The Christ

He came as a baby, born to a poor carpenter and a very young woman. His earthly father, a carpenter trained him in the skills of wood crafting. At the age of 12, He sat in the temple listening to the religious leaders. When his earthly parents found Him. He told them, “I have to be about my Father's business.”

At about 30 years old, He became an itinerant preacher. His cousin baptized Him. Then the adversary tempted him for 40 days. As he began his ministry, He chose 12 men to follow Him. Those those disciples believed He would establish an earthly kingdom.

Every time He spoke to a crowd, the religious leaders became afraid. These priests decided He had to die.

One disciple, a non-Galilean, betrayed Him, leading the officials to the garden where He went to pray. Before dawn came, He was seen by the Chief Priest and the Roman governor, who ordered Him scourged.
The soldiers led Him and two common thieves out of the city to the place of the skull, called Golgotha. There he was hanged on a cross to die a criminal's death. During this ordeal, He took upon himself all of our sins—mine and yours.

He did this for us because of His mercy and great love for us.

Consider The Crucifixion

(Luke 23:1-25)

Reflection on this passage and the movie, “The Passion of The Christ” makes me feel very humble. Jesus never veered from the course set for Him. He endured the worst treatment known to man and yet He asked the Father to forgive those who lied about Him and those who had to carry out the orders.

He did all this for us! No one willingly dies for another, yet He did that for you and me.

It was prophecy being fulfilled—Jesus had to die. God worked out the scenario in a unique way. It was necessary for Jesus to go through this; it was God's plan. Jerusalem and the known world had to be redeemed. Yet, Jesus did this voluntarily. Jesus' sacrifice was triumphant; God won out and it was tragic—it cost His life The Father had pre-ordained it—the Old Testament prophecies tell of the story.

Also, it seemed unjust—Jesus Christ was without sin; yet just—there was no other way for God to reach His children. The whole experience caused Jesus' work on earth to be finished; and yet the work was ongoing because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide those who would believe then and for all time.

The Crucifixion

(John 19:1-27)

Dear Jesus:
They trumped up charges against You; they were that afraid of You and Your message. You did nothing wrong.

They nailed you on a cross—a fate reserved for the vilest criminal. But You asked God to forgive them.

You became sin for us all, especially me. We all deserve to die and receive punishment for what we have done. Yet, you took our place, even mine.

Your followers watched as You agonized. They felt intense sadness as they heard You crying out; they smelled death the whole time.

But this was God's plan for You. One you wrestled with in Gethsemane and finally yielded to because of Your great love for Your children.

I find I appreciate You more as I walk closer to You. Thank You for accepting God's plan.Amen

Thomas

Thomas, also called Didymus, seems to be remembered for his doubting that Jesus arose. Some Biblical scholars point out all Thomas wanted was the truth.

He wasn't with the other disciples and the followers when Christ appeared to them. Hence his doubt of what he heard.

William Barclay reminds us of the courageous Thomas—he demonstrated love for Jesus when they heard of Lazarus' death. He displayed courage and loyalty when he told the others that they should go to Jerusalem “that we may die with Him.”

Pilate

(John 18:38-39)
The Jews didn't like him. On three different occasions, Pontius Pilate had broken God's law-two of the being one of the commandments handed down by Moses.

When Jesus was arrested and tried, the crowd wouldn't let Pilate rule in anyway except how they wanted. They wanted this man Jesus crucified. Their collective attitude was, “If you don't do as we want, we will again report you to the Emperor.

But Pilate believed Jesus innocent of the charge. He wanted to free this itinerant preacher. He bargained with the crowd. He would honor the Passover tradition of releasing one prisoner. He would exonerate that prisoner. He would release the Nazarene But the crowd yelled, “Crucify him, Crucify him.”

In the end Pilate did as the crowd demanded. But how did all this set in his mind?

Herod

Although he acted as governor of Judea—appointed by Rome, he was a people-pleaser at heart. Herod acted big for the guests at his birthday party. His step-daughter had danced for those in attendance. After she finished, Herod boasted he'd do anything she asked, he was so appreciative of her dancing.

Her mother, Herodias, put her up to it. She told her to ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter. This bothered Herod. He actually liked John, except when his preaching went to meddling into Herod's life.

Herod first thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life. When approached by the crowd, he didn't know what to do about Jesus.

Caiaphas

Prior to the Roman occupation of Judea, the office of High Priest was held for life. But that changed to an annual appointment. Caiaphas,the one selected for that year, spent his time looking out for himself. Scholars describe him as selfish and closed-minded.

He was convinced Jesus should die. But he didn't know how. Add to his quandary the Jewish Community needed permission from the Roman government before any execution could be carried out.

Caiaphas told the religious leaders it was better for one man to die for the people rather than the whole nation. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one. (John 11:49-53)

His usual method of operating was to remove anyone who threatened his power. After the resurrection, he didn't believe Jesus had risen from the grave. He ordered the soldiers to tell people someone had stolen the Master's body from the tomb.

Caiaphas, in all his plotting and planning, was used in God's plan.