Every time I put extra effort into a topic or event in Scripture, I come away with new insights and greater appreciation for God's love and work involved to save me.  This past week (2026), while reading of and pondering on the Passion Week of Jesus, a number of things were special to me and challenging to me.  Here I want to lay out three with no definitive conclusions - just ideas.
 
John 19:1-16 is very well known, but where John places the scourging of Jesus is of interest to me.  The synoptic gospels all have the terrible event just prior to the cross being laid on Jesus and He being led down the Via Dolorosa.  Not John.  He puts more trial after the scourging.  Here is John's report: So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again, and said to them... (John 19:1-12)

The synoptics report the scourging as just prior to His being led away for crucifixion (Matthew 27:26-31, Mark 15:15-20, Luke 23:22-26).

I am intrigued.
 
Second, Pilate was frightened: Who was this before Him?  At trial, Jesus' lack of words and the words spoken were troubling to say the least. The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” From then on Pilate sought to release Him. (John 19:7-12)

Think of Pilate at noon that day when the sky went dark.  Yikes!  "What is happening?"  Pilate had to have been frightened all-the-more.  Then at 3:00 that same day, an earthquake that ripped the temple veil and the light of day came back on.  WOW!  What?  Who was that Man He sent to death??

Then entered two of the Jews' leaders, Joseph and Nicodemus, asking for His body.  Pilate questioned how it could be that He was already dead? (Mark 15:44) Again, this Man and His death were troubling.  

The following day the Jews came asking that Pilate seal the tomb because that Man who claimed to be the Son of God and claimed He would arise from the dead - and everyone in and around Jerusalem knew of the raising of Lazarus by Jesus just a few months earlier.  What a day for the man who washed his hands of Jesus.
 
And this:  While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him” (Matthew 27:19).

I even woke a couple times over the past days thinking of Pilate's wife and the dream that so moved her.  What that one verse says is all we know.  So, what was the dream?  What made it so troubling?

It was clear enough to her that the dream was about Jesus that she sent a note to her husband while in the midst of the trial of the Man seeking to influence the outcome. A huge move!

Her dream and fright were ignored or at least trumped by the screams of the crowd and the threats of not being a friend of Caesar.  

It reminds me of Adam and Eve at the tree on that fateful day at the beginning of time.  A husband and wife were wrestling with truth.  Truth was ignored and Death ensued.
 
How about you?  What caused you to pause and ponder as you thought about the work of God during that week to redeem you from your justified eternal punishment?

Some of us are coping with another parting of life from planet earth.  J.B. had a good life – a full life – that was called by God.  Over the past two years she had been dealing with cancer and over the past months dealing with the degrading that cancer causes.  The last days were tough but with drugs, not severe except for those of us seeing her and seeking to communicate with her.  Her moment came and away she went; leaving behind her “house.”  

Ecc 12:7, the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

(We will lay her body in the ground to return to dust.)

Ecc 8:7-8, Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come? As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death.

This reminds me of a tale retold in “Appointment in Samarra” by John O’Hara which opens with this ancient Mesopotamian tale:  

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

And such an event awaits each of us – DEATH!  One-out-of-one!

But death and the grave aren’t our final stop!  No, there is life on the other side and then a reverse of death coming when spirit and body will be reunited to live in combo again forever.

Call it an undeath – death undone!

John 5:28, A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

This reverse of death to a life with spirit reunited to body will result in either a life full of blessings or a life void of blessings.

Such being the case: that I’m destined to die and knowing that death will be reversed so to live possibly in condemnation, what do I do?

So?  Ecc 12:7-8, Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

And, 12:1, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.”

The Bible charges all men that before death knocks: to look to, learn from and submit to the Creator’s will, which is to love His Son!

The dividing issue will be what is done with Jesus in this first life – in life now before death.  At “undeath”, those in this first life who are  faithful and following Jesus will receive a great eternity while those not amazed and faithful to Jesus in this life will live away from kindness and goodness – ugh!

At “undeath” for those who love Jesus this truth will come true:  I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him. Job 19:25-27.

In working through Isaiah 6-9 for a Christmas teaching series, these four verses (8:19-22) jumped out to me as a picture of what is happening to our country.

Let me start with the last verse:  Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness, 8:22.

Isn't this us today?  We look around and see chaos, commotion, pain, wars, infighting, division, anger and fear.  What summarizes our country these days - darkness!  What politicians and political parties are always trying to promote is that they have - the light - a vision - the answer.  They realize the national spirit is sour, depressed and gloomy and they offer help.  And year by year the drift is into greater darkness - depression, despair, defeat, dread and even death.  

