Illegalities When Jesus Was On Trial

Procedural Violations

• Night time Trial: Capital cases could only be tried during daylight hours. Jesus' first two trial phases occurred in the dead of night.
• Festival Eve Execution: Capital trials could not be held on the eve of a Sabbath or a major festival like Passover. The trial took place immediately before Passover.
• Verdict Timing: A verdict of "guilty" in a capital case could not be reached on the same day as the trial. It required a 24-hour delay of fasting and deliberation to protect the accused. Jesus was condemned within hours.
• Private Location: Capital trials had to take place in the official court venue. Jesus was tried in the private palaces of Annas and Caiaphas.

Evidentiary Violations

• No Defence Provided: Jewish law required the court to actively search for arguments to acquit the accused before seeking a conviction. No defense was permitted or sought for Jesus.
• Contradictory Witnesses: Capital conviction required the testimony of at least two independent eyewitnesses whose stories matched perfectly. The Sanhedrin's witnesses openly contradicted one another, which legally required the case to be dismissed.
• Self-Incrimination: A defendant could not be convicted solely on their own testimony under Jewish law. The High Priest bypassed the failed witness testimonies and condemned Jesus based entirely on Jesus' own response regarding His identity.

Judicial Misconduct

• Bribery: The judges paid Judas Iscariot thirty pieces of silver to secure the arrest of the accused, rendering the judges legally disqualified due to personal bias.
• Unanimous Verdict Rule: In a strange twist of Jewish law, if a capital verdict of "guilty" was completely unanimous among the 71 judges, the defendant was to be acquitted. This rule existed because a unanimous guilty vote was seen as a sign of a conspiracy lacking a fair judicial defense. The Sanhedrin voted unanimously to condemn Him.

While Roman law gave provincial governors like Pontius Pilate near-absolute authority (imperium), Pilate's handling of Jesus' trial directly violated core principles of Roman jurisprudence, Roman administrative duty, and the Lex Julia (laws governing treason and judicial corruption).

Procedural and Administrative Violations

• Reversing an Absolute Acquittal: Under Roman law, once a magistrate declared a formal verdict of acquittal (Absolutio), the case was closed. Pilate publicly pronounced Jesus innocent three separate times ("I find no basis for a charge against this man"), but illegally allowed the trial to continue under mob pressure.
• Double Jeopardy (Scourging after Acquittal): Roman law forbade punishing a citizen or subject who had been found not guilty. Pilate ordered Jesus to be brutally scourged (flagellatio) as a compromise to appease the crowd, despite having already declared Him innocent.
• Abuse of Judicial Discretion: A Roman governor was legally bound to maintain pax Romana (Roman peace) through impartial justice. By capitulating to a mob threat ("If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar"), Pilate surrendered his judicial independence to public coercion, a severe breach of a governor's mandate.

Violations of Due Process

• Lack of Substantiated Charges: Roman jurisprudence required a formal, specific accusation (inscriptio) backed by evidence. The Jewish leadership shifted their charges from religious blasphemy to political treason ("He subverts our nation ... claims to be a king"). Pilate explicitly noted that no evidence supported this capital charge, yet he issued a death sentence anyway.
• Failure to Act on Personal Jurisdiction: When Pilate discovered Jesus was from Galilee, he correctly recognised that the case fell under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (forum originis). When Herod sent Jesus back without a conviction, Pilate was legally required to dismiss the charges based on Herod's finding, but failed to do so.
• Statutory Misconduct Judicial Corruption (Lex Julia de Residuis/Repetundarum): Roman statutes strictly prohibited judges from sentencing a man to death out of fear, bribery, or political self-preservation. Pilate's compliance with the crowd to protect his own political standing with Emperor Tiberius violated the integrity required of a Roman magistrate.
• Coerced Capital Sentence: Condemning a prisoner to crucifixion - he most severe Roman penalty (summum supplicium) - strictly required a proven crime against the Roman Empire, such as active armed rebellion. Pilate explicitly stated Jesus was not a political threat ("My kingdom is not of this world"), making the execution order legally baseless under Roman statutory definitions of treason (maiestas).

