Week of 5 Lent C - 03/21 - 27/2010
This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year Lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:
http://www.commontexts.org/
and:
http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html
The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional Lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.
The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:
http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com(Please bookmark this link)
Journalspace.com, my former 'blog host is being reorganized under new ownership. I no longer publish there. I have also lost mypodcast.com, my podcast host. This 'blog is mirrored at:
http://shepboy.multiply.com/
.mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival Text-to-speech are available at:
Daily Walk 3-Year C Weekly Lectionary
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Podcast: Week of 5 Lent C
5 Lent - Sunday C
First posted March 21, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Sunday C
Isaiah 43:16-21 – A New Thing;
Psalm 28:1-3, 7-9 – Shepherd of God's People;
Philippians 3:8-14 – Righteousness by Faith;
Luke 20:9-19 – Parable of the Vineyard;
Isaiah:
This is the Word of God, who makes a path in the sea. He brings forth chariot and horse, warrior and army. They are bogged down and cannot rise; like a wick they are quenched, extinguished. Don't focus on the old, former things. Watch; the Lord is doing a new thing! Can you see it springing forth? The Lord will make a way in the wilderness; he will create a river in the desert. The wild animals will give thanks to God for giving them water; rivers in the desert to provide drink for God's people, whom God has created to give him praise.
Psalm:
I call to the Lord, my rock. Don't be deaf to my cry, lest I be like those who go down to their grave. Hear my supplication as I cry to the Lord for help; toward your holy sanctuary I lift up my hands.
I trust in the Lord with my whole heart; he is my shield and my strength! Therefore he helps me, and I give thanks to him with songs of praise. The Lord gives strength to his people, and refuge to his anointed. Save your people, Lord, and strengthen your heritage. Be our shepherd, Lord, and provide our care forever.
Philippians:
The great value of knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord surpasses every other thing in this world; in comparison they become worthless. I willingly surrender everything, and regard them as refuse, in order to gain Christ. May I be found in him, having righteousness which doesn't come from obeying the law, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is attributed to us by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. I pray that I may have personal knowledge of Jesus and the power of his resurrection, so that I can have resurrection from death like him.
I don't presume to already possess this, nor that I'm already spiritually perfect, but I pursue this for my own, because Jesus has made me his own. One thing I do is to forget the past and press on toward what lies ahead. I pursue the goal, to receive the prize, which is the upward call of God in Christ.
Luke:
Jesus told this parable (a common worldly experience used to teach spiritual truth): A person planted a vineyard and rented it to tenants while he was on a journey to a distant land. At the harvest season he sent a servant to collect his share of the proceeds. But the tenants beat his servant and sent him away empty-handed. The landlord sent another servant, and the tenants did the same to him. A third time the landlord sent a servant and this one they injured and cast out. The landlord considered what more he could do, and he decided to send his son, hoping that the tenants would respect him. But the tenants realized that the son was the heir and killed him, thinking that when the landlord died, the vineyard would belong to the tenants. What was left to the owner but to come and destroy the wicked tenants and give the vineyard to others.
On hearing this parable the people responded, saying, “God forbid!” Then Jesus quoted scripture: “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22; compare Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7-8). Every one who trips on that stone will be broken to pieces and those it falls upon will be crushed (Isaiah 8:14-15).
Commentary:
The Exodus from Egypt is a great saving act of God on behalf of his people. He made a path through the Red Sea, so that his people could pass through on dry ground, but the chariots and cavalry of Pharaoh became bogged down and were drowned when God allowed the Red Sea to revert to its normal condition (Exodus 14:13-31). Likewise, God made a way in the wilderness for his people and provided them with water from the Rock during their forty years as nomads (Deuteronomy 2:7; 8:2-4).
The historical Exodus is also intended by God to be a parable, a metaphor, for life in this world. Jesus is the “New Moses” who frees us from bondage to “Pharaoh,” Satan, in the “Egypt” of this present world order, and leads us into baptism into Jesus Christ in the “sea.” Christian baptism into Jesus Christ separates us from our spiritual enemies.
God creates for us a way through the “wilderness” of this lifetime, and provides us with our physical needs, such as bread (Exodus 16:15), meat (Exodus 16:8), and water (Exodus 17:6; compare 1 Corinthians 10:4). The Lord promises that if we will seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, these necessary things will be provide for us as well (Matthew 6:31-34).
