of insights into human existence will unfold before the eyes of mankind. Maybe these scientists will come close to knocking on the door of heaven with their explorations into the inner workings of sub-atomic forces. What we do know for certain is Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Matthew 17:20-21) Therefore, we who are IN CHRIST have his kingdom within us. We sit in the heavenly realm as new creatures in Christ Jesus awaiting the fullness of our inheritance. How all this works out in the world of physics and dimensions, we do not know; but we know the blood of Christ frees us from bondage to sin and faith sustains us now with real joy, carrying us victoriously to where God exists to live with him for all eternity. We know who we are as believers IN CHRIST, adopted into the family of God, hidden with Christ in God, kept strong and made holy through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we have confidence God hears our prayers, sees our tears, and knows exactly how to meet our needs. We know Jesus never leaves us or forsake us because He is faithful and true to remain with us every moment of our lives. When He sent his apostles to make disciples of all nations, He promised, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (See Matthew 28:19-20) Surely, we rejoice with great joy even when we face trials, troubles, sorrows or sicknesses because this world is not our final destination. Our loving heavenly Father has not and will not abandon his beloved Son and his joint-heirs: the church. Daily the Spirit reminds us, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10) As his prized workmanship, we work for him until he calls us home, knowing God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. . .by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-4 & 6 NKJV) So whether we are weary or full of energy, confused or sure of our next steps, we have confidence in Christ our Lord today--his Word is true! The same Jesus who stood confident in the Truth before Pilate stands before YOU today. We want each of you to know, as surely as a sub-atomic particle goes faster than light, your position IN CHRIST and in eternity is more real than that earthy reality, for Jesus is the light, the life! He is THE KING, YOUR KING: King of kings and Lord of lords, forever and ever. Amen! Bow down before him; arise and shine for his light is the Light of the World!

John 18:28-32

John 18:28-32 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law. “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

Jesus continues his journey through the valley of suffering, knowing his pathway ends in death. We see him now in the hands of sinful men. God's glorious pronouncement on the Mount of Transfiguration no longer resounds in the people's ears: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5) A thirst for execution replaces the exaltations from the mouths of the crowd who spread their cloaks before Jesus when He entered Jerusalem triumphantly with people shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mark 11:9) Instead of blessing Christ as they did such as short time ago because they believed He would reestablish the kingdom of their father David and restore power to God's chosen ones, the people now bring him before Pilate as a criminal to face the judgment of death at the hands of this Roman ruler. They cannot exact such a punishment under their own Jewish law. Soon the sound waves will carry a harsh noise across the land as the people of God gathered before Pilate all call out repeatedly, Crucify him! Kill him, strike him down, even though you find no fault in him. (See Mark 27) Jesus the perfect Son of God will go to the cross as an innocent lamb, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) In silent fortitude and total obedience, Jesus will travel to hang on a cruel cross on Golgotha to do the will of the Father. He will fulfill the plan formed in the heart of God from the beginning of time to save sinners and to bring them into fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Who brought Jesus to be judged, to be killed? The religious elite decided Jesus deserved death. The outwardly pious, self-satisfied rulers from the temple courts brought Jesus to Pilate that He might be crucified. They hated Jesus and his teaching because He represented a threat to their standing in the community, their authority as the head of the Jewish religion and their place in the established culture. His presence brought light into the world directly from God, light that exposed the darkness in their souls and the lack of true spirituality in their motivations and dealings. Jesus was harsh in his judgments of these leaders throughout his ministry. He warned his disciples: Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1) Once when Jesus was speaking to the crowds, He told them to obey the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees but not to follow their example because they did not practice what they preached. Jesus expressed displeasure with these leaders because God gave them holy responsibilities; yet they settled for less: You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. (Matthew Chapters 22 and 23) He rightly discerned they loved the praises of men more than the praises of God. On this awful night in the hands of evil men, Jesus could have condemned every person in his presence to death. Instead Jesus foresaw a new and better way to eviscerate sin's death grip on God's creation: the cross beckoned him onward. God chose Jesus, his perfect grace gift to mankind. Love so amazing, so freely given to all who believe!

