Sunday School Lesson
April 25
Lesson 8 (KJV)
THE NATION’S PLEA
DEVOTIONAL READING: Lamentations 3: 22–33
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Lamentations 5
LAMENTATIONS 5
1 Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. 8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. 13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick. 15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. 16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. 18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. 22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
KEY VERSE
Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.—Lamentations 5: 21
PROPHETS FAITHFUL TO GOD’S COVENANT
Unit 2: Prophets of Restoration
LESSONS 5–8
LESSON AIMS
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Describe the historical context of the book of Lamentations.
2. Summarize the reasons for the people’s mourning.
3. Lament having sinned against God.
HOW TO SAY IT
Assyria Uh-sear-ee-uh.
Babylon Bab-uh-lun.
Jebusites Jeb-yuh-sites.
Judah Joo-duh.
Nebuchadnezzar Neb-yuh-kud-nez-er.
Zedekiah Zed-uh-kye-uh. Zion Zi-un.
Introduction
A. In Memory Of
When is the last time you heard a sermon or lesson from the book of Lamentations? Christians in the Western world have a difficult time with this question. Lamentations has been largely neglected in favor of texts that call us to joyful worship. Even in personal devotional time, Lamentations is often bypassed in favor of almost anything else. We don’t like to dwell on pain, which is what Lamentations does. Think about it: Would you rather watch a cheery movie about the birth of Christ or a solemn movie about His crucifixion?
But remembering tragedy, as important as that is, isn’t the only purpose of Lamentations. The book can also teach us much about our relationship with God—if we let it.
B. Lesson Context
The book of Lamentations reflects the period of about 586–538 BC, the period of Babylonian captivity. Assyria had taken the northern tribes of Israel into exile earlier, in 722 BC (2 Kings 17: 1–6). “There was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (17: 18). But despite the warnings of many prophets, Judah continued in sin (21: 10–15). The writer of Lamentations, commonly taken to be Jeremiah (see the Lesson Context of lesson 9), had warned Judah for many years that God’s judgment was coming (Jeremiah 25: 2–11).
As instruments of God’s wrath, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC (2 Chronicles 36: 15–20). Many who were left alive were carried into exile; the weak and the poor were left behind to contend with foreign settlers (2 Kings 25: 1–21). The five chapters of Lamentations do not shy away from describing that devastation and its aftermath. Lack of food resulted in starvation (Lamentations 2: 12; 4: 4–5) and cannibalism (2: 20; 4: 10). Those who did not die by the sword were weak with hunger and disease (4: 9).
For all the chaos of the setting, Jeremiah was very intentional in the literary forms he used when writing this book. The first four chapters are all acrostics. This means that each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in consecutive order. In English this would mean beginning the first verse with A, the second with B, etc. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, thus there are 22 verses in each of chapters 1; 2, and 4. Chapter 3 is a bit different with 66 verses because the acrostic format appears there three times.
This tight orderliness was perhaps a way for Jeremiah to organize what he saw. If so, it is a subtle hint that, though on the surface all seems lost, order still exists—or at least could exist again.
Lamentations 5 does not have an acrostic pattern. That is not accidental, since it is the same length as chapters 1; 2, and 4. The discontinuance of the careful pattern seems to mimic the ebbing fortunes of the people. For all their cries to God, no help seemed to be forthcoming (compare 3: 44).
I. Confrontation
(LAMENTATIONS 5: 1–15)
A. Remember! (v. 1)
1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
Though the acrostic pattern disappears in this chapter (see Lesson Context), Jeremiah continued to use characteristic Hebrew repetition. Piling on synonyms was a way Hebrew poetry emphasized a point. This characteristic is evident throughout the lesson text. The effect is to give a full account of the pain of the people, who speak as one here.
Asking God to remember is not primarily a plea for Him to recall information, but for Him to act. Consider and behold both echo remember. Putting these three verbs together conveys a sense of urgency for God to see what is happening to His people and to act without delay.
