Consciousness

November 9, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Multitude leaves grieving; Luke 23:48

Luke 23:48(ISV)
When all the crowds who had come together for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they beat their breasts and turned back.

They knew what was happening, that a man was being killed. They watched. They saw the darkness fill the sky. They must have agreed with the Roman soldier that this was a good man. Yet the walked away. After the main event was all done, they walked away.

I am sure that it stuck in their heads for a few weeks. How this man who should not have been crucified had been anyway. As their day to day life went on, it slowly moved out of their consciousness.

Sometimes I think my salvation is like that. There are times when it is on the front burner and I am fully aware of all that God has done for me through His son Jesus. Then their are other times, times when the latest video game, TV series, work of the church, whatever it is that dulls my senses through the day to day life of living. I walk away like the people did, and it fades from my consciousness.

God, I ask you to keep the sacrifice of Jesus in my thoughts daily, not to let any thing else take its place. In Jesus name, AMEN

Jesus, an upright man

October 26, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today:Centurion glorifies God; Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47

BBE: Luke 23:47. And when the captain saw what was done, he gave praise to God, saying, Without doubt this was an upright man.

A man who was not Jewish, not part of the people that were suppose to have studied the scriptures to know that the Messiah was coming, he could see what the other could not. He could see that Jesus was a truly upright man.

How come I can not see that in my life. How come I can not see that Jesus is there to help me with all my problems. Why do I struggle with the same problems over and over again?  I am to some degree no better in that respect than the ones who cheered on at Jesus crucifixion. Sure, I have Him as my savior and Lord, but do I let Him guide me in all areas of my life.

Please, help me trust you even more Jesus.


Read for next time: Multitude leaves grieving; Luke 23:48



Sorry for the 3 month away. Life has been crazy busy and I have gone through some emotional ups and downs.  Will try to get back on target here.

Moving out if the tomb

July 14, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today:Saints rise, after Christ's resurrection; Matthew 27:52-53

Matthew 27:52-53 AMP

The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep in death were raised [to life];  And coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

The people were raised to life when Jesus died on the cross. Something of better or equal value had to be given in exchange for all the lives of all the sinners. How often have I read these words, marveled at what happened, and not noted the next verse.

They could not leave their tombs till Jesus received His resurrected body. They were alive but still in a place of death.

For several years I have been involved in classes at my church that deal with issues of codependency. It may be that the person themselves have an addiction, or it may be someone related to a person with addictive tendencies. They may have anger or trust issues. One thing is clear with all of them. Though they are Christians, they still live in the tombs that codependency brings.

I was that way once myself. Like me, each one of these people will have to learn to leave the tombs and walk in the resurrection that Jesus provides to them. They do this by learning what Christ provided them in the resurrection.

Many choose to stay in the tombs. When the healing gets painful, they do not want to go through it anymore. Moving out of the tomb will mean some pain. It also means that like the saints in our verse, you get to go to the city.  This is done so we can tell others how Jesus can heal.

Read for next time: Centurion glorifies God; Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47

Rocks split

July 13, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today:Earthquake; Matthew  27:51
I have had the experience of being in a few earthquakes, or at least being told that I was in one. I never really felt anything, just was told about it on the news later.  Then one night last fall, I was watching the news after a college football game that had been an upset. I felt the floor of my concrete slab house shake. Things shook like crazy and there was a loud rumble. We found out later it was the largest earthquake that the state of Oklahoma had ever had, and it was half a state away.  While someone from California might not have thought twice about what we experienced it scared me. I can only imagine what it was like to be alive in Jerusalem the day that Jesus gave his life, the earth shook, the rocks split.

BBE: Matthew 27:51. And the curtain of the Temple was parted in two from end to end; and there was an earth-shock; and the rocks were broken;

What was it like? Did they have earthquakes in Israel in those days. I do not know, but I think they did not. Even if they did, the rocks were split open.

Just as the curtain had been torn and man now could approach God directly, the earth opening up showed that gates of hell were now broken and the people who believed in the true God could be set free

Life would never be the same again. And when I learned of what Jesus did for me, my life could never be the same again.

Read for next time: Saints rise, after Christ's resurrection; Matthew 27:52-53

Torn Curtain

July 12, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Temple veil torn from top to bottom; Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45

ESV: Luke 23:45. while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

We read these words and think that it was nothing important. It was a curtain that was hanging and it got torn apart by some unknown quantity. We may even think it was eaten away by moths or something like that.

