Mark 15:16-20

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I am amazed at Jesus’ strength – both His body and His character. First, bodily… As with yesterday, today we again have Him in the Praetorium being tortured and taunted by the Roman soldiers. He has already suffered a scourging, in which some die before it’s over. Now He gets a crown of thorns put on His head, with soldiers beating the crown into His head with a reed. (Ask me sometime about my crown of thorns.) Then He will still carry his cross to Golgotha and hang on that cross for six hours before He dies. He must have been extremely fit to go through all that.

And His character… To go through all that verbal and physical abuse and not respond. He knew that He had legions of angels at His disposal, but he suffered quietly. It was as Isaiah prophesied, He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

I’m amazed…!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 27:27-31

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Previously in Matthew 27:26 we saw that Pilate had had Jesus scourged. Now on Thanksgiving Day we read this horrible account of Pilate’s soldiers torturing and taunting Him further. It’s a horrible reflection for such a special holiday – as we celebrate and recall all that for which we are so very thankful. But, we also realize that the most thankful we can ever be is to Jesus for His horrible suffering and death – and His glorious RESURRECTION!! All this suffering that He went through was for our benefit, as He went through it all out of His love for us. It truly is… GLORY!

Slava Bohu!

John 18:28-40

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” (v. 31) It must have been frustrating to the Jewish leaders – they wanted Jesus dead and they could do it by their own Law (and their evaluation of blasphemy by Jesus­­), but they could not do it under Roman law. Only the Romans could put someone to death. So the Jewish leaders had to go to the Romans, to Pilate, to have Jesus killed. But even then, so difficult for them…! They could take Jesus to the Praetorium to be judged by Pilate, but they could not enter themselves (or they would be defiled). They had to wait for Pilate to go back and forth, in and out to Jesus and to them, in order to get judgment pronounced. But with so many difficulties it’s what they wanted – Jesus dead – and they were willing to suffer these “small inconveniences” in order to get it done. Again, so sad…!

About this interchange between Jesus and Pilate in verses 35 and 36:  Pilate answered, “…What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world…” At first I did not understand Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question. Then I surmised that John had left out a transition sentence, that the Jews had brought Jesus to Pilate with the charge that Jesus was declaring Himself to be a King. So if prior to verse 33 we put in that accusation, then Jesus’ reply to Pilate makes more sense.

Slava Bohu!

Mark 15:1-15

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. (v. 5) My Study Bible pointed out that under Roman law an accused prisoner was automatically guilty if he did not reply to an accusation. So Pilate’s amazement was likely due to Jesus’ unspoken “admission”.

When Pilate satisfied the crowd by releasing Barabbas, why was a sentence of crucifixion the alternative for Jesus? Yes, the Jews were demanding crucifixion, but didn’t Pilate also have other options? Presumably he could have just left Jesus in prison for a time – long or short. Or he could have had him scourged, then released. Or he could have released Jesus quietly after releasing Barabbas publicly. The sentence of crucifixion was at the urging of the crowd, effectively the Jewish leaders. So when Matthew reports the crowd saying His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25), Jesus’ death truly was at their urging. Yes, Pilate caved in to their demands, but it seems to me that the Jewish leaders were equally guilty. Yes, the Jewish leaders – and all the rest of us who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Slava Bohu!

Luke 23:13-25

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“Notice what you notice.” I imagine it was not difficult for the Jewish leaders to incite the crowd to have Barabbas released, a man charged with insurrection and murder. What might the insurrection have been about? I’m guessing against the occupation by the Roman authorities. No doubt the Romans were hated and anyone inciting against them could have been a hero to the Jewish people. I see more difficulty in the Jewish leaders inciting the people to have Jesus crucified. How could they have twisted a narrative about Jesus that would have led the people to have Him crucified? Or was the crowd just a bloodthirsty “rabble” – in a party mood during this Passover celebration? Whatever, it’s a really sad turn of events, an innocent man dying just to please the high priest and his comrades. So sad… And yet, so gloriously redemptive for those of us in this side of the cross.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 27:15-26

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. (v. 20) I have heard it said that the Jewish leaders had put together “their own crowd” and persuaded them to ask for Barabbas. I’ve always wondered about that and only this morning reflected further and asked myself about that “crowd”. Presumably many of these people could have been part of the same group that gathered at Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. I always imagine them as “the rabble”. But then I thought further and yes, devout Jews, including His disciples and many Galileans (if they were anywhere but their homes early in the morning) would have been in the temple area celebrating their own Passover weekend. They would not have been at Pilate’s palace.

