John [chapter 19]

Press on, Bethany! 
Midweek is here already. Don't ever stop walking with Jesus! Every step, every moment, every class, every meal, every keystroke, every drive, every shift.... it's about an EVERYDAY JESUS, can we say amen to that? Everyday, Jesus lives for us. Everyday, He remains as your King. Will you behold Him today? Every Wednesday, there will always be a fountain of living water, a well to draw up life-giving water for your journey. Whether in a dry season, or rainy season, or bitter cold season, or burning passionate season with the Lord, let us come to the fountain. Whether in-person or by distance, we're always here for you to grow and flourish for Christ. Whether in the rigors of study in college, or the confusion of securing job and future in post-grad, or navigating God's path as an older single, or enduring the trials of marriage and parenthood in growing a family of faith, press on, Bethany! The King is here. The King is in charge! The King makes all things new! 

Following the King and His Kingdom with you,

Brother Chester

​Wednesday Walk into the Word
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN 요한복음:
Behold, Your King! 보라 너희 왕이로다! [chapter 19]
BEHOLD, THE KING’S AUTHORITY (19:1-16)
(Question #1) As the corrupt trial continues, Jesus is now before Pilate. Although Pilate had concluded, “I find no guilt in him” (18:38), what does he do to Jesus in order to appease and satisfy the angry crowds that wanted Jesus dead (verse 1)?
[*REFLECT #1a] Pilate wasn’t willing to put Jesus to death, so he flogs Jesus in hopes that this was enough to settle the crowd’s demands. The word flogged can also be translated scourged – a Roman practice of whipping with leather strands full of sharp pieces of bone or metal at the ends. It was not unusual for criminals to die from scourging alone. What other details are given of what the soldiers did that induced maximum pain and humiliation (verse 2-3)?
[*REFLECT #1b] Thinking that the scourging would be enough to satisfy the crowds, what does Pilate do and say (verse 4-5)? Yet what did the chief priests and officers cry out, alongside Pilate verdict for the third time (verse 6)?
[*REFLECT #1c] When have we pushed the limits of sinning, unable to stop at where the Spirit convicts us to stop? Like Pilate, how have we compromised doing the right thing out of fear for man over fear for God?
[*REFLECT #1d] Pilate was already afraid due to his compromise of justice, but what made him more afraid (verse 7-8)?
[*REFLECT #1e] What should make us more afraid? How is our sinfulness leading us or numbing us to godly fearfulness?
[*REFLECT #1f] Out of greater fear of who Jesus might really be, Pilate goes back to Jesus to ask Him where He is from, yet Jesus did not answer. Pilate then asserts his authority to either release or crucify Jesus, yet how does Jesus reply concerning authority (verse 9-11)?
[*REFLECT #1g] When have we acted like the only authority of all? If we have any authority in this world, where did it come from? How are we using our authority for greater holiness over greater sinfulness?
[*REFLECT #1h] On the inside, Pilate was afraid, yet that fear did not lead him to faith. Instead, he remained two-faced, trying to release Jesus but also seeking to maintain his powerful image on the outside. When Pilate heard the words that he was not Caesar’s friend if Jesus was released and that Jesus had made Himself king opposing Caesar, what does Pilate do to show his corrupt justice (verse 12-16)? How have we lived like Pilate?
BEHOLD, THE KING’S OBEDIENCE TO DEATH (19:17-37)
(Question #2) Pilate wrote the inscription to put on Jesus’ cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Although he was asked to change it by the chief priests to, “This man said, I am King of the Jews,” how did Pilate reply (verse 17-22)?
[*REFLECT #2a] How is Pilate’s refusal to change the inscription a strange declaration of truth in the midst of such corrupt justice? How do we find glimmers of truth in the midst of our own corrupt sinfulness?   
[*REFLECT #2b] What were the soldiers doing after their crucified Jesus, fulfilling the scripture of PSALM 22:18 (verse 23-24)?
[*REFLECT #2c] As the Son of God dies for the sins of the world, careless men laugh, gamble, and play games with his clothes and tunic at His feet. How have we so disregarded the cross of Jesus, oftentimes being careless ourselves?
[*REFLECT #2d] In contrast to the soldiers, who were the three women, along with the disciple whom Jesus loved (self-reference to the author John), standing by the cross, and to whom did Jesus leave the care of His mother Mary to (verse 25-27)?
[*REFLECT #2e] The disciple John and Mary were not related by blood, yet Jesus’ final request is for them to be one family as son and mother. How has the gospel transformed our relationships, to become spiritual family connected by the blood of Jesus Christ?
[*REFLECT #2f] Before His last breath, with the fullness of human need, what did Jesus say and fulfill PSALM 22:15 (verse 28-30)?
[*REFLECT #2g] John saw it, bearing witness. How did Jesus fulfill PSALM 34:20 and ZECHARIAH 12:10 (verse 31-37)?
BEHOLD, THE KING’S BURIAL (19:38-42)
(Question #3) Who brought the mixture of expensive spices (verse 38-42)? How have we come to Jesus by day over night?