Thoughts From the Bible

Read  John 19: 21- 24 - Prophecies are scattered throughout the Bible. Fulfilled prophecies help people to see the authenticity of God’s message to us. This passage shows one such prophecy fulfilled. In verse 24 it is written, ‘So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” this fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.’ This whole passage regarding Jesus’ trial and crucifixion is hard to read and assimilate once we see the real message of Jesus’ death. This whole passage should bring us a slight sense of peace knowing that prophecies were fulfilled even though those prophecies gave Jesus’ such pain. If we meditate on what Christ suffered, we can have a greater appreciation for the love Jesus’ had for us.

Read  John 19: 17-20- This passage in John is where Jesus’ love for us lies and what was required to save us. This passage doesn’t give us a description of all that was involved in Jesus’ death. In verse 18 we see the simple picture, “There they nailed Him to the cross. Two others were crucified with Him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.” This picture is hard to elaborate on. The emotions it causes does give us an idea of what Jesus did for us and we should forever have this mental image in our minds and in our hearts.

Read  John 19: 4-11 I think it is interesting that Pilate was afraid of the Jewish leaders. We have been told PIlate probably felt his position in Jerusalem was fragile and could be taken away from him if the Jewish leaders complained loud enough to Roman authorities. Pilate was looking to appease the Jewish religious leaders, but he didn’t see any guilt in Jesus. Jesus then had an authoritative word for Pilate. In verse 11, “Then Jesus said, ‘You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So, the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.’” People today who are in authority seem to think it is their outstanding efforts that landed them in the positions of authority they find themselves. God allows people to be in positions of authority and God allows us to do what we do and be who we are. When people want to talk of spiritual things but don’t want to offend anyone, they will say something about a higher authority. God is the high...

Read  John 19: 1-3 - Then Pilate has Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. (2) The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. (3) “Hail! King of the Jews,” they mocked, and they hit him with their fists. I have a hard time moving past these first three verses of Chapter 19. God’s plan for His Son, was a very hard plan. The flogging could have easily killed Jesus. The torn body, the excessive bleeding, it all could have easily killed him. It was just the beginning. Each swing of the whip was for each of us. There are very few people who would willingly take a whipping like this because of the pain and the torture, knowing that things were only going to get worse. The crown of thorns has become a sacred symbol or thought for Christians when it originally was used to mock Jesus Christ. We should never forget the price Jesus paid, the pain He felt and why He allowed it all to happen. His love for us was so...

  Read John 18: 39-40-  In this world we all have a choice.     We have a choice on how we believe.   People have a choice in a variety of things.     The people involved with the spiritual leaders when Jesus was preaching had a choice.     They chose to follow the spiritual leaders of the time.     Verse 39, “ But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover.     Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews?’     (40) But they shouted back, “No! Not this man, we want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary).”     This all happened late at night away from the throngs that praised Jesus one week before.     This was an orchestrated demonstration perpetrated by the spiritual leaders to remove a mounting threat to their positions.     Regardless of whether we were there in the dead of night or waving palm branches in broad daylight, we all have a ...

  Read  John 18: 25-27- (26) But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” (27) Again, Peter denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed . As I was thinking about this short passage, I began to wonder about Peter’s emotions at that moment. Many preachers like to show the denial of Peter and Jesus predicting what Peter would do. I was interested in Peter’s emotions at that moment. He knew what he did when he did it. His awareness was made even greater when the rooster crowed . I think the disciples felt the rug had been totally ripped out from under them and they didn’t know what to do. I’m sure they were afraid. The big key is that Peter rebounded. He knew the Man he had followed, and Jesus’ resurrection cemented all of that in Peter.

Read  John 18: 19-24- Jesus is the Son of God. Everything He did was open to all. When He was arrested, He confronted Annas with this statement, Verse 20, “Jesus replied, ‘Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret.’” That is my lesson for the day. Is my testimony out in the open and not in secret? Jesus set this example and even under duress, He had that example to put forth before the religious authorities. The old question of whether there would be enough evidence to convict us of being a Christian is still a good question and a challenge for our daily lives. We need to be accumulating evidence of what we say we really believe.

Read John 18: 9-18- People have decisions to make. When we decide to be a follower of Jesus Christ and acknowledge God over our lives, there will be decisions to make. There are those who will continually fight against God. They may never admit they are following the leading of Satan, but that fight is real. When Peter was confronted with his relationship with Jesus, Peter failed. “ The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” This statement in verse 17 is something that many attach to Peter as weakness in faith. I personally think it was a response of fear because Peter knew Jesus would likely die soon and it could very well happen to him also. We need to know we will be faced with similar situations where we need to be prepared to testify for Christ. In the United States, that is fairly easy to do. In other countries in the world, it could lead to death. We need to give this some serious thought and measure where ...

Read John 18: 1-8 - There is so much talk in the world today. There is a great deal of talk, but the level of communication is still sketchy. People are working very hard to find something that has not been said before. They are looking for something that will have an impact on people. Some people are desperate to find something impactful to say. Jesus said three words. In verse five Jesus found the impactful, “I Am He ”, Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them.) (6) As Jesus said, “I am He,” they all drew back and fell to the ground.” What? The power of Jesus’ three words, coupled with the fact He is the ultimate source of power, caused the people involved to literally fall down. I know there have been many sermons preached on this short segment in the Bible, but we need to understand how strong the words of Jesus are. As we read through the Bible, we need to really listen to Jesus’ words as they are recorded and know He left every word for us. ...

Read John 17: 22- 26- I've read through the Bible, front to back, several times. As I read this passage, I had the sense of the intensity of Jesus’ prayer for the disciples and those who would believe in Him. I see this as an intense prayer showing Jesus’ love for all of us. Read verse 24, “Father, I want these whom You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they can see all the glory You gave Me because You loved Me even before the world began!” Do you realize how deeply Jesus Christ loves you? This passage shows me God’s love for me at a much higher and much more personal level than I have ever realized in all my years. Can you walk through the day today and not forget how much love Jesus has for you? I can’t.  

Read John 17: 20- 21 - “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. (21) I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one; as You are in me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” Jesus is praying for us to be unity in our Christian message and Christian lives we leave. Jesus prayed about it. That possibly was because He knew what a magnificent challenge that would be for all of us who follow Him. We are human and everyone has their own opinions on how things should be. That applies to how people interpret the Bible and what God would have us all do. This unity in message and lifestyles has not been achieved but it doesn’t mean we should simply accept it and move on. As individual Christians, we need to recognize this is important to God and we need to work toward unity in any relationship we find ourselves. Jesus knew how powerful unity is s...