Jesus or Barabbas. Imagine the possible outcome of the life of Barabbas, chosen by the government to go free while Jesus was crucified. Was anything good about Barabbas ever mentioned in Scripture? What did Pilate hope upon hope would happen when the people saw the innocent Jesus compared with the corrupted and evil Barabbas? What did so … Continue reading –>
“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matt. 27:45-46, NKJV). What is the meaning of this cry? How … Continue reading –>
“For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.” -C.S. Lewis I was told a couple Fridays ago that my mother, my biggest champion and one of the biggest prayer warriors in my ministry had less than 30 days to live. She had been in poor health for … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 27:11-26. What are some of the deeper implications of the choice given to the people and the choice that they made? It was Barabbas the murderer who was supposed to be crucified on the middle cross. The criminals on either side were possibly his associates. Barabbas was not a first name but a … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 27:11-26; John 3:19; Isa. 59:2; Matt. 27:45-46, Matt. 27:49-54; Heb. 8:1-6; Matt. 28:1-20. Memory Text:“‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth’” (Matthew 28:18, NKJV). An ad in a British magazine asked if someone would donate his or her body to science. It said that … Continue reading –>
In 1959, two hoodlums entered a home in Kansas and murdered two teenage children and their parents. Before the killers were found, the brother of the murdered father wrote this letter to the local paper. “‘There is much resentment in this community. I have even heard on more than one occasion that the man, when … Continue reading –>
Jesus knew beforehand about Judas’s freewill decision to betray Him, one of many instances in the Bible showing that God’s foreknowledge of our free choices in no way infringes upon the freedom of those choices. And He knew not only of Judas’s betrayal, but also that Peter, despite all his bravado, would at the crucial … Continue reading –>
How sad the story of Judas! Had he died before his last journey to Jerusalem, he might have been among sacred history’s most venerated heroes. Church buildings could have been named after him. Instead, his name is forever linked to betrayal and treachery. Read John 6:70 and Luke 22:3. How do they help to explain … Continue reading –>
You can view an in-depth discussion of “Jesus’ Last Days Before His Crucifixion” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the … Continue reading –>
Free will. Could Jesus have chosen another course? Could He have sidestepped the brutal treatment He received and returned unscathed to the heavenly home He loved so much? Could He have acknowledged the awfulness of sin without dying from its consequences? If He could have, why didn’t He? You and I possess free will just as Jesus … Continue reading –>
During Passover week, the priests sacrificed thousands and thousands of lambs at the temple just up the hill from the Kidron Valley. The blood from the lambs was poured onto the altar and then flowed down a channel to a brook that ran through the Kidron Valley. The brook may have actually turned red from … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 26:17-19. Why is it so significant that this was the time of the Passover? See also Exod. 12:1-17, 1 Cor. 5:7. The story of the Exodus is, of course, a story of Redemption, of deliverance—a work that God does for those who could not do it for themselves. What an appropriate symbol for … Continue reading –>