Jesus is the solid rock on which we must build our spiritual life (Matthew 7:24- 27). Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Psalm 23; John 10:11-14).
There are conditions which must be fulfilled for God to hear and answer prayer (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right, home). We can't expect God to listen to us when we don't listen to, trust and obey God's Word.
I'm convinced that the meaning and purpose of life is to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Only Jesus gives the gift (“anointing;” “baptism”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit are we “born-again” to eternal life. By the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience a personal relationship with Jesus, and the joy of his love and salvation. By his indwelling Holy Spirit we know with certainty that Jesus is risen and eternally alive, and that we will share in his resurrection and eternal life.
Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the author of the letter to the Philippians, had formerly persecuted Christians. After his conversion (Acts 9:1-22), he didn't dwell on his past; he pressed on to his future as a saint (consecrated to God's service), a disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel).
I was born and raised in the Protestant Church, but I didn't come to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior until mid-life (late thirties). The Lord has forgiven me of my past; the thing I must do is apply myself to the calling I have been given by God now.
I could wish that I had come to saving faith in Jesus earlier, but I might have never found a personal relationship with Jesus, if I had accepted church doctrine and not tested life in the world (see False Teachings: The Emperor's New Clothes, sidebar, top right, home).
The parable of the vineyard is a metaphor for life in this creation. This world is God's vineyard and we are tenants in it. The spiritual harvest is our eternal souls. The Lord has sent numerous servants, prophets of God, to call us to give to God what he desires of the harvest: our obedient trust, and our eternal souls, in order to become his children.
Ultimately God sent his beloved only begotten son. We are all guilty of crucifying Jesus because we have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and made his sacrificial death on the cross necessary.
We are not irrevocably “lost” from God's forgiveness unless we refuse to accept the gift of salvation, from God's eternal condemnation, which is only available through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. We can be completely forgiven of the sins we have done in the past. The important thing is what we do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ from now on.
Christ has promised to return at the end of time to judge the living (quickened) and the dead in both physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5). Those who have repented of sin, who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, will be acknowledged by Jesus, and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or neglected to trust and obey Jesus will be spiritually dead (unborn) and will be condemned to hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Jesus' Second Coming, at the Day of Judgment, is not far off. It will occur for each of us within the span of our lifetimes. Jesus will either come physically the same way he ascended (Acts 1:9-11), while we are living, or at the moment of our physical death, and no one knows when that will be.
This lifetime is our only opportunity to be “born-again” to spiritual, eternal life. At the moment of our physical death our eternal destinies will be forever fixed and unalterable.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
5 Lent - Monday C
First posted March 22, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Monday C
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 – Prayer for Deliverance;
I seek refuge in you, O Lord. Let me never be put to shame. Deliver me because of your righteousness! Hear my plea and deliver me quickly. Be my rock of refuge, my strong fortress to save me.
Yes! You are my rock and my fortress; lead and guide me for your name's sake. Rescue me from the hidden net that has been set for me, because you are my refuge. “Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me , O Lord, faithful God” (Psalm 31:5).
Have pity upon me, O Lord, because I am distressed. My eye is worn out with grief, and so are my soul and body. I have spent my life in sorrow; my years are spent in sighing; because of my misery my strength fails me and my bones are consumed.
My adversaries scorn me: My neighbors are horrified by me, I am dreaded by my acquaintances. When I am seen on the street they flee from me. I am forgotten, like one who has died; I am like a broken pot. “Yea, I hear the whispering of many- terror on every side! -as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life” (Psalm 31:13). But my trust is in you, O Lord, my God. You control my destiny; deliver me from the power of my enemies and those who persecute me. Let your face shine upon me; save me because of your steadfast love.
Commentary:
This Psalm is attributed to David, the great (human) shepherd-king of Israel. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Good Shepherd and the descendant of David; the eternal King to fulfill God's promise to David (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29).
At his crucifixion, Jesus quoted Psalm 31:5 on the cross (Luke 23:46). Psalm 31:9-16 was prophecy of the Messiah, fulfilled at Jesus' crucifixion (compare Matthew 27:39-43).
God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Jesus is the “pioneer” (Hebrews 2:10) who created the way for us and showed us how to follow him. As we follow Jesus we will experience persecution. When we are beset with troubles we can claim the promises of this psalm for ourselves.
