Faith . Hope . Love: June 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

The way to Calvary - Luke 23:26-32 - N. T. -

As they were leading him away they seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. Large numbers of people followed him, and of women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For the days will surely come when people will say, "Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never suckled!"

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, "fall on us!"; to the hills, "Cover us!' For if men use the green wood like this, what will happen when it is dry?' Now with him they were also leading out two other criminals to be executed.

Cf. - Matthew 27:31b-34; Mark 15:20b-23; John 19:17-22 - N. T. - They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews'.

This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, 'You should not write "King of the Jews", but "This man said: I am King of the Jews"'. Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written'.

Cf. - Luke 11:27 -

Cf. - Hosea 9:14; 10:8 - O. T. - Give them, Yahweh - what are you to give? - give them wombs that miscarry, and dried-up breasts. The idolatrous high places shall be destroyed - thorn and thistle will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, 'Cover us!' and to the hills, 'Fall on us!'

Cf. - Ezekiel 21:3, 8-10 - O. T. - Say to the forest of the Negeb, "Hear the word of Yahweh. The Lord Yahweh says this: Listen; I am about to kindle a fire in you that will burn up every green tree as well as every dry one; it will be an unquenchable blaze and every face will be scorched by it from the Negeb to the North. Now I set myself against you: I am about to unsheathe my sword and to kill both upright man and sinner. My sword will leave its sheath to kill upright and sinful alike and turn against all mankind from the Negeb to the North. All mankind is going to learn that I, Yahweh, am the one who has drawn the sword from its sheath; it will not go back again."

Cf. - Luke 22:37 -

Cf. - Isaiah 53:12 - O. T. - Hence, I will grant whole hordes for his tribute, he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, for surrendering himself to death and letting himself be taken for a sinner, while he was bearing the faults of many and praying all the time for sinners.

The crucifixion - Luke 23:33-34 - N. T. -

When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left. Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing'. Then they cast lots to share out his clothing.

Cf. - Matthew 27:35-38; Mark 15:24-28; John 19:17-24 - N. T. - They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: 'Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews'.

When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, 'Instead of tearing it, let's throw dice to decide who is to have it'. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: They shared out my clothing among them. They cast lots for my clothes. This is exactly what the soldiers did.

- PAGE 77 -

The crucified Christ is mocked

The people stayed there watching him. As for... - PAGE 78 -

'Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?'

"Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He is like a man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built.

But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 -

WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

"I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE." - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear Him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. - Matthew 10:28 -

To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear Him who after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. - Luke 12:4-5 -

I shall not call you servants anymore,

because a servant does not know

his/her master's business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father. - John 15:15 -

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Jesus before Herod - Luke 23:8-12 - N. T. -

Herod was delighted to see Jesus; he had heard about him and had been waiting for a long time to set eyes on him; moreover, he was hoping to see some miracle worked by him. So he questioned Jesus at some length; but without getting any reply. Meanwhile the chief priests and scribes were there, violently pressing their accusations. The Herod, together with his guards, treated Jesus with contempt and made fun of him; he put a rich cloak on him and sent him back to Pilate. And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, they were reconciled that same day.

Cf. - Luke 9:9 -

Cf. - Matthew 14:1-2 - N. T. - At the time Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, 'This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.'

Cf. - Acts 25:7, 4:27-31 - N. T. - As soon as Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, making many serious accusations which they were unable to substantiate. 'This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.' As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.

Jesus before Pilate again - Luke 23:8-12 - N. T. -

Pilate then summoned the chief priests and the leading men and the people. 'You brought this man before me' he said 'as a political agitator. Now I have gone into the matter myself in your presence and found no case against the man in respect of all the charges you bring against him. Nor has Herod either, since he has sent him back to us. As you can see, the man has done nothing that deserve death, so I shall have him flogged and then let him go.' But as one man they howled, 'Away with him! Give us Barabbas!' (This man had been thrown into prison for causing a riot in the city and for murder.)