The phrase What is come upon us suggests that the people saw themselves as passive recipients of the tragedy that had befallen them; the phrase our reproach is parallel (compare Psalm 44: 13–16). But the people’s circumstances were because of their sins, not mere twists of fate. Lamentations 1: 5; 2: 14; and 3: 42 reveal the whole story.
B. Results of “Their” Sins (vv. 2–14)
2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
The inheritance (and its poetic parallel, our houses) in the promised land was of great importance to Israel. It was a sign of God’s faithful promise to Abraham (Genesis 15: 18; 17: 8) and continuing faithfulness to Abraham’s descendants. Laws governed inheritance to ensure that no one in Israel would lose the family’s land permanently (see Leviticus 25: 13–16, 23–34; Numbers 36: 7–9). Imagine, then, how devastating it was for that inheritance—with all its God-ordained safeguards—to be lost to strangers and aliens (compare Job 19: 15, where the underlying Hebrew words also are parallel to one another). The land’s falling into the hands of people who were outside of God’s covenant jeopardized Judah’s ever receiving it back.
3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
Orphans (fatherless children, not necessarily motherless) and widows were protected people under God’s covenant (example: Deuteronomy 10: 18). They were to be taken under the wing of the community so that they could thrive in less than ideal conditions (24: 19–21). In a horrible reversal of fortunes, God’s judgment has created widows and orphans in Judah, just as He warned (Exodus 22: 24; Jeremiah 15: 8; 18: 21).
What Do You Think?
With James 1: 27 in mind, how can you be more proactive in seeking out those in need?
Digging Deeper
What parts of such a ministry, if any, should be reserved for those especially gifted in it?
4. We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
Both the water and the wood (along with all other resources) in the promised land had been given to the Israelites for their use. Paying money to the invaders from Babylon emphasizes that the land was no longer controlled by Judah; this suggested to the mourners that God had abandoned the covenant (see Deuteronomy 28: 15–68).
5. Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
This verse recalls the persecution and endless labour that Israel had experienced in Egypt (example: Exodus 5: 1–18). After the Lord had delivered Israel from that slavery, He had revealed His laws to them, laws that included the command to rest on the Sabbath (20: 8–11). Being forced to break that command by those chosen to carry out God’s judgment was seemingly more evidence of God’s distance and abandonment.
6. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
The Assyrians were foes more recent than the Egyptians (see 2 Kings 18: 17–37). The fact that the Judeans asked these two antagonistic nations for help further indicates the desperate consequences of the Babylonian conquest (compare Jeremiah 2: 36; Hosea 7: 11; 9: 3).
What Do You Think?
What is the best course of action to take in light of whatever or whomever is now oppressing you or a loved one?
Digging Deeper
How can you know whether such oppression is a natural consequence or God’s own reaction?
Bread was a basic food staple. It was something that the people had been able to make for themselves when their fields were their own to sow and harvest. Reference to bread can also imply food in general (see Lamentations 5: 9, below). The need to appeal to Assyria and Egypt for aid could have resulted from the fields having been devastated by the invading Babylonian army.
7. Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
In many places, the Bible affirms that each person suffers for his or her own wrongdoing (examples: Genesis 18: 16–33; Ezekiel 18: 2–4; John 9: 1–3). However, biblical precedent exists for a generation to suffer for the iniquities of its fathers. The curses that God included in the covenant as potential discipline clearly expressed that people who were not the original guilty parties would suffer (example: Deuteronomy 5: 9). Part of the reason for this generational suffering was the ripple-effect inheriting of sinful behaviors and habits, which required God’s attention (compare Jeremiah 14: 20; 16: 12).
Those who lifted their voices in this lament certainly felt the shock waves of the sins of previous generations. But throughout those generations, God had warned about judgment (see Lesson Context). Even more, God had promised to relent from punishment when the people repented (example: Jeremiah 18: 7–8; compare Jonah 3: 4–10).
