The King of the Jews

Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He always was and he always will be. And he is our creator God. But he left his throne in heaven, and he came to earth, and he was born as a baby to a human mother but conceived of the Holy Spirit. So God the Father was his birth Father. So he was not born with a sin nature like we are. But he still had the propensity to sin, because he lived in a flesh body, and he was tempted to sin, but he never sinned. So he was our pure sacrifice for sin.

Now Jesus lived on this earth to about age 33. The last 3-3 ½ years of his life he spent in full time ministry, along with his twelve chosen disciples. One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, betrayed him to the death. They all fled when he was placed under arrest, and Peter ended up denying him three times, as Jesus had predicted that he would. And Jesus was put on a mock trial, and he was beaten, flogged, spat upon, mocked, falsely accused of evil he did not do, and ultimately he was put to death on a cross for no wrong.

[John 1:1-36; John 8:24,58; John 10:30-33; John 20:28-29; Romans 9:5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8-9; 1 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Peter 1:1]

“Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews,” but rather, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.”’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’

“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.’ This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

‘They divided my garments among them,

    and for my clothing they cast lots.’

“… After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:14-24,28-30).

But Jesus’ death on that cross was not without purpose. This was God’s plan all along that he would be the sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world. For when Jesus died on that cross, he put our sins to death with him so that by genuine faith in him we would die with him to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; 1 Peter 2:24).

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily, and follow (obey) him. And when Jesus took up his cross it was to put our sins to death. So when we take up our cross daily we are putting sin to death in our lives daily, by the Spirit. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; Romans 8:1-14).

However, if we continue living in sin, making sin our practice, and if sin is what we obey, and not our Lord, and not righteousness, then we don’t know God. We are not in fellowship with him. We are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what faith we profess. For Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 1,2,&3).

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387