Chronological Gospels: John 18-19

Absorbing each gospel account chronologically has allowed me to see things I have missed when reading them separately. As we read through each account of Jesus’s arrest, sentencing, beating, and crucifixion there are many little details scattered throughout that I am seeing for the first time. The way Jesus responds, the words He chooses, and even His silent moments all teach us more about Him. As we learn more about Jesus, we learn more about how He calls us to live and behave.

Through faith in Jesus, we should then follow Him – His teachings, and His example. As Jesus goes through the final and aggressive stages before His death on the cross we see Him trust in God, remain calm, and do what He has been called to do even through incredible suffering. It hits home for me as I realize that even my worst pains and sufferings cannot even compare to the agony of dying carrying the weight of all mankind’s sins, let alone the flogging and abuse Jesus endured before His death.

We live in a culture that so often feels so much like the Pharisees and the Romans. They don’t care about God’s truth, the absolute Truth, and they don’t care about doing what’s right. They focus on what serves themselves, while Christ focuses on what serves God.

How does Jesus set an example for you in these chapters?

What do these passages teach you about the world and your place in it?

We are called to be in the world but not of the world. We are to cling to the Lord no matter what we endure. The days will get darker, sin will grow broader, and wickedness will become more accepted and normal. At the same time, God is still on the move, He is still on the throne, and Jesus is still sitting at His right hand waiting for the time He will return to vanquish sin once and for all.

What does Jesus’s crucifixion and the anticipation of His return teach you today?