November 17, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Luke? Here’s today’s reading:
Luke 23 (NIV)
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,”Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”.........Continue Reading
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Luke22
Luke 23
Still hard to read. Committed no crime. After being bound. Spit on. Punched. Whipped. Beaten. Crown of thorns. Stripped. And crucified. Imagine doing this to God in flesh and he says nothing in his defense. Because he loves us!!!!! I have no words. But tears
Amen, Mark!
It is always heartbreaking to read the accounts of the crucifixion and how horribly Jesus was treated up until it. To hear how hard Pilate worked to stop it and yet they continued to cry out for His death. His sacrifice was more than any of us could ever bear and He did it for us…so undeserving
All of Pilate’s attempts to convince the crowd and clear Jesus from what He was accused of hit me as well, Kelly. How vehement the crowd, most likely egged on by the Jewish leaders, is to see Jesus killed. For all the ways Jesus challenged them, it seemed easier just to get rid of Him…but we know it won’t be that easy as well as realizing God’s purpose is being fulfilled here as well. And Jesus does nothing to defend Himself or attempt to prevent what is happening. This is the cup that He was willing to drink to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. And some of the most gracious words ever spoken, “Father forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing”. Jesus’ death is the most tragic yet wonderful thing that there is……and it changes everything…..
The hypocrisy and injustice of the mob calling for Jesus’ crucifixion weighs heavily on my heart, and I grieve even more knowing that MY SIN needed to be atoned for and required His sacrifice. There are those there that were not part of the mob who grieved for Him as well.
I think of what God expected of the Jews prior to Christ’s sacrifice and there were those that walked in obedience and were waiting for the Kingdom of God. “Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.”