Open the Bible UK Daily

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45-46 The clearest revelation of hell is at the cross. Hell has six dimensions and Christ experienced all of them on the cross… 1. Jesus was in conscious s...

...but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:25-27 As Mary stood at the foot o...

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. Luke 23:44-45 This wasn’t an eclipse. An eclipse doesn’t last three hours. God turned off the light. The sudden darkness tells us something entirely new was happening. The darkness reminds us that the events that took place in these hours are beyond our understanding. But...

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 The thief on the cross went from being an unbeliever, to being a believer, to being in heaven in a single day. Jesus could do this for every Christian if He wanted to. Imagine what that would be like: Every conversion on a Sunday morning would lead to a funeral on Monday! Why doesn’t Jesus do that? Four out of five Christians will say, “He’s leav...

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 Can you imagine anything further from the mind of this man? He feels that he is already in hell, and that the worst is still to come. He’s absolutely hopeless and powerless, and in the middle of all his pain and guilt, Jesus says,“Paradise... today!” To paraphrase C. H. Spurgeon, this man had breakfast with the devil, but he met Christ before noo...

“Today...” Luke 23:43 Don’t you just hate waiting for exam results? You take the test, hand in your paper, and then you wait. Imagine living your whole life waiting for the results. Will I make it into heaven, or will I spend eternity in hell? When this man says to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Jesus does not say, “Well, we’ll have to wait and see.” He says, “Today you will...

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 If the thief had lived 30 more years, he would have lived a new and different life, but he didn’t have that opportunity. The fact that he entered paradise anyway shows us where the basis for our salvation lies. Our salvation in Christ involves three gifts: (1) justification—by which our sins are forgiven, (2) sanctification—by which we grow in th...

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42 Here is a man who is full of anger against God, but then something changes in his soul. Let’s consider four things we are told in this story: He begins to fear God. “Do you not fear God?” (23:40), he said to the other criminal. He recognises his sinful condition. Then he confesses his own guilt: “We are receiving the due reward of ou...

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And...

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Luke 23:39 One of the two criminals who was crucified with Jesus spoke in the last hours of his life. He was completely lost, completely helpless, and he was still angry with God. You can almost feel this man’s hostility toward Christ... “If you’re God, why don’t you do something?” Suffering...

“Father, forgive them...” Luke 23:34 How is it possible for God to forgive the worst sins, and for Him to embrace the worst sinners? That question takes us to the heart of this amazing prayer. Man’s sin reached its full horror and its most awful expression on the cross as we crucified God’s Son. If there was ever a moment in human history when God’s judgment had to fall, this was it. But at the sa...

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 Had anyone ever prayed for these men? It is possible that not a single prayer had ever been said for even one of these Roman soldiers at any time in their lives. But Christ prayed for them. And Christ prays for you, too, when nobody else will. They needed this prayer because ignorance of the law is no defence against breaking it. I...

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 We’ve taken a step back to look at what the men who crucified Jesus were actually doing at the cross. Now let’s take a look at what Christ Himself was doing on the cross. Thank God that Jesus does not just look down from the cross and say, “They know not what they do!” Jesus taught: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecu...

We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 You haven’t really understood sin until you begin to see who it is that you sin against. Sin is much more serious than breaking a moral code. It is an offense, an affront,...

“They know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 Jesus said these words about the men who were nailing Him to the cross. What was it that they didn’t realise? Well, one thing they could not see is that, by their actions, they were preparing for themselves an eternal hell. Sin brings sorrow in this life and judgment in the life to come. If you knew the sorrow and the judgment a sin would bring, you would n...

“They know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 What were these men really doing when they were nailing Jesus to the cross? Well, one thing they were doing was shutting themselves out of heaven. Did you know that it is actually sin that shuts people out of heaven? If you could see the joy that you are spurning when you sin, you would not do it. Pastor C. H. Spurgeon paints a compelling picture: I see a p...

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:33-34 The soldiers took hammers and metal spikes, and they nailed the Son of God to a beam of wood. They lifted Him up on a pole and dropped...

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 This is the true gospel—what Jesus did for us on the cross (gave Himself for our sins), and what He does for us now by the Spirit (rescues us from the pr...

Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 Throughout history, there have been three versions of Christianity – one that centers on the individual, one that centers on the church, and one that centers on Jesus Christ. The self-centered gospel is about what you can discover. It goes like this, “The truth lies within you.” Many people would rather view Je...

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8 The battle with the flesh will continue every day of your Christian life. You will never be done with the flesh until you see Jesus. While you canno...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 The second mark of a person who is walking by the Spirit is that the fruit of the Spirit is growing in your life. The flesh produces works. The Spirit produces fruit. Fruit grows. It comes from a life within. It is not manufactured. It is the fruit of the Spirit...

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 In your ongoing war against sin, Christian, you are to crucify the flesh. What does that mean? Is crucifixion a fast death or a slow death? Crucifixion is a slow death. So, when Paul says we have crucified the flesh, that means it is dying, not that it is dead. Martin Luther said, “Christ’s peop...

The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17 The bad news is that the root of sin still lies within us. There is a continuing presence of sin in the life of a Christian believer: “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.” The good ne...

Walk by the Spirit... Galatians 5:16 What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? How would you know if you are walking by the Spirit? One mark of the person who walks with the Spirit is that you are waging war against sin. When you become a Christian, you become a new person in Christ, but you still live life in the body. There is a tension. Christ is your liberator, but there is active resistance to...

For freedom Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1 If it is true that we are forgiven freely by the grace of God through the death of Christ, and our entrance into heaven is already assured, and it does not depend on our works, what motivation is there to live an authentic Christian life? Suppose you are taking a maths class, and on the first day the teacher says, “I have some good news for you. Th...