"Greater love
has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends"
(John 15:13).
Hey Gang: We are
nearing the Passion Week of the
Easter Season. Those who love Jesus as Lord of their lives will once again turn
their attention to the horrendous price Jesus paid that we might receive
forgiveness of sins. He opened the door to our living eternally with Him, the
King of kings and Lord of lords..
Many years ago, I was blessed and privileged to have as my Board
President a committed Christian brother who was also a Court of Appeals Judge. One day he heard the Lord's call to study the
procedures and action of the various participants in the crucifixion story from
the standpoint of ‘Was it legal?’ according to Jewish law. He shared that
message with whomsoever would listen and learn.
After several years of study he presented his findings hundreds of times
in churches around the country and opened the eyes of many about how very
sadistic the various participants were.
In these morning messages between now and Easter I will
share with you some of his findings. In
a recent research project it was discovered that the average Christian, if
there is such a being, is very superficial in their understanding of the
Scriptures.
The basis for the trial of Jesus was in two parts: one was
the Law of Moses, or the first five books of the Old Testament, and the other
on the Talmud which is divided into two divisions called the Mishna and the
Gemara. The Mishna is an exposition of
the Jewish laws and customs; the Gemera is poetry, proverbs and theology. The one point that you want to get firmly
implanted in your mind is: the Religious Leaders had no authority!
Also remember that He, Jesus, the Son of God, had all power
in heaven and earth. At any time during the process He could have called down
ten thousand angels and zapped the whole bunch of them; He could have walked
boldly to the throne, sat down and taken up the scepter of power. But He "Chose to die for you and me".
"No greater love!”
The governing body of the Jewish nation had its origin in
the days of Moses when his father-in-law came to visit him and he was King Tut
of the children in the wilderness. At
that time Moses was everything to everybody and all decisions were made by him
alone. Papa-in- law, Jethro, said to Moses, "Hey son-in-law this is not
good; you will surely wear out. Choose
able men of God and make them heads over the people leaders of the thousands,
of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. Let
them judge the misdemeanors and reserve yourself for the felonies" (Ex. 17:19-26
Hainley rendition)
God gave Moses specific orders for what the governing body,
the Sanhedrin, would look like. Numbers
11:16-17 tells us, "They shall bear the burden of the people
with you so that you will not be alone" .
In his final speech to the Children of Israel before they crossed
the Jordan into the Promised Land Moses challenged them "… appoint judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord
our God is giving you.....and they shall judge the people with righteous
judgment" (Deut. 16:18).
But, between the
challenge given by Moses and the courts that were in place during Jesus’ day
things had changed significantly.
Tomorrow we will look at the legal system that was bent on destroying
the Son of God.
Blessings,
Gramps
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