Where's God? Finding Him in the Small Stuff

When Pilate saw Jesus, he didn't seem to be worried about Jesus as a king. After all, the man before him looked bloodied and beaten already. But if Pilate had been able to see Jesus as the King described in the book of Revelation, he would have had a completely different response. So would the lost world today.

When the Jewish religious leaders brought Jesus to Pilate for trial, what were the charges they levied against Jesus? Which of those charges was Pilate most concerned about? Why was this Roman governor worried about what those religious leaders wanted? Why did he feel the need to cater to them? And just who was Pilate anyway?

When Jesus' trial before Caiaphas was over, He was not taken immediately to Pilate by the religious leaders. He was, instead, bound and put back in prison until daybreak when He was once again put on trial, but this time by the whole Sanhedrin. Why the delay and the extra trial? It has to do with rules and regulations which, even though they were breaking so many of them, the Sanhedrin members tri...

Talk about trumped-up charges! When Jesus was arrested and put on trial before the high priest, Caiaphas, the court of the Sanhedrin had already decided not only the verdict, but the one and only charge as well. It had to be nothing else other than blasphemy. Why? And what about Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea? They were members of the Sanhedrin, but they said nothing in defense of Jesus during...

During His trial before Caiaphas, Jesus was found guilty (although He wasn't) of blasphemy. What was blasphemy, exactly? Also, during the trial, Jesus chose to answer some questions, but refused to answer others. What was the difference between those questions? The answer is actually found in the Old Testament, in the books of Daniel and the Psalms.

When Jesus was on trial before Caiaphas, the high priest, many "witnesses" were brought forward to testify in the hopes that some charge could be brought against Him. Finally, two witnesses were found with a somewhat similar story, but it differed in some important ways from what Jesus had actually said. Was this the reason that Jesus refused to answer Caiaphas at first? These things and more were...

Jesus' trial before Annas was over and He was taken next to the current high priest, Caiaphas, for another interrogation. During these two trials, the religious leaders broke eighteen rules which were required for any verdict to be legally valid and binding. What were those rules, and why was it so risky to be a witness to a crime back then?

After Jesus' arrest, He was taken to Annas for questioning. Annas had been the high priest at one time and was still seen by many people as the religious authority in Jerusalem. Little did Annas realize that his trial of Jesus was fulfilling the requirement of the Passover lamb, which had to be examined by a priest before it could be sacrificed. Annas, and then Caiaphas, fulfilled that religious r...

Why did Annas want Jesus silenced? It had something to do with the way Jesus cleared the temple in Jerusalem not once, but twice. The reasons Jesus did it have their roots in the Old Testament, but for Annas, doing so threatened to cut off the primary stream of his significant wealth. He could not stand for that to happen!

Jesus has been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and is being taken to the former high priest, Annas for questioning. It will be the first of many trials which Jesus will undergo on this awful night. Who was Annas, anyway? You might be surprised to learn just how bad he really was!

When the Israelites left Egypt with Moses, they "plundered" the Egyptians of their valuables like gold jewelry and more. Five hundred years later, God balanced the scales when the Egyptians plundered Israel. And where is the Ark of the Covenant?

When Mark describes the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he tells us about a young man who is watching everything that is happening and is almost caught by the authorities. He barely escapes their clutches, but leaves his cloak behind, in their grasp, to do so. Who was this young man, and do we find him mentioned again anywhere else in scripture?

When John wrote about Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, he made a point to tell us that Jesus was bound. John was drawing a direct line from the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Old Testament to Jesus. John wanted us to see the similarities between what happened to Isaac and Jesus so we would see Jesus as a willing sacrifice, not as a helpless victim.

The crowd that had come to arrest Jesus had just been knocked to the ground by Jesus' words, and they had just witnessed Him heal a man's ear that had been cut off by Peter's dagger. Yet still, they arrested Jesus. My question is, how could they not believe at that point? Instead of binding Him, why did they not bow before Him?

When they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, there was a huge number of soldiers, priests and other officials that came to do so.  Why were so many needed to confront Jesus and his small band of disciples?  When the crowd arrived, they were led by Judas who betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Why a kiss?  We discuss these things and more during this episode.

Jesus was tested in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest, in many ways that were similar to the ways in which Eve was tested in the Garden of Eden.  Why?  Because Satan did not want Jesus to go to the cross.

The gospel writers focus on Jesus' prayers when they recount His Garden of Gethsemane experience on the night He was arrested.  Jesus asked three times during His prayers that God take away "this cup" if it were possible.  What was that cup?  Was it possible for God to it away?  We discuss these questions and more during this episode.

It is impossible for us to understand the full extent of Jesus' sorrow and grief in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed.  The One without sin was about to die for the sin of the whole world, past, present, and future.  Jesus came to pray and asked three of His disciples to share in those prayers.  Why did Jesus choose those three, in particular?  What would ha...

When we talk about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we need to consider the place itself.  The garden was located on the Mt. of Olives on the eastern side of Jerusalem.  The Mt. of Olives also played a critical role in the life of King David. Actually David's experience there can be compared to Jesus' own in many ways.

As we move into "phase two" of Peter's denial of Jesus, we look not only at the act itself, but the aftermath.  What were the consequences for Peter?  Did he learn a lesson from it?  If so, did he learn?

All the disciples "fell away" once Jesus was arrested, but Peter "disowned" Him.  What's the difference?  Peter illustrates how our strength can actually be weakness if we rely on ourselves too much.

CSI Jerusalem investigates the cause of death for one Judas Iscariot.  What, exactly, was his cause of death?  And what, in the final analysis, made him do what he did?

Judas came to the Garden of Gethsemane for one reason, to betray Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders.  It was dark and perhaps some of the soldiers with him were not able to distinguish Jesus from His disciples.  They needed a signal, one that would assure that they arrested the right man.  Judas decided upon a kiss.  A betrayer's kiss.  Satan can use the best th...

As the Last Supper with the disciples began, Judas was seated very close to Jesus, at the place of honor.  Surprising that Judas was so well thought of by the other disciples that night.  But sitting so near gave Jesus an opportunity to speak directly to Judas, revealing that Jesus knew what Judas was planning.