Tuesday Morning: 05 Mar 2019 – John 19:38-20:10 ~ he saw and believed

Tuesday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Almighty God: to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of my heart through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ my Lord. Amen.
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Morning Reading – John 19:38-20:10 (NLT)

The Burial of Jesus

Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

The Resurrection

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.
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Morning Reflection:

“Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in,
and he saw and believed — for until then they still hadn’t understood
the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.” – John 20:8-9

Why is the resurrection of Jesus central to our faith?

+ The resurrection of Jesus assures us of his God-sent person and mission.
+ The resurrection of Jesus assures us that our sins are forgiven.
+ The resurrection of Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit is given to us.
+ The resurrection of Jesus assures us of eternal life through faith in him.

“If our hope in Christ is only for this life,
we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:19–20

Questions for consideration:

• What practical effect does Jesus’ resurrection have on your faith?
Please explain.
• What practical effect does Jesus’ resurrection have on your priorities?
Please explain.
• How can Jesus’ resurrection console those who have lost loved ones?
Please explain.
• How can Jesus’ resurrection encourage those who are disheartened?
Please explain.

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Morning Prayer: by Selwyn Hughes

Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice and rejoice continually in Your glorious and triumphant victory over death. For Your victory is my victory. Help me to live by it, in it, and for it. I am grateful to my depths – grateful forever. Amen.
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“Because He Lives” ( Amen ) – Matt Maher

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Closing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, and protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Monday Morning: 04 Mar 2019 – John 19:17-37 ~ “It is finished!”

Monday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening (Collect for Purity)

Morning Reading – John 19:17-37 (NLT)

The Crucifixion of Jesus

Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 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.

Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and “They will look on the one they pierced.”
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Morning Reflection:

“It is finished!” – John 19:30

Jesus paid in full the penalty for my sin – past, present and future.

+ Everything that contributes to my salvation is found in Christ. (John Calvin)

Nothing else can make atonement for my sins.
Nothing else can appease the wrath of God for my sins.
Nothing else can obtain justification for my sins.

+ My salvation has been sealed by the precious blood of the Son of God. (John Calvin)

Questions for consideration:

In light of Jesus’ words “It is finished!” – what role, if any, does penance (or reparations) have in reconciling you to God? Please explain.
How do you reconcile the wrath of God with the love of God? Please explain.
If you were to die today and stand before God, and He asked you: “Why should I let you into heaven?” What would you say? Please explain.

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Morning Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. Help me to trust Him completely as my Savior and follow Him faithfully as my Lord. Guide my life and empower me with your Spirit to do your will. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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“In Christ Alone” – Stewart Townend

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Closing:

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

The 8th Sunday of Epiphany – 03 Mar 2019 – Luke 9:28-36 ~ Listen to him.

Eighth Sunday of Epiphany

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

O God, who on a mountain revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son,
wonderfully transfigured, glorious and in dazzling white: Grant that we, being delivered from the anxiety of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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“What A Beautiful Name” – Hillsong Worship

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Gospel Reading: Luke 9:28-36 (NLT)

The Transfiguration

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.

Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
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Prayers of Intercession:

Heavenly Father: You sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to show us how to live and love. We confess we have not listened to him – we have not loved you with all our heart, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Please forgive us, and by the power of your Spirit help us –

+ Show patience and kindness, especially to the difficult people in our lives.
+ Show humility and gentleness, considering the needs of others first.
+ Show cheerfulness and grace, even when we have been wronged.
+ Show gladness of heart, when truth wins over falsehood.
+ Show perseverance and faith, when obstacles seem insurmountable.
+ Show hope and endurance, in the face of heartache and suffering.

Heavenly Father: You sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to show us how to live and love. And, he voluntarily laid down his life so that we could be made right with you. Thank you for your forgiveness, and set us again on the path of life and love he has laid out for us. For his name’s sake. Amen.
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“You’re Beautiful” – Phil Wickham

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Blessing – Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do far more than all that we ask or imagine, according to his power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Saturday Morning: 02 Mar 2019 – John 19:1-16 ~ I find him not guilty.

Saturday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening (Collect for Purity)

Morning Reading – John 19:1-16 (NLT)

Jesus Sentenced to Death

Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!”

