Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Rsurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 18 April 2014 "They crucified him, along with the criminals"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Rsurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 18 April 2014  "They crucified him, along with the criminals"
Reflection Questions:
Three times (verse 22) Pilate asked Jesus' accusers why they were so insistent on his death. He got no coherent answers, yet "their voices won out" (verse 23). Jesus was nailed to a cross by a public road. He asked God to forgive his executioners, promised a crucified thief eternal life, and prayed Psalm 31:5 as he died. On that bad Friday, Jesus absorbed and transformed human evil into God's central saving act, and turned the day into "Good Friday."
Pontius Pilate was somebody—Rome's highest official in Jerusalem. Jesus looked like a nobody—a poor, traveling rabbi despised and rejected by the leaders of his own faith community. All through the gospel, Luke pointed to the way God lifts up the nobodies. Trying to remain a somebody, Pilate agreed to a gross injustice. Have you ever had to decide whether to do something you believe is right even if it will cause many people to be upset with you, maybe even turn against you? How did you decide?
We know many Jewish mothers used Psalm 31:5 ("into your hand I entrust my life") as a children's bedtime prayer. Jesus may well have learned the verse from Mary as a little boy, and repeated it on the cross. Mary was there that day (Luke 23:49). Imagine what she must have felt hearing her dying son repeat the trusting words of the bedtime prayer she taught him so many years earlier. Are you able to entrust your life fully into God's hand?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, your example of trust, at a moment of pain and death, shows me again that in your kingdom "the worst thing is never the last thing." Into your hand I entrust my life. Amen.
Daily Scripture: Luke 23:13 Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and see, I have examined him before you, and found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him. 15 Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
17 Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast. 18 But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”— 19 one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.
20 Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Jesus, 21 but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”
22 He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.” 23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief priests prevailed. 24 Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done. 25 He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.
26 When they led him away, they grabbed one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it after Jesus. 27 A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ 30 Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’[a] 31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”
32 There were also others, two criminals, led with him to be put to death. 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots. 35 The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
38 An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
39 One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”
40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour,[b] and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.[c] 45 The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Having said this, he breathed his last.
Footnotes:
a. Luke 23:30 Hosea 10:8
b. Luke 23:44 Time was counted from sunrise, so the sixth hour was about noon.
c. Luke 23:44 3:00 PM
Insight from Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is Resurrection’s Director of Discipleship Ministries  He is the author of several books, with an extensive background in applying principles of spiritual growth to real life. He, his wife Gina and their family have been attending Resurrection since 2008.
You are Simon of Cyrene.  Seriously, imagine that you are Simon, the one we read about in Luke 23:26, forced to carry the cross of Jesus. Imagine the scene…
You’ve traveled a long distance. Cyrene is a month’s journey from Jerusalem, on the North African coastline. You’ve heard of Jesus before but only in passing, likely from merchant ships bringing stories and reports from the far-away lands. You’ve heard of Jesus’ amazing teaching ability and his gentle way of turning religious tradition on its head. This has intrigued you. So you dangerously set out for Jerusalem for Passover, knowing you will likely spend all the money you have to get there and back, and knowing it is a once, maybe twice in a lifetime opportunity—but all the same hoping you might feel a part of something great—and maybe even get a glance at this Jesus. 
When you arrive in Jerusalem, you are shocked to learn that this Jesus, this King of the Jews, is up for crucifixion. This isn’t the Jesus you’ve heard stories about from the merchants. It doesn’t make sense to you because you’ve heard that Jesus heals people, teaches about love, compassion, and mercy, and quotes sacred texts everywhere he goes. Nevertheless, you eagerly press your way through the crowds to catch a glimpse of Jesus.
Out of nowhere, in the hustle of it all, you are utterly astounded when a Roman soldier forcefully places the pointed, sharp end of his spear on your shoulder.  He seizes you and ferociously screams in your face that you will be the one to carry this brutally beaten man’s cross to its final destination. You think to yourself as you hear the angry shouts of hatred poured out on Jesus and the women wailing in mourning as you walk the journey, “This is not what I set out for when I left home.” You departed Cyrene wanting to feel and experience God’s greatness at Passover, but now you feel disoriented, angry, sad and miserable. “This is not a good Friday!” you cry out.
Now, back to reality. It is a Good Friday! In fact, it is a holy Friday. Today is the day that has been set apart to guide us in our reflections upon the reality that Jesus was crucified and died for us, with us and instead of us. While the events of this day and the suffering accompanying them are far from good, the outcome of Jesus’ death (and ultimately his resurrection, but wait for Sunday!) allow us to acknowledge, accept and live into the reality that Jesus is the Passover Lamb, the Savior of the World. Jesus died for you, for the world, this day.
Our collective reflection today:

God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, that all who believe in him might be delivered from the power of sin and death, and join with him in everlasting life.
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