That is not how it was. This was a thick curtain. I have done theater and I picture to be like the curtain that opens and closes the acts of a play. It allows no light to pass, it is heavy enough that if you were hit with it coming down you would feel it for a few days.

In this case it was that and more. Not only was it one curtain, it was two that were overlapping. It was designed to keep people away from where God’s presence in the temple. Only a priest could go in there, and only after a serious cleansing ritual.

And now, as Jesus died, the curtain is torn. Now there is nothing to keep man from God’s presence.

That is why Jesus came, and died on the cross.

Read for next time: Earthquake; Matthew  27:51

How Jesus died

June 9, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Jesus bows his head and dies;  Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30

ESV: John 19:30. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

As strong as Jesus was, physically and spiritually, I do not believe that He was killed. I do not believe it was possible to kill Him at all. I do believe that He had fulfilled all that He was supposed to do and knew this was the time.
Jesus did all He did because He had one idea in mind, salvation for you and me.  Until He had done that He was going to stay alive no matter the pain. What if He had to do something else? Would He still stayed alive. Yes! His love for us was that strong.

Read for next time: Temple veil torn from top to bottom; Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45

Trust

April 14, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit."; Luke 23:46

I can remember when my kids were little, I would hold out my hands when they were up high someplace and scared. I would tell them to jump into my hands, that I would catch them.  Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.  When it did, there was a level of trust built up between us.  Because of that, when other situations would arise,  I could get trust from them much easier.  Why? because a level of trust had already been reached with them.

Think about how much Jesus trusted the Father.

Common: Luke 23:46. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." And having said this, he breathed his last.

This is the ultimate in trust.  Jesus was being killed for something He did not do. He had the sins of all man on Him. The Father had abandoned Him, and yet, He called out and in His last words said, Father, I trust you.

I often have problems letting God fix some of the areas of my life. It is not because I do not believe He can handle it, it is because I do not trust Him to do it my way.  Yet like Jesus, I need to trust God in all areas of my life.  My way may be the right way to do something, but if I am not trusting God in it, then I am not trusting God.  If Jesus can trust Him with all He went through, I can also learn to trust Him in all areas of my life.

Read for next time: Jesus bows his head and dies;  Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30

A loud voice

April 14, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Jesus cries out; Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46

BBE: Matthew 27:50. And Jesus gave another loud cry, and gave up his spirit.

I will admit that what I am typing today is not original, I heard it in a sermon yesterday and the church I attend.

Stop and think about things for a few minute and you can see something unique in this verse.  Jesus cried out in a loud voice.  A man who was about to die would not cry out with a loud voice, he would barely talk at all.

Jesus was in full control of the time that He was about to die.  It is said that this was the time of the Passover lamb sacrifice and the timing, if accurate, was important, but more important was the fact that Jesus was in control. Too often I have read this and thought that Jesus died at a point when His body could take no more. Further fact that Jesus chose to die for me.

Read for next time: "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit."; Luke 23:46

A final journey begins...

April 14, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "It is finished."; John 19:30

Weymouth: John 19:30. As soon as Jesus had taken the wine, He said, "It is finished." And then, bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

I have always read this verse and connected the statement and the giving up of Jesus Spirit as tied to each other.  Another thought came across my mind today.  “It is finished” might not be referring to the death, but to the life that He had to participate in.

They had beat Him, whipped Him, mocked Him, nailed Him to a cross, and as a final insult gave him sour wine to drink as He thirsted.  The time had now come, all prophecy had been fulfilled. It was time to start the final journey.

I have heard many stories about people who have lived long, productive lives.  They die peacefully, with a smile on their faces. They have started on their final journey as well.  Jesus may not have said this in the way I have looked at it for so many years. It may have been a cry of happiness, now that He was on His way to be back with the Father.



Read for next time: Jesus cries out; Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46

Sour Grapes

April 13, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Jesus is offered sour wine on a reed: Matthew 27:47-49, Mark 15:35-36, John  19:29-30

Sour grapes.  The term brings up something that all of us would try to avoid.  Something that is so bad you just want to spit it out of your mouth.

BWE: Mark 15:36. One man ran to get something called a sponge. He made it wet with sour wine and put it on the end of a stick. With it he gave Jesus a drink. He said, ‘We will see if Elijah will come and take him down!’

