Henry: Welcome to immerse, the daily bible reading experience.
Day 10.
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching the
leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but
they were afraid of the people's reaction.
Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12 disciples, and
he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple Guard to discuss
the best way to betray Jesus to them.
They were delighted and they promised to give him money, so he agreed and
began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest
him when the crowds weren't around.
Now the festival of Unleavened bread arrived when the
Passover lamb is sacrificed.
Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, go and prepare the Passover
meal so we can eat it together.
Where do you want us to prepare it?
They asked him.
He replied, as soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a
picture of water will meet you.
Follow him at the house he enters.
Say to the owner, the teacher asks, where is the guest room where I can eat
the Passover meal with my disciples?
He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up.
That is where you should prepare our meal.
They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and
they prepared the Passover meal there.
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table.
Jesus said, I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you
before my suffering begins for I tell you now that I won't eat this
meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.
Then he said, take this and share it among yourselves.
For, I will not drink wine again until the kingdom of God has come.
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.
Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples saying, this
is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
After supper, he took another cup of wine and said, this cup is the new
covenant between God and his people.
An agreement confirmed with my blood.
Which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
But here at this table sitting among us as a friend is the man who will
betray me for it has been determined that the son of man must die.
But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him, the disciples
began to ask each other, which of them would ever do such a thing.
Then they began to argue among themselves about who would
be the greatest among them.
Jesus told them.
In this world, the kings and great men lorded over their people.
Yet they are called friends of the people.
But among you, it will be different.
Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank,
and the leader should be like a servant who is more important, the
one who sits at the table, or the one who serves, the one who sits at
the table, of course, but not here.
For I am among you as one who serves.
You have stayed with me in my time of trial and just as my father has granted
me a kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, Simon, Simon, Satan
has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.
So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers,
Peter said, Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you and even to die with you.
But Jesus said, Peter, let me tell you something.
Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three
times that you even know me.
Then Jesus, ask them.
When I sent you out to preach the good news and you did not have money,
a traveler's bag or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?
No, they replied.
But now he said, take your money in a traveler's bag and if you don't
have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one for the time has come for this
prophecy about me to be fulfilled.
He was counted among the rebels.
Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.
Look, Lord, they replied, we have two swords among us.
That's enough, he said.
Then accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and
went as usual to the Mount of Olives.
There he told them, pray that you will not give into temptation.
He walked away about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed.
Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.
Yet, I want your will to be done, not mine.
Then an angel from Heaven appeared and strengthened him.
He prayed more fervently and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell
to the ground, like great drops of blood.
At last, he stood up again and returned to the disciples only to find
them asleep, exhausted from grief.
Why are you sleeping?
He asked them, get up and pray so that you will not give into temptation.
But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by
Judas, one of the 12 disciples.
Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss, but Jesus said, Judas, would
you betray the son of man with a kiss?
When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they
exclaimed, Lord, should we fight?
We brought the swords and one of them struck at the high priest's
slave slashing off his right ear.
But Jesus said no more of this, and he touched the man's ear and healed him.
Then Jesus spoke to the leading priests, the captains of the Temple Guard and
the elders who would come for him.
Am I some dangerous revolutionary?
He asked that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me.
Why didn't you arrest me in the temple?
I was there every day.
But this is your moment, the time when the power of darkness reigns.
So they arrested him and led him to the high priest's home, and Peter followed
at a distance, the guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat
around it, and Peter joined them there.
A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him.
Finally, she said, this man was one of Jesus followers, but Peter denied it,
woman, he said, I don't even know him.
After a while, someone else looked at him and said, you must be one of them.
No man, I'm not Peter Retorted.
About an hour later, someone else insisted this must be one of them
because he is a Galilean too.
But Peter said, man, I don't know what you were talking about.
And immediately while he was still speaking the Rooster Crow, at that moment,
the Lord turned and looked at Peter.
Suddenly the Lord's words flashed through Peter's mind.
Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times
that you even know me and Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly.
The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating him.
They blindfolded him and said, prophesy to us who hit you that time?
And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at him.
At daybreak all the elders of the people assembled, including the leading priests
and the teachers of religious law.
Jesus was led before this high counsel and they said, tell us, are you the Messiah?
But he replied, if I tell you, you won't believe me, and if I ask
you a question, you won't answer.
But from now on, the son of man will be seated in the place of
power, had God's right hand.
They all shouted, so are you claiming to be the son of God?
And he replied, you say that I am.
Why do we need other witnesses?
They said, we ourselves heard him say it.
Then the entire council took Jesus to pilot the Roman governor.
They began to state their case.
This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay
their taxes to the Roman government, and by claiming he's the siah a king.
So Pilate asked him, are you the king of the Jews?
Jesus replied, you have said it.
Pilate turned to the leading priests into the crowd and said, I
find nothing wrong with this man.
Then they became insistent, but he is causing riots by
his teaching wherever he goes.
All over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Oh, is he a Galilean?
Pilate asked when they said that he was.
Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas because Galilee was under Herod's
jurisdiction and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.
Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus because he had heard about
him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle.
He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer.
Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood
there shouting their accusations.
Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus.
Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.
Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious
leaders along with the people, and he announced his verdict.
You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt.
I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence
and find him innocent.
Herod came to the same conclusion and sent him back to us.
Nothing.
