PalmA20.    Isaiah 52:13-53:12.   “Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”  It is unknown whether Isaiah meant this for himself or for another.  However, it seems clear to me that God wrote this through Isaiah to refer to Jesus, since it fits him so perfectly.  We sinners have a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, born into this world to die for us on the cross.

John 18:1 – 19:42.  Jesus the Nazorean is the human name for Jesus.  He answers:  “I AM,” which is to say that not only is he human but also divine.  “When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground.  In doing so, unconsciously through the power of God, they recognized for the moment his divinity.  That was only for the moment since from that moment on, they we were to treat him viciously.  Simon   Peter was ready to put up a fight but Jesus , wishing to offer himself willingly, was ready  to be a sacrifice for our sins, saying, “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

Pilate asks Jesus, “What you done?”  Jesus answers that he claims to be a king but not of this world.  Jesus claims to testify to the truth.  I understand Pilate’s response, “What is the truth?” to mean that he believes there is no such thing as truth.  That particular group of Jews that were rabidly intent on killing Jesus was a select group that had much to lose if the ordinary Jewish people were left to follow Jesus and not them.  They pressed Pilate to execute Jesus or else they would make great trouble for Pilate with Caesar.  Pilate, out of fear of them, handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.  By forcing Pilate to acquiesce to the killing of Jesus, although it is out of an evil and vicious intent, they have unknowingly and unwittingly become a part in our redemption.  To those who think only as humans think, they seemed to have won.  However, they only have deceived themselves.  The truth is that the victory belongs to the Redeemer and we who are redeemed.  Because there is a God, in the end evil is always self-destructive.  The victory always belongs to God and to those who live in union with God’s Will.  God is the truth or the only genuine reality.  All else is a lie and will perish in the end.

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9.  Jesus, the divine Son of God, is at the same time the human Jesus of Nazareth, who, because he is as human as we are, is able to sympathize with our weakness. “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”  In his divinity Jesus was all-knowing and therefore was never in need of learning anything, but in his humanity he was as human as we are.  All through his life Jesus knew that that he was born to suffer and die for us on the cross but what we know in our minds needs more time to be accepted by our hearts.  Our human nature is to defend our lives and do our best not to have our lives taken from us. Nevertheless, Jesus learned from his suffering to offer up his life as a sacrifice for us in obedience to his Father’s will.  In Luke 22:42-44, Jesus said, “’Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.’  And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.  He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.” “And when he was made perfect, (that is as any human being can become holy as God is holy) he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Jesus’ obedience on the cross has opened the entrance to heaven for us.  Jesus said in John 10:7a, “I am the gate for the sheep, and in John 10:8, “Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”