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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/9) John 8:1-20

Jul9

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“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life.” John 8:12

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – The religious leaders in Jerusalem are “foiled again” when the officers they sent to arrest Jesus came back empty-handed. They had been “wowed” by the words that Jesus spoke and couldn’t bring themselves to manhandle Him. The authorities were furious, especially when Nicodemus, one of them, seemed to support Jesus. I can imagine them pulling out their hair in frustration. But … today, they present another scheme to trap Jesus between His teaching/actions and the Law of Moses. Okay, their Sabbath rules ma-a-ay be in the gray zone, but who could question ADULTERY?

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John 7:53-8:2

Some people went home after the water-drawing festivities. Jesus went simply to the Mount of Olives. He could have spent the night with (or without) n the other side of the Mount. Regardless, in the morning He returned to the temple early, sat down, and began teaching the crowds again.

Then an astonishing incident occurred. I always pictured this in a solitary place with only Jesus, the woman, and the group of self-assured scribes and Pharisees. However, it could have happened right in the middle of that crowd that Jesus was teaching. When the Jews pushed the woman forward and announced her sin, the crowd probably pulled back, allowing a clear space around the scene, and quieting down to see what might happen in this drama.

(NOTE: This story is in a sort of parentheses in the middle of the Festival of Tabernacles. Some manuscripts do not include it. Others put it in a different place. However, it’s good to consider the text’s meaning and leave it there. It also shows the frustration of the Jewish leaders at their inability to arrest Jesus.)

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John 8:3-11

A group of fancy-dressed religious leaders brought a struggling woman (possibly not fully clothed) into the courtyard and shoved her toward Jesus..

“Teacher! This woman has been caught IN THE ACT of adultery. Now … in the LAW, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. (Smirk, smirk.) So, what do YOU say?

They thought they’d trapped Jesus. If He said, “Stone her,” the crowd would have gone into a frenzy. If He gave her leniency, these pompous men would accuse Him of being a law-breaker.

(What “I” want to know is where was THE MAN. If she had been “caught in the act,” it would mean another person was involved. Did the authorities “set it up?” Did they let the man (possibly one of their own) escape? It’s all “fishy” to me. Deuteronomy 22:24 says to bring them BOTH outside the city for stoning. Leviticus 20:10 says, “both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” So……)

Jesus said nothing.

He stooped and “wrote” something with His finger on the ground. What, I wonder? A word? A name? A Scripture passage? A squiggle?

“What do you say?” Her accusers asked again. And again.

Then Jesus stood and looked them full in the face (but saw their hearts). “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then He stooped again, and wrote on the ground. What DID He write? Their names? Their sins? Words of compassion that only the woman could see?

When Jesus rose back up, all the accusing men were gone. They had slipped away (ashamed? fearful?) the oldest among them first.

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?

“No one, Lord.”

“Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus knew the Samaritan woman had been married five times and was now living in adultery, and yet He revealed to her that He was the Christ. Jesus healed the cripple at the pool of Bethesda, and told him also to “sin no more.” What mercy and grace. At this point, Jesus had not come into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to give His life to save those who would turn to Him in faith. Surely the Samaritan woman ‘cleaned up her act.’ Did the ex-cripple and this woman turn from their sin for good?

Jesus offers US the same grace and forgiveness, based on His accomplished death and resurrection. Come to Him. Cling to Him. Love Him and serve Him.

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John 8:12

At the end of the Festival of Tabernacles, another “tradition” took place: the lighting ceremony. As with the water drawing tradition, Jesus used this as another metaphor to reveal a truth about Himself. Four large lamps were lit in the court of the women. While the Levitical orchestra played, and smaller torches were lit and held aloft, there was dancing and the singing of praises.

And Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This saying – used often in the Old Testament- highlights Jesus’s role as the Messiah and Son of God. The coming Lord would be a “light for His people and for the whole world.” (Isaiah 50:19-22, Psalm 21:1, Psalm 119:105)

His reference to “following Him” (fully and completely) and not “walking in darkness” alludes to the pillar of fire in the wilderness that led the Israelites at night and protected them. (Exodus 13:21)

What a startling announcement!

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John 8:13-20.

