From John Piper’s Advent Poem, “Joseph of Arimathea, Part 2” When all of Joseph’s tears were spent, And all the secret love, long pent Behind the bars of fear, was loosed, And, like a swelling flood, reduced This polished nobleman to sobs, And left him weakened and with throbs Behind his burning eyes, at last … More Poetry by John Piper: Joseph of Arimathea
John Piper, in a sermon on Luke 23 “Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit” We should remember that God’s arms are open and his hands extended to his dying children. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” Not: into the grave. Not: into the void. Not: into the dark unknown. But: into the … More Remember That God’s Hands Are Open to You
Luke 23:38 There was also an inscription over him, [1] “This is the King of the Jews.”39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, [2] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And … More Two Ways to Respond to Suffering
J.C. Ryle on Jesus’ gracious words of intercession from the cross: (Luke 23:32-37) We read that when He was crucified, His first words were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” His own racking agony of body did not make Him forget others. The first of His seven sayings on the cross was … More Infinite Love and Grace
In my research on Luke 23, I came accross this wonderful sermon by Pastor Steven Cole, of Flagstaff, AZ. He tells of Simon of Cyrene through the eyes of his son, Rufus. Please take time to click this link and read the entire story! The Roman soldiers in our day got a sadistic kick out … More A Dad Who Bore The Cross
Luke 23:18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said … More We are all like Barabbas
J.C. Ryle on Luke 23:1-12 Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what false accusations were laid to our Lord Jesus Christ’s charge. We are told that the Jews accused Him of “subverting the nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and stirring up the people.” In all this indictment, we know, there … More Ultimate Slander!
And when it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you … More Justice denied; but ultimate mercy achieved!
J.C. Ryle comments on Luke 22:53- …the time during which evil is permitted to triumph is fixed and limited by God. We read that our Lord said to His enemies when they took Him, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” The sovereignty of God over everything done upon earth is absolute and … More Their Hour vs His Hour
J.C. Ryle on Luke 22: Submission of will like this is one of the brightest graces which can adorn the Christian character. It is one which a child of God ought to aim at in everything, if he desires to be like Christ. But at no time is such submission of will so needful as … More Not My Will
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 