Seven People who testified to the innocence of the Lord Jesus

James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Pontius Pilate: The Roman governor who presided over Jesus' trial. He publicly declared multiple times that he found no fault in Him. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." ... Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ...  For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." Luke 23:4, 13-15, 22, (Also John 18:38, 19:4)
2. Pilate’s Wife. She sent a message to her husband warning him not to harm Jesus because of a troubling dream she had.  While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." Matthew 27:19
3. Herod Antipas: The tetrarch of Galilee who also examined Jesus. After questioning Him, he found no grounds to condemn nim to death and sent him back to Pilate. See above, Luke 23:15
4. The Repentant Thief. The criminal crucified alongside Jesus defended him while on the cross, stating that Jesus had done nothing wrong. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Luke 23:41
5. The Roman Centurion: The soldier in charge of the execution detail declared Jesus to be a righteous and innocent man immediately after witnessing his death. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man. Luke 23:47
6. Judas Iscariot: After realising the consequences of his betrayal, the disciple confessed that he had sinned by handing over "innocent blood".  "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." ... Matthew 27:4a
7. The religious leaders. Despite their efforts the religious leaders could not even find acceptable false evidence against his innocency. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Matthew 26:59, 60

10 Paradoxical Things that Jesus is as noted by Charles Wesley

From the same hymn (Thou hidden source of calm repose)

Thou art

1. My rest in toil
2. my ease in pain (The medicine of my broken heart)
3. In war my peace
4. in loss my gain
5. My smile beneath the tyrant's frown
6. In shame my glory and my crown
7. In want my plentiful supply
8. In weakness my almighty power
9. In bonds my perfect liberty
10. My light in Satan's darkest hour

(Three more In grief my joy unspeakable, My life in death, my heaven in all)

10 things that Jesus provides as noted by Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley Unknown Artist via Wikipedia

He provides, according to Wesley, 

1. (Thou hidden source of) calm repose
2. Thou all sufficient love divine
3. (My) help and refuge from my foes (Secure I am if Thou art mine)
4. And lo from sin and grief and shame I hide me Jesus in Thy name (because) Thy mighty name Salvation is And keeps my happy soul above
5. Comfort it brings
6. and power
7. and peace
8. And joy
9. and everlasting love
10. To me with Thy dear name are given Pardon ...

(Two more: and holiness and heaven (Jesu my all in all))

10 More Classical Composer Number Letters H-V

1. George Frideric Handel B HWV HG
2. Joseph Haydn HV or Hob
3. Gustav Holst Holst H
4. Franz Liszt L LW S
5. Felix Mendelssohn MWV
6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart K or KV WSF
7. Franz Schubert D
8. Robert Schumann WoO
9. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky P TH
10. Antonio Vivaldi P RN RV

(Also Camille Saint-Saëns R; Georg Philipp Telemann TWV)

10 Classical Composer Catalogue Number Letters B-G

AI generated

1. Johann Sebastian Bach S or BWV
2. Béla Bartók BB DD or Sz
3. Ludwig van Beethoven WoO H Bia or DHT
4. Hector Berlioz H
5. Georges Bizet WD
6. Johannes Brahms WoO
7. Frédéric Chopin A; A, C, D, E, P and S; G; KK; WN
8. Claude Debussy L
9. Antonín Dvořák H B S T
10. Edvard Grieg EG

10 Reasons and more why public worship is to be preferred over private (D Clarkson)

1. The Lord is more glorified by public worship than private. God is then glorified by us when we acknowledge that he is glorious. And he is most glorified when this acknowledgment is most public. This is obvious.

2. There is more of the Lord’s presence in public worship than in private. He is present with his people in the use of public ordinances in a more especial manner, more effectually, constantly, intimately. Here are the clearest manifestations of God.

4. There is more spiritual advantage to be got in the use of public ordinances than in private, ergo they are to be preferred. 5. Public worship is more edifying than private, ergo, &c.

6. Public ordinances are a better security against apostasy than private, and therefore to be preferred: an argument worthy our observation in these backsliding times.

7. Here the Lord works his greatest works; greater works than ordinarily he works by private means, ergo. The most wonderful things that are now done on earth are wrought in the public ordinances, though the commonness and spiritualness of them makes them seem less wonderful.

