Notes from CR 2/13/06

Notes from CR 2/13/06

What leads to sin is the HALT method…

H.A.L.T.:

• Hungry

I am hungry and don’t feel well, which can lead to misled feelings in other areas… a short temper and exhaustion.

• Angry

Resentment of someone or something… leads to sin out of hurt feelings, maybe even revenge.

• Lonely

Despair and feelings of nobody caring… another form of resentment, which can lash out in the form of “nobody cares anyway, so I might as well…”

• Tired

It is more of a simple “not thinking things through.” Being tired can lead to anger, due to lack of sleep. Sometimes when people are tired, hunger is normally associated… and when we eat, normally more exhaustion follows from a full stomach, complicating the matter further.

Homework:

• Stop 1 Thing


• Start 1 Thing

The Matrix – viewing things differently than everyone else

Solid Food vs. Milk: The difference in spiritual maturity

“The Train Trip” – Asking for blessings on others whom we don’t even know…

Matthew 3:8
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In 1906, 100 people converted 100,000 people. A decision they made was taking out everything that was questionable in their lives and became beyond reproach.

Acts 5:31
31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Revelation 2:21
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

God grants forgiveness and repentance.

A mourners’ bench is a bench for mourners or repentant sinners placed at the front in a revival meeting.

God mediates with repentance…

Mediate (verb):

• To settle or reconcile differences.


• To have a relation to two differing persons or things.

Immediate (adj.):

• Occurring at once; instant.

Repent (verb):

• To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.


• To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it.


• To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

Contrition (noun):

• Sincere remorse for wrongdoing; repentance.


• Sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation.

David writes a letter…

2nd Samuel 11:14-15
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

The next thing that David writes is this:

Psalm 51:1-9
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

God did this in a mediating fashion… And how did he do it?

2nd Samuel 12:1-7a
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.”

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

I am that man… I have to see my sin in this way.

John 16:6-11
6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Revelation 3:19
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

Hebrew and Aramaic

What Is Aramaic?

 

Aramaic is one of the Semitic languages, an important group of languages known almost from the beginning of human history and including also Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopic, and Akkadian (ancient Babylonian and Assyrian). It is particularly closely related to Hebrew, and was written in a variety of alphabetic scripts. (What is usually called "Hebrew" script is actually an Aramaic script.) (http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/)

 

Aramaic goes gack as early as 2nd Kings 18:26. Daniel 2 through 7 was written in Aramaic. The place of the Skull is called Golgotha (an Aramaic word).

 

Christian Aramaic Literature

 

Although Jesus spoke Aramaic, the Gospels are in Greek, and only rarely quote actual Aramaic words. Reconstruction of the Aramaic background of the Gospels remains a fascinating, but inordinately difficult area of modern scholarly research.

 

Christians in Palestine eventually rendered portions of Christian Scripture into their dialect of Aramaic; these translations and related writings constitute "Christian Palestinian Aramaic." (http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/)

 

What I have gathered is that Aramaic and Hebrew are just like American English and European English. Similar in many ways, but different in many ways...

 

Jonathon "Johnny" Ray

Notes from CR 2/13/06

Notes from CR 2/13/06

What leads to sin is the HALT method…

H.A.L.T.:

• Hungry

I am hungry and don’t feel well, which can lead to misled feelings in other areas… a short temper and exhaustion.

• Angry

Resentment of someone or something… leads to sin out of hurt feelings, maybe even revenge.

• Lonely

Despair and feelings of nobody caring… another form of resentment, which can lash out in the form of “nobody cares anyway, so I might as well…”

• Tired

It is more of a simple “not thinking things through.” Being tired can lead to anger, due to lack of sleep. Sometimes when people are tired, hunger is normally associated… and when we eat, normally more exhaustion follows from a full stomach, complicating the matter further.

Homework:

• Stop 1 Thing


• Start 1 Thing

The Matrix – viewing things differently than everyone else

Solid Food vs. Milk: The difference in spiritual maturity

“The Train Trip” – Asking for blessings on others whom we don’t even know…

Matthew 3:8
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

In 1906, 100 people converted 100,000 people. A decision they made was taking out everything that was questionable in their lives and became beyond reproach.

Acts 5:31
31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Revelation 2:21
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

God grants forgiveness and repentance.

A mourners’ bench is a bench for mourners or repentant sinners placed at the front in a revival meeting.

God mediates with repentance…

Mediate (verb):

• To settle or reconcile differences.


• To have a relation to two differing persons or things.

Immediate (adj.):

• Occurring at once; instant.

Repent (verb):

• To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.


• To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it.


• To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

Contrition (noun):

• Sincere remorse for wrongdoing; repentance.


• Sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation.

David writes a letter…

2nd Samuel 11:14-15
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

More notes to follow tomorrow… I will simply repost with more information added as I continue to learn and study things out. Johnny Out.

Happy Valentine's Day

Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

AAAHHH!!! Spring Training starts tomorrow… It seemed like forever ago a game of baseball was played. I am so excited… win-loose-whatever, I simply love the game of baseball. It’s a wonderful thing.

A legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'Christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. (historychannel.com)

Well, what I do know for sure is that Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, which is really why I wanted to focus on love to start the year. And if it is to share about love… to give gifts to those I love, then I need to see what God says about love.