Pilate was anxious to set Jesus free and addressed them again, but they shouted back, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' And for the third time he spoke to them, 'Why? What harm has this man done? I have found no case against him that deserves death, so I shall have him punished and then let him go.' But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices, demanding that he should be crucified. And their shouts were growing louder.

Pilate then gave his verdict: their demand was to be granted. He released the man they asked for, who had been imprisoned for rioting and murder, and handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they pleased.

Cf. - Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; John 18:37-19:16 - N. T. - But my kingdom is not of this kind. 'So you are king then?' said Pilate. 'It is you who say it' answered Jesus. 'Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.' 'Truth?' said Pilate 'What is that?'; and with that he went out again to the Jews and said, 'I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release the king of the Jews?' At this they shouted: 'Not this man,' they said 'but Barabbas'. Barabbas was a brigand.

Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!'; and they slapped him in the face.

Pilate came outside again and said to them, 'Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case'. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, 'here is the man'. When they saw Jesus the chief priests and the guards shouted, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves and crucify him: I can find no case against Jesus'. 'We have a Law,' the Jews replied 'and according to the Law he ought to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.'

When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, 'Where do you come from?' But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him, 'Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?' You would have no power over me' replied Jesus 'if it had not been given to you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.'

From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, 'If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar's; Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated himself on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was Passover Preparation Day, about the sixth hour. 'Here is your king' said Pilate to the Jews. 'Take him away, take him away!' they said. 'Crucify him!' 'Do you want me to crucify your king?' said Pilate. The chief priests answered, 'We have no king except Caesar'. So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Cf. - Acts 21:36, 3:14 - N. T. - When Paul reached the steps, the crowd became so violent that he had to be carried by the soldiers; and indeed the whole mob was after them, shouting, 'Kill him!' It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life.

Cf. - John 18:38 - N. T. - 'Truth?' said Pilate 'What is that?'; and with that he went out again to the Jews and said, I find no case against him.

Cf. - Acts 3:13-15 - N. T. - You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release him. It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life. God, however, raised him from the dead, and to that fact we are the witnesses.

- PAGE 76 -

The way to Calvary

As they were leading him away... - PAGE 77 -

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:

Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah

Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113

Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

'Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?'

"Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He is like a man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built.

But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 -

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE." - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear Him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. - Matthew 10:28 -

I shall not call you servants anymore,

because a servant does not know

his/her master's business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father. - John 15:15 -

We are all aware who it was that said: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again: The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10:31 -

'Fear God and praise Him because the time has come for Him to sit in judgement; worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea and every water-spring.' - Revelation 14:7 -

Monday, June 7, 2021

Jesus before the Sanhedrin - Luke 22:66-71 - N. T. -

When day broke there was a meeting of the elders of the people, attended by the chief priests and scribes. Jesus was brought before their council, and they said to him, 'If you are the Christ, tell us'. 'If I tell you,' he replied 'you will not believe me, and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the Power of God.' Then they all said, 'So you are the Son of God then?' Jesus answered, 'It is you who say I am'. 'What need of witnesses have we now?' they said. 'We have heard it for ourselves from his own lips.'

Cf. - Matthew 26:57-66; 27:2; Mark 14:53-64; 15:1 - N. T. - They led Jesus off to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes assembled there. Peter followed Jesus at a distance, right into the high priest's palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at the fire.

The chief priests and the whole of Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any. Several, indeed, brought false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting. Some stood up and submitted this false evidence against Jesus, 'We heard him say, "I am going to destroy this Temple made by human hands, and in three days build another, not made by human hands"'.

But even on this point their evidence was conflicting. The high priests then stood up before the whole assembly and put this question to Jesus, 'Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?' But Jesus was silent and made no answer at all. The high priests put a second question to him, 'Are you the Christ,' he said 'the Son of the Blessed One?' 'I am,' said Jesus 'and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.' The high priest tore his robes, 'What need of witnesses have we now?' he said. 'You heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?' And they all gave their verdict: he deserved to die.