8. Public worship is the nearest resemblance of heaven, therefore to be preferred.

9. The examples of the most renowned servants of God, who have preferred public worship before private, is a sufficient argument. It was so in the judgment of those who were guided by an infallible Spirit, those who had most converse with God, and knew most of the mind of God; and those who had experience of both, and were in all respects the best, the most competent judges.

10. Public worship is the most available for the procuring of the greatest mercies, and preventing and removing the greatest judgments.

11. The precious blood of Christ is most interested in public worship, and that must needs be most valuable which has most interest in that which is of infinite value.

12. The promises of God are more to public worship than to private.

'10' Countries through which the prime meridian passes

Created Kmf164 October 29 2005, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. England: The line begins its journey crossing through England, specifically starting right at the Airy Transit Circle in Greenwich, London.
2. France
3. Spain
4. Algeria
5. Mali
6. Burkina Faso
7. Togo
8. Ghana: The line crosses just east of the capital, Accra, and passes directly through the industrial city of Tema.
9. Togo again
10. Queen Maud Land (a territory claimed by Norway)

8 People Commended by Jesus

• Nathanael: When first meeting him, Jesus called him a "true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false" (John 1:47)
• The Roman Centurion: Jesus marvelled at this Gentile soldier's profound faith and understanding of spiritual authority, stating, "I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" (Matthew 8:5-13)
• John the Baptist: Jesus publicly defended and honoured John, calling him the greatest among those born of women and describing him as a "lamp that burned and gave light" (Matthew 11:7-11)
• The Syrophoenician Woman: When she persistently begged Jesus to heal her daughter, he commended her persistence and faith, telling her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted" (Matthew 15:21-28)
• The Poor Widow: Jesus praised a widow who placed two tiny copper coins into the temple treasury. He highlighted her sacrifice, noting she gave "out of her poverty... all that she had" (Mark 12:41-44)
• Mary of Bethany: After she anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, he defended her actions from critics and commended her devotion, declaring that she had chosen "what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42)
• The Anointing Woman: In Luke 7:36-50, a woman washes Jesus' feet with her tears and hair. Jesus commended her great love and faith, saying, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7:50)
• The Scribe: After a teacher of the law correctly summarised that loving God and one's neighbor is more important than burnt offerings, Jesus told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:28-34)

10 Observations on Jesus in Revelation 1 by David Clarkson

If we observe how Christ is represented when he is said to be in the midst of the churches, we may thereby know what discoveries of Christ are made in the assemblies of his people, Rev. i. 13, &c.

1. Clothed with a garment down to the foot. That was the priests’ habit. Here is the priestly office of Christ, the fountain of all the saints’ comfort and enjoyments.
2. Girt about the paps with a golden girdle. This was the garb of a conqueror. So Christ is set forth as victorious over all his people’s enemies.
3. His head and hair white like wool. Here is his eternity; whiteness is the emblem of it. Therefore, when the Lord is expressed as eternal, he is called the Ancient of days.
4. His eyes as a flame of fire. Here is his omnisciency; nothing can be hid from his eye. The flame scatters darkness, and consumes or penetrates whatever to us might be an impediment of sight.
5. His feet like to fine brass. Here is his rower; to crush all opposers of his glory and his people’s happiness; they can no more withstand him, than earthen vessels can endure the force of brass.
6. His voice as the sound of many waters. Here his voice is most loud and powerful; so powerful, as it can make the deaf to hear, and raise the dead out of the grave of sin. His voice in private is a still voice, here it is as the sound of many waters.
7. He had in his right hand seven stars. Here is his providence, his tender care of his messengers, the ministers of the gospel, the administrators of public ordinances; he holds them in his hand, his right hand, and all the violence of the world, all the powers of darkness, cannot pluck them thence.
8. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. His word publicly preached, sharper than a two-edged sword, as described, Heb. iv. 12, 18, pierces the heart, searches the soul, wounds the conscience. With this Christ goes on, conquering and to conquer, maugre all opposition.
9. His countenance was as the sun that shineth in his strength. Here the face of Christ is unveiled, the fountain of light and life, the seat of beauty and glory, such as outshines the sun in his full strength. So he appears, as he becomes the love, the delight, the admiration, the happiness, of every one whose eyes are opened to behold him.
10. Now, as he is here described in the midst of the churches, so does he in effect appear in the assemblies of his people. No such clear, such comfortable, such effectual representations of the power and wisdom, of the love and beauty, of the glory and majesty of Christ, as in the public ordinances: ‘We all here, as with open face, behold the glory of the Lord.’