I'll sing it one last time for you, and then we really have to go. You've been the only thing that's right in all I've done. And I can barely look at you, but every single time I do I know we'll make it anywhere, away from here. Light up. Light up as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. Louder – louder – and we'll run for our lives. I can hardly speak. I understand why you can't raise your voice to say. To think I might not see those eyes makes it so hard not to cry. And as we say our long goodbye, I nearly do. Light up. Light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. Louder – louder – and we'll run for our lives. I can hardly speak. I understand why you can't raise your voice to say. Slower – slower – We don't have time for that. All I want is to find an easier way to get out of our little heads. Have heart, my dear; for we're bound to be afraid, even if it's just for a few days, we’re making up for all this mess. Light up. Light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. (Snow Patrol – Run)

Now, some may see this song as a drug use song, because of the words “Light Up.” I, for one, don’t see it like that. And if you actually listen to the song, I don’t necessarily think the artists mean for it like that either. I see it more as a love song. I see it as the couple going through a difficult time. One person turns to another and says light up, things will be better, just right now stinks. We are running for our lives now, but later, maybe we can rest. And isn’t that the way it is with friends we love? Maybe no one else can relate, but with relationships with me, it’s work… like running a race, and not sure where the finish line is…

Proverbs 18:9-10
9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. 10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Amos 6:11-12
11 For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. 12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness…

Matthew 6:25-34
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Luke 12:22-34
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1st Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

Philippians 2:12-18
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Olympics… the sport of sports, they all come together every four years to prove who is the best and who isn’t all that great. Cross Country skiing… the next sport to be added: cross country hiking. Let’s throw on 100 pounds of gear and walk across a country to see who doesn’t throw up. Anyway… the race marked out for me is this: Run to the strong tower of the Lord, and let no one cut in front of me… to make sure that my running is for nothing. Run to finish in first, to get the prize that I seek. I need to not run in such a way that I end up searching for the things that pagans do… Run in such a way that it makes sense and not like a horse on rocky edges. And when I find my hope in the Lord and not in man, I find that my running will not be wearisome, and my heart will not grow faint. Spring training begins tomorrow for baseball. When does spring training start for me? Johnny Out.

A Study on Pilate

Monday, February 13th, 2006

A Study on Pilate

Matthew 27:1-26, 57-66
1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2 They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."

"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."

11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

15 Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

21 "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.

"Barabbas," they answered.

22 "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.

They all answered, "Crucify him!"

23 "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

25 All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."

65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Mark 15:1-15, 42-47
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.

2 "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."

5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 "What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

13 "Crucify him!" they shouted.

14 "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Luke 13:1
1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

Luke 23:1-25
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

3 So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man."

5 But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."

6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him."

18 With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

22 For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."

23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

John 18:28-40
28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"

30 "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

31 Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law."

"But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. 32 This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate.

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

40 They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

John 19:1-42
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"

6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"

But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

7 The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"

11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.

15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"

"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.

"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:|sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it."

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," 37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Acts 4:23-30
23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

This is an interesting study on Pilate. Pilate, on the surface, didn’t seem like at that bad a guy. He put Jesus against the worst criminal he had in custody to try to free him. The people choose the criminal. Pilate, however, wouldn’t listen to his wife… she told him to not do anything to Jesus. And then Pilate did something I so often want to do when I am frustrated: He washed his hands to proclaim innocence of the matter. It’s like he was washing his hands before they became dirty. Much like the phrase, “Pardon my French, but…” I wash my hands before I dirty them, thus giving me an excuse to dirty them. They’re clean, so why not. I think it was great that Pilate had the seal on the tomb and the guards posted there… it makes for an interesting account. The seal breaks, the guards are knocked out… Jesus rises. Really cool, I think.

Jesus amazed Pilate. I am sure in all his days, he never had a prisoner come before him and not defend himself. Your life is on the line, and you say nothing. I know it wasn’t that Jesus was dumbfounded. And honestly, if Jesus had said anything, it wouldn’t have mattered, the people wanted him crucified and they would stop at nothing less than their goal.

“That day Herod and Pilate became friends.” The death of a man brings others together. Jesus wouldn’t be a puppet for Herod. I can only imagine what Herod was asking of Jesus: Turn this flower into a cup. Turn this bowling ball into a bird. Fly around like superman. Give this spider 20 legs. The possibilities are endless as for what a king would ask of a person. And I am willing to bet it was more Herod seeking the friendship with Pilate and not the other way around. Herod probably sent him back to Pilate saying to crucify him. What would I ask of a guy who performs miracles all over the country? Herod had that guy in his very presence and was most likely asking him to do everything.

“Wanting to release Jesus…” Pilate didn’t want to crucify Jesus. “When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid…” Pilate didn’t want to crucify Jesus, but he was more afraid of the people of his jurisdiction than that of what appeared to him as simply a man. Pilate was pure and simple – a people pleaser. He was “Wanting to satisfy the crowd…” and ended up doing so in the end. And the rewards he reaped were that of becoming friends with Herod and having a satisfied town. Interesting… interesting indeed. Johnny Out.