Luke 23
Summary
Even though the Jewish council was able to execute their own laws and carry out their own discipline, under Roman rule they did not have the authority to sentence someone to death. To secure a death sentence, Jesus was taken before the Roman governor, Pilate.
Pilate found nothing to warrant conviction and sent Jesus to the Jewish king, Herod.
Herod mocked Jesus as king and ended up returning him to Pilate. Pilate gives in to the pressure and threats of the Jewish council and sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion.
At the crucifixion
One criminal asks to be remembered
One Centurion proclaims Jesus' innocence
One member of the Jewish council cares for the body.
My take away
Growing up in the Roman Catholic church I always believed that Jesus died for this sins of the world. I just never really connected that to Jesus dying for me! As an evangelical the emphasis was always on personal salvation and somehow I forgot that Jesus' atonement was for everyone. Just as the ancient Israelites added to make the Law more restricting and burdensome, modern day evangelicals (Catholics, too) have added rules to make salvation more difficult and burdensome.
What if Jesus truly is God and his death truly atones for the sins of all mankind?
What if his "Father, forgive them..." was for all of us?
What if there is nothing that we can do to add to or take away from God's grace and mercy?
What if God loves the people that I don't love as much as he loves me?
What if the God of the universe is bigger and better than the god of my belief?
What if I don't need to have all of the answers to love God and to love others?
What if I just start loving and see what questions get answered along the way?
John <><
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