With his divinity set aside, Jesus knew his journey to the cross would fulfill many Old Testament prophecies including these precious words: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him [Christ Jesus] the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Knowing those He died to save would reject him, knowing his closest companions would not understand what He was doing until the Holy Spirit enlightened their hearts and minds, Christ died for the ungodly. A loving and merciful God manifested His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6 & 8) While we were yet rejecting him and turning from him, God placed the sins of all people on Jesus, for all creation was birthed with an inclination to do wrong, to follow the paths we choose, and to think we do not have to give an account to anyone including God. Nonetheless, Jesus allows the soldiers to take him away to stand before Pilate where He purposes to endure the cross that his death, burial, and resurrection might turn the world upside down. No longer will sin and death hold mankind captive to the grave as the just punishment for sin.

We know Christ's perfect sacrifice brings mercy and grace. Jesus, Light of the world, shines HIS LIGHT and LIFE upon all who call upon his name through the power of his cleansing blood, bringing new life to a fallen creation without hope of restoration. Pilate's meeting with the Jews on this early morning was not the beginning of eternal darkness. No, never: this day was the dawning of a new day of light and life forevermore! God's light always exposes the foolish inclinations of wayward human beings. His light reveals a critical spirit, a judgmental mindset, a pharisaical attitude, a gossipy approach to communicating--all cloaked in the guise of religion. Christ's presence exposes our lack of loving kindness and tender mercies toward our brothers and sisters in Christ and to those less fortunate or to those who have stumbled in the darkness and lost their way. Jesus said, Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. He went on to explain that we try to take specks of sawdust out of the eyes of our brothers and sisters when we have huge planks in our own eyes. (See Matthew 7:1-5) Paul gives a long list of instructions to the church at Ephesus about how to walk in Christ, how to grow up in the faith. He says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8) Jesus stood there in the morning ready to take a difficult walk that we who were once darkness might walk as children of light! Let's be light!

John 18:12-18

John 18:12-18 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

John 18:25-27 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

The story of Peter's failure to associate himself with Jesus when threatened by the crowd and his repeated refusal to acknowledge his close relationship with Christ offers a quintessential example of God's unending grace towards humankind. Peter's abysmal fall from grace encourages and helps all of the rest of us when we are weak. We can know God's mercy extends to us even when we face our worst moment of weakness and stand before him without any merit of our own or any right to ask him to accept us or to grant us favor ever again. When our own fears of what is happening around us cause us to cringe in a dark corner and the weaknesses of the flesh blind our eyes or overwhelm our faith and fidelity to Jesus, we can think of Peter denying his precious Lord, saying, "I am not one of his disciples." We can look at a bold man of faith brought to total weakness and the end of himself. We can see Peter with nothing left to hold onto and no power of his own to help him rise to the occasion to speak the words He should have said. When Jesus was with him and asked him who he thought Jesus was, he boldly and rightly replied, Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus called Peter a rock, and his confession of faith was building material for the church of the living God. Yet with Jesus facing imprisonment and death, and Peter standing outside the High Priest's courtyard unsure of what might happen, Peter had no sure answer, no hope, no voice. Nonetheless, we see God's unmerited grace covering Peter at his moment of weakness and poured out upon all who would answer God's call all the way to the cross and to the end of the age.

