2020-04-10 Online Church

Good morning! Thank you for joining us on this day when we remember the death and sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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Read from John 18:

Judas had promised to betray Jesus. So he went to the garden with some Roman soldiers and temple police, who had been sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees. They carried torches, lanterns, and weapons. Jesus already knew everything that was going to happen, but he asked, “Who are you looking for?”

They answered, “We are looking for Jesus from Nazareth!”

Jesus told them, “I am Jesus!” At once they all backed away and fell to the ground.

Jesus again asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“We are looking for Jesus from Nazareth,” they answered.

Simon Peter had brought along a sword. He now pulled it out and struck at the servant of the high priest. The servant’s name was Malchus, and Peter cut off his right ear. Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away. I must drink from the cup that the Father has given me.”

The Roman officer and his men, together with the temple police, arrested Jesus and tied him up. They took him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

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Continue reading from John 18:

The high priest questioned Jesus about his followers and his teaching. But Jesus told him, “I have spoken freely in front of everyone. And I have always taught in our meeting places and in the temple, where all of our people come together. I have not said anything in secret. Why are you questioning me? Why don’t you ask the people who heard me? They know what I have said.”

As soon as Jesus said this, one of the temple police hit him and said, “That’s no way to talk to the high priest!”

Jesus answered, “If I have done something wrong, say so. But if not, why did you hit me?” Jesus was still tied up, and Annas sent him to Caiaphas the high priest.

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Continue reading from John 18 and 19:

It was early in the morning when Jesus was taken from Caiaphas to the building where the Roman governor stayed. But the crowd waited outside. Any of them who had gone inside would have become unclean and would not be allowed to eat the Passover meal.

Pilate came out and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

They answered, “He is a criminal! That’s why we brought him to you.”

Pilate then went back inside. He called Jesus over and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own or did someone tell you about me?”

“You know I’m not a Jew!” Pilate said. “Your own people and the chief priests brought you to me. What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If it did, my followers would have fought to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. No, my kingdom doesn’t belong to this world.”

“So you are a king,” Pilate replied.

“You are saying that I am a king,” Jesus told him. “I was born into this world to tell about the truth. And everyone who belongs to the truth knows my voice.”

Pilate went back out and said, “I don’t find this man guilty of anything! And since I usually set a prisoner free for you at Passover, would you like for me to set free the king of the Jews?”

They shouted, “No, not him! We want Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a terrorist.

Pilate gave orders for Jesus to be beaten with a whip. The soldiers made a crown out of thorn branches and put it on Jesus. Then they put a purple robe on him. They came up to him and said, “Hey, you king of the Jews!” They also hit him with their fists.

Then Pilate wanted to set Jesus free. But the crowd again yelled, “Kill him! Kill him!” they yelled. “Nail him to a cross!”

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Continue reading from John 19:

Jesus was taken away, and he carried his cross to a place known as “The Skull.” In Aramaic this place is called “Golgotha.” There Jesus was nailed to the cross, and on each side of him a man was also nailed to a cross.

Pilate ordered the charge against Jesus to be written on a board and put above the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The words were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Pilate told them, “What is written will not be changed!”

After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided up his clothes into four parts, one for each of them. But his outer garment was made from a single piece of cloth, and it did not have any seams. The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. We will gamble to see who gets it.” This happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say,

    They divided up my clothes
    and gambled
       for my garments.

The soldiers then did what they had decided.

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Continue reading from John 19:

Jesus knew that he had now finished his work. And in order to make the Scriptures come true, he said, “I am thirsty!” A jar of cheap wine was there. Someone then soaked a sponge with the wine and held it up to Jesus’ mouth on the stem of a hyssop plant. After Jesus drank the wine, he said, “Everything is done!” He bowed his head and died.

The next day would be both a Sabbath and the Passover. It was a special day for the Jewish people, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses during that day. So they asked Pilate to break the men’s legs and take their bodies down. The soldiers first broke the legs of the other two men who were nailed there. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and they did not break his legs.

One of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus’ side, and blood and water came out. We know this is true, because it was told by someone who saw it happen. Now you can have faith too. All this happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say, “No bone of his body will be broken” and, “They will see the one in whose side they stuck a spear.”

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Continue reading from John 19:

Joseph from Arimathea was one of Jesus’ disciples. He had kept it secret though, because he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. But now he asked Pilate to let him have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, and Joseph took it down from the cross.

Nicodemus also came with about seventy-five pounds of spices made from myrrh and aloes. This was the same Nicodemus who had visited Jesus one night. The two men wrapped the body in a linen cloth, together with the spices, which was how the Jewish people buried their dead. In the place where Jesus had been nailed to a cross, there was a garden with a tomb that had never been used. The tomb was nearby, and since it was the time to prepare for the Sabbath, they were in a hurry to put Jesus’ body there.

Click on the video below and think abut the words as Don Moen sings.

This morning, Pastor Jon returns to the pulpit. Click the play button, found beside the picture of Pastor Jon.

Let’s close our time today by singing together again. Click on the video and sing along with the words on the screen.

Read John 3:16

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

This is the message of Easter: that God loved you so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die on a cross to take the punishment for your sin. By putting our faith in Jesus, you can have a relationship with him.

Do you have this hope? You can have real, lasting peace today through a relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more, go to FindingMyHope.org.

Thank you for joining us this morning. We invite you back again on Easter Sunday, April 12 at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Also, don’t forget to give us your email address using the Contact form, if you did not get an email from us inviting you to today’s worship service.