Now back up to verse nineteen:  And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?  Isaiah 8:19.

What was happening was a serious military threat from two next-door neighbors and leadership from a king who didn't trust God and had cut a deal with a great military power further away that was threatening conquest.  The country had very serious issues and they had turned to the spirit realm for wisdom.  God jumped in questioning the rationale of looking for and listening to witches, voices and babbling (people with letters, but talk in circles or are unclear).  They were listening to the dead - dead can be those who are spiritually dead meaning they aren't saved and don't have the Holy Spirit within them giving wisdom.  They were listening to people deemed wise who only rattle worldly thoughts.  [This is so the USA!]

God called the leaders and people to turn to the Bible which lays out His principles/laws and recounts His dealings with men: To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them, 8:20.  Those to look to and listen to are those whose word squares and agrees with the Bible.  The Word judges the message, not the other way around.

Spurgeon on Isaiah 8:20 (enduringword.com): “Let us remember, as ministers of the Gospel, what M’Cheyne beautifully said; ‘Depend upon it,’ said he, ‘it is God’s Word not man’s comment upon God’s Word, that saves souls;’ and I have marked, that if ever we have a conversion at any time, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the conversion is rather traceable to the text, or to some Scripture quoted in the sermon, than to any trite or original saying by the preacher. It is God’s Word that breaks the fetters and sets the prisoner free, it is God’s Word instrumentally that saves souls and therefore let us bring everything to the touchstone.”

To turn away from or reject God and His Word leads to very difficult times which lead to anger as reported in v. 21, They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward.  As life gets harder, men get more angry and vent toward their government and even toward God!  After shaking their fist at God with no effect they look and see all is worsening: Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness, 8:22.
BUT - BUT!  "Nevertheless" - 9:1.  All is NOT lost!

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders, 9:6.  This Child born and Son given will have a transforming effect on life:
   The gloom and anguish will turn to glory, 9:1.
      The darkness and shadows will submit to light, 9:2.
         The lack, worry and destitution will be replaced with joy, 9:3.
            The bondage, grind and oppression will be broken, 9:4.
               The war and warring will be ended, 9:5.

How is the dark, dread, depression and death dissipated?  By the advent of God in flesh that Christmas day!  God Himself took on flesh so to show man the way and make the way (His death and resurrection) resulting in His taking over the governing and doing so in the most glorious way imaginable!  Jesus is the answer to threats, fear, anger, oppression and the dark - He is the light of the world who alone gives the help and hope men so need!

II Peter 3:11, Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness

II Peter 1:3, As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue (moral excellence; purity; holiness)

I Timothy 2:2, pray... for kings and all… that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness

God calls us to be like Jesus who was set apart (holy) and all about His Father's honor and glory (godly).

The Christian calling: denying ungodliness and worldly lusts (not holy), we should live soberly, righteously (holy), and godly in the present age, Titus 2:12.

First, BE HOLY!
I Peter 1:15, As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

NIV Bible: Holiness is the quality or state of being holy, often associated with moral purity and being set apart from sin.  One who is holy is one who hates sin, flees sin and fixes sin and loves the Ten - God's law and Word.  Holiness is about living a life set apart to God.

Titus 2:14, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Holiness is often taught and pursued by good evangelical churches and true Christians.  What is not very much taught and pursued is Godliness.

And BE GODLY!  So, just what is Godliness?  

From Bible.org: 

Genesis 39:19-23
So it was, when his [Joseph’s] master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.  20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.  21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.  23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
 
This passage recently caught my attention for one fact, but others have since impacted me.  Here is that initial grab: Joseph was in prison and God was with him!  

Joseph was in prison – Ugh!  Joseph was wrongly accused and incarcerated.  Ugh, again! This is a reminder of how many of the Bible’s characters spent time in prison – Jeremiah, Paul, James, Peter, John the Baptist, Samson, Micaiah, Hanani, the apostles, and Silas to mention most of those noted as prisoners in Scripture.

BUT God was with Him!  In prison, and God was with Him!  That sounds like an oxymoron – I mean, God could break him out like He did Peter in Acts 12.  But NO!  God was in prison too!  God was OK with Joseph being in prison!

Joseph looking back on those 13 years behind bars made this declaration:  You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).  WOW!  Again, God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Our hopes, wishes and plans most often do not include God’s designs and means and God has the final say (Proverbs 16:1, James 4:15).  

