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John 19:23-24
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.
They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
"They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots."
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
"They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots."
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
To ‘cast lots’ seems like gambling, the throwing of dice to determine an outcome, but it was also seen in past times as an expression of divine will; hence the expression ‘divination’, which is sometimes eluded to. The story makes mention of this in all four gospels, and the purpose of this is expressly to confirm the prophecy, from Psalm 22 that for my clothing they cast lots. Those Roman soldiers were bidding for possession of our Lord’s clothing — ‘the shirt off His back’ as we might say nowadays — a souvenir of The Messiah’s crucifixion.
I cannot imagine that most participants in this moment had the least inkling of the importance of this time in history. Some, maybe, but most — as is always the case — are more concerned with their day-to-day lives. Let us be honest with ourselves and recognise that this is us also — at least before our Lord got hold of us.
The puzzle for me is why the casting of lots for His garments is so important as to be mentioned in every gospel rendition. It is thus important in all creation. (“the fourth thing, and the number four always has reference to all that is created”. — E W BULLINGER ‘Number In Scripture’)
I am speculating here, but I believe that His garments represent God’s covering — and at the crucifixion, our Jesus was stripped of that — And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" [Mark 15:34] — and so our Lord had to be stripped of that Divine covering in the natural as well as the spiritual realms to allow Him to descend into the deepest depths of the pit for us.
I feel so dreadfully humbled at that thought, but also so elevated and encouraged at the same time. We should see that deepest understanding in this circumstance. Jesus divested Himself of all things that He is — the light of the world — to become ultimate darkness and nothingness; by taking to Himself every sin of ours. Why? To be our Saviour!
We must realise that in our darkest moments — in the turmoil and confusion — our Lord Jesus Christ has been there before us, suffered for us, so that we can be presented clean and perfect before the Father. That is love beyond measure.
I cannot imagine that most participants in this moment had the least inkling of the importance of this time in history. Some, maybe, but most — as is always the case — are more concerned with their day-to-day lives. Let us be honest with ourselves and recognise that this is us also — at least before our Lord got hold of us.
The puzzle for me is why the casting of lots for His garments is so important as to be mentioned in every gospel rendition. It is thus important in all creation. (“the fourth thing, and the number four always has reference to all that is created”. — E W BULLINGER ‘Number In Scripture’)
I am speculating here, but I believe that His garments represent God’s covering — and at the crucifixion, our Jesus was stripped of that — And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" [Mark 15:34] — and so our Lord had to be stripped of that Divine covering in the natural as well as the spiritual realms to allow Him to descend into the deepest depths of the pit for us.
I feel so dreadfully humbled at that thought, but also so elevated and encouraged at the same time. We should see that deepest understanding in this circumstance. Jesus divested Himself of all things that He is — the light of the world — to become ultimate darkness and nothingness; by taking to Himself every sin of ours. Why? To be our Saviour!
We must realise that in our darkest moments — in the turmoil and confusion — our Lord Jesus Christ has been there before us, suffered for us, so that we can be presented clean and perfect before the Father. That is love beyond measure.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
PSALM 22:16-19
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
O LORD, YOUR TENDERNESS / SUCH LOVE — Graham Kendrick and Nicki Rogers
LOVE with all your STRENGTH
THE LOVE OF God in Christ Jesus is such that He can take the most unfit man - unfit to survive, unfit to fight, unfit to face moral issues -and make him not only fit to survive and to fight, but fit to face the biggest moral issues and the strongest power of Satan, and come off more than conqueror.
[from ‘Run Today’s Race’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Run Today’s Race’ by Oswald Chambers]
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION BY CLICKING ON ‘DOWNLOAD FILE’ BELOW
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John 19:17-22
And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,
where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the centre.
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the centre.
Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'"
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
BEARING HIS CROSS
We know that Jesus is ‘The Pattern Son’. Everything about Him, of Him and in Him, is for our instruction and edification, leading us on to His perfection manifested in us. He goes to His Death, as was foretold, carrying the full weight of the burden placed on Him by The Father. The Cross is His — we each have our cross to bear — but this is His and His alone, and He did so then, that now our individual and collective burdens will be immeasurably lighter.
THE PLACE OF A SKULL
Near the present day site of Golgotha is what looks like a skull, hewn in the rock face, and it is said that this is how that place got its name. Maybe so, but it was also the site of many crucifixions — a place of death. But the symbolism of this is that it was the final attack on the ideology of those who were to die. You were an enemy of the established order. Thus, all that was contained within the head — the mind, the intelligence, the passion, the emotions and ideas — were being brutally stripped away, and in a particularly cruel way.
