 Okay, please give me a moment. It's just starting. Okay. So the record has started. Let's pray together and let's continue. Let me go ahead and say a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank You Lord for this day. Father, we thank You for Your help, Lord. Throughout this journey of studying the book of John and the epistles of John. Father, whatever we have learned, we pray that, Lord, it will deeply impact our lives. And Father, even as Apostle John wrote, Father, about the Lord Jesus, so that we may know God better. I pray, Lord, that everything that we have learned, that it will be more than just knowing, Lord, the story as such. Father, but Lord, it will be a revelation to us, Lord, strengthening us and Lord giving us the wisdom to speak into other people's lives as well. Father, thank You once again. Thank You for the technology, Lord, that this semester You have made it possible, Lord, to share Your Word. Thank You for every student, Lord. Thank You for their lives. Thank You for the call of God on their lives. Continue to equip them, prepare them, Father. And Lord, I pray that they will be Lord thoroughly trained, Father, even as You release them into the work that You have for them. Thank You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay. So, yeah, let's get started. In the last class, we completed John chapter 7, which was about the prayers of Jesus. So we saw how we are in the last few moments, okay, last few days of the Lord Jesus being crucified. And Jesus demonstrates His humility by washing the feet of His disciples. He encourages them to care for one another, love one another, be humble. And also we saw His prayers. He prays for Himself and He asks the Father to glorify Him. He prays for the disciples and He wants them to be together, wants them, in other words, to love one another and maintain that spirit of unity. And we also saw that for the believers to come, which would be you and I also, He says that we may be one, so that the world will believe in Him. So these are the prayers that Jesus prayed and we will continue from there. We will see the days. Now, we saw the last supper. We saw how Jesus was prepared. You know, Jesus was prepared through prayer, also through His body was prepared by that alabaster jar which Mary broke at His feet. So He was being prepared in every way. And we also saw how there was a betrayal, a very, very painful betrayal because Judas, one of the men that Jesus chose, okay. He betrayed Him for 30 silver coins and that, you know, it's unimaginable how something like this could happen. So now, let's continue with John chapter 18. In John chapter 18, just give me a moment. I'll open it up. I had some other version open quickly. Yeah. So now is where, you know, you would see the events unfolding. You know, it's like when we study the book of Acts, it's like a story, right? Like this happened and then that happened. So from everything that is going on, we can understand how Jesus is being betrayed and the trial of Jesus will also begin soon. So John 18 is more about Jesus being caught. Okay. And then the trial starting off 19 is about Jesus being tried and Jesus being crucified. Then 20 is about Jesus rising up. And then both, you know, 2021, you will see the resurrected Christ interacting. In the book of John particularly, it's about His interactions with His disciples because they were the most important people to Jesus. But we also know from other scriptures that Jesus did not appear only to the disciples. He also appeared to other people. So that is the progression. So 18, 19, 20, 21. And if you're able to touch on all the four chapters, then we have completed our portions. Yeah. So here in 18, this is where we see Jesus going up to a garden. Okay, that garden is the Garden of Gethsemane. And we are told that that was the place where Jesus met His disciples very, very often. So He went there to spend time with them. But Judas, you know, he and he knew, okay, this is the place where Jesus is going to be. What he did was he worked on his plan. Okay, his, you could call it like a wicked plan. So he gathered troops of like sort of, what do you call them, detachment troops that were approved by the chief priests. Okay, so there were troops and officers. He gathered them and he knew that if he goes to Gethsemane, he would find Jesus. And he could easily, you know, get rid of Jesus and he will get the money. So he goes there. So Gethsemane is, I think the meaning of Gethsemane is the press or something, oil press, olive press, something like that. So, but we know that, you know, it's more than the symbolic by the understanding of the name, right? Because that's a place also where we've seen Jesus really waiting in the presence of God and being crushed in the spirit. So it's somewhat connecting, okay, the name of the place and what Jesus actually went through. But in the account of John, you don't read about the prayer of Jesus and all, but over here, directly you see the Judas comes. He comes with the troops and the troops ask the, you know, some, they ask the question. What is it? Once again, the question is, who my, okay, Jesus asked the question, sorry, whom are you seeking? So they answer and they say Jesus of Nazareth. So what Jesus does is he immediately owns up or he confirms to them that I am he, why did