Then there is the fact that Joseph was there because he was moral and refused to be immoral - Joseph refused to sin!  He refused to go along with the power brokers.  He said “NO” to the world. And for that He was sent to languish because of the words of an evil person and because of dirty politics (the Potiphar had the power and used it).  Much like John the Baptist (I Peter 4:4).

And then this... “God showed him mercy.”  Boy, to park a guy in prison for doing good and at the bequest of evil people and then God to declare that He gave him mercy again seems goofy.  Oops, I almost forgot: God’s ways are not our ways!  This is such a familiar theme throughout Scripture.  You would think that we would sooner – not later – figure this out.

Then the story reports that the Lord gave Joseph favor with the jailer. So, the jailer thinks he is in charge of the jail, but low and behold, not so!  God is!  God decided who should run the place and moved Joseph into that position.  So much for the will and authority of man.  God’s rule RULES!  

Yet, Joe is still behind bars – well, maybe not in the dungeon and maybe not behind bars, but he was still behind walls and the world was passing him by.  He was living in filth, eating yucky food, sleeping on no foam mattress and most likely no “My Pillow” (Mike might have cut them a deal), no HVAC, no books and no electricity, thus no TV.  There was no pay phone, no lawyer visits, no visitors, no prisoners of like faith (and he was one of those foreigners and a Jew to boot!), no prisoners with his scruples and no occasional letters from loved ones.  At night he listened to filth from foul men, battled rats, spiders and scorpions, and thus was often sleepless. What a rotten existence – if you can even call it an existence.  

Even holding a position of authority/favor, how many nights did he cry himself to sleep?  How often did he battle depression or anger?  And his prayers often seemed to stop at the ceiling.   Where was God?  Yet, God was not indifferent nor distant.  Remember, God was with him!  God was with him IN JAIL!  What a concept!

An octagon painted red with four white letters is called a sign and it exists to teach a truth – STOP! or be in an accident or be ticketed.

If you come unto a shadow – beware!  NOT of the shadow as it can’t hurt you, but there is an object making the shadow which should be of concern. There are a lot of “shadows” or signs in Christianity that exist to reveal a truth but often the sign gets more attention than the truth for which it exists.

Here are some examples:

1. Baptism
Baptism is very important per Jesus: make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them..., Matthew 28:19.  But more critical is repentant, confessional and humbling faith in Jesus’ work on the cross which made salvation possible. Acts 8:36-37, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water.  What hinders me from being baptized?”  Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”  And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  Acts 2:41, Then those who gladly received his word were baptized.  They first were believers and then baptized – baptized the very same day which identified them to the radical, executed Rabbi – Jesus!  To be baptized was a huge statement in the face of people who had the power to kill and they used it!

2. The Resurrection
Matthew 16:4, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Jesus declared that He would be buried and rise in three days (Matt. 12:40) and He declared that the resurrection was a sign.  The sign (shadow) of resurrection points to the cross where Jesus paid the sin debt owed by men that they could not pay.  How can a person know that “Calvary covers it all, my past with its sin and stain; my guilt and despair, Jesus took on Him there…” [Mrs. Walter G. Taylor]?  The gospel, according to I Corinthians 15, is that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.  The sign is very important, but not it doesn’t save - only the cross!  

3. Religion
It is often heard “I’m about relationship, not religion”.  The order is right – relationship first, BUT you cannot escape the sign – religion.  Religion is the physical church which is very, very important as are baptism and the resurrection, BUT true religion is a sign of a relationship with God.  Religion can’t and won’t save - only a relationship with Jesus does.  II Timothy 3:5, Having a form of godliness but denying its power - from such people turn away! If saved, religion is important and even critical.  Acts 2:41-42, Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship...  Religion followed relationship, but it did follow!

4. The Rainbow
While a beautiful marking of the end of a rain, it is a sign from God that never again will He destroy mankind with water for their rebellion.  The rainbow is a sign that God sees and deals with sin and rejection and mockery of His goodness.  Genesis 9:13, I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.  Don’t adore the sign for its beauty and miss what it is a sign of – God judges sin!

5. Tongues
Similar to the rainbow are the tongues of the disciples recorded in Acts 2.  Tongues were a sign of God’s putting Israel and Jerusalem aside and turning to the nation of other languages.  
Tongues spoken in Israel was a sign that God was to punish the Jews.  Jeremiah 5:15, "Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the Lord. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. Tongues were a sign to the Jews of God’s anger and of His beginning a new dispensation – a new group – the church.

6. Sunday
While Sunday is a powerful and important event called for by God, it is a sign of a truth. Exodus 31:13, Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. Doing Sunday is of little value when kept void of the truth it marks – that God is to be honored and served.  Sunday keeping is a statement of belief in God, Jesus and His Word – the Bible.

