"1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged
with a lead- tipped whip. 2 The soldiers
wove a crown of thorns and put it on his
head, and they put a purple robe on him.
3 "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked,
as they slapped him across the face.
4 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." 5 Then
Jesus came out wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate
said, "Look, here is the man!"
6
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."
7 The Jewish leaders replied,
"By our law he ought to die because he
called himself the Son of God."
8 When Pilate heard this, he was more
frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus
back into the headquarters [a] again and
asked him, "Where are you from?" But
Jesus gave no answer. 10 "Why don't you
talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you
realize that I have the power to release
you or crucify you?"
11 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."
12 Then Pilate tried to release him,
but the Jewish leaders shouted, "If you
release this man, you are no 'friend of
Caesar.'[b] Anyone who declares himself
a king is a rebel against Caesar."
13 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). 14 It
was now about noon on the day of
preparation for the Passover. And Pilate
said to the people,[c] "Look, here is
your king!"
15 "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.
16 Then Pilate turned
Jesus over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion So they took Jesus
away. 17 Carrying the cross by himself,
he went to the place called Place of the
Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There
they nailed him to the cross. Two others
were crucified with him, one on either
side, with Jesus between them. 19 And
Pilate posted a sign over him that read,
"Jesus of Nazareth, [d] the King of the
Jews." 20 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. 21 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.'"
22 Pilate
replied, "No, what I have written, I
have written."
23 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. 24 So they said, "Rather
than tearing it apart, let's throw
dice[e] for it." This fulfilled the
Scripture that says, "They divided my
garments among themselves and threw dice
for my clothing."[f] So that is what
they did.
25 Standing near the
cross were Jesus' mother, and his
mother's sister, Mary (the wife of
Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When
Jesus saw his mother standing there
beside the disciple he loved, he said to
her, "Dear woman, here is your son." 27
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 28 Jesus knew
that his mission was now finished, and
to fulfill Scripture he said, "I am
thirsty."[g] 29 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. 30 When Jesus
had tasted it, he said, "It is
finished!" Then he bowed his head and
released his spirit." (John 19:1-30)
Thought:
It's not easy to tell someone he's
going to hell. It's not easy to get
enough courage to tell a friend she
needs to trust Jesus. It's not easy to
interrupt someone's life to let that
person know he's a sinner.
It's
a tough job. But if we think witnessing
is difficult, we should remember that
Jesus didn't ask us to do the really
hard part of salvation. All He asked us
to do was to go into all the world and
tell people what He did.
He
already did the hard part. He stood
before a mocking court and allowed His
perfect name to be slandered and
scorned. He felt the sharp points as His
accusers shoved a crown of thorns on His
head. His muscles burned as He carried
the crossbeam up Golgotha's hill. He
felt the excruciating pain as spikes
were driven into His hands and feet. His
body was wracked with pain when He was
hoisted skyward on the cross. And worst
of all, Jesus felt the heartbreaking
pain of rejection when God turned away
from Him as He bore the incredible
weight of the punishment for our sin.
"My God, My God, why have You
forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). The
piercing cry echoed off the rocks of the
Place of the Skull and died away in the
darkness of that sad, black day. As
those haunting words faded, new ones
escaped His parched lips. In triumph, He
cried out, "It is finished" (Mark 15:37;
John 19:30) and He bowed His head. On
the cross, Jesus took our sin on
Himself.
Because Jesus willingly
suffered the death we should have
experienced, those of us who have
accepted His gift of salvation have been
set free. That leaves us with one
important thing we must do. Tell others.
It may seem tough at times, but
remember, Jesus has already done the
hard part.
Questions to consider:
* What is the hardest thing about
witnessing? Starting a conversation?
Mentioning the name Jesus? Worrying
about rejection?
* Do I know
someone who is really good at
witnessing? What can I learn from him or
her?
The good news is too
good to keep to ourselves.
Links: (When avail. copy & paste into
your web browser)
2Devote yourselves to prayer,
being watchful and thankful. 3And pray
for us, too, that God may open a door
for our message, so that we may proclaim
the mystery of Christ, for which I am in
chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it
clearly, as I should. 5Be wise in the
way you act toward outsiders; make the
most of every opportunity. 6Let your
conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know
how to answer everyone.
7Tychicus will tell you all the news
about me. He is a dear brother, a
faithful minister and fellow servant in
the Lord. 8I am sending him to you
for the express purpose that you may
know about our[a] circumstances and that
he may encourage your hearts. 9He is
coming with Onesimus, our faithful and
dear brother, who is one of you. They
will tell you everything that is
happening here.
10My fellow
prisoner Aristarchus sends you his
greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of
Barnabas. (You have received
instructions about him; if he comes to
you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is
called Justus, also sends greetings.
These are the only Jews among my fellow
workers for the kingdom of God, and they
have proved a comfort to me.
12Epaphras, who is one of you and a
servant of Christ Jesus, sends
greetings. He is always wrestling in
prayer for you, that you may stand firm
in all the will of God, mature and fully
assured. 13I vouch for him that he is
working hard for you and for those at
Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Our dear
friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send
greetings. 15Give my greetings to the
brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and
the church in her house."
(Colossians 4:2-15)
Thought:
The AP photo showed Alvaro De
Marichalar of Spain, wearing a long
coat, cap, and gloves while riding a Jet
Ski across the Tiber River in Rome. It
was taken just before his attempt to
cross the Atlantic on that same jet ski,
which seems a bit like trying to reach
the moon on a motorcycle. But to his
credit - he made it - but not on his
own.
And to the credit of
realistic journalism, the photo caption
also noted the presence of Alvaro's
support crew in a boat upriver.
Navigating the ocean on a personal
watercraft simply doesn't happen without
help. In fact, very few significant
accomplishments are made alone.
Singers don't win Grammys without a
back-up band. They don't tour without
skilled techies and seasoned roadies.
Athletes don't excel without coaches and
trainers and equipment managers. When an
actress or director receives an Oscar,
don't forget to read the credits at the
end of the film. Fall festivals like the
one we had this weekend, which was a
tremendous success (Go God!), can't
happen without many people working
behind the scenes. And Christians don't
stay in the spiritual race without a
support crew of other believers who
provide fellowship, prayer,
accountability, and encouragement.
In Colossians 4:7-14, Paul named
some of the people who were standing
with him as he wrote from prison in
Rome: Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus,
Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, and Demas.
As you read the passage, note what he
mentioned about these key people in his
life: a dear brother, a faithful
minister and fellow servant in the Lord;
my fellow prisoner; my fellow workers
for the kingdom of God; a comfort to me;
always wrestling in prayer.
Think of the people who would have
listed the apostle Paul in their
spiritual support crew. Most believers
who are on the cutting edge for Christ
benefit from and participate in the
ministry of encouragement and help.
If you're feeling alone at home,
work, or school, ask the Lord to bring
along some friends in the faith who can
walk with you each day. In the same
prayer, make yourself available to the
Lord to encourage someone else seeking
to live for Christ. No one wins without
help from the crew.
Questions to consider:
* Whose spiritual support crew am I
on?
* Which people give me the
greatest encouragement and help as a
Christian?
* To whom will I
write a note to say thanks for all he or
she means to me?
Links: (When avail. copy & paste into
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