I am looking at different angles on how the Holy Spirit arrived...as described in the Acts of the Apostles....
It is quite fascinating to research the background to His Presence being among us...and within us. The Holy Spirit came...right in the midst of what appeared to be a chaotic mess.
When Christ Jesus was apprehended and taken to be be bloodily beaten for no reason...there were no viable offenses that He had actually committed.
Here is how it happened....
On the night of Christ Jesus arrest, He was brought before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Jewish governing body known as the Sanhedrin. After these meetings, Christ was taken before the Roman governor of the region...including Jerusalem, and his name was Pilate. After much deliberation as to the charges against Christ, Pilate sentenced Christ Jesus to His death.
Jesus trials could be broke down into 6 basic parts: 3 in a religious court and 3 in Roman court.
The first 3 religious courts were led by: 1) Annas...the former high priest of the Sanhedrin 2) Caiaphas, the current High Priest at the time of Jesus trial, and 3) the Jewish governing body...the Sanhedrin.
The charges? Blasphemy....Christ Jesus claims of being the Son of God and the Jewish Messiah. The reality of these "trials"...if held today...it wouldn't have happened...at least not like this. The 3 religious trials broke a number of their own laws, which had been on the books for quite some time...even during the time of "the Jesus trials". The real motives for these trials were personal...Jesus did not fit the pattern or the ambitions of the religious leaders and their description on what type of Messiah they wanted...and refused to accept a Messiah with the thoughts and actions of Christ Jesus. And by the night of the trials, this rejection of Him had turned into a bitter hate...to the point they overlooked and ignored their own set of laws. Jesus had gained much popularity among the people...simply because He loved them and would not take advantage of them...exposing the lies and frauds of the entire Jewish Sanhedrin and their leaders.
These broken laws included:
1) Jewish Law would not permit any trials during a celebration of the Jewish feast days including the Passover.
2) Each member of the Sanhedrin were required to cast a vote individually in any trial, yet in the trial of Christ Jesus it was simply decided by a majority...screaming for His death....like when a vote is taken by a "yea or nay".
3) When the Death Penalty is decided, there must be one night pass before the sentence is to be carried out. In this case, it was only a short number of hours later Christ Jesus was placed upon a Roman cross.
4) The Jewish governing body...the Sanhedrin had absolutely no authority under Roman law...to execute anyone.
5) No trial under Jewish law could be held at night, yet Christ trial was in the night.
6) Anyone being accused of breaking Jewish Law, was given the right to counsel and to receive representation , of which Jesus had neither.
7) Self incriminating questions were not allowed....even in those times....because it could render the person being charged with a crime in a false matter...before the evidence was proven. So, what was one of the first questions the Jewish leaders asked Christ Jesus?..." Are you our Messiah?"
Then, after Jesus had been beaten...and this wasn't just any old "bar-fight" beating, this was inhumanely brutal. I know of Christians today who refuse to even think about the severity of this brutal act...Isaiah wrote His face was unrecognizable.
Although I think there are extremes in the study of the beatings Christ Jesus suffered, I do think it is of extreme importance to realize the depth Christ Jesus went in regards to His love for us. It was not just a "drop of blood....here and there", this was a bloody massacre with blood everywhere. There were no Walt Disney characters there...like Bambi or little birds singing His praises. This was a finality...a reckoning...that further added to the chaos, and bring to an end anyone who had those responded to His words: "Follow Me!"
So, why were the Roman soldiers so brutal with Jesus?
There were over 600 Roman soldiers that were stationed at Fort Antonia and the Palace of Pilate in Jerusalem. These soldiers were hated...I mean hated by the Jewish community within Jerusalem.
These soldiers were away from their homeland, their families, and the general Roman way of life. They were despised and had developed much resentment against the Jewish people of the community. They were proud of their Roman heritage, and honestly....being stationed at Fort Antonia...was not the "#1 choice" of places to serve...not with a people that wanted them...dead and gone!
Suddenly....the Jewish people hand over to them...their "Messiah"...like finding the queen bee in a bee hive. All of the soldiers anguish, bitterness, rejection, and general hatred from the Jewish community...could be taken out...on the "King of the Jews".
And they did...ruthlessly so. Were the Roman soldiers beating Him so severely because He is who He is...Jesus? No, I don't think so...they beat Him beyond recognition because of their hatred for the very people that had condemned Him...the Jewish community and leaders whom His only guilt was...He loved them.... and that same love is permeated into our very lives today.
You see...it does make a difference on how we treat others...even our enemies...because in the end...when we choose to hate and wish the worse on others...somebody pays.