Too often the sign - the shadow - is the focus of attention rather than what it is marking.  Be wise!

Believe His Works!

Believe Jesus for His miracles:

John 10:31-33, Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many
good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”  The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and
because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”…“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and
believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

Acts 2:22, Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know...
 
Matthew 11:3-5, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Believe Jesus for His work in Creation:

Psalm 19:1-3, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor
language where their voice is not heard.

  1. The Heavens declare - GOD!!  So vast - so incredibly vast.  The more we discover the bigger it is! The revolution and rotation of the earth give us a calendar and a clock. So precise the movements we can declare the exact place and time of the next eclipse, even years before.  We navigate the oceans using the stars.  The Moon dictates tides, animal activities and planting.

  2. AND the firmament screams - GOD!
Clouds and winds.  Rain, snow and hurricanes.  The beauty of a sunrise or a sunset which are new every day.  And the birds migrating, hunting and soaring.  Thousands of birds in a swarm and NONE collide!
Gen. 9:13, I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

Believe Jesus for the sign of the Empty tomb - the resurrection!

Jesus taught: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” John 11:25-27.  Why believe such a bold claim?

John 11:39, Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”… 45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him… 12:9, they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.

The resurrection verified to Martha - and to us - that Jesus was/is indeed the Christ, the Son of God!  

Jesus declared: “No sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Matthew 16:4.
Declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Romans 1:4.
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen, I Corinthians 15:13.

The resurrection is the sign verifying that Jesus was the Christ – the fulfillment of the Old Testament and He who would take satisfy God’s wrath toward sin (Isaiah 53:11).

The resurrection was/is the sign proving that the “It is FINISHED” uttered by Jesus at the close of His time of the cross was indeed true.  

The resurrection is the sign proving that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

The resurrection is an undeniable sign screaming that we should cast our faith in Jesus as our Savior!

Isaiah 53:3-4, He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.   And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

1. despised and rejected

1. by family – Matthew 12:46, even mother, John 2:4, brothers, John 7:5
2. by town – neighbors, synagogue – tried to cast Him over a cliff, Luke 4
3. by peoples he served - John 6:66
4. by friends – followers and disciples fled when He was arrested
5. by His religion – “Away with Him” – declared to be a blasphemer, have a demon
6. by government – Rome of courts and justice failed
7. by God – “My God, My God - Why have you forsaken me?

2. of sorrows and acquainted with grief

1. Lived among death – He of Heaven now among dead flowers, dead youth, dead neighbors, cemeteries
2. Lived among those sick, damaged, deformed, homeless and destitute
3. Lived among those with mental health issues, with Satan ruling and influencing and controlling
4. His father, Joseph, at some point prior to His going public as the Messiah, died - Mary was a widow
5. At the tomb of a dear friend, Lazarus, He wept
6. He wept when seeing Jerusalem and knowing their rejection and coming destruction, Luke 19:41
7. He groaned seeing the people without Godly leadership, Mark 6:34

3. we hid our faces (despised - not esteemed)

1. We considered Him a revolutionary, radical and wrong
2. We saw Him was a liar, loony, loser, weak, odd, strange, fringe or other
3. He did not fit the criteria for a good leader - He was from Nazareth, from Galilee of the Gentiles and without a valid heritage or genealogy
4. He was not recognized by priests, the Pharisees, or the Sanhedrin; but rather considered dangerous and bad
5. He was considered a fringe or wayward rabbi with a rag-tag group of followers

4. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (He entered into our pain, loss, troubles, fears, struggles)

He was with tax collectors, publicans and street women
He served lepers, the blind and beggars
He was with Galileans and Pereans
He gave attention to widows, women and children
He went to Sidon and Decapolis
He was at Caesarea Philippi - an evil place to be avoided
He dealt with demons and demonics in cemeteries
These all foreshadow the cross - He would take such upon Himself in order to pay the price for adoption.

5. we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted

As He was thought out of bounds, over the line, odious to God, so God had to deal harshly with Him.  We saw Jesus’ death as God’s righteous hand of punishment and discipline on Him.

But,

53:5-6, He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;  The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

BUT! BUT! BUT!  WE WERE WRONG!  WE MISSED IT!  It was JUST the Opposite!

The reason for the cross was (v. 5) our, our, our, we!

It was our transgressions – law breaking, and our iniquities – sins against God and others.

He suffered for our peace, healing and rescue from our waywardness, selfishness and lostness.

Jesus endured all the rejection, sorrows, dishonor, brokenness and false accusations for others – for me!

