(Luke 23:44-49)
The hour had come for the Lord to depart from this earth. All had been accomplished that he needed to do while he was here and it was now time for the next stage of the work to be done. He had trained his disciples to the point that they needed to be taken and now Jesus had to leave the earth for the next stage to commence. He had fulfilled all of the prophecies that spoke of his time on earth and it was time to return to the Father so that the disciples could begin their work.
(Luke 23:32-43)
Here we see that the Lord has been taken away to Golgotha to web nailed to the stake along with two criminals. But even while Thais is occurring the Lord provides lessons for those who were there and for us also. Even the criminals give us a lesson that we can learn from.
(Luke 23:26-31)
As I was studying this section of scripture, I became fascinated by one verse, which I had never taken much notice of before. This section talks about Jesus being led away to die and provides the detail of how Simon of Cyrene is compelled to assist carry the beam for Jesus and Jesus discussions with others. I have written about those points previously and the links are at the foot of this post.
However the scripture that struck me here was verse 31, which says, “For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” It is this that we will look at today.
(Luke 23:13-25)
In one of the worst travesties of so-called justice in history we see here the exchange of the life of the Lord and Saviour of the world for a sinner accused of insurrection, murder and mayhem. And the decision was not based upon truth or justice, but jealousy, envy and the sway of public opinion causing the governor to make this worst of all decisions.
Continue reading “Jesus, Barabbas and the Rule of the Mob” »
(Luke 23:6-12)
After bringing Jesus before Pilate, who could find no reason to condemn him, the Lord was sent by Pilate to Herod to be examined. Herod’s examination of the Lord is both harsh and interesting, for there are some things we can learn about Herod’s reaction to Jesus, especially when he did not get his own way.
(Luke 23:1-5)
The trial of Jesus before Pilate was a farce. It shows how badly an event can go when the rulers give sway to the desires of liars rather than listening to the truth of a matter. And there is no doubt that Pilate saw the truth of this matter as it is clear from his response. But as Jesus said when He was arrested in the garden at Gethsemane, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Luke 22:53)
(Luke 22:63-71)
The day after his arrest, Jesus was brought before the chief priests to be examined and tried by them. He was humiliated, mocked and struck by the soldiers holding him. And yet despite these acts Jesus withstood the shame and in his words and actions He gave us a lesson as an example that He spoke of in other places.
(Luke 22:54-62)
This must have been one of the hardest times for both Jesus and Peter in their time together. Even though the Lord knew this would happen and had told Peter it would occur, it still would have been difficult for both of them. But what it does show is both the resilience of Peter, and the great love and compassion of the Lord. And in this example there is a great lesson for us to learn and apply in our lives today.
(Luke 22:47-53)
Here we see the betrayal of Jesus when Judas led a crowd against Him and betrayed him with a kiss. Jesus was in the garden at Gethsemane waiting for them to come for he knew the hour of His betrayal was at hand. He had just been praying that he would not be tempted to escape this hour asking the Father if this cup could be removed, but now the time had come when the powers of darkness would prevail for it was their time.
(Luke 22:39-46)
This section of scripture contains what I believe is one of the most misunderstood or badly translated parts of the Bible. The translators have done the best they can, and I am no expert in translation, but there is something wrong with this piece of scripture in the translation from the Greek to English.
This section of scripture relates to Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane where he is later betrayed by Judas. But prior to that He goes off with several of the disciples to pray. But the disciples fall asleep and when Jesus comes to them he says, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Verses 40 and 46) This is the scripture that appears to be in error.
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