Luke 23:50-56 and John 19:38-42 Today we end Jesus’ Passion with His burial. John, alone, tells us of Nicodemus joining Joseph of Arimathea in placing Jesus’ body in the tomb. This is the third account of Nicodemus in John’s gospel. We all know of his long discourse with Jesus back in chapter 3, but he …
Author Archives: Fred
June 22 / Mark 15:21-47
Mark 15:21-47 With more than a dozen days of postings on Jesus’ crucifixion and burial this year and in 2019 it’s hard for me to find something new to say. Even today I find that yesterday I posted on Joseph of Arimathea some of the same things I covered in 2019. But I am always …
June 21 / Matt. 27:45-66
Matthew 27:45-66 Two days ago I commented on the Jewish leaders back at the Temple, reflecting on the darkness and the curtain of the Temple being torn in two. Today Matthew adds more to Luke’s account: …the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the …
June 20 / John 19:17-37
John 19:17-37 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” (v. 22) Following up on a comment from my Study Bible… Yes, Pilate needed a reason to have Jesus crucified and the inscription that he wrote would have implied treason against the Roman empire – someone pretending or claiming to be king. But I …
June 19 / Luke 23:26-49
Luke 23:26-49 My thoughts today are of two groups of people, those who formed the “procession” leading to the crucifixion and those Jewish leaders hanging out at the Temple. As for the procession – it was quite a throng. Naturally there are the Roman soldiers charged with this hideous task. There was also a …great …
June 18 / John 19:1-16
John 19:1-16 Backtracking – a chronological error… Today’s reading should have been scheduled before yesterday’s. These first 16 verses in John 19 follow completely from the last dozen verses in John 18. A few days ago I commented on how Luke’s account of Jesus’ trial differed from the other Synoptic writers. One item I mentioned …
June 17 / Matt. 27:27-44
Matthew 27:27-44 I am struck by the inhumanity, the brutality that we read about in today’s reading. First it’s the soldiers, following the scourging continuing to taunt Jesus with the purple robe and the reed, the crown of thorns, kneeling before Him, spitting, mocking. Then it’s the crowd, the passers-by with their taunts. Finally, and …
June 16 / John 18:28-40
John 18:28-40 John’s gospel has the most complete account of Jesus before Pilate. In fact, after today’s 13 verses, there are another 16 verses in the next chapter dealing with Jesus and Pilate together. That will be Friday’s reading. I mentioned a few day ago about Pilate telling the Jewish leaders three times that he …
June 15 / Mark 15:1-20
Mark 15:1-20 I am not a person who suffers pain well. But as horrible as the crucifixion was, I am equally troubled at the scourging that Jesus received from the Roman cohort. A scourging with a leather whip would have been trouble enough, but these whips (according to my Study Bible) had bits of bone …
June 14 / Luke 23:1-25
Luke 23:1-25 So often the Synoptic gospels are very similar, with even sentences and paragraphs repeated almost verbatim. But today Luke is very different from Matthew (yesterday’s reading) or Mark (tomorrow’s reading) and even John (two days from today). Luke has Jesus appearing before Herod, unlike any of the other writers. All of the other …