Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 19:17-27.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

John  19:17-27 (NIV) 

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

What does John 19:17-27 mean?

John 19:17-27 is a significant passage in the Bible, as it describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the events that occurred during that time. This passage illuminates the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus, as well as the love and care he showed to those closest to him even in the midst of his own agony.

The passage starts with Jesus carrying his own cross to the place of his crucifixion, which was outside the city walls of Jerusalem. This act of carrying his own cross is symbolic of the weight of sin and the burden of humanity that Jesus bore on his shoulders. It is also significant that Jesus went willingly to his death, showing obedience to God’s will and a deep love for humanity.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 19:1-16.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 19:1-3 (NIV) 
1  Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 
2  The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 
3  and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.

On verses 1-3:  There are no words to describe the kind of shame, suffering and humiliation Jesus went through on our behalf, even before he was sentenced to die on a cross. That includes the flogging of Jesus’ body, the mocking of Jesus by placing a crown of thorns on his head and a purple robe over his shoulders, the verbal abuse and the physical beatings Jesus received.  Though Jesus was innocent and the last person who deserved this kind of treatment, Jesus willingly suffered all of this for us from people who could not come close to Jesus’ integrity and innocence. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 18:12-27.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 18:12-13 (NIV)
12  Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him
13  and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.
 
On verses 12-13:  You could call Annas the godfather of high priests.  From AD 6 to AD 15 Annas was high priest of Israel.  When Annas was deposed by the Roman governor Valerius Gratus at that time (Pilate’s predecessor), many still considered Annas to be their high priest.  Annas also had five sons who would each hold the office of high priest after Annas.  At this time Annas’ son-in-law Caiaphas was the acting high priest.  So Annas had enormous influence in Israel at this time.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 17:13-26.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 17:13-16 (NIV)
13  “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
14  I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
15  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

On verses 13-16:  In a world where followers of Jesus will have trouble (John 16:33) and will be misunderstood by many (John 15:18), Jesus does not pray that the Father remove his followers from this world.  Rather Jesus prays that the Father would protect them from the evil one (v15).  Jesus’ heart is that his disciples would have the full measure of his joy within them even as they go through hardship (v13).  What can we learn from this? 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 16:12-22.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 16:16-22 (NIV)
16  “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17  Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
18  They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

On verses 16-22:  What did Jesus mean when he would tell his disciples, “in a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me” (v16)?  Jesus was pointing to his death and resurrection.  The darkest night – when Jesus Christ would die – was coming, but it would be superseded by a brighter day: when Jesus would rise again.