Here was the man that would save them all and all they could give Him was sour wine, made from grapes. That act was the final rejection of Jesus.  After this He would give it up.  The final thing that was done to Him was an insult.

But who did that to Him?  We can claim that it was some bystander like the Bible says, but really, wasn’t it you and me that did this to him.  Every time I respond in anger to someone, try to cheat someone, try to get my own way, I put that wine on the sponge.  Jesus did that all for me.


Read for next time: "It is finished."; John 19:30

Thirst

April 9, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "I thirst."; John  19:28


NET: John 19:28. After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty!"

Through all that Jesus had been through, not one complaint had been made to the people in charge of His treatment.  Even His last words of abandonment were not a complaint against God but a question as to why.

So now Jesus complains that He is thirsty, why?  The answer is the the scripture itself.  Everything had been completed according to the scripture, except him being fed the vinegar. So He says, ‘I thirst.’

What is interesting is, that Jesus is the Word, and the Word needed to be fulfilled.  Jesus put all this in to the prophecies of His own coming, long before man even came into existence.

We often say to let the Bible interpret the Bible.  Here is a case of God interpreting Himself.


Read for next time: Jesus is offered sour wine on a reed: Matthew 27:47-49, Mark 15:35-36, John  19:29-30

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Abandoned

April 4, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "Eloi, Eloi, Lamma, Sabachthani"; Matthew  27:46; Mark 15:34

When I was young and in Cub Scouts, I remember going for a hike up the small hill that was in the area, it was part of the Blue Hills in eastern Massachusetts.  We did it every year so we could earn some sort of pin or badge and we did it as a den.  As we climbed up that hill I remember getting a pebble in my shoe. I was near the tail end and stopped on a rock to get it out.  The group moved on and I was sure that I could catch up.  I then got distracted with some bit of nature and next I knew one minute turned to five and I was alone.  I had a bad feeling, it was called abandonment.  I kept going on the path but I was sure they had gone off and left me and I would never see home again.  A few minutes later, I rounded a turn and there was my den. My mom, the den mother, had stopped the group knowing that if I stayed on the path I would be OK. I was happy to see them but I will never forget that fear of abandonment till this day.

As an adult who had become a Christian, I had a troubled relationship with my wife. I felt that God had told me to do something and she was not co-operating. I felt abandoned by God, and decided that it was time for me to move on and make myself happy.  It was a wrong choice, and I learned from it.

Jesus had abandonment issues as well.


BBE: Matthew 27:46. And about the ninth hour Jesus gave a loud cry, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me?

How did Jesus feel about this situation.  He was not only 100% God, He was 100% man as well.

When He could not sense God the Father, did he feel hopeless and alone like a little boy on a trail, lost?  Did it occur to Him to keep following that trail, knowing that the end was worth it.

Did His flesh kick in and want to tear Himself off the cross and yell, ‘enough, I can not handle this anymore.”  Did He think that He must go on or all that He had done so far, all that pain, would be totally useless.

I can not know what He felt. I can only know what I felt. I can know how it feels to have that feeling of abandonment. I cannot imagine how it felt to Jesus who had been with the Father forever. What a snap that must of been in His brain. I will never know that pain, but I will know that He did it all for me.


Read for next time: "I thirst."; John  19:28

Sacrifice and pleasure

March 9, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Darkness from 6th to 9th hour; Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45


BWE: Matthew 27:45. About midday, the whole land became dark and stayed dark for three hours.

There was darkness. The light of the sun was made of no affect because the light of the Son was being extinguished.  It was a sacrifice so I could gain heaven.

This causes me to think about my sacrifices.  My sacrifices are made so that someone else can receive happiness.  If there is not enough money and the kids want to go out to eat, I will take a smaller portion so that they can enjoy the time. When my daughter was little she used to love to play Uno, a game I did not care for. Because of my love for her, I would sacrifice my time so that she could be happy.

What happiness could be gained from Jesus sacrifice I wondered. God was not pleases with putting sin on His Son. The followers of Jesus were not happy at all that He was dying on the cross.

The happiness came from what has happened. All men can now enter into salvation and relationship with the Father.  If that sacrifice had not been made, we would all be dammed to hell. I am thankful that the sacrifice was made.

