We read John 19 for today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Look at verses 1-6:
1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged (flogged, whipped) Him. 2 And the soldiers, having twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple cloak around Him. 3 And they kept coming to Him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews! [Good health to you! Peace to you! Long life to you, King of the Jews!] And they struck Him with the palms of their hands. 4 Then Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I bring Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no fault (crime, cause for accusation) in Him. 5 So Jesus came out wearing the thorny crown and purple cloak, and Pilate said to them, See, [here is] the Man! 6 When the chief priests and attendants (guards) saw Him, they cried out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no fault (crime) in Him.
Notice that Pilate had already had JESUS beaten. Now the soldiers further torment JESUS by twisting together a crown of thorns. This was NOT something simply made with little rose bush thorns! Look at these two pictures of what they would have used:
Can we even imagine the torment that just this would have caused? Do you REALLY think that they gingerly set this on the head of JESUS? This was all after JESUS had been whipped horrendously with the weapon of severe torture that the Roman 'whip' was! Notice, also, that it was the chief priests who cried out for JESUS to be crucified. These were those who SHOULD have recognized Who JESUS was! Instead they begged that JESUS be crucified. Do you want to know why? Because JESUS was OUR 'Passover Lamb'! HE was the sacrifice for the sin of all mankind and in order for the Law to be fulfilled and a new and better Covenant be in place there had to be the perfect Sacrifice for sin! AND, the only ones qualified by the Law to offer the Passover Lamb was the High Priest! They did not even realize that they were fulfilling the Law by doing this that would set into motion God's great and wonderful Plan to buy us back and make us His very own! HALLELUJAH!!! So, thank YOU, Lord JESUS, for all that YOU have accomplished on our behalf! Thank YOU for giving us Holy Spirit to live IN us so that we can communicate spirit to Spirit with YOU and have YOUR life, in abundance, to the full, til it overflows (John 10:10 AMP)! We are, of ALL people, MOST BLESSED! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Grace To Grace":
Shalom in Him!