I personally testify that when I have been beset with troubles, I have turned to the Psalms for reassurance and deliverance. I have started with Psalm 1 and read until I felt better! Since I have laid up the Psalms in my heart, the Holy Spirit can recall to my memory promises they contain as they are needed to apply to my circumstances.
Jesus trusted and obeyed God the Father and claimed the promise of this psalm. Jesus' resurrection demonstrated the fulfillment of the promise. Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Jesus withstood and overcame the worst that the world could do to him, by his trust in God's Word. Jesus' resurrection frees believers from the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
5 Lent - Tuesday C
First posted March 23, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Tuesday C
Deuteronomy 32:36-39 – Vindication of God's People;
The Lord promises to vindicate his people when they recognize their powerlessness; when they recognize that there is no help in idols. Those who take refuge in idols, who sacrifice fat offerings and drink offerings to them, will find no help and no protection, no rock of refuge in them.
Realize that the Lord is God alone; there is no other god. God alone is sovereign; he declares, “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39b). No one can deliver us from his power.
Commentary:
In the history of God's dealing with his people, Israel, recorded in the Bible, Israel repeatedly fell away from obedient trust in God and into idolatry. God would lift his favor and protection from them and allow them to experience trouble, so that they would realize the part God was doing for them, and would return to obedient trust in him.
When things are going well for us, we think it is because we are worthy in our own ability. God must lift his favor and protection in order for us to recognize the part he has been doing for us that we hadn't noticed.
In a sense America is the New Promised Land; the New People of God. I believe that the Lord has begun to lift his favor and protection from America, and has begun to allow us to experience trouble so that we will recognize our need for him and will return to obedient trust in the Lord (see How Bad Must Things Get..., sidebar, top right, home).
Money, political power, success, career, and family are examples of modern idolatries. Anything which we love as much or more that God is idolatry.
God alone has the power to kill eternally, and to give life eternal. We will all die physically once. Then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The meaning and purpose of life in this temporal world is to seek and find knowledge of and fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27).
This lifetime is our one and only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Only Jesus “baptizes” with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible (Acts 19:2), ongoing event. It is impossible to be “born-again” and “hardly know it.”
God has the power to kill and make alive eternally, and the power to heal us spiritually. Jesus' physical ministry on earth was to demonstrate, by his physical healing, feeding and resurrection miracles, that he could heal, feed and resurrect spiritually.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
5 Lent - Wednesday C
First posted March 24, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Wednesday C
Philippians 2:5-11 – Christ's Example;
Have the same attitude that Christ exemplified. Although Christ was pre-existent and divine, he didn't try to be recognized as equal with God. Instead, he emptied himself (the ultimate act of self-denial) and became obedient unto death, even to the extreme form of death on a cross. Thus God has exalted him above all others, and has given him the name which is above all names. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Commentary:
One of the reasons that Christ came in human flesh was to show us how to live as children of God. He shared the same human nature that we have; he was tempted in the same ways we are, but was completely sinless (Hebrews 4:15). He was the pioneer of faith, blazing the trail we can follow (Hebrews 2:10) by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was pre-existent with God before the world was created and everything in creation was created by and for him (John 1:1-5, 14). He was fully human but also fully divine (Colossians 2:8-9). He could have commanded and we would have had no choice but to obey him, but this Creation has been designed to allow us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey him or not. That is why Jesus usually referred to himself as the Son of man, rather than the Son of God. He was allowing us to decide for ourselves who Jesus is.
God has designed this Creation for a specific purpose: to produce an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek, find and have fellowship with God, our Father, our Creator. By God's intentional design, this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only through faith in Jesus can we know divine, eternal truth, be restored to fellowship with God our Creator which was broken by sin, and have eternal life (John 14:6)
By God's intentional design, this lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, by the "baptism" of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus “baptizes” with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Spiritual “re-birth” is a personally discernible, ongoing experience (Acts 19:2). It is impossible to be “born-again” and “hardly know it.”