Pilate … took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.” (v. 24) No amount of water could have cleansed Pilate of his wrongdoing. He may have said the words in front of the crowd, but he still had the responsibility for Jesus’ fate. Furthermore, two verses later he has Jesus scourged; my Study Bible pointed out that Roman scourging was so harsh that many died of the scourging before they even got to the crucifixion. As Carol posted yesterday, we can all wonder at Pilate’s later life, especially when he heard of Jesus’ resurrection – an item that was clearly known throughout Jerusalem (see Luke 24:18). Did he have regrets and second thoughts? And you know what? God the Father still loved Pilate and wanted him to come to repentance (I Timothy 2:4). Pilate – one of the saddest figures in all of human history!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 23:1-12

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus before Pilate and Herod… It’s funny to me – and probably to many of you – that when we think of Herod, we think of <insert accompanying music> “So you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ. Prove to me that You’re divine, change my water into wine…”, lyrics from the musical, Jesus Christ, Superstar. So we might be singing along the lyrics, but I’m guessing that Jesus was not in a sing-song mood. This is the same Herod who had Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, killed. You may remember how Jesus mourned when He heard the news of John’s death. Although Scripture does not tell us of Jesus’ weeping over John as He did for Lazarus, it’s likely that He shed more than a few tears when He went off to be alone upon hearing of John’s death. So if Jesus refuses to answer Herod, I’m guessing that He may have been feeling some contempt for him as He stood there.

My Study Bible reported that Pilate’s main headquarters was in Caesarea, on the Mediterranean shore and that Herod’s headquarters was in Tiberius, on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee – often referred to as the Sea of Tiberius. So it’s a bit strange to find them both in Jerusalem at the same time. However, this week was the Passover celebration for the Jews and hundreds of thousands of Jews would have gathered there. But Pilate and Herod clearly were not there to celebrate the religious feast! It was probably just something like a carnival atmosphere for them, not unlike most of us celebrating Memorial Day with family cookouts and failing to honor the solemnity that the occasion demands.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 27:1-14

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Judas: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” (v. 4) Again, my sympathies for Judas… Is Judas’ quote a confession, a sign of true repentance? Did he get that part right before deciding his own fate a few hours later? I do wonder about Judas.

By contrast, The Chronological Study Bible says that we should have no sympathies for Pilate! He had many options available to him and he chose the path of least resistance. Josephus also reports that Pilate had been ruthless in his dealings with others on a number of occasions. According to our CSB, “Pilate was responsible for … the release of a convicted assassin and the condemning of the righteous Son of God to torture and death.”

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer. (vv. 11-12) I find it intriguing that Jesus would respond to Pilate, but not to the Jewish leaders. Later John reports a lengthy discussion between Jesus and Pilate, but again nothing when the Jewish leaders accuse Him. As I reflect on all our previous readings, I don’t recall any other occasion when Jesus refused to respond to the Jewish leaders’ charges. Maybe because now He was before the Roman governor? Or maybe He was just tired of their accusations…??!! I prefer the latter explanation!

Slava Bohu!

John 18:12-27

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Again I reflect on this year’s reading program – just a few verses a day. In the past when we have read through the Chronological Bible we have read all four accounts of Jesus before the high priests (today’s and the three previous days’ readings) all in one day. Under that program we could have made comparisons between all four Gospels, but not with the depth that we have had by reading each account one day at a time. Just that…

So I’m wondering about this “disciple who was known to the high priest”. Most writers acknowledge this person to be the apostle John. But if that’s true, two other questions arise. If John has followed Jesus to the high priest’s house and Peter is there with him, then where is his brother James? All three were there with Jesus in the Garden, sleeping while he was praying. So where’s James? Second, how is it that John is so well known to the high priest, so as to have immediate access to the courtyard and to allow him to bring Peter in? How is John so well-connected? Or, is there a connection with Zebedee, James’ and John’s father, that gives John this access? So, this disciple “who was known to the high priest”… Who and How?

Slava Bohu!

Luke 22:54-71

Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” It seems a small item (but maybe not) that Luke has Peter’s denial before Caiaphas’ “trial” while Matthew and Mark have that order reversed. It is probably the case that Luke has it more correct. According to my Study Bible the Sanhedrin could not hold a trial until after dawn, in which case Jesus may have been in Caiaphas’ house only as a holding pen. There He could have been questioned informally by the various Jewish leaders who had also gathered there, prior to any formal questioning by the Sanhedrin. Unfortunately, at Caiaphas’ house there was also the opportunity for Him to be spat upon, beaten, and taunted by the guards.

Today is now the third occurrence of Jesus’ being taunted and beaten by the temple officers and guards. I am troubled anew every time I read this, each blow reflecting humankind’s sins from the beginning of our existence. Even more troubling is that these blows are mild compared to the scourging that He will receive from the Roman soldiers. I understand that Jesus had to die for our sins, that His death was the necessary atonement for us to be saved. The only way that I can understand the enormous torture that He received is to imagine that it is His Father’s wrath against sin poured out on His Beloved Son. So troubling…

Slava Bohu!