Even when Jesus was on the cross, He said:
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23: 34)
We know for a fact that the men who killed Jesus were men of religion, as well as men of politics, for these were the people who wanted Jesus to die: for no other group of people wanted Jesus dead, neither in Jerusalem, nor in Rome. For it is doubtful that even Caesar had ever heard of a preacher from Nazareth.
It was these men who captured Jesus, gave Him a mock trial, but then---because they were unable to reach a unanimous decision to convict Jesus under religious law---they took Jesus to Pontius Pilate with a political charge that Jesus was against Caesar. That did it, and Pilate issued the order for the execution of Christ.
It was these men who killed Jesus because they KNEW that Jesus is the Son of God. This was their purpose in killing Jesus because they believed that by killing Jesus they would end the power of God upon the earth and that men would have total control of people---or a World Empire!
There was another group of men in this story, and their story is often overlooked. These were the men who actually administered death to Christ. These men were the Roman soldiers.
The Roman soldiers who killed Jesus were just doing their jobs. Killing people was their profession. They were highly trained and highly skilled in the art of producing excruciating pain in people when they either tied them or nailed them to crosses.
The Roman soldiers who killed Jesus were like robots. They were like machines. After killing a person, they went for another one. From daylight till dark, all they did was kill people. They went to their garrisons to eat and sleep, only to arise tomorrow and kill again. They had no heart for people, for their consciences had been seared as with a hot iron.
Like all Romans, the Roman soldiers were pagans. To them, Caesar was god. And though they worshipped all Roman deities, Caesar was their Big Daddy: their political god as well as their religious god.
At another time and at another place, however, Jesus said,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mark 12: 17)
The Roman soldiers rendered to Caesar the body of Christ.
Beneath the cross of Christ that day in Jerusalem was a Roman centurion, who said something that was strange for a Roman soldier to say:
Truly this was the Son of God.
Amid all the chaos and confusion that Golgotha produced, one man came to believe the truth that Christ is Messiah!
My father was a Baptist minister for thirty-five years, and toward the end of his life he said that if all of his preaching helped just one person to believe in Christ, then all of his preaching was worth it all.
www.bible.com
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23: 34)
We know for a fact that the men who killed Jesus were men of religion, as well as men of politics, for these were the people who wanted Jesus to die: for no other group of people wanted Jesus dead, neither in Jerusalem, nor in Rome. For it is doubtful that even Caesar had ever heard of a preacher from Nazareth.
It was these men who captured Jesus, gave Him a mock trial, but then---because they were unable to reach a unanimous decision to convict Jesus under religious law---they took Jesus to Pontius Pilate with a political charge that Jesus was against Caesar. That did it, and Pilate issued the order for the execution of Christ.
It was these men who killed Jesus because they KNEW that Jesus is the Son of God. This was their purpose in killing Jesus because they believed that by killing Jesus they would end the power of God upon the earth and that men would have total control of people---or a World Empire!
There was another group of men in this story, and their story is often overlooked. These were the men who actually administered death to Christ. These men were the Roman soldiers.
The Roman soldiers who killed Jesus were just doing their jobs. Killing people was their profession. They were highly trained and highly skilled in the art of producing excruciating pain in people when they either tied them or nailed them to crosses.
The Roman soldiers who killed Jesus were like robots. They were like machines. After killing a person, they went for another one. From daylight till dark, all they did was kill people. They went to their garrisons to eat and sleep, only to arise tomorrow and kill again. They had no heart for people, for their consciences had been seared as with a hot iron.
Like all Romans, the Roman soldiers were pagans. To them, Caesar was god. And though they worshipped all Roman deities, Caesar was their Big Daddy: their political god as well as their religious god.
At another time and at another place, however, Jesus said,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mark 12: 17)
The Roman soldiers rendered to Caesar the body of Christ.
Beneath the cross of Christ that day in Jerusalem was a Roman centurion, who said something that was strange for a Roman soldier to say:
Truly this was the Son of God.
Amid all the chaos and confusion that Golgotha produced, one man came to believe the truth that Christ is Messiah!
My father was a Baptist minister for thirty-five years, and toward the end of his life he said that if all of his preaching helped just one person to believe in Christ, then all of his preaching was worth it all.
www.bible.com
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