Some of them started spitting at him and, blindfolding him, began hitting him with their fists and shouting, 'Play the prophet!' And the attendants rained blows on him.

Cf. - John 10:24-26- N. T. - The Jew gathered round him and said, 'How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus replied: 'I have told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name are my witness; but you do not believe, because you are no sheep of mine.

Cf. - Psalms 110:1 - O. T. - Yahweh's oracle to you, my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand and I will make your enemies a footstool for you'.

Cf. - Wisdom 2:14 - O. T. - My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock, in the coverts of the cliff, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is beautiful.

Cf. - Matthew 4:3-10 - N. T. - 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves'. But Jesus replied, 'Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'. The devil then took Jesus to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. 'If you are the Son of God' he said 'throw yourself down; for scripture says: he will put you in his angels' charge, and they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone'. Jesus said to him, 'Scripture also says: You must not put the Lord your God to the test'. Next, taking Jesus to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 'I will give you all these' he said 'if you at my feet and worship me.' Then Jesus replied, 'Be off, Satan! For scripture says: You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.'

Cf. - John 10:30-35 - N. T. - The Father and I are one. The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, 'I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?' The Jews answered him, 'We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God'. Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So the Law uses the word gods of those to whom the word of God was addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected.

Jesus before Pilate - Luke 23:1-7 - N. T. -

The whole assembly then rose, and they brought him before Pilate. They began their accusation by saying, 'We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of the tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ, a king'. Pilate put to him this question, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'It is you who say it' Jesus replied. Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd, 'I find no case against this man'. But they persisted, 'He is inflaming the people with his teaching all over Judaea; it has come all the way from Galilee, where he started, down to here'. When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean; and finding that he came under Herod's jurisdiction he passed him over to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Cf. - Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:2-5; John 18: 28-40 - N. T. - Pilate questioned Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'It is you who say it' Jesus answered. And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again. 'Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!' But, to Pilate's amazement, Jesus made no further reply.

Cf. - Luke 20:20-26 -

Cf. - Acts 17:5-9, 24:5 - N. T. - The Jews, full of resentment, enlisted the help of a gang from the market place, stirred up a crowd, and soon had the whole city in an uproar. they made for Jason's house, hoping to find them and drag them off to the People's Assembly; however, they only found Jason and some of the brothers, and these they dragged before the city council, shouting, 'The people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now; they have been staying at Jason's. They have broken every one of Caesar's edicts by claiming that there is another emperor, Jesus.' This accusation alarmed the citizens and the city councillors and they made Jason and the rest give security before setting them free.

Cf. - Luke 4:44+ -

Cf. - Acts 3:14-15 - N. T. - It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life.

- PAGE 75 -

Jesus before Herod

Herod was delighted to see Jesus;... - PAGE 76 -

Welcome to SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

IF WE LIVE BY THE TRUTH AND IN LOVE, WE SHALL GROW IN ALL WAYS INTO CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD BY WHOM THE WHOLE BODY IS FITTED AND JOINED TOGETHER, EVERY JOINT ADDING ITS OWN STRENGTH, FOR EACH SEPARATE PART TO WORK ACCORDING TO IT FUNCTION. SO THE BODY GROWS UNTIL IT HAS BUILT ITSELF UP, IN LOVE." - EPHESIANS 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear Him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell." - Matthew 10:28 -

"To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear Him who after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell." - Luke 12:4-5 -

"I shall not call you servants anymore,
because a servant does not know
his/her master's business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father." - John 15:15 -

"We are all aware who it was that said: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again: The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." - Hebrews 10:31 -

"Fear God and praise Him because the time has come for Him to sit in judgement; worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea and every water-spring." - Revelation 14:7 -

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them.

If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.

Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

Love does not come to an end.

In short, there are three things that last; FAITH. HOPE. LOVE. and the greatest of these is LOVE. - 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-7, 13:13 -

Glory to God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Alex Chan Kok Wah. Email : kwchanalex@yahoo.com - kwchankim@hotmail.com