Again the Jews argued with Jesus concerning testifying about Himself, which does NOT verify truth. But Jesus says, “In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

“Where IS your Father?” they asked in scorn.

“You know neither my Father nor me. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” Jesus was saying that even though they were priests and teachers of the Law, they did not KNOW God. If they did, they would welcome Him as God’s Messiah.

John comments that, even though Jesus was teaching openly, NO ONE ARRESTED HIM. Why? Because “His hour” had not yet come.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/7) John 7:25-44

Jul7

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“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus arrived secretly in Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles, but was soon openly teaching in the temple area. People were amazed by His teaching, wondering how He could know so much and be so wise without formal schooling. Jesus told them his authority came from above, from God who sent Him. And it was HIM whom He sought to glorify. Then Jesus told the people that the Jews were looking to kill Him because He broke the Sabbath Law. However, Jesus compared their “breaking the law” by circumcising a baby on the 8th day even if it fell on a Sabbath, to His healing the whole body of a man. It stumped the lot of them, that’s for sure.

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John 7:25-31

The people of Jerusalem can’t make up their minds. Now they are agreeing that Jesus IS the man the Jewish leaders are seeking to kill. They ask each other, “Can it be that the authorities really KNOW that this is the Christ?”

Others dispute, “But we know where this man comes from (Galilee), and when the Christ appears, NO ONE will know where He comes from.” (Seems like they need to take some classes in Prophecy 101.)

Jesus knows what they are disputing about, and responds. “You know me, and you know where I come from?” (Not really!!) Then Jesus speaks about His Father, God, who is in heaven, from whom Jesus Himself came. “I have not come of my own accord. He who sent Me is true and Him you do NOT know. I know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent Me.”

WE understand what Jesus was talking about, but I’m sure the average person in Jerusalem at that time was scratching their head. They hoped their teachers would clarify it all, but those in authority were jealous of Jesus, and instead of pointing to Him as the Christ, they were seeking to get rid of Him.

And yet… many people believed in Jesus. Was it true faith? Jesus alone knew hearts, but He had promised that to any who came to Him in true faith, He would give eternal life, and “raise them up” (resurrect them) on the last day.

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John 7:32-36,

Meanwhile, in their “ivory towers,” the chief priests (Sadducees) and the Pharisees heard what the crowd was “muttering” about Jesus, that He “could” be the Christ. They sent temple officers to arrest Jesus.

But Jesus continued to talk with the people. He even told them about His upcoming death and resurrection, although in a very “veiled” way.

“I will be with you a little longer, then I am going to Him who sent me. You will seek Me, and you will not find Me. Where I am, you cannot come.“

Of course they had no idea that Jesus was speaking of His death. They couldn’t fathom that He would be returning to Heaven to live in glory with His Father. Instead they threw out ridiculous possibilities.

“Where does this Man intend to go that we will not find Him?“

“Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?”

“What does He mean by saying, ‘You will seek me, and you will not find Me’ and ‘Where I am you cannot come ‘?”

(Jesus later tells his disciples the same thing, in the privacy of the Upper Room. (John 14:5) and they are almost just as confused. They WILL understand later, however.

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John 7:37-44.

(NOTE: On the last day of the celebration, a priest traditionally carried a golden container filled with water from the Pool of Siloam in a procession back to the temple. As the procession reached the Water Gate on the south side of the inner temple court, three trumpet blasts marked the joy of the occasion, and the people recited Isaiah 12:3 – “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” At the temple, the priests would march around the altar while the choir sang Psalms 113-118, psalms of praise. The water was then offered as a sacrifice, in thanksgiving for the blessing of adequate rainfall for their crops. Jesus used this event as an OBJECT LESSON.)

At the temple, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” (This was a prophecy about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Jesus were to receive.)

When the people heard these words, some said, “This REALLY is the Prophet. Others said, ‘This is the Christ!”

But others said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (These people were a little more on track, but didn’t know Jesus’ early history.)

And so – like today – there was a division among the people about Jesus. SOME wanted to arrest Him! But NO ONE acted to lay hands on Him.

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To be continued…..

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (7/2) John 6:41-71

Jul2

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“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus tells the crowd seeking a miracle sign from Him before they “believe” in Him … that He is the true “bread from heaven,” who gives life to the world. “I AM the bread of life,” Jesus said. “Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst,” But it all seems to go over their heads (or rather their stomachs). (This was the first of seven “I AM” statements that John presents about Jesus in his gospel.)

