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Friday, April 18. 2014Good Friday: John 18John 18:1-41 Jesus Arrested: "Am I not to drink the cup?" After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, For whom are you looking? 5They answered, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus replied, I am he. Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, I am he, they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7Again he asked them, For whom are you looking? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8Jesus answered, I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go. 9This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me. 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. 11Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me? 12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Peter denies knowing Jesus 15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17The woman said to Peter, You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? He said, I am not. 18Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. The rest of the story is below the fold - Jesus interrogated 19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20Jesus answered, I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said. 22When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? 23Jesus answered, If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me? 24Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, You are not also one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. 26One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, Did I not see you in the garden with him? 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. 28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate went out to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man?30 They answered, If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you. 31Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law. The Jews replied, We are not permitted to put anyone to death. 32(This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) What is truth? 33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? 34Jesus answered, Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me? 35Pilate replied, I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done? 36Jesus answered, My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here. 37Pilate asked him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. 38Pilate asked him, What is truth? After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, I find no case against him. 39But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? 40They shouted in reply, Not this man, but Barabbas! Now Barabbas was a bandit. "I have no case against him." 19Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3They kept coming up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! and striking him on the face. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him. 5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Here is the man! 6When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, Crucify him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him. 7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God. 8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. 10Pilate therefore said to him, Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you? 11Jesus answered him, You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin. 12From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor. 13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, Here is your King! 15They cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate asked them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but the emperor. 16Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. Carrying the cross by himself So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write, The King of the Jews, but, This man said, I am King of the Jews. 22Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it. This was to fulfil what the scripture says, They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. 25And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, Woman, here is your son. 27Then he said to the disciple, Here is your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. "It is finished." 28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), I am thirsty. 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the wine, he said, It is finished. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) 36These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, None of his bones shall be broken. 37And again another passage of scripture says, They will look on the one whom they have pierced. The tomb 38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42And so, because it was the Jewish day of of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Trackbacks
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Amen.
The enormity of this day always moves me. All may have reconciliation with God if they wish. And to save a wretch like me. Good Friday it was when Jesus washed our sins away.
O, Happy Day! If Satan and minions knew how much good would redound to this Friday, the devils would not have crucified Lord Jesus. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world, unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew; for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him. I Corinthians 2:7-9 Don't we all.
And thus the grace of God is that much more amazing. It is days like this that remind us of how truly blessed we are. I am so extremely thankful to Jesus Christ for the sacfrifice he made on the cross. And I am also thankful for the ability to believe, because there are so many that don't.
This is a damnable piece of writing, not because it has Jesus dying for our sins(a damnable doctrine)---there's not a word about sin in it, rather he says he testifies to the 'truth'--but because it has the 'Jews' yelling, crucify him.
'For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.' You are exactly right, Bob.
He came to show us the way, and not to take our sins away. One should be responsible for one's own sins.
Those passages about the Jews yelling crucify him! led to countless real Jews getting killed later on in history. So you're blaming the writers of this piece for the sins of others who misinterpreted it later?
Most of the passage is a bunch of special political pleading. There weren't thousand of Jewish extras out there shouting crucify him! as if in some nightmare movie. Why, as the Jewish people couldn't stand the Romans, would they be cheering the decease of one of their own? It's Christian pleading, written after the war, cozying up to the Romans. And it echoed down the centuries.
This makes very little sense.
There were no Christians until after Christ's crucifixion. In fact, there were none for years after, they were still Jewish but following Jesus' additional teachings. If your point is that the Christians 'invented' the Jewish mob, that's possible, but unlikely as well. Jesus was not loved by the Jewish hierarchy. While his teachings didn't overturn Judaism, it was at odds with their political goals. Like any other system that was overseen by an alien force, the Jewish leaders of the time were trying to find ways to work within the confines of a Roman occupation. As a result, each had particular personal goals, and they were willing to drive their own followers into a frenzy to achieve their goals, within reason. Jesus' death was relatively simple to achieve. But to "blame the Jews" is as outlandish as "blame the Italians" (Romans). We can no more put ourselves in the place of those people and understand what their immediate needs were, than they could exchange places with us and know what we know. Why if Jews hated Romans did they appeal to Rome to crucify Him?
Because they had to get on with keeping the memory of the Passover lamb in and figured Jesus would take several days to die. Jesus died soon enough to keep it in hell, and deliver sinners therein, with the closed gross account he had finished upon His Cross. Fr. Jim siad last nite that Jesus last words "It is finished." is translated from the one word in greek, tetelestai. He used the illustration of old world tradition of putting tetelestai upon accounts which were closed out because they had been fully paid for. Not Jews, a few Sadducees appealed to Rome. Choosing between the Sadducees and Romans, a choice most Jews of the time wouldn't waste much time on. And Caiphas was right from his point of view. Better one person die, than the whole nation be lost. Which is exactly what eventually happened. Until about 2,000 years later.
Caiphas' and Jews' decision was right in their religion which was brought to an end.
It was only about 70 years later those who rejected Jesus' Kingship suffered under the rule of their chosen King/Ceasar, who brought desoltion to Jerusalem. Then therefore, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head; and they put on him a purple garment. And they came to him, and said: Hail, king of the Jews; and they gave him blows. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith to them: Behold, I bring him forth unto you, that you may know that I find no cause in him. (Jesus therefore came forth, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: Behold the Man. When the chief priests, therefore, and the servants, had seen him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you, and crucify him: for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again, and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin. And from henceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the parasceve of the pasch, about the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with him; away with him; crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. John 19 Matthew 28:46
My God, my God, why hast thous forsaken me? 28:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. Mark 16:34 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 16:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Luke 24:34 Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 24:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with me in Paradise. 24:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. John 20:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith to his mother. Woman, behold thy son! 20:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! 20:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 20:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. As a child, I was taught that from noon until 3pm on Good Friday, I had to do chores and be quiet. It was an old tradition to recognize Jesus' suffering and death on the cross.
Can't do that very easily once you are in the business world. While I wasn't fond of this tradition when I was younger, I have come to appreciate it. Also - love the El Greco. I enjoy his work. When my elder son was in 4th grade, parents took turns coming to his class and taking 20 minutes to teach about different artists.
I pulled El Greco, specifically his View of Toledo. My wife and I had recently visited Toledo. While I was barely familiar with El Greco, the research I did made me appreciate his work more. Particularly View of Toledo, because he did so few landscapes (and only 2 survive). The late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus wrote an excellent book of mediations on Good Friday called "Death on a Friday Afternoon," which I read years ago. Something that stayed with me: Neuhaus said the tall crosses familiar to us from Christian art were an invention of the Middle Ages. In an area berefit of forests, wood was too valuable a commodity for the Romans to waste on crosses. Why hoist a condemned man 6 or 7 feet in the air when only a few inches are needed, particularly since the Romans wanted people to see the terrifying pain and suffering.
That means when Jesus addressed John and Mary from the cross, it wasn't from on high. He was nearly eye level with them. |