Jesus do that? He wanted, it is possible that Jesus wanted to protect his disciples and he did not want them to get into trouble. And also I told us that Jesus had a good sense of time. He knew which was his hour or his hour of being killed. So Jesus at this point, he's not even trying to run away from what is happening because, you know, he could have hidden, right? And maybe that is the reason why Judas brought the troops thinking that in the garden, what if Jesus hides? What if the other disciples hide? So these troops, they also went in with lanterns or lights, okay, to catch Jesus. But it was really something surprising for the troops because immediately when they ask, okay, Jesus of Nazareth, that's the person we are looking for. Without any fear, he says I am he. And at that time, you know, we read in verse 6 of chapter 18 that they drew back and fell to the ground. So some writers, they say that we know that Jesus is fully man and fully God, right? So his glory, in some sense, we don't know exactly how there was a display of the glory of God. But when he said, I am he, you know, something about the deity of God, you know, would have been revealed to the troops. And no wonder they all fell to the ground. It was as if it was a moment of awe and reverence. So they fell to the ground. And then once again, he asked them, who are you seeking? And they said Jesus of Nazareth, okay. So Jesus is being very, very bold and he says, I am he. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way. So he is trying to protect his disciples and he is telling the troops to take him and leave the others alone. Now, when all this is going on, you know, you also understand the different personalities of the disciples. So Simon Peter, you know, in a moment like this, we know that he had a zeal to serve Jesus. He had a zeal to follow Jesus immediately knowing that Jesus is in a difficult situation. What he does is he takes a sword, okay. And he charges at one of the people, the high priest servant, in fact, who is part of the troop. So when he does that, the right here of that servant is cut off and servant's name is Malchus. Okay. Now, some people say, why is it that Jesus' disciples, they were carrying swords. So it seems that in those times, that could have been some people who were violent. So Jesus would go to different places and minister, right. So for their own protection, the disciples also carried a sword. That's how Peter had a sword with him for self-protection. But he used it in the wrong way. So what did he do? He went immediately without even asking Jesus in his anger. He went and cut the ear of the high priest servant. Then Jesus got upset with him and told Peter, put your sword back in the sheath. And it also shows us that by this time, we read about the prayer of Jesus in Matthew 26. Every Gospel, if you read every Gospel, you'll get bits and pieces of the story, you know, the way it is being narrated. So over here, we don't see Jesus praying. But Matthew 26, we see that Jesus is praying. At that time, his heart is still in turmoil and he asks whether he can escape the death. But by now, you know, when the troops come, very clearly verse 11, he says, He rebukes Peter and he says, Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? So it shows that through prayer, you know, sometimes through prayer, sometimes we are not ready to accept God's will. But when we have spent time in prayer, what happens? We're able to consecrate ourselves, we're able to consecrate our desires. That's what Jesus did. He consecrated himself unto the Lord. And when he dedicated himself unto the Lord, he was willing to, given to the will of God for his life, which was the cross. So he's so ready, he says, Shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me? So at this point, you know, Jesus goes ahead and we know, we read elsewhere that he actually heals the year of this servant called as Malchus. So here John, he doesn't try to go into the details of it very quickly. Like you see, his writing, he is just giving the highlight. So from there, Jesus was taken to a high priest. So from the garden, they captured him, they took him to the high priest by the name of Annas. Annas had a son-in-law by the name of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the high priest that year. And so from Annas, Jesus actually was transferred to Caiaphas. And then we will see that he was transferred to Pilate. So that is the transition that takes place. And then finally, the Pilate is the one who goes ahead and gives an approval for the crucifixion of Jesus. So now all this is unfolding. Jesus was captured. He was taken to high priest Annas. Annas sends him to Caiaphas. And you could say that the disciples are kind of observing all that is going on. And right now what happens is, you remember when Peter, Jesus wanted to wash Peter's feet and Peter was so zealous about serving the Lord, you know, Jesus told him, I know, I already know about your weakness, Peter, that you are going to deny me three times. So Peter, most likely he was observing the things that were going on and along with John. So here John doesn't give his identity openly, but he uses things like another disciple or the disciple whom Jesus loved. So we can understand that John was also with Peter. So Peter followed Jesus along with John. And