John 6:41-51.

At some point, this conversation/teaching moved into the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus continued as teacher, but these Jews, who moments before were wanting to make Jesus their king so He could give them free bread every day, now grumble about His claims to be “spiritual bread” sent down from heaven. “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say now that He has come down from heaven?”

Jesus clarifies one thing. It’s not their wisdom and understanding that will draw them to faith in Him. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Jesus then paraphrases Isaiah 54:13 and tells them that they must be “taught the truth by God” and, with that learning, they can be drawn by God. By themselves (and ourselves), they could never come to and believe in Jesus on their own. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever BELIEVES (the word that God has given about Jesus) has eternal life.

“I AM the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. THIS is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and NOT die. I am the LIVING bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of THIS bread, he will LIVE FOREVER.”

And then that statement that began their distancing from Him. “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is … my flesh.”

(Of course we know the rest of the story. Jesus DID give His life, His “flesh,” for the world, so that “whosoever believed in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) His life for theirs.

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John 6:52-59.

But the selfish, glory-seeking Jews in the audience took the wrong meaning. “How can this man give us his FLESH to eat?” (Among other obvious reasons, this would have been super UN-kosher.)

Jesus doesn’t coddle them. He trusts His Father to give understanding and belief to those He wants to draw toward faith. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man … and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Imagine their faces, aghast and cringing, as He continues.) “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood HAS eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood ABIDES in me, and I in him.”

The crowd, as one, has leaned or retreated back from Jesus, imagining the gruesome “physical” picture He was painting. (Yes, there were a few who were getting the Spiritual” meaning, as we’ll see in a minute.)

Jesus concludes his Sabbath sermon with this summary. “THIS is the bread that came down from heaven, NOT like the ‘bread’ the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

To us, this is a message of hope, but to these Jews, understanding evaded them, and they did not receive His teaching.

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John 6:60-65.

Many of the crowds of Jesus’ followers now had second thoughts. This was not the great and grand Messiah who would lead Israel to victory against the Romans. This man spoke almost like a crazy man. His teaching was “hard,” and they took offense. MANY turned back and no longer followed Him.

“Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

And then this truth for all who are ever drawn to Jesus and saved: “It is the SPIRIT who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and LIFE.”

And again, “This is why I told you that NO ONE can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

John 6:66-71.

Jesus looked deeply at His twelve chosen disciples and said, “Do YOU want to go away as well?”

“LORD, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to KNOW that You are the Holy One of God,” said Simon Peter.

And yes, there was even one of the twelve who did not KNOW Jesus as the “Bread of LIFE.”

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/26) John 5:16-30

Jun26

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“Truly, truly, I say to you, “whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.” John 5:24

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – While in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. The man said he was waiting for the angel who stirred the water of the pool to heal him. But when Jesus asked if he WANTED to be healed, the man hedged. Nevertheless, Jesus spoke and healed him, telling the man to pick up his mat and get out of there. Later the religious leaders chided the man for “working” on the Sabbath. Then, after Jesus met and cautioned the healed man to “sin no more,” he went to those leaders and identified Jesus as his healer… and the One who told him to carry his mat. This infuriated the uber-legalistic Jews.

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John 5:16-17.

The religious leaders now had a foothold on which to stand and accuse Jesus. They said He broke the 4th commandment by doing miracles on the Sabbath. They soon would have another reason to not only accuse and persecute Him, but to execute Him.

Jesus said to them, “My Father is working continuously (even on the Sabbath), and I (also) am working.” It was very clear to these Jews that Jesus was calling God His Father, and indeed saying He was equal with God. (a blasphemy worthy of death)

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John 5:18-24.

So Jesus gave his own personal statement of His diety. He is equal with God…..

  • in His person. (calling God His Father) vss. 17-18
  • in His works (what the Father does, the Son does) vss.19-20
  • in His power and sovereignty (as the Father raises the dead, so the Son gives life) vs 21
  • in His judgment (the Father has GIVEN all judgment to the Son) vs. 22
  • in His honor (all honor the Son just as they honor the Father) vs. 23

I can imagine the religious leaders standing stunned and silent at so open a declaration by Jesus to be EQUAL WITH GOD.