10 Single Volume Commentaries on Ephesians

 

1. Francis Foulkes
2. John Stott
3. H C G Moule
4. Charles Hodge
5. James M Boice
6. William Hendriksen
7. Harry Uprichard
8. Gordon Clark
9. Geoffrey B Wilson
10. Stuart Olyott

10 Notable Words Used by Washington Irving in his Rip Van Winkle Tale

1. Termagant: A harsh or overbearing woman (used to describe Rip’s nagging wife).
2. Galligaskins: Loose, baggy, or large trousers.
3. Rubicund: Having a red or ruddy complexion.
4. Dapper: someone - typically a man - who is neat, trim and stylishly dressed. (It can also refer to someone who is brisk, active and lively in their movements and manners.)
5. Junto: a small group of people, usually a faction, committee, or council, joined together for a common purpose (often secretly or with political aims).
6. Virago: Like Termagant, a domineering, fierce, or bad-tempered woman 
7. Dominie - a traditional term primarily referring to a schoolmaster or teacher in Scotland or a member of the clergy, specifically a pastor, in the Dutch Reformed Church.
8. Hollands - short for "Hollands gin" refers to a strong, juniper-flavoured gin originally distilled in the Netherlands. Also commonly known as Jenever.
9. Firelock - a historical firearm and the specific ignition mechanism it uses. It describes guns where the gunpowder is ignited by sparks struck from flint and steel, such as a flintlock. Broadly, the term historically distinguishes any flint or wheel-lock firearm from earlier matchlock systems that required a burning cord.
10. Connubial - related to marriage, wedlock or the intimate relationship between spouses.

10 People and Psalm 119

Manton/Wilberforce

1. Thomas Manton, a prolific 17th-century Puritan, wrote a massive, three-volume commentary exclusively on Psalm 119, spanning 190 separate chapters and over 1,600 pages.
2. George Wishart, Bishop of Edinburgh, in the 17th century (not to be confused with another Scot by the same name who was martyred a century earlier) was condemned to death for his faith. But when he was on the scaffold, he made use of a custom that allowed the condemned person to choose one psalm to be sung, and he chose Psalm 119. Before two-thirds of the psalm had been sung, his pardon arrived and his life was spared.
3. William Grimshaw of Haworth was accustomed to round-up the unwilling with a whip, prowling the village mid-service whilst the congregation was singing a psalm — a favourite one being Psalm 119, because it was the longest.
4. Matthew Henry the famous Bible commentator was raised on the Psalm. His father, Philip Henry, made the children meditate on one verse every single morning, cycling through the entire Psalm twice a year to foster a lifelong love for scripture.
5. William Wilberforce the 19th-century British politician who led the movement to abolish the slave trade frequently recited Psalm 119 from memory during his daily walks back from Parliament to calm his mind and maintain political courage.
6. David Livingstone the famous 19th-century Scottish pioneer missionary and explorer of Africa famously won a New Testament at his local church Sunday school when he was only 9 years old by flawlessly reciting the entire Psalm.
7. John Ruskin the art critic was made to emmorise the Psalm. He reflected heavily on it in his later years, famously noting how his mother's strict childhood enforcement of the chapter transitioned from feeling "repulsive" to becoming his most "precious" biblical text, representing an "overflowing and glorious passion of love for the Law of God".
8. Henry Martyn, the pioneer Anglican missionary to India in the early 19th century, famously memorised the entirety of Psalm 119 in 1804. During his arduous life of translating scriptures into local languages and facing exhaustion, he confessed that it was the Word of God alone that gave him strength.
9. Martin Luther held Psalm 119 in the highest regard, famously stating that he would not exchange a single leaf of it for the entire world. He viewed the psalm not just as a prayer, but as a core textbook for spiritual formation, using it to define his famous "three rules for studying theology" (prayer, meditation, temptation).
10. Charles Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers" deeply loved Psalm 119 and highly recommended the Exposition of Psalm 119 by Charles Bridges, calling it "worth its weight in gold."