The Babylonian exile, shocking in its scope, marked the end of God’s patience. The book of Lamentations is witness to how horrifying that judgment was. Jeremiah did not refrain from asking whether this punishment fit the crime (Lamentations 2: 20–22). Indeed, God acknowledged that the Babylonians had overstepped their role in carrying out His decreed judgment; they would be punished for that (Isaiah 47; Habakkuk 2: 2–20).
8. Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.
Judah lost its kings when one surrendered to the besiegers (2 Kings 24: 10–16) and his replacement rebelled (24: 17–25: 21). The people taken to Babylon were ruled by Babylonian servants there, while those left in Judah had to obey similar servants (25: 22). Those who remained behind suffered the shame of being governed by foreigners within the borders of the promised land.
9. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
There may not have been much more to eat than bread in the land (contrast Lamentations 5: 6, above). The sword represents all the violence the people still feared and experienced. Its appearance in the wilderness probably refers to the special dangers of trying to harvest any food.
10. Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
The reference to an oven may be a way of referring to a raging fever; the literal translation our skin was black calls to mind food that has been burned to a crisp (compare Job 30: 30). The great hunger that the famine created has opened the door to all kinds of ailments (compare Lamentations 4: 8–9).
11. They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
Women and maids are parallel terms that refer to adult females. Whether they were married or not, they suffered sexual violation throughout Zion and the cities of Judah—also parallel terms. God’s laws established punishment for sexual violence (examples: Deuteronomy 22: 25–29). But to the invaders, this means nothing.
12a. Princes are hanged up by their hand.
The princes, representing the monarchy and advisers, perhaps had expected treatment in accordance with their positions. Being executed in a public way such as implied here was a grave indignity. The spectacle of their deaths was meant to remind the people of their powerlessness.
12b. The faces of elders were not honoured.
The elders were due reverence based on their wisdom gained with age. Given the parallelism of the two lines of this verse, it seems likely that the dishonor afforded them was also public execution. The fate of King Zedekiah comes to mind: the last thing he saw before his eyes were gouged out was the slaughter of his sons and all his officials. Then the king was bound and taken to a Babylonian prison where he died (Jeremiah 52: 10–11).
13. They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
Typically it was female slaves who were the ones to grind grain. But this task has fallen to young men who would be better suited to different tasks. In contrast, the children are given work much too difficult for them. The image is that of falling under their burden of sin—the weight of its punishment.
14. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.
In gated cities like Jerusalem, elders congregated at a main gate to decide legal cases, to reach business agreements, etc. (see Ruth 4: 1–12). The absence of the elders from their usual place speaks to the complete upheaval of the government. The lack of musick further reveals the cultural upheaval that is evident throughout this book. The young men are grinding grain (Lamentations 5: 13, above) rather than engaging in the expected artistic pursuits.
C. Reversal (v. 15)
15. The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.
In Psalm 30: 1–3, the psalmist rejoiced in God’s deliverance from enemies and sickness. The opposite is seen here: the conquered people suffered from both, with joy turning to mourning (contrast Psalm 30: 11). How utterly hopeless their current situation seemed!
WORDS FOR MOURNING
It was one of the darkest days I experienced as president of a Christian university: a precious little girl lost her life in a tragic accident on our campus. The next day, hundreds of mourners gathered in the college chapel. We were almost too brokenhearted to pray. Yet in those dark days, prayer was our greatest resource. Amid intense grief, it was heartfelt prayers and laments that knit our campus together and helped us care for the family who had lost their child. Faith comes easily when the music of your life is joyful. But what will you say and how will you pray when your joy turns to mourning?—D. F.
II. Confession
(LAMENTATIONS 5: 16–22)
A. Of “Our” Sins (vv. 16–18)
16a. The crown is fallen from our head.
This verse summarizes the societal and governmental upheaval that the people have experienced. Though the crown represented the monarchy, the monarchy itself represented Judah.
