Daily Scripture - Apr 12

Tuesday 4/12
Scriptures:
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

Reflection Message:
Today’s scripture is the third saying spoken by Jesus on the cross. We will dive into its precious meaning from two angles.

A) It fully expresses the beautiful humanity of Jesus
After Jesus, who is the Word, became flesh, not only did He obey God’s will in His human body and thus fulfill what God had entrusted to Him, but His life spoke to glorify God in the flesh. In His everyday life and speech, we see the most glorious of humanity. As John testifies, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). The author of Hebrews states, “[Christ] being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). The Bible has a great number of depictions of Jesus’ kindness, gentleness, humility, love and empathy; all of them illustrate His perfect humanness. Here, as Christ is about to endure the cruelest of trials and the deepest of sufferings, He still thinks of His mother’s pain and needs, and He entrusts her to His beloved disciple. In this account, it is as if the Holy Spirit cracked open a small window for us to peer through, and we witness His most attentive love and perfect humanity. Not only is He the true God but also the true human. He is the only one that can live out perfect humanity, and He alone is able to understand all of our weaknesses and needs - “for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).
Meditation:
Try to recall and meditate on every description of Jesus’ beautiful humanity in Scripture. Give praise and give thanks to God for each of them.

What we can do:
Imitate Christ. Please spend two to three minutes and pray for your parents or your closest family. Write down your prayer.

B) “We are a family” in Christ
Not only did the blood of Christ show His great love for us, but through these words, we see that in Christ, through His glorious life and love, we have become His family. The cross not only abolished all enmity, but it also removed all dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14-15). We “are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). This is just as Jesus reminded us when He was on earth, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).

Meditation:
Why is the cross of Jesus Christ necessary for us to become a member of the household of God?

What we can do:
In this week, as a member of God’s household, please express your love to one member in church as you would express such love to your own parents or own children.

The last seven words of Jesus on the cross(3) (including the song:Worship Song: Hail to the King)

Key Issues:
1.Jesus talks about the effectiveness of faith Location：On the way to Jerusalem Matthew 21:20‐22 、Mark 11:20‐26
2 .Jesus talks about his authority Location：Jerusalem Matthew 21:23‐22:
a.answer the question of the chief priests Matthew 21:23‐27, Mark 11:27‐33，Luke 20:1‐8,
b. the parable of the two sons receiving their father’s order Matthew 21:28‐32,
c. The parable of the wicked vinedressers Matthew 21:33‐46, Mark 12:1‐12，Luke 20:9-19
d.The parable of the Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1‐14
3. Jesus talks about paying taxes Location：Jerusalem Matthew 22:15‐22 ,Mark12:13‐17,Luke 20:20‐26
4. Jesus talks about the Resurrection Location：Jerusalem Matthew22:23‐33 ,Mark12:18‐27 Luke 20:27‐38
5. Jesus talks about the first commandment of all. Location： Jerusalem Matthew 22:34‐40 ,Mark 12:28‐34 , Luke 20:39‐40
6. Jesus talks about the relationship between Christ and David Location:Jerusalem Matthew 22:41‐46,Mark 12:35‐37, Luke 20:41‐44
7. Jesus talks about the situation of the hypocrites Location：Jerusalem Matthew23:1‐36,Mark 12:38‐40 , Luke 20:45‐47
8. Jesus laments over Jerusalem Location：Jerusalem Matthew 23:37‐39
9. Jesus commends on the widow’s two mites Location：Jerusalem Mark 12:41‐44, Luke 21:1‐4
10 .Greeks come to see Jesus Location：Jerusalem John 12:20‐36
11 .The last public talk of Jesus Location：Jerusalem John 12:37‐50
12. Jesus talks about the things to come The mountain of Olives Matthew24:1‐25:46, Mark 13:1‐37, Luke 21:5‐36
a. Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple
b. The signs of his second coming
c. Exhortation on being alert
d. The Parable of the wise and foolish virgins
e. The parable of the talents
f. The parable of separating the sheep and the goats.
13 .Jesus mentions his death for the fourth time Location：Jerusalem Matthew 26:1‐2
14 .The chief priests and others plot to arrest Jesus Location：Jerusalem Matthew26:3‐5,Mark 14:1‐2, Luke 22:1‐2
15 .Judah agrees to betray Jesus Matthew 26:14‐16,Mark 14:10‐11 , Luke 22:3‐6