10 Nicknames for Chapters in the Bible

1. 1 Kings 18 The Mount Carmel Showdown 
2. Psalm 23 The Shepherd Psalm
3. Isaiah 53 The Forbidden Chapter (the gospel according to Iaiah)
4. Isaaih 58 The Fasting Chapter
5. Ezekiel 37 The Dry Bones Chapter
6. Luke 15 The Lost Chapter (the joy chapter)
7. John 17 The High Priestly Prayer
8. 1 Corinthians 13 The Hymn of love (the wedding chapter)
9. Hebrews 11 The Hall of Faith
10. James 3 The Tongue Chapter

10 Things you can live without

AI Generated

1. Comedian Matt Lucas has no hair (Cf TV presenter Gail Porter)
2. Singer Shane MacGowan lost most of his teeth and then had the remaining ones removed and false teeth inserted(Cf George Washington)
3. Beatles Ringo Starr and George Harrison had their tonsils removed in 1964 and 1969 (King Charles III had his tonsils and adenoids removed in 1957)
4. Footballer Pele had only one kidney from the seventies on (Cf Singer Natalie Cole)
5. Footballer Bobby Moore lost a testicle in 1964* (Cf Cyclist Lance Armstrong)
6. Marilyn Monroe had her appendix removed in 1962 (Cf Elton John, also without tonsils, adenoids and prostate)
7. Sammy Davis Jr lost his left eye in 1954 (Cf Actor Peter Falk)**
8. Nelson lost his right arm in 1797 (also his right eye 1794) (Cf Stonewall Jackson and left arm Rick Allen, Def Leppard drummer)
9. Ted Kennedy Jr had his leg amputated in 1973 (Cf Frida Kahlo)
10. Actor John Wayne had most of his left lung removed in 1964 (Cf Singer Al Jolson)

*Women survive well with none and so would a man with none but they could not reproduce

**Of course, people like Stevie Wonder have no use of either eye (pop star Pink had her gall bladder removed in 2012 cf singer Kacey Musgraves; Django Reinhardt, Tony Iommi and Jerru Garcia all had bits of their fingers missing; actor Ben Stiller and golfer Armold Palmer had their prostate removed))

10 Words and ther Meanings From Anthony Beevor's Rasputin

LukaszKatlewa, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

1. Banya A steam bath-house, often made from logs
2. Barin A Russian country gentleman who owned an estate
3. Dusya Darling
4. Gornitsa A guest house or guest room for travellers and pilgrims
5. Hieromonk A monk who has also been ordained as a priest, or a priest who becomes tonsured later Izba A simple peasant house, often a log cabin caulked with moss
6. Moujik Typical Russian peasant
7. Okhrana Tsarist secret police
8. Pogrom A riot, not just those anti-Semitic in nature
9. Starets A venerated elder of the Russian Orthodox Church
10. Strannik A wandering pilgrim

(Bonus: Tarantass A long, low four-wheeled cart which could be converted into a sled in winter)

Beevor, Antony. Rasputin: And the Downfall of the Romanovs. Orion.

10 Contrasts Between Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 21 and 22

Made with AI

1. The Starting and End Point: Genesis 2:8 God places the first humans in an uncultivated, rural landscape Revelation 22:2 God brings redeemed humanity into a grand city, the New Jerusalem.
2. The Curse Undone: Genesis 3:17 God curses the ground because of human rebellion. Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be any curse.
3. The Flow of Living Water: Genesis 2:10, a river flows out of Eden to water the physical earth. Revelation 22:1, the River of the Water of Life flows eternally from God’s throne.
4. The Hiding Ends: Genesis 3:8, terrified humans hide from God's physical presence among the trees. Revelation 22:4, the ultimate restoration is achieved: They will see his face.
5. Banishing the Dark: Genesis 1:5, God creates the night to alternate with the day. Revelation 22:5, night is permanently abolished because God's glory replaces all darkness.
6. Access to Life Restored: Genesis 3:24, cherubim guard the way to the Tree of Life to banish humanity. Revelation 22:14, humanity is granted the formal right to the tree of life (also see 22:2)
7. No more sea: Genesis 1:10 the creation of the seas Reveation 21:1 no more sea
8. Precisou stones: Genesis 2:12 mentions gold and onyx Revelation 21:18-21 describe the New Jerusalem in terms of precious stones and golden streets.
9. Satan cast out: Genesis 3 tells how Satan brought about the fall through a serpent Revelation 21:8, 22 and 22:15 speak of eil being expelled. See also Revelation 20.
10. The Bride: Genesis 2 Adam is presented with Eve as his bride Revelation 21:2 and 9 speak of the holicity as Christ's bride.