16b. Woe unto us, that we have sinned!
These mourners had claimed that they suffered for previous generations’ sins (Lamentations 5: 7, above). Here they take responsibility for their own sin. The word woe expresses their grief.
What Do You Think?
How bad would the consequences for your sin have to be for you to grieve openly?
Digging Deeper
What was a time in the past when you should have done so? Why did you not?
17–18. For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
Weakness of heart and eyes resulted from the fate of the mountain of Zion. This place had great significance, first as the stronghold of the Jebusites that David defeated (Joshua 15: 63; 2 Samuel 5: 6–7). David’s palace had been built there (2 Samuel 5: 9–11) as had the temple (1 Kings 6: 1; 7: 51).
We need not assume Jeremiah had only one of these specific ideas in mind. After all, the people mourned for the fate of the city, the monarchy, and the temple. The presence of foxes in the heart of the capital city marks the profound desolation of Jerusalem.
B. Of the Lord’s Reign (v. 19)
19. Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
Although the Lord has been addressed throughout the chapter, He has not been called out since verse 1. This absence emphasizes the feelings of distance that the people felt. The call on Him now is a brief moment of praise.
To speak of God’s eternal throne emphasizes His role as King. It is He who has the power and authority to decide and impose punishment. Having existed from generation to generation, He knows how unfaithful those generations have been (see Lamentations 5: 7, 16, above). Yet knowing that God’s presence can be counted on can be a source of comfort, even if in the current moment He seems far off.
C. Of Hope and Fear (vv. 20–22)
20. Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
The Lord does not forget as people do, as though His memory were faulty. Yet knowing that God is indeed “from generation to generation” (previous verse) makes the question of His forgetting or forsaking all the more painful. Though Jeremiah had offered words of encouragement previously (see Lamentations 3: 22–33), those seem to be a drop in the bucket in light of the overwhelming pain that continued.
HAS GOD FORGOTTEN YOU?
When James Hurley was 5 years old, his parents and 13-year-old brother lost their lives in an accident involving a private airplane. After the tragedy, a cousin and her family adopted James, along with his two other brothers and his sister. Together they started a new life.
James admits that for many years he asked himself why God had allowed this tragedy. But as he grew older, he learned of his parents’ faith, and he saw his cousin’s faith in action. Eventually, he realized how blessed he and his siblings were to grow up in a family that practiced their faith openly.
Now in his 60s, James has found peace and gratitude for God’s love. The people in Jerusalem were desperate to find this peace, but feared that God had forgotten them. What makes the difference in your life when it feels like God has forgotten you?—D. F.
What Do You Think?
How would you comfort and guide someone who feels forgotten by God?
Digging Deeper
How do passages such as Job 2: 11–3: 26; 13: 4–5; 16: 2–5; 23: 1–4; 29: 1–3 frame your answer?
21a. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned.
Language of turning speaks of repentance. The people did not trust themselves to turn to the Lord as they should (compare Jeremiah 31: 18–19). Certainly their history proved that they struggled to turn to God on their own. For this reason, they asked that God would give His grace to them by turning them himself.
God would honor this prayer by giving hearts of flesh in place of stone (Ezekiel 11: 19; 36: 26). The ultimate answer to the plea of the half-verse before us is found in the church, where we are “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (Romans 12: 2; compare Hebrews 8: 10).
21b. Renew our days as of old.
Though the days as of old were full of disobedience, they were days when God showered His people with blessings in the land He had given them (Deuteronomy 28: 1–13). The desire was not simply to renew those days, but for transformation by the repentance of the people.
22. But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
After fleeting expressions of hope, the people turned once again to what they feared was true. Could God be so very wroth with them that He would utterly reject them forever (compare Malachi 4: 6)?
What Do You Think?
How do we keep the genuine sorrow of repentance from becoming merely a pity party?
Digging Deeper
Without giving directive advice, how would you counsel someone who has failed to do so?