we are told that they were in the high priest, you know, that area, that zone, that courtyard. It is likely that John had some connections with the high priest, you know, in some way. Otherwise they would not have had access to this area. Okay, so here when Peter and John are observing what is going on, you know, we see that Peter, one girl looks at Peter and she makes a statement, she's a servant girl, okay, in the high priest's sort of, you know, that, that, his, his courtier. So this girl, she says, you are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? So maybe, maybe when she, the way she asked the question, are you not also one of this man's disciples? Maybe she recognized John as one of the disciples and she's also asking Peter, are you not one of the disciples? But you see, Peter got so scared after seeing Jesus captured, right? And it was that he was observing all the things that were going on with Jesus and it was, maybe he didn't expect their leader to become so helpless, right? Just think about it, you know, Jesus twice in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have escaped and that was the attitude Peter had, he thought, oh, we are going to get out of this, that's why he took his sword and he attacked, but Jesus gave himself into the trial and maybe Peter was disappointed, Peter was afraid, you know, Peter was worried, looking at the future, if this is what is going to happen to the leader, what will happen to us? Jesus gave himself to the authorities, now let me, you know, escape. We don't know whether consciously he did it, you know, sometimes subconsciously. Without even thinking, we try to escape a place that may be stressful for us. So when the servant girl asks the question, see, it's like, it's dangerous for John as well as for Peter, isn't it? This is what she's saying is, are you not all so one of the disciples? So she knows that John is a disciple, Peter also is a disciple, but you know what, Peter's so scared, he says, no, I'm not, so there he denies Jesus. Again, there was a spot where the servants and the officers, you know, they made fire of coals and they were warming themselves. So we are told that Peter also stood with them. Why did Peter stand with them? You know, it could also be that he wanted to escape, people started recognizing him as a disciple. He didn't want that, so he wanted to escape into a group or a crowd. So that's why he was standing there and over there, again, you know, you would notice that somebody asks a question to him and says, are you also not one of the disciples? And Peter says, no, I'm not. Okay, and third, again, one of the servants of the high priest asked the same question, did I not see you in the garden with him? And again, you know, Peter denies it. So Jesus had told him that before the rooster crows or before it is morning, Peter, you are going to deny me three times and he actually did that. Now, while this is going on, you know, what he observes is that Jesus is being taken to the high priest and over there, you know, they ask, they start questioning him. So Jesus gives an answer there and says, look, why are you asking me all these questions? Have I not spoken openly in the temple and where the Jews always meet? I've not said anything in secret, but you know, he basically says that I've shared everything in public. Why are you questioning me once again? Okay, on the same things that I have already boldly proclaimed. So when he says this, you know, he is beaten. This is the beginning of the physical torture or, you know, the beatings and the physical pain of Jesus. So when he's standing before the high priest, one of the officers who stood next to Jesus and he gave this answer and said, look, I've already spoken in public. Why are you asking me again? At that time, the officer with his palm, he hits him. Okay, and says, do you answer the high priest like that? Do you remember even Paul, when Paul says, oh, I have had a good conscience before God and men. He stands before the high priest Ananias. Somebody comes and strikes him on his mouth. Okay, so very similar experience that Paul had and also Jesus is having now. So somebody actually strikes him. So you can imagine the humility, the humiliation that Jesus is going through for speaking the truth. Basically, he's saying that he hasn't done anything wrong. For that he is being beaten. So when he is beaten, you know, again, he says, look, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil or let there be evidence if I have done something wrong. But if I have done something well, you know, why is it that you're hitting me? So Jesus also is asking for justice. And, you know, at this time when this was going on, maybe, you know, Peter was observing. Oh, first of all, my master is taken. Peter and John, both of them, my master is taken and look at the way they are treating him. Somebody just hit him with the palm. So all this would have made Peter really scared. And that's the reason when people asked him, oh, you also must be one of his disciples. He conveniently washed his hands off and said, oh, no, no, I don't know. I'm not one of his disciples. So such are the events of the trial of Jesus. So from here, Jesus is then led. So he was with Anas, the High Priest. Now he is being led to the area where the High Priest Kaifis, you know, looks