When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

“Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave no answer. “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?”

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.”

Then Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”

When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your king!”

“Away with him,” they yelled. “Away with him! Crucify him!”

“What? Crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus away.
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Morning Reflection:

Pilate went outside again and said to the people,
“I am going to bring him out to you now,
but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” – John 19:4

Then why did Pilate yield to the mob and allow Jesus to be beaten, humiliated, and crucified? Why did Pilate allow his integrity to be compromised? Why did Pilate act counter to his conviction that Jesus was innocent?

+ Pilate allowed expediency to override his convictions of right and wrong. He had the secular power and authority to do the right thing. But in the end, he didn’t want to be bothered – he went along to get along, bringing shame on himself and losing his soul.

+ Pilate allowed fear to override his convictions of right and wrong. Everyone has a boss, and Pilate was no different – his boss was Caesar. When the religious leaders threatened to report him for coddling a threat to Caesar’s authority – he was afraid of ending up in Jesus’ place before Caesar.

+ Pilate allowed a mob to override his convictions of right and wrong. The crowd was wrong and Pilate knew it. But he allowed the mob’s clamor to sway him. It was a collective voice inflamed by passion, worked upon by wicked and crafty leaders; it was the voice of Satan.

Pilate chose wrong over right; no washing of hands could absolve him from this miscarriage of justice.

Questions for consideration:

Can you think of a time when expediency, fear, or popular opinion influenced you to do the wrong thing? Please explain.
Are expediency, fear, or popular opinion influencing an impending decision facing you now? What is the right thing to do? What will it cost you? Please explain.
How can you employ the Word of God, the Spirit of truth, and the power of faith, hope, love, duty, sacrifice, and prayer to enable you to do what’s right? Please explain.

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Morning Prayer:

Lord Jesus: Forgive me for adding to your suffering by succumbing to expediency, fear, and popular opinion. Cleanse my heart, change my thinking, and shape my will that I might live with integrity and a clear conscience, following the path you have set before, and bring honor to your name. Amen.
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“O God, Do Thou Sustain Me” – ‘Anabaptist Martyr Hymns’

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Closing:

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Friday Morning: 01 Mar 2019 – John 18:19-40 ~ What is truth?

Friday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening (Collect for Purity)

Morning Reading – John 18:19-40 (NLT)

The High Priest Questions Jesus

Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. 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. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”

Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.

Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

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?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus’ Trial before Pilate

Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

“Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.)

Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

Pilate said, “So you are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 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’?”

But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)
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Morning Reflection:

Jesus Embodied the Truth –

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6a).

But Pilate couldn’t see it; Truth stared him in the face and he looked away, preferring the philosophical rabbit trail of relativism. So Pilate asks: “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

Why is this important to us? Because Western society has followed Pilate down that same rabbit trail to nowhere.

What is truth? – “Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God.” (John MacArthur) – Jesus, then, is the embodiment of Truth.

In Jesus’ response to Pilate’s question about Kingship, several points stand out –

+ Truth is the foundation of the Kingdom of God. (14:6a)
+ The Kingdom of God is spiritual in nature. (18:36)
+ Kingdom battles are waged in our hearts. (18:36)
+ Jesus embodied Truth in his preaching, teaching and healing. (18:37b)
+ Loving Truth is the litmus test for loving and following Jesus. (18:37b)

Questions for consideration:

Is Truth an important value to you? How does your relationship with Jesus affect your understanding of Truth? Please explain.
Can you think of an example Truth, that conflicts with the false witness of relativism? How does that affect your life? Please explain.
Can you identify an area in your life where the spiritual battle between Truth and falsehood is being waged? Please explain.
What action can you take to testify to the Truth, by submitting your life to Christ? Please explain.

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Morning Prayer:

Heavenly Father: Fill me with your Spirit and lead me into all Truth as taught and lived by Jesus. Overcome the false witnesses of this world that attempt to divert me away from your Kingdom values. And keep me focused on Jesus – the Way, the Truth, and the Life – that I may enter into your Presence, and serve you faithfully as a citizen of your Kingdom. I ask this through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.
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“The Way” (New Horizon) – Pat Barrett