God knew that in giving us freedom to choose whether to obey God's Word or our own desires, we would choose to do our own will. Sin is disobedience of God's will, and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God doesn't want anyone to perish eternally so he has designed a Savior into Creation (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17), through whom we are forgiven and restored to fellowship with God as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Jesus is the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God to the world in human flesh (John 14:8-11). The “baptism” (gift; “anointing") of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the ultimate revelation of God the Father and Jesus Christ to us individually and personally.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
5 Lent - Thursday C
First posted March 25, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Thursday C
Luke 22:7-20 – The Lord's Supper;
On the Day of Preparation, when the passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the passover for Jesus and his disciples. They asked Jesus where he wanted to celebrate it, and Jesus told them to enter the city and they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow him to the house he entered, and and ask the householder for the guest room where they were to prepare the passover for the Teacher and his disciples. The Householder would show them a large furnished upper room where they were to make ready. They went and found everything exactly as the Jesus had said, and did according to his instructions.
At the appointed hour, Jesus sat down at the table with his disciples. He said that he had really wanted to celebrate the passover feast with his disciples before he was to suffer, because Jesus knew that he would not have another passover feast with them until it was fulfilled in God's kingdom in heaven. Jesus took a cup of wine and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he passed it to his disciples, telling them each to drink of it; Jesus told them he wouldn't drink the wine of Passover until he celebrated its fulfillment in the kingdom of God in heaven. He also took bread and when he had give thanks to God he broke it and passed it to his disciples, telling them that it was his body.
Commentary:
God has been preparing and revealing his eternal plan from the beginning of Creation, first in the perfection and complexity of Creation; then in the history of his dealing with Israel recorded in the Bible. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God to his Creation. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15 -17) is the ultimate revelation of the Lord to his people individually and personally. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
The history of the Exodus from Egypt is deliberately intended by God to be a parable, a metaphor, for life in this world. In a sense we are all in slavery to sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and (eternal) death (the penalty for sin; (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the "New Moses," who leads us out of Egypt, through the “sea” of baptism into Jesus Christ, and through the "wilderness" of this lifetime. He is the "New Joshua" who leads us through the “river” of physical death, and into the eternal "Promised Land" of God's kingdom in heaven.
The Passover Feast was the commemoration of God's deliverance of Israel from slavery to sin and death in Egypt. It was initiated on the eve of Israel's Exodus (Exodus 12:1-51). It was intended by God to be the prototype and illustration God's deliverance of his people through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus' created a new passover feast, the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist; Matthew 26:26-28) on the night of his betrayal. Jesus is the New Passover Lamb. The bread of passover is his flesh, broken on the cross; the wine (or grape juice) is the blood of the sacrificial lamb, which marks his disciples to be “passed over” by the destroying angel (Exodus 12:13).
The Lord's Supper is a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb and his bride, the Church, in heaven. Jesus is present now and reveals himself to his disciples in the elements of Communion, but that is only a shadow of the things to come in the fulfillment of his kingdom in heaven.
Jesus is present now to his “born-again” disciples. Jesus will lead us by his indwelling Holy Spirit. As we trust and obey Jesus' commands we will find situations exactly as he has said. The disciples followed Jesus' instruction about acquiring a donkey for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on “Palm Sunday,” the week before his crucifixion (Matthew 21:1-11). They found Jesus' instructions about preparation for the passover exactly as Jesus described them (Luke 22:13).
Jesus wants us to begin to trust and obey him now in this lifetime, in this world. If we will seek his will daily, he will reveal it to us. But remember that the Lord will never tell us to anything which will hurt ourselves or others, or which is contrary to the Word of God.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
5 Lent - Friday C
First posted March 26, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Friday C
Luke 23:1-49 – Jesus' Trial and Crucifixion;
At sunrise the Jewish authorities brought Jesus before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. (Luke 22:66). They pronounced Jesus guilty and dragged him before Pontius Pilate, the Roman financial administrator of the Roman Province of Judea (His headquarters was Cessarea, but he frequently came to Jerusalem). The Jewish authorities began to accuse Jesus of being a rebel who was subverting the Roman government, who told the Jews not to pay tribute to Caesar, and had claimed to be the Christ (Messiah) who would be king of the Jews.
Pilate asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews and Jesus replied that it was the officials who had said that about him. Pilate told the Jewish officials that he found Jesus not guilty any crime. But the Jewish leaders urged Pilate, claiming that Jesus was stirring up the people throughout Galilee and Judea. When Pilate heard this he asked if Jesus was a Galilean, and when he heard that Jesus was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas,* he sent Jesus to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at the time.
Herod was pleased to see Jesus, because he had heard what Jesus had been doing, and hoped to see some sign (miracle) done by Jesus. Herod questioned Jesus for some time, but Jesus didn't answer him. The Jewish leaders were nearby and accused Jesus vehemently. Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked him. Then Herod had Jesus dressed in king's apparel and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate and Herod became friends that day, whereas they had formerly been hostile to one another.