into matters. That's called as the Praetorium. So the Praetorium of Kaifis is where he's being taken now. And it is early morning. So Jesus goes there and, you know, now finally, you know, the decision is made for Jesus to be tried by Pilate. So Pilate comes into the picture here. Oh, sorry, just a little bit of confusion here, I clarify. So he's taken from Kaifis to the Praetorium of Pilate. He's taken to the Praetorium of Pilate. And over here, again, you know, the way John writes is it's not going to be very long from Anas to Kaifis, where, you know, the striking happens and then coming to the Praetorium of Pilate. Over here, you know, Pilate tries to interrogate the matter. And so he first comes and he asks the people, you know, like, what is the matter? What is the accusation against this man? Then he asks them, you know, if he's not an evil doer, why is it that you have? You have delivered this man up to me. So when he tries to ask the people the question, he does not get a straightforward answer from them. Okay, so he is a little concerned. He tries to convince them and tells them, why don't you take him and you only judge him, but they are not willing. Okay, so the people are not willing and they want basically what they had in mind is that Pilate, if Pilate condemns this man, he would die and that would be the best end to this leader called as Jesus. So Pilate is trying his best to figure out what exactly did this man do that is unlawful. And, you know, anyway, so Pilate looks into the matter. So the Jews, you know, they are trying to sort of justify themselves that the reason why Jesus is there is because he has done something unlawful. So the Jews tell him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke signifying by what death he would die. So they are trying to prove that he is unjust, but at the same time, you know, they do not want to be responsible for the death of Jesus. So it's a little, you know, like they want someone else to do the sin, but they will instigate it. So they are in that position. So they are unwilling to back off. And they also know that they are not able to pinpoint something about Jesus, but now the ball is in Pilate's court. So, you know, finally Pilate is the one who has to decide. So he goes and asks Jesus a straightforward question. Okay, are you the king of the Jews? And you know what Jesus replies, he says, are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did others tell you this concerning me? Okay, so Jesus also is pointing out in a way to say that actually he is the king of the Jews. So how did you find out? You know, did you already know or did other people tell you? So when Pilate asks the question, that's the way Jesus responds. Then, you know, Pilate is like, he's not very clear. So again, he asks him, what have you done? Please tell me. So Jesus answers back and he says, look, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. Jesus gives him the spiritual perspective because the question he asked was, are you the king of the Jews? So he's saying, yes, I am a king, but I am not the kind of king that you think I am. I have a different kingdom. Okay, and basically he's trying to show him that my kingdom is the heavenly kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom. Then again, you know Pilate is trying to clarify. He says, oh, okay, then are you a king? You don't give a straightforward answer. Then Jesus says, yes, you know, you said rightly, I am a king. For this I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. So then Pilate is just trying to understand. Okay, he's now confessing that he's a king, but what is this truth? He's saying, I've come to bear witness of the truth. What is this truth? Maybe in his interrogation and questioning of Jesus, though the answers were not straightforward, he had a sense that the way the Jews are blaming Jesus. You know, there is really nothing against Jesus to be proved. Okay, so without having all the answers, and you know, when we study a little more about Pilate, we understand that, you know, being a person in authority, Roman authority, he was quite a brutal man. He was not at all that sensitive when, you know, somebody who would spare a person's life. But in the case of Jesus, he was not able to find fault. The questions he asked, Jesus answered and yet, you know, Pilate is not able to see that there is something worth killing Jesus for. So that is the place where we are at right now. What Pilate does is, you know, Pilate decides that, you know, somehow let me give an opportunity for this Jesus to be set free. So he comes up with an idea because the Jews are very, very fixed on their decision about Jesus. They are not willing to back off. So Pilate proposes this. He says, listen, we have a custom during Passover and that is to release someone. So I have with me a prisoner who he is a robber. His name is Barabbas. And also now we have this Jesus and the accusation against him is that he is the king of the Jews. Right? So you take a pic. If you want me to release one of these people. Okay, I could release and in his heart, you know, Pilate was actually thinking that the people will choose Jesus and thereby Jesus will go free. And even before the, the choice happens by the people, we read in, I'm in the next chapter now, John chapter 19. We see that Pilate