Holy Saturday, April 16th, 2022
Bible Reading • John 18:33 – 19:30
Jesus Before Pilate (John 18:33-40)
“Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.”
Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified (John 19:1-16a)
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.”
The Crucifixion of Jesus (19:16b-27)
“So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others —one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews . Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
The Death of Jesus (John 19:28-30)
“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
Week Seven Song
By: Edward Perroner (1780)
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
O seed of Israel's chosen race
now ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all!
Let every tongue and every tribe
responsive to his call,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all!
Oh, that with all the sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
“At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
~Hebrews 2:8b – 9a (ESV)
Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
- Jesus died to establish the kingdom of God on earth. (Week Seven)
- Jesus died to bring us into a right relationship with God. (Week Six)
- Jesus died to disarm the powers of sin, death and the devil. (Week Five)
- Jesus died to give us eternal life with Him. (Week Four)
- Jesus died that we may worship God freely and confidently in His presence. (Week Three)
- Jesus died to demonstrate His love for us. (Week Two)
- Jesus died to forgive us our sins and cancel our debt. (Week One)
Songs of the Lenten Season 🎶 🎼 🎵
- Week One: “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” by Robert Lowry (1876)
- Week Two: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Stuart Townsend (1995)
- Week Three: “When I survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts (1707)
- Week Four: “The Old Rugged Cross” by George Bennard (1913)
- Week Five: “Victory in Jesus” by Eugene Monroe Bartlett (1939)
- Week Six: “Man of Sorrows” by Philip B. Bliss (1838)
- Week Seven: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” by Edward Perroner (1780)
By clicking the link below you can listen to all these songs (instrumental versions) in one place.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPq2grhEgR6OrvxRZk4lcNmJq8VgoniaP
Pondering Thoughts
Friends, as we pause on this Holy Saturday of Lent, we like the disciples are reeling over the death of Jesus. Horrified by the way our Jesus was treated. Do we dare ask ourselves where we would have been and how we would have reacted or even acted. Of all the characters at play throughout this Passover weekend so long ago, would I have been like . . .
- Judas, the betrayer
- Peter, the denier
- Mary the sister of the mother of Jesus
- Mary Magdalene
- John, the disciple whom Jesus loved
- The Chief Priests
- Teachers of the Law
The presence of the chief priests is recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke making no reference to them. Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to the scribes, elders, or rulers, comprising the Sanhedrin, while John ignores their presence.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke draw special attention to the centurion in charge of the carrying out of the crucifixion, and they give some account of how he was impressed in the presence of the Crucified.
As Luke records, there were many other women, but these stand prominently out, as having been most closely associated with Him.
In John we see two pairs, the unnamed women, the mother of the Lord and her sister; and the two women who are named, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
*See reference below:https://www.christianity.com/
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25)
“A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.” (Luke 23:27)
“But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.” (Luke 23:49)
“In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.” (Matthew 27:41)
“In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!'” (Mark 15:13)
According to Matthew he said, “Surely he was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54)
According to Mark, “Surely this Man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39)
According to Luke, “Surely this was a righteous Man” (Luke 23:47)
Thank you for joining me on this Lenten journey. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the culmination of Holy Week. May you be surrounded by the love of God, today and for always. 🛐 💟 ✝️ ~Peace
~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.
References:
John 18:33-40 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2018:33-40&version=NIV
John 19:1-16b https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2019:1-16&version=NIV
John 19:16-27 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2019:16-27&version=NIV
John 19:28-30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2019:28-30&version=NIV
https://hymnary.org/person/Perronet_Edward
HOPE SEEKER 
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