Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Righteous and holy God, what can I say to convey my thanks and appreciation of the horrible price paid for my sin? Thank you! Even more, please purify me and strengthen me so that my life from this day forward deepens in your character and in my love for Jesus, my Savior, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and be whipped. The soldiers used some thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown of thorns on Jesus' head. Then the soldiers put a purple robe around Jesus. The soldiers came to Jesus many times and said, "Hello, O king of the Jews!" They hit Jesus in the face. Again Pilate came out and said to the Jewish leaders, "Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge against him." Then Jesus came out. He was wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, "Here is the man!" When the leading priests and the Jewish guards saw Jesus they yelled, "Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge against him." The Jewish leaders answered, "We have a law that says he must die, because he said that he is the Son of God." When Pilate heard this, he was more afraid. Pilate went back inside the palace. He asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not answer him. Pilate said, "You refuse to speak to me? Remember, I have the power to make you free. I also have the power to kill you on a cross." Jesus answered, "The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. So the man who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin." After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders yelled, "Any person who makes himself a king is against Caesar. So if you let this man (Jesus) go free, that means you are not Caesar's friend." Pilate heard what these Jews said. So he brought Jesus out to the place called "The Stone Pavement." (In the Jewish language the name is "Gabbatha.") Pilate sat down on the judge's seat there. It was now almost noon on Preparation day of Passover week. Pilate said to the Jews, "Here is your king!" They yelled, "Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!" Pilate asked them, "Do you want me to kill your king on across?" The leading priests answered, "The only king we have is Caesar !"

Related Scripture Readings

"I am the shepherd that cares for the sheep (people). I know my sheep like the Father knows me. And my sheep know me like I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep. I have other sheep too. They are not in this flock here. I must lead them also. They will listen to my voice. In the future there will be one flock and one shepherd. The Father loves me because I give my life. I give my life so that I can get it back again. No person takes my life away from me. I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life. And I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father told me."

My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if any person sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the righteous (good) One. Jesus defends us before God the Father. Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.

Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When Jesus entered the city, an army officer came to him and begged for help. The officer said, "Lord, my servant is very sick at home in bed. He can't move his body and has much pain." Jesus said to the officer, "I will go and heal him." The officer answered, "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and he will be healed. I myself am a man under the authority (power) of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes. I tell another soldier, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and my servant obeys me. {I know that you also have power like this.}" When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus said to those people that were with him, "I tell you the truth. This man has more faith than any person I have found, even in Israel. Many people will come from the east and from the west. Those people will sit and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And those people (the Jews) that should have the kingdom will be thrown out. They will be thrown outside into the darkness. In that place people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}." Then Jesus said to the officer, "Go home. Your servant will be healed the way you believed he would." And at that same time his servant was healed.