The book ends here on this issue. God does not answer. Jeremiah offered no further words of hope (contrast Psalm 22). The people were not consoled; the wound was not healed (Jeremiah 30: 12–15). This reality emphasized the depth and breadth of God’s anger.
Conclusion
A. Called to Lament
In the midst of our suffering, we know that God is still trustworthy and faithful. However, there are times when we do not feel that He is still trustworthy or faithful. We do not know where God is when we confess and repent of our sins but do not experience mercy in the consequences. We find that worship and praise lag behind the mourning and lament. Like those left in a destroyed Jerusalem, all we can see is devastation; the only thing we want is to make sure God sees and knows what we are experiencing.
Lamentations helps us find language to tell God the very deep, very real pain that we remember or still experience. The book serves as an invitation to take those things to God. As Paul wrote, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 38–39). Though the inclusion of Lamentations in the Bible may seem odd, it gives evidence of the truth of Paul’s assertion. No siege, no famine, no cannibalism, no destruction, no forced labor, no exile could separate God’s people from His love.
God demonstrated this love in Jesus Christ, making a way for all people to turn to the Lord and experience His blessings. Through Jesus’ great suffering, we have been added to those people who will be freed from all suffering (Revelation 21: 4).
B. Prayer
Father, strengthen us to be willing to turn our hearts to You! Help us to be honest with You as Jeremiah and Jesus were honest with You in their suffering. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Let sorrow draw you closer to God.
Sunday School Lesson
April 25
Lesson 8 (KJV)
THE NATION’S PLEA
DEVOTIONAL READING: Lamentations 3: 22–33
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Lamentations 5
LAMENTATIONS 5
1 Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. 8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. 13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick. 15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. 16 The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. 18 Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. 22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
KEY VERSE
Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.—Lamentations 5: 21
PROPHETS FAITHFUL TO GOD’S COVENANT
Unit 2: Prophets of Restoration
LESSONS 5–8
LESSON AIMS
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Describe the historical context of the book of Lamentations.
2. Summarize the reasons for the people’s mourning.
3. Lament having sinned against God.
HOW TO SAY IT
Assyria Uh-sear-ee-uh.
Babylon Bab-uh-lun.
Jebusites Jeb-yuh-sites.
Judah Joo-duh.
Nebuchadnezzar Neb-yuh-kud-nez-er.
Zedekiah Zed-uh-kye-uh. Zion Zi-un.
Introduction
A. In Memory Of
When is the last time you heard a sermon or lesson from the book of Lamentations? Christians in the Western world have a difficult time with this question. Lamentations has been largely neglected in favor of texts that call us to joyful worship. Even in personal devotional time, Lamentations is often bypassed in favor of almost anything else. We don’t like to dwell on pain, which is what Lamentations does. Think about it: Would you rather watch a cheery movie about the birth of Christ or a solemn movie about His crucifixion?
But remembering tragedy, as important as that is, isn’t the only purpose of Lamentations. The book can also teach us much about our relationship with God—if we let it.
B. Lesson Context
The book of Lamentations reflects the period of about 586–538 BC, the period of Babylonian captivity. Assyria had taken the northern tribes of Israel into exile earlier, in 722 BC (2 Kings 17: 1–6). “There was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (17: 18). But despite the warnings of many prophets, Judah continued in sin (21: 10–15). The writer of Lamentations, commonly taken to be Jeremiah (see the Lesson Context of lesson 9), had warned Judah for many years that God’s judgment was coming (Jeremiah 25: 2–11).
As instruments of God’s wrath, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC (2 Chronicles 36: 15–20). Many who were left alive were carried into exile; the weak and the poor were left behind to contend with foreign settlers (2 Kings 25: 1–21). The five chapters of Lamentations do not shy away from describing that devastation and its aftermath. Lack of food resulted in starvation (Lamentations 2: 12; 4: 4–5) and cannibalism (2: 20; 4: 10). Those who did not die by the sword were weak with hunger and disease (4: 9).