From the Old Testament to the New, we see a God who is slow to anger and quick to forgive, who is full of mercy and grace, who does not reward us according to what we deserve but according to his loving kindness, extending from everlasting to everlasting. We see this amazing grace manifested toward Abraham when out of fear for his life he gave his wife away, first to Pharaoh and then to Abimelech. Yet God remains faithful to Abraham and blesses him greatly, making him the father of many nations in spite of his fleshly failings, human faults, and inclinations to trust in his own solutions and devices. David was a man after God's own heart; yet many times he erred greatly and displeased God, making huge mistakes, judgment errors that caused great harm to people he loved. God brought him to task for these sins but also showed mercy upon him. Not fully understanding what was happening at the time of Christ's arrest, Peter must have felt great sorrow and shame when he failed so miserably in this time of testing. He might have been thinking of the Patriarchs or the Psalms, crying out, O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you. (Psalm 41:4) Earlier that night, Peter alone was willing to defend Jesus by using a sword. As a member of the intimate three Jesus kept close to him, Peter was privileged to see the transfiguration. He was present when God said, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Mark 9:7) With James and John he witnessed Jesus raise Jairus' daughter from the dead. Jesus assigned these same three men the wonderful yet heady responsibility of praying for him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Although they failed Jesus by falling asleep, Peter was always one of Christ's most trusted and closest friends. With such a special relationship, Peter and everyone else surely assumed nothing could have made him deny Christ. But he did. Human beings often fall down when we rely upon ourselves. WE FAIL WHEN WE TRUST IN OUR OWN STRENGTH, BUT GOD HAD A PLAN FOR PETER AND FOR ALL WHO WOULD CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

Seeing Jesus led away, Peter momentarily lost his ability to stand tall. He doubted whether God was in control of the circumstances and feared the evil maelstrom of events might catch him if he confessed Jesus as Lord. Fear trumped his relationship with Jesus. Fear without a vibrant faith and confidence in God's presence and power does that. Problems and troubles on every side can blind us to what we know to be true if we take our eyes off Jesus or we think He has gone away. When we lose a job or relationships fail or disasters come upon us are we willing say, "Yes, I am one of his disciples." Or do we react as Peter and huddle close to the fire away from everyone else, trying to pretend God does not exist or that He has no place in our lives? Yet soon after that night, the same Peter who denied Christ went to the upper room on the Day of Pentecost to wait as Jesus said, for the gift my Father promised. He was not drawing back depressed over failing his Lord; he was waiting to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit came in power and authority, this same Peter preached with such divine unction and anointing about three thousand were added to their number that day. (See Acts chapters 1-2) In hard times believers do not draw back: we press in; we press on by faith. We declare the truth with the saints of all the ages: Our God lives! We say with Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. (Job 19:25) We say with Paul: If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:31 & 35)

Faced with troubles, as God's faithful servants: we read our Bibles, attend church, pray fervently for others (more than for ourselves), and help wherever God sends us. When floods of adversity strike, we remain steadfast because Peter's story reminds us God remains faithful and true. He redeemed us, saved us, lifted us from the miry clay according to his immeasurable and glorious grace. He does not turn from us, for He intends to fulfill in us his perfect unchangeable will: perfecting the work He has started in us. As dear children, we do not fear the courtyard, for He who is in us is greater than the one (or anything or anyone) who is in the world. We overcome through the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:1-4) Rejoice dearly beloved and be exceedingly glad! You have a reason to shout praises to the Lord. You have a reason to live. Yes, this life is hard, and it often becomes harder. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28)

John 18:8-11

John 18:8-11 “I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Jesus knew Peter willingly risked his life as he bravely drew his sword against unbeatable odds; yet He also knew the act was not the perfect will of the Holy Father. Therefore, Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Billy Graham at age of 93 said, "The Bible says that God has a reason for keeping us here; if He didn't, He would take us to Heaven far sooner." The question remains: Can each of us drink the cup God gives us? Do we willingly accept God's plans or do we react as Peter when Jesus foretold a traumatic end to his life? During the third time Christ appeared to his disciples after He arose from the dead, He asks Peter repeatedly: Do you love me? When Peter says he does, Jesus tells him to feed and care for his sheep. Peter was hurt because Jesus kept questioning him and says, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Ignoring Peter's hurt feelings, Jesus does not defend his questioning but simply says, Feed my sheep. Then He adds the heart of his message to Peter that day: I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Understanding these words, Peter knows instantly Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which [he] would glorify God. The same Peter who moments earlier vehemently professed his undying love for Jesus now begins to count the cost, to question this calling. Seeing another disciple, Peter justifiably asks, What about him? But Jesus does not let Peter examine anyone else's life that day. He says don't look around you Peter; look at ME. If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to YOU? You must follow ME. Keep your eyes on me, your focus on me. Don't worry about John's life; you must drink the cup fully that God has prepared for you and you alone. (See John 21:15-23) Jesus knew that every one of his followers would have to choose to drink the cup.