takes Jesus and he scourges him. Okay, so scourging is it's a beating. We saw earlier that with the palm, you know, he was hit in front of the high priest. Now he's been beaten with whips and in scourging these whips used to have very, very sharp metal ends or they used to have these sharp bone ends. Okay, so Pilate gets Jesus beaten very badly and you know, when, whenever one would be scourged, you read the description of it. It was really a very painful and a very, very horrible experience because it seems those, those metal ends. They once they whip you with it, it will go into your flesh even up to the bone and just trip off. It's almost like removing the flesh from off the bones. You know, it was that excruciating, you know, it was painful. It was, it was just a horrible way to be punished. But Pilate scourges Jesus and one of the reasons why, you know, people say that he did that because he was now ready to release either Jesus of Nazareth or King of Jews, which is the accusation against Jesus or he was ready to release Barabbas. Okay, but what he probably thought was this man Jesus, he seems innocent. If I get him beaten, okay, when he is brought out, he might look very, you know, like, like ill treated, very, you know, people have pity for the appearance of Jesus. So maybe Pilate thought like that. And so when I present Jesus in this way, the people might say, oh, why, why should we choose Barabbas? He's a robber. You know, how about we release Jesus and let Jesus go. So maybe with that mindset, Pilate also got Jesus beaten very badly. And while he was, you know, being beaten and all of that, we also read that the soldiers, they put a twisted crown of thorns on the head of Jesus. So basically, all this was a way of treating the accused with markings. Okay, it's like fun of them. Oh, you are the king of the Jews. Oh, come on. Let us put the crown on you. And this crown was the crown of thorns. And we also see that they put on him a purple robe. You know, royalty or kings would wear robes that were coloured because coloured robes are very expensive in those days. Everybody couldn't wear it. So only royalty would wear it. But since Jesus confirmed and said, yes, it is as you say, I am the king, but my kingdom is not of this world. So they tried to make fun. The soldiers tried to make fun of him and they put a purple robe around Jesus. And then, you know, they started making slogans and just started shouting out and saying, hey, king of the Jews. So all this was a way to humiliate Jesus further. So, you know, for us, we are listening to all this. Okay, and I'm sure that day, even the disciples were probably noticing. They were watching the things that were happening to Jesus and don't know what they would have gone through. One is fear for themselves. What will happen to us? But to see their leader going through so much of pain for doing all the right things. See the accusation against Jesus, if you go back and look at his life and try to unearth. Okay, what did he do which is so evil that he has to be beaten like this, that he has to have a crown of thorns. And it seems in the way that they treated, you know, somebody who's accused, it was really sad. They would even spit. So here is Jesus being completely humiliated in pain, in weakness. This is all physical. But you think about his emotional state. You know, it's the very same people whom he served, whom he blessed, you know, amidst whom he did miracles. He spoke God's word to these people. And we know that he came for the purpose of redeeming mankind, which includes these same people, these same soldiers. You know, that Anas the High Priest, Caiaphas the High Priest, Pilate, a part of the Roman government. So what pain Jesus would have gone through to see that he was being treated so badly. But, you know, we, when we read Isaiah, we see that he went to, you know, like a lab to be slaughtered. But he did not even open his mouth because, you know, God's love. There's a very beautiful song, right, which says that what held Jesus on the cross? Was it the nails? You know, but it was truly the love that he had for mankind that held him on the cross. It was the love that he had for mankind that carried him through. You know, you see, right, what terrible torture he's going through. And anyone who has made a mistake, who is accused and, you know, truly they've done something. They could even be treated like this and, you know, we might be okay with it. But Jesus did nothing to be treated in this manner. But it was his love for us that he actually went through all this and his obedience, his commitment to the Father. The Father sent him for the assignment of redemption and Jesus, you know, took that up. And so we see that painful trial of Jesus, which is taking place, which is unbearable. When we go into the details of it, when you study the Gospels, when you study also from Isaiah, you know, you realize that he was treated so badly that you could not even make out, you know, his image anymore. He was a normal, strong, Jewish young man, well-built, right? And there are, again, accounts, if you read historically, it says like maybe he was about 511 and quite a muscular person. But being treated like this with scourgings, you know, with thorns. What would have happened to his body, you imagine? But he went through it, okay? And