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In chapter 19 we read the account of Jesus' trial, crucifixion, and burial. It is still hard for me to imagine what He went through the pain and suffering all for us.
I think of His mother, Mary, and the pain that she went through. As she looked back thinking of how the angel visited her to announce her pregnancy, then the shepherds showing up telling how angels had appeared to them telling of the birth in Bethlehem. Later the Wise Men bringing gifts. The prophecy of Anna and Simone in the temple. His first miracle at the wedding in Cana. And now he was beaten and hung on a cross like a criminal. I wonder what emotions she must have had. Was she confused? Or did you understand that all of this had to happen as part of God's ultimate plan? There must have been such pain and anguish in her heart, but was there also hope? I want to believe that God would have flooded her with His peace.
We know the rest of the story, but what a dark day it must have been for those who knew Jesus personally but didn't understand that this day was why He was born.
I love the part in this chapter about Joseph and Nicodemus.
This is a section I researched a lot for my first biblical novel, and still it amazed me. All that Jesus went through, the profound effect it still has on us today . . . I can only imagine what those watching it felt, the immensity of it all at the time. It's told in such simple words--but it's so . . . enormous.
ReplyDeleteAs I get older, I "feel" this story more. It brings great sadness and frustration. I am able to try to imagine what the people involved were feeling.
ReplyDeleteI've always been curious about Pilate. He really seems to think the Jews were crazy to want to want to kill Jesus. I always feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions that come up about Pilate and his motivations.
John 19
ReplyDelete41 A garden was located in the place where Jesus was crucified. In that garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed.
42 Joseph and Nicodemus put Jesus in that tomb, since that day was the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.
We will read this tomorrow but the words to this song came to me as I read these verses. Our Lord died in our place and took our sin that we might live.
In the Garden
Charles A. Miles, 1913
Copyright: Public Domain
Main subject: Jesus/Savior
Scripture: John 20:15-16
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.