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John 5:25-30.

Then, Jesus proclaims yet another time “the way to eternal life,” “Truly truly (double emphasis), I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Did they even HEAR this??

And again, a shocker. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

And, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. AND, He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”

Then Jesus tells them that He can do nothing on His own, but only at the will of God who sent Him. What does He mean?

(This all was the will of the Godhead, the triune God, who were in complete accord since before time and creation, when this moment in time, this plan of salvation through the substitutionary death of Jesus, was all planned and agreed upon. And now, Jesus does exactly that will, even after His prayer in Gethsemene. Then: Not my will, but thine. And now, I can do nothing on my own.)

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More in the next reading of this difficult section.

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/23) John 4:27-42

Jun23

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“Come, see a man who told me all I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John 4:29.

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus managed His path and His time to be exactly where a certain Samaritan woman would be about noon, alone and carrying a large water jar, sweating in the noonday heat. He amazed her by asking for a drink. (Jews didn’t talk to Samaritans, especially a woman.) The conversation that followed intrigued her and whetted her thirst for things spiritual. Jesus talked to her about God the Father, worship that was neither there nor in Jerusalem, but in the Spirit. He offered HER living water, despite knowing that she was a “fallen” woman. Confused, she said that one day the Messiah would come, and He would explain all things. Jesus looked at her and said, “I am He.”

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John 4:27-30.

“I am He,” Jesus said to the woman. And just then His disciples came back from town with some Kosher falafel wraps. They stopped dead, marveling that Jesus was talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that. But (wisely) none of them asked WHY he was talking to her.

Seeing the men arrive, she left her water jar and ran off into the town, saying to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

And so the people of the town, though they had shunned the woman, were curious at her words and came out to see for themselves. (Something had sure wound up the woman!)

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John 4:31-38

Meanwhile the disciples were unwrapping the falafel pitas and urging him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he refused the food saying that he had a “food” to eat that they knew nothing about.

As they chomped the spicy falafel, they asked quietly among themselves, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat while we were gone?”

But Jesus knew their thoughts. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” And looking out at the fields of grain around them, he said, “Do not say, ‘There are yet four months till harvent.’ Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and SEE that the fields are white with harvest!” They followed his pointing finger to see the people of the town following the woman out.

And many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.” When they got to Jesus that asked Him to stay with them, and He did, for three days, teaching truth.

MANY MORE believed because of His word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we KNOW that this is indeed the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.”

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(WOW, maybe we should not always avoid the places that are uncomfortable to us. Maybe there is someone who needs to hear about God’s saving grace, and the salvation that Jesus bought with His own life. Maybe we could take a chance and testify!)

Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/22) John 4:1-26

Jun22

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“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty…” John 4:15a

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – John the Baptist exalts Jesus one last time. He humbly tells his disciples that the end of his mission is near, that now Jesus must increase, while he must decrease. He then goes on to lift up and praise Jesus, the Son of God. Such a man of God, and such an example of humility.

John 4:1-6

After spending a bit more time in Judea while His disciples baptized a few people, Jesus heard that the religious leaders were causing a fuss about Him because He was baptizing more than John (He wasn’t). To offset possible trouble, He and his disciples left the area and made for Galilee.

Of course, without a long detour, that meant that they had to walk THROUGH Samaria, that land where the hated Samaritans lived. (Most Jews would cross the Jordan River and walk on the east bank until they passed Samaria, then cross the river again to reach Galilee.)

(NOTE: The Samaritans were a people of mixed ancestry. After the Northern Kingdom had been defeated by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:1-6), only a few poor Jewish farmers were left in the land. Then, as was his way, the Assyrian king relocated people from other lands he’d conquered to live in Israel. These intermarried with the Jews, and over time their “religion” became half truth and half pagan. The Jews of Israel avoided contact with these “pagans.”)

But that day, Jesus had an “appointment” with a certain Samaritan woman who lived in Sychar. The ancient well that the patriarch Jacob/Israel dug was there, and after sending His disciples into town for food (was Kosher food to be found there??), Jesus sat down at the well.

It was about noon, and it was hot.

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John 4:7-15.

