Rabbi Jesus

Olive Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane: Some of these trees are dated to be over 2000 years old.

Good morning, beloved,

Well, beloved, what a song…why should we gain from His reward? Yet, with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom. We sang that last night and I was bursting at the seams!

I wanting to raise my hands and dance! Then I had this little hand and voice at my side, Mommy, what does ransom mean? Good question and we discussed it later…and Joshua said as we walked in the house, I don’t think I even grasp ransom at the depth the hymn writer penned…

All week, in my mind, has danced this idea of watching the Passion of the Christ.  I have not watched it since the year it came out. A long time. I don’t believe it is a necessary thing to watch. Please don’t get any ideas from this here. But I’ve been having a discussion with the Lord, and sometimes, I forget the pain. Sometimes, I detach from the suffering. And this year, I needed to walk the story and remember each step. Last night, I felt the Lord with me, sitting with me, walking the story with me…remembering. I remembered.

You see, while I said it was understandable that the disciples were exhausted and tired, mercy, my friends, the distress of Jesus was compounded immeasurably MORE. The disciples did not understand the road ahead. And quite honestly, I think that was mercy.  So we find Jesus praying in the Garden: Luke 22: 39-46

Luke 22:⁴⁴And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great ^[b]clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.

From Apologetics.com:

A thorough search of the medical literature demonstrates that such a condition, while admittedly rare, does occur in humans. Commonly referred to as hematidrosis or hemohidrosis (Allen, 1967, pp. 745-747), this condition results in the excretion of blood or blood pigment in the sweat. Under conditions of great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can rupture (Lumpkin, 1978), thus mixing blood with perspiration. This condition has been reported in extreme instances of stress (see Sutton, 1956, pp. 1393-1394)…While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile (Barbet, 1953, pp. 74-75; Lumpkin, 1978), which would have made Christ’s pending physical insults even more painful.

Mel Gibson paints a haunting picture of Jesus crying out to His Pappa to remove this cup and as He cries, the clouds cover the moon. Oh, friends, it is crushing to watch. I cannot FATHOM. I cannot sit in this. The mystery of the Trinity, friends, broken, as the Father turns His face away.  He accepts the cup.

Imagine then coming back to find your precious friends asleep. Now, I’m sure Jesus is not surprised, yet another crushing, defeating blow. Not just once but three times.

Matthew 26:⁴⁵Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of^[m]especially wicked sinners [^[n]whose way or nature it is to act in opposition to God].

So, what time would that have been? Well, it was the middle of the night. 1 or 2 in the morning…this is so important for you to grasp. Please try and stay with me here…

Mark 14:⁴³And at once, while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the Twelve [apostles], and with him a crowd of men with swords and clubs, [who came] from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders [of the Sanhedrin]. Matthew 26: and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. John 18: ³So Judas, obtaining and taking charge of the band of soldiers and some guards (attendants) of the high priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

Who? Men FROM the chief priests, scribes and elders…on Passover night, Thursday, the  typical, observant Jew would be home in bed resting and recovering from a long, memorable night. The next day would be the typical morning sacrifices at temple.

The trials of Jesus…

1. First to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest John 18:13

2. Then to Caiaphas’ house for the 2nd trial..Matthew 26:57-67  These were such a sham. Look at these verses from Matthew 26:

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council (the Sanhedrin) sought to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death; ⁶⁰But they found none, though many witnesses came forward [to testify]…

3. Peter’s denial: From Apologetics.com: If you lived in the first century, and your boss said to be ready to work when “the rooster crows,” you would know he meant that work begins just before daybreak. If he said that work begins at the second crowing of the rooster, likewise, you would know he meant the same thing—work begins just before daylight. These are not contradictory statements, but rather two ways of saying the same thing.

4. Onto Pilate: Luke 23:1-6

5. Then to Herod: Luke 23: 7-12

6. Then back to Pilate…and onto be crucified. What time is it, beloved? Matthew 27:1 ¹WHEN IT was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people held a consultation against Jesus to put Him to death;

Why am I continuing to harp on timing? Because my dear friends, the people who were shouting Hosanna, who were healed, who loved Jesus, were asleep in their beds! These were NOT in the crowds crying for the blood of Jesus. They had no idea that these dastardly trials were even transpiring. And that, my friends is the point!

As Jesus walking His cross out to hill with Simon’s help, the people were coming in. Can you imagine their horror? Their shock? This is why they were crying and why Jesus said, Luke 23:

²⁶And as they led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross and made him carry it behind Jesus.

²⁷And there accompanied [Jesus] a great multitude of the people, [including] women who bewailed and lamented Him.

²⁸But Jesus, turning toward them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For behold, the days are coming during which they will say, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and ^[g]to be envied) are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have never nursed [babies]!

³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us! and to the hills, Cover (conceal, hide) us!

Pause and calmly think of that….I thank Ann Spangler’s book, Sitting At the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith, for first helping me to understand these truths. I highly recommend this book to you.

Pray on. Pray on…