This man has done calls for the death penalty, so I will have him
flogged and then I will release him.
Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd and with one voice they shouted,
kill him and release Barabbas to us.
Barabbas was imprisoned for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem
against the government and for murder.
Pilate argued with them because he wanted to release Jesus, but they kept shouting.
Crucify him, crucify him for the third time.
He demanded Why?
What crime has he committed?
I have found no reason to sentence him to death, so I will have him
flogged and then I will release him.
But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be
crucified and their voices prevailed.
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded, as they had requested.
He released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder, but he
turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished, as they led Jesus away.
A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene happened to be
coming in from the countryside.
The soldier seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd trailed behind including many grief-stricken women.
But Jesus turned and said to them, daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for
me, but weep for yourselves and for your children, for the days are coming.
When they will say, fortunate, indeed are the women who are childless, the
wombs that have not born a child, and the breasts that have never nursed.
People will beg the mountains, fall on us and plead with the hills, bury us for if
these things are done, when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?
Two others, both criminals were let out to be executed with him when they
came to a place called the Skull.
They nailed him to the cross and the criminals were also crucified.
One on his right and one on his left.
Jesus said, father, forgive them for they don't know what they are
doing, and the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed.
He saved others.
They said, let him save himself if he is really God's messiah.
The chosen one.
The soldiers mocked him too by offering him a drink of sour wine.
They called out to him.
If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.
A sign was fastened above him with these words.
This is the king of the Jews, one of the criminals hanging beside him, scoffed.
So you are the Messiah, are you prove it by saving yourself
and us too while you're at it.
But the other criminal protested.
Don't you fear God, even when you have been sentenced to die?
We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong.
Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus replied, I assure you today you will be with me in paradise.
By this time, it was about noon and darkness fell across the whole land,
and until three o'clock, the light from the sun was gone, and suddenly
the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn down the middle.
Then Jesus shouted.
Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands.
And with those words, he breathed his last, when the Roman officer
overseeing the execution, saw what had happened, he worshiped God and
said, surely this man was innocent.
And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had
happened, they went home in deep sorrow.
But Jesus' friends, including the women who had followed him from
Galilee, stood at a distance watching.
Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph.
He was a member of the Jewish High Council, but he had not agreed
with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders.
He was from the town of Arama in Judea, and he was waiting
for the kingdom of God to come.
He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.
Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet
of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock.
This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation
as the Sabbath was about to begin.
As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw
the tomb where his body was placed.
Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body.
But by the time they were finished, the Sabbath had begun.
So they rested as required by the law.
But very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb taking
the spices they had prepared.
They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
So they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus.
As they stood there, puzzled, two men suddenly appear to them,
clothed and dazzling robes.
The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground.
Then the man asked, why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?
He isn't here.
He is risen from the dead.
Remember what he told you back in Galilee that the son of man must be
betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he
would rise again on the third day.
And then they remember that he had said this.
So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his 11 disciples and
everyone else what had happened.
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and several other women
who told the apostles what had happened.
But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn't believe it.
However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look stooping.
He peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings.
Then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
That same day, two of Jesus followers were walking to the village of a
Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.
As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened.
As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came
and began walking with them, but God kept them from recognizing him.
He asked them, what are you discussing so intently as you walk along.
They stopped short sadness written across their faces.
Then one of them, Cleopas replied, you must be the only person in Jerusalem who
hasn't heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.
What things?
Jesus asked, the things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth.
They said he was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he
was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.
But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be
condemned to death and they crucified him.
We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel, and
this all happened three days ago.
Then some women from our group of his followers were at his
tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report.
They said his body was missing and they had seen Angels who
told them Jesus is alive.
Some of our men ran out to sea, and sure enough, his body was
gone, just as the women had said.
Then Jesus said to them, you foolish people.
You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the scriptures,
wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these
things before entering his glory.
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets
explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
By this time, they were nearing a Emmaus.
In the end of their journey, Jesus acted as if he were going on, but
they begged him stay the night with us since it is getting late.
So he went home with them as they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it.
Then he broke it and gave it to them.
Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and
at that moment he disappeared.
They said to each other.
Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained
the scriptures to us, and within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem.
There they found the 11 disciples and the others who had gathered with them
who said The Lord has really risen.
He appeared to Peter.
Then the two from Emmas told their story of how Jesus had appeared to
them as they were walking along the road and how they had recognized
him as he was breaking the bread.
Just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly
standing there among them.
Peace be with you, he said.
But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking
they were seeing a ghost.
Why are you frightened?
He asked, why are your hearts filled with doubt?
Look at my hands.
Look at my feet.
You can see that it's really me.
Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost.
Because ghosts don't have bodies.
As you see that I do.
As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet still.
They stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder.
Then he asked them, do you have anything here to eat?
They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it as they watched.
Then he said, when I was with you before I told you that everything written about
me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and he said, yes.
It was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and
rise from the dead on the third day.
It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the
authority of his name to all the nations beginning in Jerusalem.
There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.
You are witnesses of all these things.
Now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my father promised, but stay here
in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.
Then Jesus led them to Bethany and lifting his hands to heaven.
He blessed them while he was blessing them.
He left them and was taken up to heaven, so they worshiped him and then returned
to Jerusalem, filled with great joy.
And they spent all of their time in the temple praising God.
This concludes today's Immer reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.