3/16/17
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
We see in John 18:12-14 that Jesus is brought to the place of his trial. Just a few notes are in order. First, the military group which arrested Jesus is a substantial force, probably around 600 armed men. They apparently expected considerable resistance. They tied Jesus to bring him in. Would Jesus have tried to escape? It seems not. However, the arresting officers could not know that. They remained ignorant of his plan to go and die for their sins.
The political arrangements around the high priests are quite interesting. The Roman government had appointed Caiaphas the high priest. He was the son-in-law of Annas, who was the high priest selected according to the Levitical custom. Who would the Sanhedrin follow? If both Annas and Caiaphas agreed, they would have no problem deciding on their stance. That was the case here. Caiaphas had already made a prophecy that it would be better for one man, Jesus, to die, than for the whole nation to perish.
In the end, this is what will happen. Jesus will die for the sins of the world. He will do it willingly. Jesus does not wish to allow us to face our sins in our own strength. He takes them captive, crushes them, and puts them to death with him on the cross. This is a tremendous rescue indeed.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
We see in John 18:12-14 that Jesus is brought to the place of his trial. Just a few notes are in order. First, the military group which arrested Jesus is a substantial force, probably around 600 armed men. They apparently expected considerable resistance. They tied Jesus to bring him in. Would Jesus have tried to escape? It seems not. However, the arresting officers could not know that. They remained ignorant of his plan to go and die for their sins.
The political arrangements around the high priests are quite interesting. The Roman government had appointed Caiaphas the high priest. He was the son-in-law of Annas, who was the high priest selected according to the Levitical custom. Who would the Sanhedrin follow? If both Annas and Caiaphas agreed, they would have no problem deciding on their stance. That was the case here. Caiaphas had already made a prophecy that it would be better for one man, Jesus, to die, than for the whole nation to perish.
In the end, this is what will happen. Jesus will die for the sins of the world. He will do it willingly. Jesus does not wish to allow us to face our sins in our own strength. He takes them captive, crushes them, and puts them to death with him on the cross. This is a tremendous rescue indeed.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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