Reading for Today:
-
Numbers 35:1
Chapter 35 1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
–36:13
-
Psalms 35:17-28
17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions. 18 I will give thee thanks in the great assembly: I will praise thee among much people. 19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. 20 For they speak not peace; But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land. 21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me; They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it. 22 Thou hast seen it, O Jehovah; keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. 23 Stir up thyself, and awake to the justice `due' unto me, `Even' unto my cause, my God and my Lord. 24 Judge me, O Jehovah my God, according to thy righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. 25 Let them not say in their heart, Aha, so would we have it: Let them not say, We have swallowed him up. 26 Let them be put to shame and confounded together that rejoice at my hurt: Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me. 27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: Yea, let them say continually, Jehovah be magnified, Who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. 28 And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness `And' of thy praise all the day long. Psalm 36 For the Chief Musician. `A Psalm' of David the servant of Jehovah.
-
Proverbs 12:3
3 A man shall not be established by wickedness; But the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
-
Mark 15:25-47
25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. 26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 And with him they crucify two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left. 28 `And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was reckoned with transgressors.' 29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 30 save thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 In like manner also the chief priests mocking `him' among themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reproached him. 33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 35 And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elijah. 36 And one ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to take him down. 37 And Jesus uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood by over against him, saw that he so gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. 40 And there were also women beholding from afar: among whom `were' both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women that came up with him unto Jerusalem. 42 And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the `mother' of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Notes:
Numbers 35:12 the avenger. The meaning of this term is “near of kin.” It refers to the person chosen by a family to deal with a loss suffered in that family. Here the close relative of a homicide victim would seek to avenge his death, but not until proper judgment was made.
Numbers 35:33 blood defiles the land. Though murder and inadvertent killing polluted the land, murder was atoned for by the death of the murderer. Failure to observe these principles would make the land unclean. If the whole land became unclean, then the Lord would no longer be able to dwell in their midst.
Psalm 35:21, 22 Our eyes have seen it. This you have seen, O LORD. What David’s enemy allegedly saw, the Lord has seen perfectly. David knew that his God would vindicate him based upon the true evidence, all in his favor.
Mark 15:26 inscription of His accusation. The crime for which a condemned man was executed was written on a wooden board, which was fastened to the cross above his head. Jesus’ inscription was written in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek (
John 19:20
20 This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, `and' in Latin, `and' in Greek.
). THE KING OF THE JEWS. Since Pilate had repeatedly declared Jesus to be innocent of any crime (
Luke 23:4
4 And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man.
, 14, 15, 22), he ordered this inscription written for Him. While Pilate’s intent was probably neither to mock nor honor Jesus, he certainly intended it as an affront to the Jewish authorities, who had given him so much trouble. When the outraged Jewish leaders demanded the wording be changed, Pilate bluntly refused (
John 19:22
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
). A comparison of all 4 Gospel accounts reveals that the full inscription read: THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH,THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mark 15:38 the veil of the temple was torn in two. The massive curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the sanctuary (Ex. 26:31–33; 40:20, 21; Lev. 16:2; Heb. 9:3). Its rending signified that the way into God’s presence was open by the death of His Son.
DAY 19: What happened to Jesus after His death?
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the “council” (or the Sanhedrin), who had opposed Jesus’ condemnation (
Luke 23:51
51 (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), `a man' of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God:
), took courage and came forward (
Mark 15:43
43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
). Pilate would not likely have been pleased to see a member of the Sanhedrin, after that group had forced him to crucify an innocent man. Further, Joseph’s public identification with Jesus would enrage the other members of the Sanhedrin. Nevertheless, he “asked for the body of Jesus.”
“Pilate marveled” that Jesus was already dead (v. 44). Victims of crucifixion often lingered for days, hence Pilate’s surprise that Jesus was dead after only 6 hours. Before granting Jesus’ body to Joseph, Pilate checked with the “centurion” in charge of the crucifixion to verify that Jesus was really dead. Having received confirmation from the centurion that Jesus was dead, Pilate granted Jesus’ body to Joseph (v. 45). By that act, the Romans officially pronounced Jesus dead.
Then Jesus’ body was wrapped in the linen (v. 46). The Jews did not embalm corpses, but wrapped them in perfumed burial cloths. Nicodemus, another prominent member of the Sanhedrin (see
John 7:50
50 Nicodemus saith unto them (he that came to him before, being one of them),
), assisted Joseph in caring for the body of Jesus (
John 19:39
39 And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
, 40). These men, who had kept their allegiance to Jesus secret during His lifetime, then came forward publicly to bury Him, while the disciples, who had openly followed Jesus, hid (
John 20:19
19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first `day' of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace `be' unto you.
). Then they laid Jesus in a “tomb…hewn out of the rock.” This “tomb” was located near Golgotha (
John 19:42
42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus.
). Matthew adds that it was Joseph’s own tomb (Matt. 27:60), while Luke and John note that no one as yet had been buried in it (
Luke 23:53
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, where never man had yet lain.
;
John 19:41
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was never man yet laid.
).
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
Additional Resources
