Aches and Praise Five Hundred & Thirty Two

Posted on 2021-11-18 in English |

November 18, 2021
 
 

Dear friends,

In our Bible study group on Zoom on Tuesday night, we looked at the scourging and mocking of Jesus in John 19. It is hard to imagine the anguish that the Son of God experienced as He received verbal insults and physical assaults from soldiers and others. In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah examines the crucifixion of Jesus: “Who crucified Jesus?

  • The Romans killed Jesus. Pilate, the Roman governor, could have freed Jesus, but to preserve his standing with the mob, he willingly delivered Jesus to be crucified.
  • The Jews killed Jesus. The Jews cried, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matt. 27:25). Peter, preaching to the Jews later on, pointed his finger at them and said, “you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2:23).
  • God killed Jesus. “Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted … Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief” (Isaiah 53:4, 10). Acts 2:23 confirms that Jesus was “delivered (unto death) by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.” God did it.
  • I killed Jesus. My sins nailed Him to the cross. He died for me.

Who crucified Jesus? All of us. The sins of every individual, from Adam to this very day, nailed Him there. The Crucifixion is not just a historical event that we recall at Easter. It is a reminder that our sin, our falling short of God’s glory, our active or passive rebellion, is the very commodity that put Jesus on the cross.”

Edwin Blum writes in “The Bible Knowledge Commentary”: “John explained that soldiers not administering the crurifragium (Latin for the smashing of the lower leg bones) to Jesus but simply piercing His side fulfilled two specific prophecies or types. Jesus, as the true Passover Lamb, did not have any of His bones broken (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20) and people in the future will look on the pierced One (Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7).” The apostle John declared that he was a witness of the assaults on the Lord Jesus and that he recorded what he did so that people would believe in Him.

As we approach Christmas, let us think deeply about why Jesus came to the earth. He left the splendour of heaven to show mankind how much God loves us. Have you asked God’s forgiveness for your sins? Christ, the sinless Son of God, took the punishment that you and I deserved for our rebellion against a holy God. Come to Him by faith and receive His gift of salvation.                                                                                                                                                                   
Scripture for the weekend: “And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.” John 19:35 (NKJV)
 

Thought for the weekend: “One way to look at the purpose of John’s gospel is to review the seven things Jesus said about himself in that book. These “I am” statements present us with an overview of God Incarnate. He said the following: ‘I am the bread’ (6:35), ‘I am the light’ (8:12), ‘I am the gate’ (10:9), ‘I am the good shepherd’ (10:11), ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (11:25), ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (14:6), and ‘I am the true vine’ (15:1). No one but someone who is completely man and completely God could be all of these things – and that is what John set out to prove.” – Dave Branon (from “Our Daily Bread Bible Sourcebook” published by Discovery House, Grand Rapids, MI)

 

By His grace,
 

Steve

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