As Jesus spent His last evening before His arrest with His disciples, He promised that He would send a Counselor to them once He was gone. The Spirit of Christ would come into their hearts and give them guidance and power to continue on the work of the Kingdom.
Read MoreOn His last night with His disciples, Jesus finally made it clear. The Kingdom they were going to proclaim would be far different from what they had imagined, but it was also far greater and more wonderful. As Jesus looked ahead to the days and years to come, He lifted up His eyes to His Father in Heaven and prayed.
Read MoreAs Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, the Lord revealed the mysteries of God’s plan to them in a much fuller way than they had ever understood before.
Read MoreJesus knelt in prayer in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane. In an agony of prayer, He asked His Father to remove the terrible trial before Him. The Father’s answer was no, and so He surrendered to His Father’s will.
Read MoreIn the quiet of night, as His disciples fell into weary sleep, Jesus went to His Father in prayer. Three times He asked that the burden would be removed. Could the Father take away this task? Could Jesus somehow avoid the coming torment?
Read MoreIt was the night of Jesus’ arrest. After being accused in the home of Annas, He was lead to the home of Caiaphas. Peter continued to follow along behind.
Read MoreThe religious rulers had decided the outcome of Jesus’ trial long before the night of His arrest. They had to make sure that it ended with His death. He was far too dangerous. When they learned that Jesus and His disciples spent their nights in the Garden of Gethsemane, they acted quickly.
Read MoreTo a man like Pontius Pilate, the Jewish Sanhedrin must have seemed like a ridiculous horde of men. Pilate was the Roman governor appointed by the Roman Caesar, the most powerful man in the world. The Roman Empire had conquered the known world and dominated history for hundreds of years.
Read MoreJesus had spent the entire night after His arrest in the halls of the Jewish leaders. They had accused Him, beaten Him, and sent Him on to Pilate to make sure that His judgment would end in death. When Pilate witnessed the jealousy of the leaders and the breathtaking dignity of Christ, he could not bring himself to make the judgment that the leaders were demanding.
Read MoreThe sentence against Jesus was pronounced by Pilate. His soldiers led Jesus into the Praetorium. They called the whole Roman battalion of soldiers to the courtyard. There were over a hundred men gathered around the Lord, ready to use Him for sport to relieve their boredom.
Read MoreThe judgment had come against Christ. Though Pilate and Herod found nothing against Him, the rage and manipulations of the Jewish leadership prevailed.
Read MoreAs Jesus hung on the cross in those early hours of His suffering, many stood by and watched. Even then there was a chance that something might happen. Would He prove Himself to be powerful enough to overcome this travesty?
Read MoreJesus travailed on the cross for six hours, bearing the punishment for the sins of humanity. It is impossible for us to imagine what it was like.
Read MoreThe Jews had a problem. They had successfully put Jesus, the radical young preacher, to death. It was worth it to them to disrupt their Passover Feast if it meant getting rid of their rival. No longer would He wander their countryside distracting their people with His miracles and extreme teaching.
Read MoreThe horrible day had past and evening had come. Jesus was dead, and it was time to take His body down from the cross. There was a man named Joseph of Arimathea who believed in Jesus and followed Him in secret. He was a true disciple, but he was also a member of the Sanhedrin.
Read MoreWe don’t know exactly what Mary Magdalene thought and felt as she followed Jesus and went through His death and resurrection. The Bible gives a few close pictures to help us imagine what she might have said. John the Apostle gave us a long version of her part of the story at the resurrection.
Read MoreChrist had offered Himself on the cross. He became the sacrificial Lamb, making a way for the forgiveness of the world. After He paid the terrible price for us, His dead body was laid in a tomb. On the third day, He rose again.
Read MoreCleopas and his friend had been given something amazing. As they walked home from Jerusalem discussing the death of Christ…not to mention the strange rumors from the women about His resurrection…Jesus showed up.
Read MoreAs the resurrected Christ spoke to His disciples in the secret, locked room in Jerusalem, they listened with rapt attention. Finally, His plans for them were being revealed. The Lord Jesus was giving His disciples instructions about the life that lay ahead of them.
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