that's why John, you know, what did John say? I witness whatever I have seen, I've heard. I know, you know, I'm sharing with you. I have seen all these things. So John would have also observed all these things going on with Jesus. He was painful physically, emotionally and of course spiritually because on the cross, Jesus was separated from the Father when he took on all the sins of the world. Just for some time, but it was very painful, you know, in every sense. But Jesus was willing to go through it because of his love, because of his obedience. Now, after beating him up badly in that purple robe and the crown, and you know, you could see blood and spit and sweat, all that over Jesus, Pilate brings out and he says, okay, now look, this is Jesus. This is Barabas, okay? Now, you decide whom do you want to release because there is a provision like that. I can release somebody to you. So the whole time Pilate was thinking, this man is innocent. Hopefully he will be released. But you know the crowd, the crowd went mad and they started saying that they want Barabas to be released and they said, crucify him, crucify him for Jesus. Okay, so you know Pilate was in a place where he couldn't do anything because the crowd was against, the high priests, the chief priests were against, the officers and they all cried out together, crucify him. So finally Pilate also said, okay, this you've decided, you do one thing, you take him and you crucify him because I really do not find anything wrong with this person. Now, when we read the other gospels, we also know that Pilate's wife had a dream and she sent him a message and told him, please don't have anything to do with this man's execution. So he washed his hands off, you know, Pilate washed his hands off because he knew that he would have innocent blood on him and his coming generations. So now these people, they kind of go ahead and they, you know, proceed with the crucifixion of Jesus. So they kind of appeal to Pilate and they say, look, you know, this man, the Jews, they had the issue with Jesus because he called himself the Son of God. And for the Jews that was a very blasphemous thing, right? We've seen that and they asked for Jesus to explain at many points. So they bring that up to Pilate and they say, look, this man claims to be equal to God. But, you know, Pilate, he is a little more confused. So he just kind of, you know, goes ahead and interrogates Jesus once again. So he asks him, you know, where are you from? Are you not speaking to me? So basically he's trying to talk to Jesus such that if Jesus stands up for himself, you know, maybe Pilate stands a chance to rescue Jesus. So he goes on again, he asks him, where are you from? Why are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you and the power to release you? And at that point, you know, Jesus says that, you know, you don't have any power which has not been given to you. Unless it comes from above, you have no power over me. So Jesus also is very clear that this moment has come because God has, you know, this is the moment for Jesus to die on the cross. So it's not because, you know, it's Pilate's authority and Jesus was not scared of anybody, even of Pilate. So basically he's saying that this moment has come because the Father has approved of this moment. So he makes it very, very clear. So Pilate, he tries to release him, but the people are again against Pilate and, you know, they try to bring fear into his heart and they say things like, if you don't crucify this man, you know, and also he's saying that he's the king, the king of the Jews. How can you say that he's the king when Caesar is the leader? So if you let this man go, you're not Caesar's friend, right? So as a Roman, obviously Pilate would have wanted the favor of the people and to be known as Caesar's friend. So finally, you know, they bring Jesus out and then they present Jesus to be crucified. And the accusation against him is that he is the king of the Jews. Okay, and the people are so ready to crucify him. So they go ahead. Jesus is taken to a place known as the place of Skull, which we know in Hebrew is called as Golgotha. And over there, he was crucified. He was crucified with two others on both sides. And these two others were, you know, people who had done some crimes, but Jesus, even though he was innocent, he was crucified. Okay, in the center. And the accusation, you generally, whatever was the reason for crucifying the person, that would be written on the cross. So here, the accusation against Jesus was put up, which is mentioned as Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Or he claimed to be the king of the Jews. The Jews did not like that also. They wanted Pilate to put out there that he called himself the king of the Jews. But, you know, Pilate was least bothered. He was least interested because there was really nothing wrong with Jesus. So they left the name tag like that as Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. And also Pilate asked for this to be translated into other languages such as Greek and Latin. So, you know, we see here, even in the way the things unfolded in the life of Jesus and in the crucifixion of Jesus, you know, we are seeing that for every language, every person in the world, this Jesus has died for us. Jesus of Nazareth and he indeed is our