The only charge that could be possibly brought against The Messiah, the Only True Son of God, is...He loves us.......
Yea, I know....He (the Holy Spirit)...is about to come!
It is quite fascinating to research the background to His Presence being among us...and within us. The Holy Spirit came...right in the midst of what appeared to be a chaotic mess.
When Christ Jesus was apprehended and taken to be be bloodily beaten for no reason...there were no viable offenses that He had actually committed.
Here is how it happened....
On the night of Christ Jesus arrest, He was brought before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Jewish governing body known as the Sanhedrin. After these meetings, Christ was taken before the Roman governor of the region...including Jerusalem, and his name was Pilate. After much deliberation as to the charges against Christ, Pilate sentenced Christ Jesus to His death.
Jesus trials could be broke down into 6 basic parts: 3 in a religious court and 3 in Roman court.
The first 3 religious courts were led by: 1) Annas...the former high priest of the Sanhedrin 2) Caiaphas, the current High Priest at the time of Jesus trial, and 3) the Jewish governing body...the Sanhedrin.
The charges? Blasphemy....Christ Jesus claims of being the Son of God and the Jewish Messiah. The reality of these "trials"...if held today...it wouldn't have happened...at least not like this. The 3 religious trials broke a number of their own laws, which had been on the books for quite some time...even during the time of "the Jesus trials". The real motives for these trials were personal...Jesus did not fit the pattern or the ambitions of the religious leaders and their description on what type of Messiah they wanted...and refused to accept a Messiah with the thoughts and actions of Christ Jesus. And by the night of the trials, this rejection of Him had turned into a bitter hate...to the point they overlooked and ignored their own set of laws. Jesus had gained much popularity among the people...simply because He loved them and would not take advantage of them...exposing the lies and frauds of the entire Jewish Sanhedrin and their leaders.
These broken laws included:
2) Each member of the Sanhedrin were required to cast a vote individually in any trial, yet in the trial of Christ Jesus it was simply decided by a majority...screaming for His death....like when a vote is taken by a "yea or nay".
3) When the Death Penalty is decided, there must be one night pass before the sentence is to be carried out. In this case, it was only a short number of hours later Christ Jesus was placed upon a Roman cross.
4) The Jewish governing body...the Sanhedrin had absolutely no authority under Roman law...to execute anyone.
5) No trial under Jewish law could be held at night, yet Christ trial was in the night.
6) Anyone being accused of breaking Jewish Law, was given the right to counsel and to receive representation , of which Jesus had neither.
7) Self incriminating questions were not allowed....even in those times....because it could render the person being charged with a crime in a false matter...before the evidence was proven. So, what was one of the first questions the Jewish leaders asked Christ Jesus?..." Are you our Messiah?"
Then, after Jesus had been beaten...and this wasn't just any old "bar-fight" beating, this was inhumanely brutal. I know of Christians today who refuse to even think about the severity of this brutal act...Isaiah wrote His face was unrecognizable.
Although I think there are extremes in the study of the beatings Christ Jesus suffered, I do think it is of extreme importance to realize the depth Christ Jesus went in regards to His love for us. It was not just a "drop of blood....here and there", this was a bloody massacre with blood everywhere. There were no Walt Disney characters there...like Bambi or little birds singing His praises. This was a finality...a reckoning...that further added to the chaos, and bring to an end anyone who had those responded to His words: "Follow Me!"
So, why were the Roman soldiers so brutal with Jesus?
There were over 600 Roman soldiers that were stationed at Fort Antonia and the Palace of Pilate in Jerusalem. These soldiers were hated...I mean hated by the Jewish community within Jerusalem.
These soldiers were away from their homeland, their families, and the general Roman way of life. They were despised and had developed much resentment against the Jewish people of the community. They were proud of their Roman heritage, and honestly....being stationed at Fort Antonia...was not the "#1 choice" of places to serve...not with a people that wanted them...dead and gone!
And they did...ruthlessly so. Were the Roman soldiers beating Him so severely because He is who He is...Jesus? No, I don't think so...they beat Him beyond recognition because of their hatred for the very people that had condemned Him...the Jewish community and leaders whom His only guilt was...He loved them.... and that same love is permeated into our very lives today.
You see...it does make a difference on how we treat others...even our enemies...because in the end...when we choose to hate and wish the worse on others...somebody pays.
The only charge that could be possibly brought against The Messiah, the Only True Son of God, is...He loves us.......
Yea, I know....He (the Holy Spirit)...is about to come!
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