Read for next time: "Eloi, Eloi, Lamma, Sabachthani"; Matthew  27:46; Mark 15:34

Last minute conversions

March 8, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "…you will be with me in Paradise."; Luke  23:43

The third of the recorded words that Christ spoke from the cross.


NET: Luke 23:43. And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."


My daughter asked me a few years ago if she would see grandpa in heaven as she never knew him. He died many years before she was born.

I paused and thought before I said anything. My dad, if he had accepted Jesus certainly did not live the life of a Christian. He was an alcoholic who was only sober when he was in the hospital, and sometimes I wondered if he was then. On his last visit they told him he would die if he kept drinking, and he said I can not give up living to live.  He died two weeks later, in his recliner, a drink by his side.

Maybe somewhere deep inside, something that someone said came back to him that night and caused him to turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. I do not know. I only know that if he did, then like the thief on the cross, he would see Jesus in paradise that day.  I do not put down death bed conversions, Jesus died for people who put it off to the end just like He did for me. I can only think about how much richer and fuller both his life and my children’s lives would be if Grandpa was still alive today.

So my answer to her was I do not know. I can only hope that he is.

Read for next time: Darkness from 6th to 9th hour; Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45

March 7, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: One robber rebukes the other; Luke 23:40-41


ESV: Luke Chapter 23
[40] But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.

In chapter 5 of his book ‘The Father Heart of God’, Floyd McClung Jr. tells one of the results of having pride in a person’s life:

Pride does not usually admit wrong or personal responsibility. When it does, it excuses it or explains it away, and there is no sorrow for the wrong done.

It is pretty clear that one thief on the cross had no pride at this point in time.  While the first one railed an complained to Jesus asking for what he felt he was entitled to, the second one took responsibility for his actions. He said, what I did was wrong, and what you did Jesus was nothing.  I stand before you with no excuses, give me the punishment that I deserve.

In dealing with people I sometimes get angry for what would appear to be no reason at all.  After the fact I realize this and will apologize, but will say something else like ‘I am the one responsible for my anger, but the actions that you did are what led to my anger.’  While I am taking responsible for my failure, I am also trying to point out the failure in the other person. I am trying to be their god and point out their failure.  I need to step out of the way and let God be God and not me.  I need to stop and just say ‘I am sorry’ and then shut up.  I need to say to myself it is my fault and try harder to not go there again.

Like the thief on the cross, I need to take responsibility for all my actions.  A hard lesson to learn, one I hope that I can learn well.


Read for next time: "…you will be with me in Paradise."; Luke  23:43

Choices

February 23, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Robbers mock Jesus; Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39


ESV: Luke 23:39. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!

How hard it must have been for Jesus. He come to seek the lost and save them. Now He is on the cross as are two real thieves. I assume they would be the type Jesus was sent to.
They are telling Him to save them. He has a choice, save them or save mankind.

A class I have been in this week has been on prodigal children.  Sometimes tough choices have to be made. In helping a prodigal child you can hurt them. To give in to their needs can be the worst thing you can do.  You do not give them the choice to fix themselves.

Jesus could have done the thing they had asked. He would have ruined our chance of salvation. He also would have removed their choice to ask for forgiveness.

When offered choices I need stop and think about them them. Often the choice I will have to make is an uncomfortable one. I need to learn to make the tough choices. Jesus did.



Read for next time: One robber rebukes the other; Luke 23:40-41

I can not do it myself

February 17, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: Multitudes mock Jesus; Matthew 27:39-43; Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-37

On Wednesday nights at the church I attend we have a self-help group running for people who have co-dependency issues.  One thing that I have learned from them is that a person can not help themselves get out of their addictions.  Nor can you help anyone else out of their addictions.  If you try, you run the risk of becoming codependent and having an addiction to trying to fix them. 

The only way one can come out of those addictions to recognize that they can not do it in their own strength.  As I have gone through this program, I have had to say that I am powerless in myself, that I can not break the chains. However, if I turn acknowledge that I have the problem, and turn to God for help (a higher power as some organizations say), then God can help me through the problems.  To put it bluntly, I can not save myself. 

ESV: Mark 15:31. So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself.

Here is a man who could save Himself.  Jesus had not only the power to come off that cross, but since He had not sinned, He should not have been up there and had the right to do so. If He had done so I would still be in my co-dependent state.  I could not save my self, I had to have God do it for me by having His Son die for me.  For years I tried to do things in my own power, until I realized that I could never do it for myself, I had to have help.