king. And as Jesus was hanging there on the cross, we read a couple of other things as well. The people around him, the soldiers around him, they wanted to share his garments. They wanted four parts of it and they wanted to sort of divide it among themselves. Okay, the tunic or the garment which Jesus had, there was already, you know, there was a prophecy about it. In scripture, we won't look at, you know, the many prophecies, you know, which we have about the life of Jesus and the fulfillment of all these events that took place in Jesus's life. But, you know, I am sure you would recall with me that there is a passage which says, they divided my garments among them and for my clothing, they cast lots. So, even in what was unfolding near the cross, we observed that prophecy was being fulfilled. And at that time, Jesus looked at a disciple. Again, here it's not mentioned, right? Pitch disciple. John covers it up again and says, the disciple whom Jesus loved. So, the reference is actually to himself and Jesus from the cross, he looks at Mary, his mother and, you know, he sort of entrusts her to John. He tells John, okay, behold your mother and to Mary, behold your son. So, he makes sure, you look at the beautiful son that he was. He could have just thought of himself as the son of God. I have fulfilled the responsibility which God gave me, I have fulfilled the ministry which God gave me. Why should I take care of my parents? But, you see here that Jesus was even mindful of his earthly responsibilities even while he was on the cross, right? So, he sort of entrusts his mother to the disciple John and he later on, you know, the life that he has, he gives it up and we hear his final cry where he says, it is finished. So, what was finished? He finished the work that the father gave him to be crucified for the redemption of mankind. And just before he was crucified, we also see that he asked for a drink. This was sour wine. So, somebody filled a sponge with sour wine and then sort of dipped it and then made his lips wet. You know, sometimes like when people are dying, when they're thirsty, people wet their lips, they wet their mouth. So, you know, someone did that for Jesus just before he gave up his life and then Jesus died on that cross and he confirmed that his work was finished. Just two more things I'll quickly share and then we can go for a break. You know, we observe that two more prophecies about the Lord Jesus and the events when he's on the cross, those were fulfilled. That is, the authorities sent soldiers to break the bones of the men who were crucified and the reason they would do that is if you break the bones of the people who are hanging on the cross, they would die faster and a more painful death. But when they came to Jesus, they noticed that he had already died. So, they did not break his bones. And scriptures tell us that none of his bones were broken. So, that prophecy was also fulfilled while Jesus hung on the cross. And to check whether Jesus had died or not, they also took something like a sword and they pierced his side and we read that water and blood came out. So, there is another prophetic scripture which says that they shall look on him whom they pierced. So, every piece of the prophecy about the Messiah, his life and what he would do was fulfilled. Once Jesus was killed in this way, we read that Joseph of Arimathea, he is likely one of the disciples of Jesus. But he was which obviously if he has connections with Pilate, he is a rich man. He and also we see the name of Nicodemus here. I remember one of you asked the question, did Nicodemus become a believer and I told you, not sure. But you see in this incident to Nicodemus, he goes along with Joseph and both of them help with the embalming of the body of Jesus. You imagine for a disciple, it must have been so painful because you are hardly seeing the person, you are hardly seeing the body there. It's all beaten, it's broken but they are taking the mer and the aloe and the things that they used to take to prepare the body before putting it in the tomb. They are preparing it and they carried the body of Jesus and they laid it in a garden and this garden tomb, it was of Joseph. It was not used earlier but he just wanted to honour Jesus and that place was the place which was chosen for the body of Jesus. Now usually when people used to die on the cross, the soldiers would just let them be there and the bodies would be eaten by birds, they would be eaten by animals. But because it was very, you know, the Passover, it was that season of the Passover and it was the day of preparation. They did not want bodies to be seen in an untidy manner and that's the reason they were in a big hurry to go and break the bones, check whether the crucified people had died already or not and if they had not died, they would have made sure that the person died and they would have removed the bodies from Golgotha. So that is the sequence of events leading to the death of Jesus. So let's go for a break in 10 minutes, we'll come back. It is 9.53, let's start at 10.03 and I'll cover about the resurrection of Jesus and some of the interactions that he had with his disciples. Okay, so I hope it's okay class, kind of going a little fast. Yeah, okay, all right, yes, great. So let's go for a break then and we'll be back in 10 minutes. Thank you.