Pilate summoned the Chief priests and leaders of the people. Pilate told them that, having examined Jesus, he found him not guilty of any of their accusations, and neither had Herod. Pilate ruled that Jesus had done nothing deserving death, so Pilate would have Jesus chastised (with some form of corporal punishment), and then would release him. But the leaders and the multitude of Jews cried out loudly, asking Pilate to execute Jesus and release Barabbas, who had been found guilty and imprisoned for insurrection and murder. Pilate tried three times to release Jesus, but the Jews wouldn't hear it and kept shouting for Jesus to be crucified. Fearing a riot, Pilate gave in to their demands; He released Barabbas who was an insurrectionist and murderer, and delivered Jesus to be crucified.
They led Jesus away to be crucified, and along the way they seized Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry Jesus' cross. A large multitude of people and many women followed, wailing and mourning him. Jesus turned to them and told them not to weep for Jesus, but rather for themselves and their children. Jesus told them that a day was coming when people would say that those who were barren and had never nursed babies were blessed. In that day people would pray for mountains to fall on them and cover them. Jesus quoted a proverb saying that if this took place when the wood was green, what would happen when the wood was dry?
Two others who were criminals were led to crucifixion with Jesus to “Golgotha;” meaning “the place of a skull” (Mark 15:22). There they crucified Jesus and the criminals, one on his left and one on his right. And Jesus prayed for God's forgiveness for the people who crucified him, because they did not understand what they were doing. The (Roman) soldiers divided his garments by casting lots (like rolling dice; fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:18).
The Jewish leaders jeered, saying that if Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) he should save himself as he had saved others. The soldiers also mocked Jesus, offering him vinegar, and saying that Jesus should save himself if he really was the King of the Jews. One of the criminals crucified with Jesus told him that, if Jesus was the King of the Jews, he should save himself and the criminals also. But the other criminal rebuked him for not fearing God, since they were under the same condemnation. The criminals were justly condemned and were receiving the penalty due them, but Jesus had done nothing wrong. This criminal asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingly power. Jesus replied that this criminal would be with Jesus in Paradise that day.
It was about noon, and there was darkness over the land until three p.m. (because of a solar eclipse: Luke 23:45a, note “r,” RSV), “and the curtain of the temple (separating the people from the presence of God in the 'holy-of- holies,') was torn in two.” Then Jesus, quoting Psalm 31:5, commended his soul to God and breathed his last breath. When the Centurion (Roman soldier) saw this he praised God, and was convinced that Jesus was innocent. The multitudes witnessing this went home, beating their breasts (a sign of mourning), and all Jesus' followers and the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and witnessed these things.
Commentary:
It wasn't legal for the Sanhedrin to meet at night. According to Matthew's account, Jesus was tried at night (Matthew 26:57-66, 27:1), and at sunrise they took him to the Sanhedrin to formalize their verdict.
A person could not be convicted except by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Matthew 26:60-66). They found two witnesses who testified that Jesus had claimed to be able to destroy the temple and to rebuild it in three days. Jesus had said that they would destroy the temple (of Jesus' body) and he would raise it up in three days (John 2:19-22).
They asked Jesus if he was the Christ (Messiah) and Jesus refused to answer, saying that they would not believe if he told them, and that they would not answer if Jesus asked them. They accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God, and Jesus replied that it was they who had said that he was the Son of God. The court found him guilty on the basis of that claim, although Jesus hadn't made the claim.
Jesus usually identified himself as the Son of man (Luke 22:67-71); when Jesus identified himself as the Son of God it was to believers (John 9:35-37). Jesus identified himself as the Son of man, which was true, but which allowed his hearers to decide for themselves who Jesus was.
The Pharisees accused him of teaching against paying tribute to Caesar, but it was they who had tried and failed to get Jesus to make that statement (Matthew 22:15-22). The title “Christ” (the Greek equivalent of Hebrew word, “Messiah”) implied that Jesus was the eternal King of the Jews, to reign eternally on the throne of David, as God's Word had promised (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29), but Jesus resisted the attempt of people to make him the worldly King of the Jews (John 6:15; Acts 1:6).
Jesus was mute in the presence of his worldly judges (Matthew 27:11-14; Luke 23:9), fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7.