A Samaritan woman approached the well carrying a water jar. She set it on the ground and glanced at Jesus. Now, usually the women of town would come in the cool of morning to draw water, so right away we know something was different about this woman. She was disliked and shunned by the Sychar Ladies Society. Why? We will find out.

“Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her.

The woman gave Him a double take. Usually men did not speak to women in public … especially JEWISH men.

“How is it that YOU, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? she asked.

‘If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is that is saying to you, ‘give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

The woman’s jaw dropped open. Then she said,

“Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” (She knew her history.)

Jesus answered her with a beautiful offer.

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Silence again. And then…

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty … or have to come here to draw water!” The Samaritan woman wasn’t quite sure what Jesus was offering. Was this some mystical holy water? Or some special means to receive regular water without work? Was He “pulling her leg?”

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John 4:16-26.

Jesus abruptly changes the topic. “Go, call your husband and come here.”

Ah…um…“I have no husband.”

“You were right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you said was true.” Jesus quickly answereed back. His eyes never left her face.

Softly she answered, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

Then more boldly, trying to change the subject from husbands, she said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but You say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.“

Jesus corrected her and gave her new knowledge. “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do NOT know, we worship what we DO know, for salvation is from the Jews. But… the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Almost more than she could comprehend, she said firmly, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When HE comes, HE will tell us all things.”

Silence, until she looked right at Him.

“I who speak to you am He.” Jesus said softly.

Whoa!

(And that’s where we leave them today. But stay tuned, it gets really exiting and amazing.)

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Reading the Gospels in 2026 (6/19) John 3:22-36

Jun19

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“” John

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus spoke and taught Nicodemus one night and explained the wonders of new birth, true belief, and eternal life. He even gave the inquiring Pharisee a picture of how all this could happen – when He was lifted up like Moses’ serpant in the wilderness. Difficult, but Nicodemus pondered it I’m sure. And he was eventually saved. See John 7:50-51 and John 19:38-40 to see the evidence.

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John 3:22–24.

After the Passover Feast, Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went through the Judean countryside to the river. They remainded there, and His disciples were baptizing. John the Baptist was also baptizing, farther south where the water was plentiful, and the people were coming to him in repentance.. (In doing this, John always pointed the people to the Messiah, Jesus.)

At one point, a discussion began between John’s disciples and a Jew.. They brought their question to John. “Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan (Jesus), to whom you bore witness, is baptising and all are going to HIM.” In other words, we are losing our baptees.and followers.

But this was not a probllem to the humble “voice” in the wilderness.

He said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him. The one who has “the bride” is “the bridegroom”. A friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.“

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John 3:30-36

Then John gives a speech that is surely spirit-inspired.

“He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way,” (John). “He who comes from Heaven is above all. (Jesus the Messiah) He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony.

“Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.”

And as John fades from the forefront, he gives an invitation to faith in Jesus.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Wow! What a testimony of truth. What a man of God. Wouldn’t you love to have heard more of his sermons before he held the baptisims? He was a preacher, and you know his words were Spirit-led, for this “invitation” is just like Jesus was preaching to Nicodemus in the previous section.

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (6/2) Luke 22:66 – 23:23:25

Jun2

A 5-day per week study.

June 2 – Reading Luke 22:66 – 23:25

 

Read and believe in Jesus.

“I find no fault in this Man.”  Luke

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – Jesus is arrested and taken away. Peter, following into the courtyard, denies his Lord three times.  Jesus looks at him, and he remembers, running out and weeping bitterly. Jesus is mocked and blasphemed.

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Vss. 15:66-71.

At Caiaphas’ house, Jesus was questioned and abused (see Matthew’s account). Witnesses were called, but none could agree. When morning came, the “official” trial began with the full 70-member Sanhedrin meeting. They’d already decided to put Jesus to death; this was simply the formal charge.

Caiaphas: “IF you are the Christ, tell us.”

Jesus: “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer.  But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

The whole council: “Are you the Son of God, then?

Jesus: “You said it.”

The whole council: “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from His own lips.”

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(There was at least one member who voted ‘nay,’ Joseph of Arimathea. It’s possible the ‘secret believer,’ Nicodemus, also did not vote ‘yes.’ But they had all they needed in this illegal trial.)

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Vss. 23:1-5.

