Open Heaven 9 April 2023
MEMORISE: The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29
BIBLE READING: JOHN 19:1-18
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
8 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;
9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Imagine that you are right at the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion and you are looking at Him on the cross. What do you see? You will be right if you say, “I see a man in pain”. He had been beaten and a crown of thorns had been placed on His head before His crucifixion John 19:1-18).
Someone else may say, “I see a man who is naked”, because according to Matthew 27:35, they even took His garment away from Him. That is the highest level of shame that a man can experience, to be naked in front of multitudes.
Another person could also say, “I see a man being ridiculed”. Matthew 27:39-44 says people that were passing by were saying, “He saved others; himself he cannot save”. Though he had the power to call for angels to rescue Him, He chose to endure the ridicule so that you and I can have a chance of spending eternity in Heaven.
I want you to imagine the president of the most powerful country in the world holding a device in his hand with which he can call on his army anytime, yet he subjected himself to some terrorists who were about to kill him and were mocking him, “You call yourself the President of a nation with weapons of mass destruction, look at you now, you cannot save yourself”. That is similar to what Jesus did just so that you and I! will not perish in hell.
Without any doubt, when you look at Jesus on the cross, you will see a man in sorrow. You cannot be in pain, naked, in shame, ridiculed, and be joyous. Isaiah saw the scene of Jesus’ death many years before and he called Him a man of sorrow (Isaiah 53:3-5).
If you however take a closer look at Jesus as He hung on the cross, you will see a man in love. A man so much in love with you and I that He went through the highest level of physical and emotional pain to save our soul. Thank God He resurrected on the third day and has made eternal life available to all those who surrender their lives to Him.
Beloved, don’t let that sacrifice go to waste. Don’t live your life for the devil, live your life for the One who loves you so much that He gave His life for you.
KEY POINT: Reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for you and determine never to offend Him again.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 KINGS 1-2
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – What Do You See? – written by Pastor Enoch Adeboye
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Open Heaven 9 April 2023