Do we question God's plans by pointing to someone else, asking, Lord, what about him? What about John, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper? Is he going to experience pain in his later years? Is he going to be led to a place where he does not want to go? Will he walk up a lonely hill to hang upon a cross upside down as tradition tells us the Spirit-led Peter chose to do when he faced death because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as his precious Lord? One day James and John approached Jesus boldly requesting, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Without hesitation, Jesus asked what they wanted. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. Jesus knew they did not have spiritual eyes to look ahead. They lacked complete comprehension of taking up the cross and following him, of dying to themselves and rising in newness of life with him. He says: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” James and John said they could embrace the call of Christ on their lives. They looked forward by faith to a better day, a new and living way with Christ as their head and the Spirit within them. They may not have understood his words fully, but they would persevere and trust the One who said, Follow me. Later James surrendered his life as the first martyr. John lived into his nineties, longer than all the disciples, but he watched all those he loved face persecution and death. Banished to the penal island of Patmos, he wrote amazing letters of love; and while in the Spirit on the Lord's day, God gave him visions that touch, change, and enrich believers' lives to this day. Jesus lost none of those the Father gave him except Judas, as through the same power that raised Christ from the dead, they said, "Yes, Lord we will drink the cup you drink, follow you where you lead for the glory of the living God!"

When they came to arrest Jesus, Peter tried to do good by defending him from these malefactors. He would have died that day to protect his Lord, but his efforts ran counter to God's perfect will. Although Peter did not intend to circumvent the will of God by cutting off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant, Peter erred. Jesus rebuked him before healing the servant's ear to correct this mistake. How many times do we try to do what is best for us without stopping to seek the perfect will of God? How often do we make decisions on where to go, what to buy, how to live, what to say, and so on based on our human desires and inclinations, our own intellect and wisdom rather than taking time to seek the will of God. Oftentimes, we pridefully convince ourselves we do not need to seek God's will. Surely it is a good thing to be healthy and prosperous with strong relationships and a happy life with no problems. But when things begin to deteriorate or trials and tribulations come along, our human tendency is to try through natural means and fleshly efforts to fix things ourselves and to lean heavily upon logical answers that make sense to us without seeking counsel from the Holy Spirit--the Great Counselor who has all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. This usually leads to more complications and a cascade of increasingly more complicated and difficult situations until finally in desperation we fall before the Lord, crying out with the psalmist: O Lord, don't hold back your tender mercies from me! My only hope is in your faithfulness. Otherwise I perish, for problems far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. (Psalms 40:11-12a LB) Thankfully, God is slow to anger and quick to forgive.

Is everything bad or evil that happens to us God's plan or will? No, but He is in control; He knows everything: the beginning and the ending. We can trust him in all things, seek him at all times, thank him in all situations because He is Lord of ALL. Many verses in the Bible confirm this belief: we have shared them often in these breakfasts. Paul did not tell the church, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18) because the Holy Spirit wants us to become masochistic martyrs who enjoy painful situations. No, we give thanks always because we have the victory through Christ our Lord who overcame everything for us through the cross. The cross was a painful, horrendous experience--not something we would wish on anyone--yet it was God's perfect redemption plan for humanity to send his only begotten Son to suffer and to die that all might live. The cross set us free through the efficacious blood of Jesus: free to live; free to dance, sing, and shout praises to our God for all eternity. Consequently, we trust God to see us through whatever comes our way on this earthly journey because we know when the road turns horribly rough and full of sharp curves or it seems we have fallen into a deep pit, He remains faithful--ready to lead and to guide. Through Christ and his finished work, we have power to walk the walk, to drink the cup. As we wait patiently upon him, listen to his voice, and learn of him; his truth and wisdom see us through anything and everything as He lifts us up out of the miry clay because He does not lose any of those the Father gives to him.

He comforts us, gives us what we need, and shows us the way when we walk in the Spirit instead of following the old ways of our selfish desires because the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

(James 3:17-18)

Bless you, beloved of God. Put away your swords. The victory is yours!