Finally being in the hands of the Jews, Jesus is brought to trial. Now get ready for this one because there is a lot of back and forth going on.To begin, Jesus is brought before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was High Priest that year. We are not given a whole lot of detail, but we see that Jesus is questioned concerning His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus' response was not received we...

12 Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. 13 And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that d...

I am going to encourage a prayerful time of meditation with the Lord. Truthfully examine yourself. Do you follow Jesus' model and listen for the Lord's prompting and walk in it trusting Him? Spend this time drawing near to the Lord and He will draw near to you. Listen for where the Lord may be directing you.......

I am sure the on going theme of what the Lord has been working in me is becoming apparent. As I have been going through the Gospel of John, I have been looking very closely at the relationship that Jesus has with the Father. As Jesus prayed in John 17, there is a desire in Jesus for us to experience that with the Father. I want to experience the level of relationship the Lord has set out for us. B...

11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”-John 18:11The fact that there is a time and a season for everything under the sun is a frequent thought of mine. In conjunction to that I have thought, well what determines when it is the right season for a thing? In our own lives it can be difficult to discern. How did Jesus discer...

Admittedly, I do not have a whole lot to say concerning the lesson for the original audience. This passage is primarily informative, but it is informative in a particular direction.As I noted in yesterday's devotion, this marks the beginning of the hour Jesus has been speaking of since His ministry began. Time and time again, the Pharisees and religious leaders had tried to capture, seize, or kill...

4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”-John 2:4You might be thinking to yourself, "Wow. What a deep verse to start off today's devotion with. I really needed that." If that is what you thought, you are on the right track. Through the Gospel of John, there has been a language that has developed throughout and it begins in this verse. This ...

In today's episode of "What's happening (and who's involved)?" we find out what Judas has been up to this whole time. But before we get into that, let's set the scene a little.Jesus has His disciples in an upper room for the Passover feast. He is talking with them, serving them, washing their feet, and teaching them. Eventually he hints at betrayal. It is around this time that Judas departs by Jes...

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons...

Begin your time of prayer today with praise. Give thanks to the Lord that He prayed for you. His desire is for you. I also encourage you to reach out to friends and family and ask how you can be praying for them. Give them a call and pray with them. Foster in you that same attitude of prayer that Jesus had in John 17. Pray for others.......

Taking Jesus' prayer here in John 17 as an example can have its limitations. On the surface level, it can be easy to simply change the content of my prayers. Boom. Application done. To me that is insufficient. It does not address the deeper issue of pride. Absolutely praying for others can be and will be a great starting point. But alongside that, my application is two-fold.The first application i...

As I analyze the structure of the prayer itself, I have to admit, I am convicted. Jesus was able to rest securely in His relationship with the Father and focus the attention of His prayer on others. There is a degree that I already knew that I can be too self-consumed in my times of prayer. As anyone would be, I am concerned about the events in my life. But I find that I doubted that anything woul...

Having already taken note of the emphasis this passage takes on unity, something that was particularly on the disciples' minds was how Jesus prayed. They ask Jesus directly in Luke 11 to teach them how to pray. It was notable what Jesus saw as important to pray for. The fact that Jesus prays for unity as one of the disciples already took off and was about to betray them is also notable.As the orig...

44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church dai...

Scripture often alludes to how Jesus would get alone in the place of prayer. Some of His disciples would actually get frustrated with Him sneaking off to be with the Father because people were in need of Him. But that never stopped Jesus from developing a robust prayer life. We see the evidence of that in this section here.This is one of the last prayers Jesus prays as He anticipates going to the ...