Jesus took the brutality of man and the wrath of God for sinners like you and like me!

What a Savior!

Hebrews 4:9-16 is such a powerful and important passage to have a grasp of and allow to bolster one’s faith.  I find myself often allowing the truths in these verses to direct me and encourage me.  May the truths here be helpful to you as well!

Salvation: 9-11, There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

  1. A rest for those who are saved.  Rest is a marker of someone truly saved for a peace sweeps into their being.  It is a peace that goes beyond comprehension.  It is the realization that one is safe in Jesus and destined for a glorious eternity despite the ills and struggles of today.  A WOW settles in!  The drive to please and excel out of fear is replaced by a drive to please out of love.

  2. True salvation is acquired by a faith – a belief – in the work of Jesus.  It is a grasp that He took the full brunt of God’s wrath for one’s sins, transgressions and iniquities and that He has enfolded the repentant one to Himself simply by their agreement with Him and embrace of Him as their Savior.  “Jesus paid it all – all to Him I owe!”   So – be saved!  Yet, only on His terms!

  3. If saved, shed the “I have to do this and that” mentality.  If saved by faith, there is no more a fret and push to be clean and busy.  If His, it is a joy, love and peace – it is a REST!  If truly saved then be “diligent” to trust in, rely on, and cling to Jesus and His work.  Rest in Jesus!

Justice: 12-13, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all thing are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

  1. God knows and speaks.  God has declared all the truth needed to cut through the fog and self-wisdom men possess.  The Bible does what no human can do – separate soul and spirit (ah, so we are triune beings!). The Bible overcomes our thinking and wisdom.  

  2. The Bible teaches us that God “gets us” – fully!  He knows our thoughts, intents, eyerolls, doings, words, pride and failings – God knows, God cares and God deals.  It is a reminder that there is nothing we might do that Jesus didn’t pay for and that we have no need to revert to thinking we need to do something so to restore a relationship lost because of what we did.

  3. The lesson here is that one saved is passionate about God’s will and truth and thus a student of the Bible.  Be reminded of Christ’s “finished” work, that one is safe in Jesus, so don’t fall back into the legalisms of works – “I have to do this or that in order to be saved or stay saved.”

Help: 14-16, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

  1. Jesus, our intermediary - our high priest - is GREAT, in Heaven and is God!  All are WOW’s!

  2. Jesus’ victories over temptation, legalism, weaknesses, and death and His entrance into the fullness of love, joy, peace, beauty and purpose - markers of existence in the presence of the Father - are grounds for perseverance because He knows, cares and can!  

  3. As His, through a “diligent”-driven-faith in His work that alone saves, we are invited to come to a throne of grace (Romans 8:34) through Jesus with confidence with our needs and issues and He promises mercy (not getting what we deserve) and grace (getting what we don’t deserve).

  4. So - in everything by prayer…let your requests be made known to God, Philippians 4:6.

In summary:  Jesus has done ALL the work and offers a rest from all the legalisms and attempts to try to please God that leaves one wondering and yet fearful and one can find wisdom and direction from the Bible in how to live a life of rest and look to and use Jesus to know freedom (mercy) and goodness (grace) so to continue to experience a life of rest.  REST is offered and found in Jesus!  Glory - Hallelujah!!

Here are a set of verses with GREAT Truths! Let the truths declared here touch your soul!

I Chronicles 29:10-15
David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.”
 
Note the attributes and markers attached to God (vv. 11-12):
  1. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
  2. the power
  3. and the glory,
  4. the victory
  5. and the majesty;
  6. For all that is in heaven
  7. and in earth is Yours;
  8. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
  9. and You are exalted as head overall.
10. Both riches
11. and honor come from You,
12. and You reign overall.
13. In Your hand is power
14. and might;
15. in Your hand it is to make great
16. and to give strength to all.
PK:  WOW!!  What a God!
 
13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.
PK:  AND WHY NOT???
May we thank and praise God with diligence and with more joy, truth and zeal!

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
PK:  AMEN!
What a privilege to know God and offer Him worship that He accepts.

14, For all things come from You,
PK:  ALL!  Health, wealth, children, food, safety, smarts, strength, etc.; ALL are from God!
We own nothing!  We just have the duty to manage His things.
 
and of Your own we have given You.
PK: So, we aren’t giving God anything that isn’t already His.  We are but giving back to Him!
 
15, For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow and without hope.
PK:  Our days here are brief and under the gaze of God so it behooves us to be about Him while we can!  

Isn’t God GREAT!  And worthy??  So, let’s do better!!