Read for next time: Robbers mock Jesus; Matthew 27:44, Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39

What is important?

January 30, 2012

The Life of Jesus; read today: "Behold your mother."; John 19:25-27

ESV: John Chapter 19

[25] but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [26] When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold, your son! [27] Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus second words from the cross can be a mystery at first. He tells His mother that the disciple John is her son and tells John that Mary is his mother. It would almost seem that He was slightly delirious. History tells us Jesus had two brothers so why would Jesus let them take care of Mary?

History also tells us that they did not believe in Jesus statements that He was the son of God.  While they would be responsible for for her physical needs they obviously could not take care of her spiritual needs. Jesus was saying from the cross what I need to hear today. The spiritual needs are always more important than the physical needs . Physical needs are important but they should never be more important than the spiritual. Something that I need to reinforce in my life.

Read for next time: Multitudes mock Jesus; Matthew 27:39-43; Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-37

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Daily Devotional for you at http://dailydevotionbob.blogspot.com/

Dignity

January 11, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: Soldiers divide the garments of Jesus; Matthew 27:35-36; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24

ABP: Mark 15:24. And having crucified him, they divided his garments, casting a lot over them, who should take what.

I learned in reading the commentaries for this verse, that the garments of the condemned man were considered the wages for the solders who did the execution.   They would throw the lots and see which man got to choose first, second, etc.  So this was a common occurrence at this time.

I can get a picture of what is happening here.  Jesus is up on the cross, looking down on the men who have stripped Him and now are throwing dice to divide up his clothing. What little dignity He may have had was now gone.  Jesus just gave it all.

A few night ago, my wife corrected my actions in front of the children.  I felt that she had embarrassed me in front of the kids so I blew up and let her know my feelings.  I guess my dignity was at stake here.  I wonder when I will be more like Jesus and not let my emotions get in the way.

Read for next time: "Behold your mother."; John 19:25-27

Forgive them

January 8, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: "Forgive them…"; Luke 23:34

Common: Luke 23:34. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they divided his garments and cast lots.

The first of Jesus sentences as He was on the cross.  The sins that I have done are what is holding Him there, though logic would tell you it was the nails, it way my sin.

So He spoke to the Father about what was happeing.  Forgive them, they do not know what they are doing here.  They did not.  Though they knew the scritpures, they did not realize what they meant.  So Jesus spoke to that, forgive them.

Or was He talking about them?  Was He looking down through the centuries to where I live today. When I want what I want and do what I need to make myself happy, and I pound that nail in a little harder, was Jesus looking at me and saying, 'Forgive him, he does not know what he is doing."

Read for next time: Soldiers divide the garments of Jesus; Matthew 27:35-36; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24

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Want to know what is going on in my brain?  Check out http://dr_bob.blogspot.com/
Daily Devotional for you at http://dailydevotionbob.blogspot.com/

What he wrote...

January 8, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: Inscription written by Pilate; Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-22

BBE: John Chapter 19
[19] And Pilate put on the cross a statement in writing. The writing was: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
[20] The writing was seen by a number of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was put to death on the cross was near the town; and the writing was in Hebrew and Latin and Greek.

The Jewish leaders got mad at Pilate. They wanted him to change the words, and he would not.  He said that what he had written was what he had written.  The words are important.  They tell us what Pilate thought of Jesus. yes, Pilate had to kill Jesus, there could be no king but Cesar, and he realized the Jewish leaders could have let this go, so he told them that as far as he was concerned, yes, Jesus was king of the Jews.

And He was, and it was said in all the languages.

And Pilate did what I should do. Declare Jesus kingdom to all that will listen.


Read for next time: "Forgive them…"; Luke 23:34

The center spot

January 7, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: 2 robbers are crucified with Jesus; Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27-28; Luke 23:33; John 19:18

ESV: John 19:18. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.


What significance would it be that Jesus was hung in the middle between two thiefs?  I know enough about the Bible that nothing is put there that is not significant.  Sometimes you have to dig a little to see it though.

In our lives today we often put significance to a central position.  The man or woman of honor at a banquet is often seated at the center of the table.  When a Formula One driver wins a race, they put up a podium with the top three drivers, the winner at the center.  Same with the Olympics.

