***Before I say anything, Satan really does not want this message up because he has deleted it 2 times already, so...... HAHA to Satan!***
I hope you all have had a wonderful day!! Mine has been full of laundry and packing to leave as we have just completed our trip to my Grandmother's house for Easter. Fun, fun!!
Sooooooo.........................
On this Friday 2000 years ago...
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Jesus Arrested
43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” 50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.
Jesus Before Pilate
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.The Crucifixion of Jesus
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] [a] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
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Okay, so it's a good bit of reading there BUT it's totally worth it :)
The first thing I notice is that Judas is with a bunch of people who are armed with clubs and spears. I am guessing that they thought Jesus was a rebellion leader, but Jesus clearly asks "Am I leading a rebellion?". The leaders were probably pretty taken aback. "Aren't you?" they're thinking. Jesus was seen as a rebellion leader, the one who was to fight back the Romans and save the Jews from oppression by the Romans. Everyone thought Jesus was to be that way. But that is not what kind of rebellion Jesus was leading. He was a rebellion leader: a spiritual rebellion leader. Another thing is that I noticed is that the priests never touched him in the temple because it was the temple. If they touched him in there, it would ruin their whole reputation. "But the scriptures must be fulfilled.". Then when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin, the priests couldn't even testify against him! They couldn't find anything against him, even with the testimonies that were false! Now what do they do with him? They try to trick him with this question: Are you the messiah? He has no choice but to tell the truth. Then they blindfolded him and beat him, spit on him, and called him names.
Then they take him to Pilate. Pilate cannot get anything out of him but "I am king of the Jews.". So when the time comes to release choose a prisoner, the people who praised him on Sunday chose to crucify him on Friday. They chose to crucify him over a very sinful murderer, and Pilate himself wondered why. Jesus hadn't done anything wrong, right? The people just wanted him dead, and Pilate didn't want to take the blame. But he sent Jesus off to be flogged and crucified anyways, just to satisfy the people. Then the soldiers take him and spit on him and make fun of him. I honestly want to cry reading this all: They beat my older brother, spit on him, called him horrendous names, and all for me. If only they knew the truth.
Then comes the seemingly simple sentence: They crucified him. They whipped and beat him mercilessly, and forced him to carry a cross a long way. And the cross wasn't hollow, short wood. It was heavy wood, that burned and cut relentlessly into his back. They then nailed the precious hands and feet of my king to these pieces of wood we now look up to. They hoisted him up into the sky, and forced him to hang there. They cast lots for the clothes, and put a mocking sign above him: KING OF THE JEWS. But he is king of the Jews and of so much more: the King of the whole entire world. And the temple rebuilding: it was happening then. At that very moment, it was being torn down and built again. He was saving others, including them. He even asked God to forgive them! The people being crucified with him were making fun of Him. Then darkness comes over the whole land, and Jesus shouts: My God , My God, why have you forsaken me?? He breathed his last with a loud cry. And then, something extraordinary happens: the temple curtain, which separates God and man was ripped. And not just a little, but from top to bottom. God was now with man! And the centurion says "Surely this man was a son of God!". He realized too late.
Because now, it was finished.
Yet, it wasn't.
Tomorrow's story will have to tell.....
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