Settled in their own minds and law, they also needed to ensure the death penalty.  The Council took Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate, for this.

The Council: “We found this man misleading our nation…”

The Council: “…and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar…”

The Council: “…and saying that He himself is Christ, a king.”

Pilate: Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus: “You said it.”

Speaking to the chief priests and the crowd, Pilate declared, “I find no guilt in this man.”

The Council: “He stirs up the people…”

The Council: “…teaching throughout all Judea…”

The Council: “…from Galilee even to this place!”

Pilate: “Galilee?”

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Vss. 23:6-12.

When Pilate heard that, he asked if Jesus was a Galilean. And when he heard that Jesus belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod… who himself was in Jerusalem at the time.

When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard about Him, and he was hoping to see some miracle done by Him.

Herod questioned Him at some length, but Jesus made no answer.

The chief priests and scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him.

But no deal. Jesus remained silent.

Miffed, Herod, with his soldiers, treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him. Then, arraying Him in splendid clothing, he sent Jesus back to Pilate.

(“And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.”)

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Vss. 15:13-17.

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people (the Sanhedrin and a growing crowd).

“You brought me this Man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining Him before you, behold, I did not find this Man guilty of any of your charges against Him. Neither did Herod, for he sent Him back to us.

“Look, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.  I will therefore punish and release Him.”

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Vss. 15:18-25.

But they all cried out together, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas.”

(Now Barabbas was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.)

Pilate tried to release Jesus instead.

The crowd: “Crucify, crucify Him!”

Pilate: “WHY? What evil has He done?  I have found in Him NO GUILT DESERVING DEATH. I will therefore punish and release Him.”

The manic crowd chanted: “CRUCIFY! CRUCIFY! CRUCIFY!”

So, Pilate granted their demand. He released Barabbas and delivered Jesus over to their will.

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(Ultimately, this was God’s will and plan (see Acts 2:23). The true Lamb of God was killed for the sins of the people.  Jesus, indeed, had ‘no guilt deserving death.’  But he carried our sin to the cross and was killed in our place.

2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.”)

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (6/1) Luke 22:54-65

Jun1

A 5-day per week study.

June 1 – Reading Luke 22:54-65

 

Read and believe in Jesus.

“And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.”  Luke 22:60

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – Judas led a virtual army of Jews and Romans with clubs and swords to arrest Jesus.  Their intent was to convict Him of a capital crime.  Judas’s intent in kissing Jesus was to earn 30 silver pieces.  Jesus was calm, but Peter was not. He drew his sword and sliced off an ear of the nearest man.  Jesus stopped that and healed the man.

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Vss. 22:54-60.

They (probably part of the Sanhedrin’s guard under the high priest) seized Jesus and led Him away (out of Gethsemane, into Jerusalem), to the high priest’s house.

Annas was the “official” high priest that year, although his recently deposed father-in-law, Caiaphas, held the real power. They took Jesus first to Annas’ house. It may have been that Annas’ and Caiaphas’ houses shared the same courtyard.

Peter (and John) followed Jesus at a distance.  John, being known in the household, went in first, then got Peter into the courtyard (see John 18:15-16).  He sat down with some others by the fire. The servant girl who questioned Peter first was probably the doorkeeper to Annas’s house and the one who let him into the courtyard.

“This man also was with Him,” she accused, after looking at Peter closely when he sat down in the light.

“Woman! I do not know Him!”

Later, someone else saw Peter and said, “You also are one of them!”

“Man, I am NOT!” said Peter vehemently.

An hour later, another person insisted, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”

“Man, I do not know what you are talking about!”

 

And immediately, WHILE he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

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Vss. 22:61-52

And at that minute, Jesus was being led over to Caiaphas’ house. He turned and looked at Peter. (This was a fixed, intent look.)

“And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’”

And the devastated disciple went out and wept bitterly.

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Vss. 22:63-65.

After this, the abuse begins with Jesus. The men holding Him blindfolded him and punched Him again and again.

“Prophesy!  Who struck you?”

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(Imagine being blindfolded, not knowing where the next strike would come from. A fist to the stomach, a blow to an ear, a kick to the groin…)

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“And they said many other things against Him, blaspheming Him.

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“Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…” Philippians 2:6-8