JESUS IN THE CENTRE
Our Lord is always ‘in the centre’ of everything. It is important that for each believer, that Jesus is the centre. He is not on one side or the other; He is the epitome of complete balance. There is no wavering or deviation from the righteous path in Him — and the more we let Him in, the more He will be the centre of each and every existence for every one who knows Him. The Holy Spirit needs to be the centre of our lives, so that we can know Jesus saying to us each day "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” [Luke 23:43]
“WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, I HAVE WRITTEN”
In effect, Pilate is saying that he is in charge and his pronouncement is final, thus attempting to put all blame onto the Jews, and showing that he lacked the courage of his conviction that Jesus was King of the Jews. Pilate may have tried to absolve himself of blame, but he is troubled nonetheless. It shows clearly how we can get in a mess, leading to appalling mistakes, when we cannot see Jesus in our midst.
We know that Jesus is ‘The Pattern Son’. Everything about Him, of Him and in Him, is for our instruction and edification, leading us on to His perfection manifested in us. He goes to His Death, as was foretold, carrying the full weight of the burden placed on Him by The Father. The Cross is His — we each have our cross to bear — but this is His and His alone, and He did so then, that now our individual and collective burdens will be immeasurably lighter.
THE PLACE OF A SKULL
Near the present day site of Golgotha is what looks like a skull, hewn in the rock face, and it is said that this is how that place got its name. Maybe so, but it was also the site of many crucifixions — a place of death. But the symbolism of this is that it was the final attack on the ideology of those who were to die. You were an enemy of the established order. Thus, all that was contained within the head — the mind, the intelligence, the passion, the emotions and ideas — were being brutally stripped away, and in a particularly cruel way.
JESUS IN THE CENTRE
Our Lord is always ‘in the centre’ of everything. It is important that for each believer, that Jesus is the centre. He is not on one side or the other; He is the epitome of complete balance. There is no wavering or deviation from the righteous path in Him — and the more we let Him in, the more He will be the centre of each and every existence for every one who knows Him. The Holy Spirit needs to be the centre of our lives, so that we can know Jesus saying to us each day "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” [Luke 23:43]
“WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, I HAVE WRITTEN”
In effect, Pilate is saying that he is in charge and his pronouncement is final, thus attempting to put all blame onto the Jews, and showing that he lacked the courage of his conviction that Jesus was King of the Jews. Pilate may have tried to absolve himself of blame, but he is troubled nonetheless. It shows clearly how we can get in a mess, leading to appalling mistakes, when we cannot see Jesus in our midst.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
MICAH 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
JESUS BE THE CENTRE
LOVE with all your MIND
THE SPIRIT OF God corrupts our natural virtues. If we are naturally pure-minded, good-tempered, loving, we shall find that since we became spiritual God's corruption has been put on everything that was of old, because the natural virtues are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what we were created to be, and the new life re-forms its own virtues.
It is the most woeful thing to see people in the service of God depending on what they have by the accidents of heredity. Intellectually we nearly always sympathise with pagan virtues, while spiritually God is trying to get us into contact with the real life of the Lord Jesus Christ that cannot be described in terms of natural virtues,
[from ‘Notes on Jeremiah’ by Oswald Chambers]
It is the most woeful thing to see people in the service of God depending on what they have by the accidents of heredity. Intellectually we nearly always sympathise with pagan virtues, while spiritually God is trying to get us into contact with the real life of the Lord Jesus Christ that cannot be described in terms of natural virtues,
[from ‘Notes on Jeremiah’ by Oswald Chambers]
Listen to this meditation by clicking on ‘download file’ below
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John 19:10-16
Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?"
Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar."
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.
Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar."
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.
‘Gabbatha’ means ‘the raised place’, or ‘elevation’, and in Jerusalem it was known as ‘The Pavement’, because of the square hewn stones which were laid there. It was also the Jewish name for the Roman tribunal which sat there — a place of judgement.
Judgement dispensed here is not God’s Judgement, but man’s, and man putting himself above God — not that many of the players in this drama understood that distinction. In any courtroom that I have seen, the judge, magistrate, sheriff or Law Lord is in a raised or elevated position. In the natural world, judgement (but not necessarily justice) comes from that self-elevated place. However, with God, justice and judgement are handmaidens and the place of elevation is who He is.
Pilate says again, that he finds no fault in Jesus, even to the point of saying "Behold your King!" The crowd disagree and Pilate in his weakness accedes to their cries. The mob had their way, just as those who stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6th 2021, were intent upon having their way — some believing they had been given licence to attack their governmental representatives; others merely to create havoc and chaos.
The Lord always gives us a free will choice, He never coerces. He allows us to choose the ruler of this world, and many plainly do. Their eyes are blinded to The Truth. At this point in the Gospel story, Jew and Gentile collude in the death of Jesus. This is a fundamental truth which shows that the Jews alone were not responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion — and in that part of every one of us untouched by the life of Christ, the responsibility lingers on. Never was going ‘on to perfection’ a calling of greater importance.
