Jesus had entered Jerusalem for the Passover Feast with an invasion of praise and worship. The people danced alongside Him as He rode a colt into the City of David, fulfilling the prophecies of Zechariah for all to see. The long-awaited King had come. Healings poured out as Jesus came to the Temple.
Read MoreIt was the second day of the week. The exaltations of Christ’s triumphal entry the day before and the havoc He had created in the morning as He threw out the businesses that clogged the worship in the Temple courts were still ringing in the atmosphere of the Feast.
Read MoreIt was morning, and Jesus and His disciples were walking from the town of Bethany on the Mount of Olives across the valley into Jerusalem. As they went, the Lord explained that because of their faith in Him, His disciples could feel confident that God would answer their prayers in breathtaking ways…they could cast a mountain into the sea if they only believed.
Read MoreFor most of the Bible stories on this site, the only things added to the stories are things like geographical facts, theological insights or reminders of where we are in the context of the broader biblical narrative. The goal is to keep as close to the story as possible while providing helpful information to understand it better.
Read MoreHow Jesus longed to show the love of the Father to His treasured nation. They would not have it…it went unrequited. He left the courts of the Temple and walked away with His disciples. As they went He looked up at all the massive stone walls and buildings that made up the vast Temple complex.
Read MoreJesus and His disciples sat together on the Mount of Olives. After several years of hearing about the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus was giving them insight into the glorious things that lay ahead for the future of humanity.
Read MoreJesus shared the first Communion with His disciples at the Passover Feast. He knew that the time had come for Him to give up His life as a sacrifice, and so He gave them a ritual the symbolized His great offering. It was a command that would be followed by every generation of His Church up to today.
Read MoreAs Jesus sat with His disciples in the Upper Room, He continued to give them His last lessons before His journey to the cross. Over and over again, He showed the deep interconnectedness that they would have with Christ and His Father through the Holy Spirit.
Read MoreAs Jesus spent His last evening before His arrest with His disciples, He promised that He would send a Counselor to them once He was gone. The Spirit of Christ would come into their hearts and give them guidance and power to continue on the work of the Kingdom.
Read MoreOn His last night with His disciples, Jesus finally made it clear. The Kingdom they were going to proclaim would be far different from what they had imagined, but it was also far greater and more wonderful. As Jesus looked ahead to the days and years to come, He lifted up His eyes to His Father in Heaven and prayed.
Read MoreAs Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, the Lord revealed the mysteries of God’s plan to them in a much fuller way than they had ever understood before.
Read MoreJesus knelt in prayer in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane. In an agony of prayer, He asked His Father to remove the terrible trial before Him. The Father’s answer was no, and so He surrendered to His Father’s will.
Read MoreIn the quiet of night, as His disciples fell into weary sleep, Jesus went to His Father in prayer. Three times He asked that the burden would be removed. Could the Father take away this task? Could Jesus somehow avoid the coming torment?
Read MoreIt was the night of Jesus’ arrest. After being accused in the home of Annas, He was lead to the home of Caiaphas. Peter continued to follow along behind.
Read MoreThe religious rulers had decided the outcome of Jesus’ trial long before the night of His arrest. They had to make sure that it ended with His death. He was far too dangerous. When they learned that Jesus and His disciples spent their nights in the Garden of Gethsemane, they acted quickly.
Read MoreTo a man like Pontius Pilate, the Jewish Sanhedrin must have seemed like a ridiculous horde of men. Pilate was the Roman governor appointed by the Roman Caesar, the most powerful man in the world. The Roman Empire had conquered the known world and dominated history for hundreds of years.
Read MoreJesus had spent the entire night after His arrest in the halls of the Jewish leaders. They had accused Him, beaten Him, and sent Him on to Pilate to make sure that His judgment would end in death. When Pilate witnessed the jealousy of the leaders and the breathtaking dignity of Christ, he could not bring himself to make the judgment that the leaders were demanding.
Read MoreThe sentence against Jesus was pronounced by Pilate. His soldiers led Jesus into the Praetorium. They called the whole Roman battalion of soldiers to the courtyard. There were over a hundred men gathered around the Lord, ready to use Him for sport to relieve their boredom.
Read MoreThe judgment had come against Christ. Though Pilate and Herod found nothing against Him, the rage and manipulations of the Jewish leadership prevailed.
Read MoreAs Jesus hung on the cross in those early hours of His suffering, many stood by and watched. Even then there was a chance that something might happen. Would He prove Himself to be powerful enough to overcome this travesty?
Read More