But with the cross, the Romans saved the center cross for the worst of the criminals that were being murdered.  It is hard to believe that Jesus would have had the center cross for just claiming to be King of the Jewish people.  As I think about it, it was appropriate, He was taking on Himself the sins of all the people who ever were and would be.  All that sin is a lot, more than any criminal would ever do.  By placing Jesus where they did, they made a statement without even knowing it.



Read for next time: Inscription written by Pilate; Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-22

Crucifixion

January 5, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: He is crucified on the 3rd hour; Mark 15:25

YLT: Mark 15:25. and it was the third hour, and they crucified him;

Kind of says it all, doesn't it?  No wiggle room here, he was crucified, with all that it meant.  There was pain involved. In our capital punishment we make sure that the guilty do not feel the pain that they made their victims go through. The Romans were not that kind.  They made sure that everyone saw the pain, that way others would think twice about breaking the law. I can barely imagine the pain that Jesus went through.

I started writing this devotional a few years ago when I was recovering from surgery.  I had some time to sit and pray and got the leading that I should do this, so I started it.  But the pain I was in those few days before the surgery, oh how bad it was.  I can remember saying that if someone told me to stand on my head and make a noise like a duck and the pain would go away, I would have done it.  I hurt so bad I was nearly in tears.  Yet, what I suffered was no where near what Jesus did.  

I can only imagine what it was like for Him, as they put the nails in the hands and feet.  I can imagine Him saying I could make this stop so easily.  Yet He did not.  What suffering I go through is nothing compared to what He had. And that is not just the physical pain, but the mental pain as well.  So much here to think about.  


Read for next time: 2 robbers are crucified with Jesus; Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27-28; Luke 23:33; John 19:18

Gall

January 2, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today: Soldiers offer Jesus sour wine mix; Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23


ASV: Matthew 27:34. they gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.

Wine was to be given according to scripture, to those who were facing death (Proverbs 31:6-7), but this was not a normal drink of wine.  They mixed with it gall, a bitter tasting drug.  wine would have deadened the pain He was in, the drug would have maid it so He would not have noticed.  It is much like what we do in the United States when we do death by lethal injection.  A drug is given to make the person unconscious, then the drug that will stop the heat is given. No pain is felt. If Jesus had taken that mixture He would not have lived the hell that He was about to go through.

He tasted it though.  The bitterness of the gall was a taste of the sin He was about to feel.  He could taste the bitterness and drink it down and not feel the pain, or He could live the pain.  The choice was to be His.  He rejected the drink.  He wanted to suffer so that I would not have to suffer.  Any thing less than full consciousness would not have brought the victory over death, hell and the grave.


Read for next time: He is crucified on the 3rd hour; Mark 15:25

Place of the skull

January 2, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today:  Jesus carries the cross; John 19:17

LEB: John 19:17. and carrying for himself the cross, he went out to the place called The Place of a Skull (which is called Golgotha in Aramaic),

It was a place of the skull. Means nothing to me in this day and age, but to the people of Jesus time it meant a lot. It was a place where supposedly Adam was buried. More importantly it was a place where peoples bones were thrown.  It was an unclean place. Unclean places make a person unclean. Under Jewish law, they needed a sacrifice to become clean again.  A lamb was always a good sacrifice.

So, into this unclean place came the one that would make us all clean again, that would make it so that there was no more sacrifices needed.

It was bad enough all the other things that He had to go through for me.  One more degrading thing like being killed in an unclean place should not make a difference.  But it does. He did it for me. What more can I do for Him?




Read for next time: Soldiers offer Jesus sour wine mix; Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23

They took Him away

January 2, 2012
The Life of Jesus; read today:  Pilate delivers Jesus to be crucified; John 19:16

Godbey: John 19:16. Therefore he then delivered Him to them that He should be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.

They took Jesus, He was lead away.  I know the Bible does not lie, but is there a fib here?  Could Jesus ever been taken away.  That would mean there was some resistance, but we all know that Jesus gave His life willingly.  

He was a man just like I was.  I know that the humanity in Him cried out to live. The flesh I am sure wanted to continue.  But He gave it all for me.  I sometimes want my own earthly desires to be met, the humanity of my self crying out to get what I want.  

In the end I must learn to be like Jesus, to let myself be taken to places I do not want to go so that the needs of those I love can be met.

Read for next time: Jesus carries the cross; John 19:17