Jesus is sent to be crucified by those of the world, but it is worth remembering Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20, words that bind us inescapably as believers to our Lord -- I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Judgement dispensed here is not God’s Judgement, but man’s, and man putting himself above God — not that many of the players in this drama understood that distinction. In any courtroom that I have seen, the judge, magistrate, sheriff or Law Lord is in a raised or elevated position. In the natural world, judgement (but not necessarily justice) comes from that self-elevated place. However, with God, justice and judgement are handmaidens and the place of elevation is who He is.
Pilate says again, that he finds no fault in Jesus, even to the point of saying "Behold your King!" The crowd disagree and Pilate in his weakness accedes to their cries. The mob had their way, just as those who stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6th 2021, were intent upon having their way — some believing they had been given licence to attack their governmental representatives; others merely to create havoc and chaos.
The Lord always gives us a free will choice, He never coerces. He allows us to choose the ruler of this world, and many plainly do. Their eyes are blinded to The Truth. At this point in the Gospel story, Jew and Gentile collude in the death of Jesus. This is a fundamental truth which shows that the Jews alone were not responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion — and in that part of every one of us untouched by the life of Christ, the responsibility lingers on. Never was going ‘on to perfection’ a calling of greater importance.
Jesus is sent to be crucified by those of the world, but it is worth remembering Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20, words that bind us inescapably as believers to our Lord -- I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
HEBREWS 6:1-8
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this we will do if God permits.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this we will do if God permits.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
IT’S NO LONGER I THAT LIVETH
LOVE with all your MIND
IF MY WORSHIP is consumed in the glory of the Lord till that is the one thing left in my mind, I have come to the right place of vision. Anything that belittles or obliterates the holiness of God by a false view of the love of God is untrue to the revelation given by Jesus Christ.
[from ‘Notes On Isaiah’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Notes On Isaiah’ by Oswald Chambers]
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John 19:1-9
So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"
Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."
The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,
and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"
Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."
The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."
Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid,
and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer.
Pilate shows Jesus to the gathered crowd to say that he has found no fault in Him. His method of establishing this was to have Jesus scourged, or flogged, and then let his soldiers have their way. Thus Jesus was attacked in body, mind and spirit. His body was violated by the scourging, His mind pierced by thorns (the darts of the enemy) and His spirit repeatedly mocked and denigrated.
Despite such humiliation and brutality, no fault could be found in Him, because there was none to find. The crowd however, were not so easily dissuaded, and demanded that He be crucified. Reading this passage from John 19, we are confronted by a fundamental reality. The world does not want Jesus; it has no wish to embrace Jesus or His Truth, let alone accept the Life that He offers.
We must remember that Jesus accepted this as the natural outcome of His time on earth. He knew what was in man. (But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. JOHN 2:24-25)
The lesson for each of us who follow Jesus is that this world will assail us as it did Jesus. We will receive blows in the little problems and irritations of our earthly existence, every bit as much as in the affliction of major trials. Our salvation rests on the very fact that He went before us, securing our redemption and opening the gate to eternity. Every one of us should surely be profoundly affected by Jesus’ sufferings. Therefore, hold fast to your faith and rest in Him. To the end He proves that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Despite such humiliation and brutality, no fault could be found in Him, because there was none to find. The crowd however, were not so easily dissuaded, and demanded that He be crucified. Reading this passage from John 19, we are confronted by a fundamental reality. The world does not want Jesus; it has no wish to embrace Jesus or His Truth, let alone accept the Life that He offers.
We must remember that Jesus accepted this as the natural outcome of His time on earth. He knew what was in man. (But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. JOHN 2:24-25)
The lesson for each of us who follow Jesus is that this world will assail us as it did Jesus. We will receive blows in the little problems and irritations of our earthly existence, every bit as much as in the affliction of major trials. Our salvation rests on the very fact that He went before us, securing our redemption and opening the gate to eternity. Every one of us should surely be profoundly affected by Jesus’ sufferings. Therefore, hold fast to your faith and rest in Him. To the end He proves that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
DANIEL 6:3-9
Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.
So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever!
All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter."
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.
So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever!
All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter."
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
BEHOLD THE MAN — Kathryn and Sean Donaldson
LOVE with all your MIND
WATCH THE MARGINS of your mind when you begin to take the view that it doesn't matter whether God is holy or not; it is the beginning of being a traitor to Jesus Christ. Spiritual insight does not so much enable us to understand God as to understand that He is at work in the ordinary things of life, in the ordinary stuff human nature is made of.
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’ by Oswald Chambers]