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February 18, 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 Matthew? Here’s today’s reading:

Matthew 27 (NIV)

Judas Hangs Himself
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor........Continue Reading

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This Post Has 10 Comments
  1. Every time I hear the account of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion it brings me to tears. So much emotional and physical pain poured on Him. When Jesus uses His final breaths to call out to His Father in desperation it is so devastating and all the while He remained peaceful and did not give in to the temptation to remove Himself from all this pain. We know with just a word He could have ended it all but He endured what His father had planned to save us. The realization that He went through all of that for me is overwhelming!
    I love that God gives the people such a clear sign of what they did when Jesus died….earthquake, torn veil, broken stones….confirmation that they indeed just killed the King of the Jews and Savior of us all.

  2. I think we all suffer from hypocrisy, at least on occasion. We should repent of it when we recognize it, it’s a sin.

    The chief priest and elders pay the 30 pieces of silver to Judas to betray Jesus.
    The chief priests and the elders won’t accept the silver back when Judas tries to return it.
    The chief priests and elders pick up the 30 pieces, but can’t add it to the treasury because it was “the price of blood”…..but they paid it in the first place…so they bought a field to bury strangers in. Were they trying to make up for their paying the “price of blood”?

    “The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
    The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
    Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
    And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
    When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
    Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”

    The crowd, persuaded by the chief priests, calls for the crucifixion of Jesus and Pilate symbolically washes his hands of the “innocent blood of this just person”. The chief priests are again, responsible for the blood of Jesus, but hypocritically removing themselves from the actual deed.

    Jesus’ blood will be on the people and their children. His death will be their responsibility and their redemption.

  3. It is easy to feel sorry for Judas, like so many of us, led willingly to disobey God and then regretting the decision afterward. And what could be a deeper one than to have turned Jesus over. And it is just like satan to tempt us to sin and then be the one condemning us afterward. We need to let our awareness of regret/guilt guide us to make good decisions in the first place….and not live in condemnation but accept God’s grace and let it lead us to say no to sin. One can feel bad for Pilate as well. He seems to try to do things right and help the Jews see Jesus’ innocence, but he would otherwise be pretty disconnected from concern about one Jewish person and be more concerned about the politics of Jerusalem and placating the Jewish leaders as much as Rome would want him to. I do like the little vignette of the interaction between Pilate and his wife.

    And the soldiers are just doing their jobs…horrific as it would be to beat and crucify people. But you can imagine a level of callousness that would develop and the angst of life projected on the daily subject of the pain they would be charged to inflict….and if there was a chance to poke fun as well…it’s easy business for heart that is hard….

    But then there is Jesus. Being the tremendous Savior that He is. He speaks just a few words of truth to Pilate as opposed to defending Himself to get Himself free. One imagines Jesus being tremendously courageous as He faces His abusers..He was like a lamb who is silent before it’s shearers. But what a painful way to die and yet the greatest suffering was for there to be a disruption in the fellowship between the Father and the incarnate Son. I think Jesus knew the answer and yet He cries out My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Quite possibly the saddest words ever spoken but the circumstance described absolutely necessary for the salvation that we are in no way worthy of.

    And it is no wonder that Jesus’ death had immediate repercussions with various miracles to show that God was on the move and had done something great through His Son. It is also no wonder that those who opposed Jesus and killed Him would try to protect their position and secure the tomb as best they can…but something tells me it’s not going to matter…..

  4. 50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
    51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
    54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

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