Simon of Cyrene, a city of North Africa, in the Roman province of Lybia, was probably coming into Jerusalem for the observance of Passover. He was seized by the Roman soldiers and forced to carry Jesus' cross which Jesus was too weakened to continue to carry. Simon was known to the Christian community as the Father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21), and may have been one of the evangelists who preached the Gospel to the Greeks at Antioch (Acts 11:20).
Jesus declared that the time was coming when the Jews (and all unbelievers) would pray that the mountains would fall on them and cover them because they would be fainting with fear at what what was coming upon the earth (there would be no place to hide; Luke 21:24-28). Jesus declared that if the people of God did thus to Jesus when they were alive (“quickened”), what will happen when they are dead (physically or spiritually; 1 Peter 4:5), and face Jesus' judgment (Luke 23:31)?
Psalm 22 is attributed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel, who reigned from about 1000 B.C. to 961 B.C.. Its prophecy must have been written about a thousand years before it was fulfilled at Jesus' crucifixion: his garments were divided among the Roman soldiers by a game of chance (Psalm 22:18). Jesus also quoted Psalm 22:1 as he fulfilled its prophecy (Matthew 27:46). In Aramaic it is “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” The bystanders thought he was calling Elijah, who was to precede the Messianic era. The entire Psalm is a prophetic description of Jesus' crucifixion; note especially verses 7, 14-18.
The repentant criminal expressed faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, and was saved from eternal destruction by the word of Jesus Christ.
At the moment of his death the curtain (veil) of the temple, separating the people from the presence of God in the holy-of-holies was torn in two (Luke 23:45b; Matthew 27:51), from top to bottom. This was the sign that Jesus had opened a new and better way into the presence of God. The Old Covenant (Testament) of Law of Judaism had ended and the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ had begun.
The temple had been completed in 65 A.D.. The temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The Jews were scattered throughout the world and Israel ceased to exist as a nation until re-established following World War II. Jesus has become the only way to know divine, eternal truth (1 Corinthians 1:17-25), the only way to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and the only way to be restored to eternal life in God's eternal kingdom in heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
A pagan soldier, the Centurion (a Gentile; pagan) who witnessed the death of Jesus was convinced that Jesus was the innocent Son of God (Luke 23:47). The Jewish crowd that witnessed Jesus' crucifixion realized the sin of what they had done and went home in mourning.
Jesus had prayed that God would forgive those who crucified him, because they didn't understand what they were doing. The multitudes that mourned were forgiven.
In a sense we have all been guilty of Jesus' crucifixion, because we are all guilty of sin (disobedience of God's Word) against God and made Jesus' crucifixion necessary for our forgiveness. When we acknowledge our sin we will be forgiven, but those who refuse to acknowledge their sin will be eternally condemned.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*Antipas was a son of Herod the Great and was governor of one subdivision of a province (Galilee and Peraea; Galilee in the northern part of Israel, and Peraea on the eastern bank of the dead sea).
5 Lent - Saturday C
Podcast: 5 Lent - Saturday C
Matthew 21:1-9 – Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem;
Jesus was going to Jerusalem, where he knew that he would be crucified (Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:17-19). At Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, he sent two of his disciples to fetch a donkey (donkeys) from the village, telling them that they would find it tied. If questioned, they were to say that the Lord needed it and would return it immediately. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, that the king of the “daughter of Zion” (God's people) would come to her humbly, on a young donkey.
The disciples did as Jesus had instructed, and found it exactly as he had said. They brought it and put their garments on it for Jesus to sit upon. Some in the crowd that followed them spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches and spread them on the road. Some of the crowd went ahead and some followed behind, and they shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)
Commentary:
Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey not fully grown. One cannot imagine a more humble entry. When kings of that era entered cities victoriously they entered in chariots, accompanied by their armies.
The followers of Jesus spread their cloaks or palm fronds on the road to give him a royal entry, like we would roll out a “red carpet.” This is the event that the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday.
Hosanna means “save now,” or “Save, we beseech.” “Son of David” implies the eternal King and heir to the throne of David according to God's promise (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). Jesus is the Messiah (Messiah and Christ each mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek respectively), God's “anointed” eternal Savior and King. Jesus is the name of the Lord!
The meaning and purpose of life is to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation from eternal condemnation to eternal death and destruction (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Spiritual re-birth is a personally discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
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