November 13, 2012
It Is Well With My Soul
It Is Well With My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll.
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, It is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole.
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well, with my soul
The crucifixion of Jesus. Orchestrated by His own people—the Jews. The Jews—chosen by God to be His people. Throughout the Old Testament we read of their disobedience, their wanderings, their refusal to accept full surrender to God. They wanted kings so God let them have what they wanted even though it was going to cause their downfall. None of the kings for the tribe of Israel did what the Lord said was right, and only a few of the kings of Judah followed what the Lord said was right.
Fast forward to the time of Jesus. The Jews are no longer free. They are living under the control of the Roman Empire. It was a fairly comfortable life, it was not like when they were slaves of Egypt. They had settled in and accepted something far less than what God had designed for them. They were content with status quo. They didn't want Jesus to disrupt their lives. Over the years they decided which laws they were going to follow and they added their own insight and twist to the laws. They were comfortable in their sin and did not want to change. How dare this "man" named Jesus interrupt their lifestyle.
Their scriptures told them exactly what was going to happen. Yet Jesus was born a few miles away and they had no idea. They were not seeking God or searching His word. They were doing what they wanted to do. They were religious—but they were religious unbelievers. The baby Jesus grew to be a man. They become offended by His teachings so they decide to get rid of this "man" who is putting a damper on their lifestyle. They don't want to get their own hands dirty so they enlist the help of the Romans who they are subject to, and Jesus is arrested and taken before the Jews High Priest. He is questioned and then taken to the Roman Governor's palace. But, since they were "religious," they did not go inside the palace because that would have made them unclean and they didn't want to miss out on eating the Passover meal. Heaven forbid!! They were concerned about missing their "religious" custom of celebrating the protection of God and all the while they are seeking the destruction of God Himself!!
Their scriptures told them exactly what was going to happen. Yet Jesus was born a few miles away and they had no idea. They were not seeking God or searching His word. They were doing what they wanted to do. They were religious—but they were religious unbelievers. The baby Jesus grew to be a man. They become offended by His teachings so they decide to get rid of this "man" who is putting a damper on their lifestyle. They don't want to get their own hands dirty so they enlist the help of the Romans who they are subject to, and Jesus is arrested and taken before the Jews High Priest. He is questioned and then taken to the Roman Governor's palace. But, since they were "religious," they did not go inside the palace because that would have made them unclean and they didn't want to miss out on eating the Passover meal. Heaven forbid!! They were concerned about missing their "religious" custom of celebrating the protection of God and all the while they are seeking the destruction of God Himself!!
Pilate asked what this man had done wrong and they respond—trust us! We wouldn't have brought him to you if he wasn't a criminal. Pilate says, "Take him yourself and judge him by your own law." But the problem was their law did not allow anyone to be put to death. So in order to remain "religious" they had to take Jesus to someone else (the Romans) and have their court do it. And that was somehow okay in their "religious" minds!?! They were laser focused on one thing—GET HIM! They could not see or understand truth. Jesus said, "This is why I was born and came into the world: to tell people the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me." The KJV says, "hears my voice." The NIV says, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." (John 18:37) But they didn't want truth. They only wanted what they wanted.
Pilate could find nothing wrong with Jesus. It was the Jewish custom to release one prisoner at Passover time. So he asked the people if they wanted to free Jesus. He gave them opportunity after opportunity to change their hearts and actions, but they refused and asked to have Barabbas (a true criminal) released instead. Pilate again tells them he can find no fault in him, and they respond by shouting, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate says if you want to do this, then do it yourself. The Jews respond with "we have a law..." They were portraying religiosity.
Pilate again wants to let Jesus go. So this time they try a new tactic by putting pressure on him through manipulation. John 19:12 - "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar." Pilate, as governor, was under the rule of Caesar. By claiming insubordination they pressured Pilate into doing what he did not want to do. So Pilate sat down on the judge's seat. It was about noon on Preparation Day of Passover week. Pilate said to the crowd. "Here is your King! And they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him! The only king we have is Caesar!"
The truth comes out. They aren't followers of God, and Jesus is crucified. Pilate has a sign made to be put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews." The leading Priests said: NO! NO! NO!! Don't say he is the king of the Jews! Say he said he is the king of the Jews. Wasn't it enough to humiliate and kill Him? Their anger and revenge ran deep, but Pilate did not change the sign. The truth is the truth. He was/is the King of the Jews.
Pilate again wants to let Jesus go. So this time they try a new tactic by putting pressure on him through manipulation. John 19:12 - "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar." Pilate, as governor, was under the rule of Caesar. By claiming insubordination they pressured Pilate into doing what he did not want to do. So Pilate sat down on the judge's seat. It was about noon on Preparation Day of Passover week. Pilate said to the crowd. "Here is your King! And they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him! The only king we have is Caesar!"
The truth comes out. They aren't followers of God, and Jesus is crucified. Pilate has a sign made to be put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews." The leading Priests said: NO! NO! NO!! Don't say he is the king of the Jews! Say he said he is the king of the Jews. Wasn't it enough to humiliate and kill Him? Their anger and revenge ran deep, but Pilate did not change the sign. The truth is the truth. He was/is the King of the Jews.
It was Preparation Day, and the next day was a special Sabbath day. They were busy being "religious." They didn't have time to waste while they were waiting for Jesus to die. So, they asked for the legs of the three men to be broken so they would hurry up and die. They had "religious" things they needed to do. The other two men's legs were broken, but Jesus was already dead. Jesus body was taken down and put in a tomb nearby.
BUT WAIT!! Before we become to hard on the Jews for their behavior and their part in the crucifixion of Jesus, what about us!?! Hebrews 6:4–6 says:
BUT WAIT!! Before we become to hard on the Jews for their behavior and their part in the crucifixion of Jesus, what about us!?! Hebrews 6:4–6 says:
"Some people cannot be brought back again to a changed life. They were once in God's light, and enjoyed heaven's gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit. They found out how good God's word is, and they received the powers of his new world. But they fell away from Christ. It is impossible to bring them back to a changed life again, because they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and shaming him in front of others."
Wow! We are appalled at the actions of the Jews. But, if we turn away from Christ and do not follow His teachings, we are doing the very same thing!! Nailing Him to the cross again and shaming Him in front of others.
May those words never be said about me.
Next Entry: John 20:1–31
May those words never be said about me.
Next Entry: John 20:1–31
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