Week of 5 Lent - C
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
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Podcast Download: Week of 5 Lent - C
Sunday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 21, 2010;
Podcast: Sunday 5 Lent - 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 Paraphrase:
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 Paraphrase:
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 Paraphrase:
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 Paraphrase:
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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you
Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?]
Monday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 22, 2010;
Podcast: Monday 5 Lent - C
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 – Prayer
for Deliverance;
Paraphrase:
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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you
Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
Tuesday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 23, 2010;
Podcast: Tuesday 5 Lent - C
Deuteronomy 32:36-39 –
Vindication of God's People;
Paraphrase:
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 than 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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you
Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
Wednesday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 24, 2010;
Podcast: Wednesday 5 Lent - C
Philippians 2:5-11 – Christ's Example;
Paraphrase:
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, home).
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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple
(John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
Thursday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 25, 2010;
Podcast: Thursday 5 Lent - C
Luke 22:7-20 – The Lord's
Supper;
Paraphrase:
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 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 given 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 of 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 do anything which will hurt
ourselves or others, or which is contrary to the
Word of God.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you
Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
Friday 5 Lent - C
First
posted March 26, 2010;
Podcast: Friday 5 Lent - C
Luke 23:1-49 – Jesus' Trial
and Crucifixion;
Paraphrase:
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 of 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 (Luke
21:23-24). In that day people would pray for mountains
to fall on them and cover them (Hosea 10:8; Revelation
6:16-17). 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, home).
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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you
Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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).
Saturday 5 Lent - C
First posted March 27, 2010;
Podcast: Saturday 5 Lent - C
Matthew 21:1-9 – Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem;
Paraphrase:
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, home).
Only Jesus baptizes with (gives the gift of) the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Spiritual re-birth (John 3:3, 5-8) 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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