10 examples of mocking idols in the Old Testament

1. Judges 6:31 Gideon's father Joash mocks Baal. But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”

2. 1 Samuel 5:2-5. After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

3. 1 Kings 18:27: Elijah’s sarcastic taunts. During the famous showdown on Mount Carmel, the pagan prophets slash themselves and scream to Baal, but nothing happens. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

4. Psalm 115:4–8: The Silent Senses. These verses methodically strip idols of all power, listing mouths that cannot speak, etc. Also note the sting in the tail.

But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.

They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

5. Psalm 135:15–18: The Echo. This psalm duplicates the mockery from Psalm 115 almost word for word. 

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.

They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them

6. Isaiah 44:9–20: The Lumberjack Analogy. The longest and most famous idol satire in the Bible. All who make idols are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind;

they are ignorant, to their own shame.

Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?

People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.

The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.

The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.

He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself,

he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal,

he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.’

From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says,

‘Save me! You are my god!’

They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so that they cannot see,

and their minds closed so that they cannot understand.

No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,

‘Half of it I used for fuel;I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?’

Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say,

‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’

7. Isaiah 46:1–7: The Exhausted Beasts. Isaiah mocks the chief gods of Babylon, Bel and Nebo. Instead of the gods carrying the people, the heavy metal statues become a massive burden that exhausts the poor donkeys and oxen forced to cart them around.

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden.

The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary.

They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.

'Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.

Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

‘With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, nd they bow down and worship it.

They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.

8. Jeremiah 10:3–16: The Scarecrow Analogy. Jeremiah compares impressive-looking pagan idols to helpless garden fixtures: For the practices of the peoples are worthless;

they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it will not totter.

Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them;they can do no harm nor can they do any good.’

No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols. 

Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple – all made by skilled workers.

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.

‘Tell them this: “These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them.

They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the people of his inheritance – the Lord Almighty is his name.

9. Habakkuk 2:18–19 Shouting at Stone. Habakkuk mocks the sheer futility of speaking to rocks: “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”

10. Hosea 8:4-6 4 They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval.

With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity?
They are from Israel! This calf - a metalworker has made it;
it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria

10 interesting facts about Psalm 113

1. It is all praise and no requests
2. It begins and ends with a Hallelujah
3. It is the first psalm in what is called the Hallel (113-118)
4. It is one of two psalms traditionally sung before the Passover meal
5. Jesus would have sung it at the Last Supper
6. It is one of two psalms often used in the early church for baptisms at Easter or Pentecost
7. The psalm is built on the twin truths that God is the one whose glory is above the heavens and yet who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth
8. It echoes the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2
9. It points forward to Mary's prayer, the Magnificat, in Luke 1
10. It has inspired music by Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Mozart

10 Old Testament Quotations in Matthew 1-4

Yuvalr, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Matthew Chapter 1: The Birth of Jesus Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel."
2. Matthew Chapter 2: The Infancy of Jesus Matthew 2:6 quotes Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah ... out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."
3. Matthew 2:15 quotes Hosea 11:1 "Out of Egypt I called my son."
4. Matthew 2:18 quotes Jeremiah 31:15 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children ..."  (Matthew 2:23 alludes to "the prophets" (likely linking to Isaiah 11:1 or Judges 13:5) "He will be called a Nazarene.")
5. Matthew Chapter 3: The Ministry of John the Baptist Matthew 3:3 quotes Isaiah 40:3 "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’"
6. Matthew Chapter 4: The Temptation and Early Ministry Matthew 4:4 (Jesus) quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
7. Matthew 4:6 (Satan) quotes Psalm 91:11–12 "He will command his angels concerning you... so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
8. Matthew 4:7 (Jesus) quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
9. Matthew 4:10 (Jesus) quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."
10. Matthew 4:15–16 quotes Isaiah 9:1–2 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali ... the people living in darkness have seen a great light ..."