For all the chaos of the setting, Jeremiah was very intentional in the literary forms he used when writing this book. The first four chapters are all acrostics. This means that each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in consecutive order. In English this would mean beginning the first verse with A, the second with B, etc. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, thus there are 22 verses in each of chapters 1; 2, and 4. Chapter 3 is a bit different with 66 verses because the acrostic format appears there three times.
This tight orderliness was perhaps a way for Jeremiah to organize what he saw. If so, it is a subtle hint that, though on the surface all seems lost, order still exists—or at least could exist again.
Lamentations 5 does not have an acrostic pattern. That is not accidental, since it is the same length as chapters 1; 2, and 4. The discontinuance of the careful pattern seems to mimic the ebbing fortunes of the people. For all their cries to God, no help seemed to be forthcoming (compare 3: 44).
I. Confrontation
(LAMENTATIONS 5: 1–15)
A. Remember! (v. 1)
1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
Though the acrostic pattern disappears in this chapter (see Lesson Context), Jeremiah continued to use characteristic Hebrew repetition. Piling on synonyms was a way Hebrew poetry emphasized a point. This characteristic is evident throughout the lesson text. The effect is to give a full account of the pain of the people, who speak as one here.
Asking God to remember is not primarily a plea for Him to recall information, but for Him to act. Consider and behold both echo remember. Putting these three verbs together conveys a sense of urgency for God to see what is happening to His people and to act without delay.
The phrase What is come upon us suggests that the people saw themselves as passive recipients of the tragedy that had befallen them; the phrase our reproach is parallel (compare Psalm 44: 13–16). But the people’s circumstances were because of their sins, not mere twists of fate. Lamentations 1: 5; 2: 14; and 3: 42 reveal the whole story.
B. Results of “Their” Sins (vv. 2–14)
2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
The inheritance (and its poetic parallel, our houses) in the promised land was of great importance to Israel. It was a sign of God’s faithful promise to Abraham (Genesis 15: 18; 17: 8) and continuing faithfulness to Abraham’s descendants. Laws governed inheritance to ensure that no one in Israel would lose the family’s land permanently (see Leviticus 25: 13–16, 23–34; Numbers 36: 7–9). Imagine, then, how devastating it was for that inheritance—with all its God-ordained safeguards—to be lost to strangers and aliens (compare Job 19: 15, where the underlying Hebrew words also are parallel to one another). The land’s falling into the hands of people who were outside of God’s covenant jeopardized Judah’s ever receiving it back.
3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
Orphans (fatherless children, not necessarily motherless) and widows were protected people under God’s covenant (example: Deuteronomy 10: 18). They were to be taken under the wing of the community so that they could thrive in less than ideal conditions (24: 19–21). In a horrible reversal of fortunes, God’s judgment has created widows and orphans in Judah, just as He warned (Exodus 22: 24; Jeremiah 15: 8; 18: 21).
What Do You Think?
With James 1: 27 in mind, how can you be more proactive in seeking out those in need?
Digging Deeper
What parts of such a ministry, if any, should be reserved for those especially gifted in it?
4. We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
Both the water and the wood (along with all other resources) in the promised land had been given to the Israelites for their use. Paying money to the invaders from Babylon emphasizes that the land was no longer controlled by Judah; this suggested to the mourners that God had abandoned the covenant (see Deuteronomy 28: 15–68).
5. Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest.
This verse recalls the persecution and endless labour that Israel had experienced in Egypt (example: Exodus 5: 1–18). After the Lord had delivered Israel from that slavery, He had revealed His laws to them, laws that included the command to rest on the Sabbath (20: 8–11). Being forced to break that command by those chosen to carry out God’s judgment was seemingly more evidence of God’s distance and abandonment.
6. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
The Assyrians were foes more recent than the Egyptians (see 2 Kings 18: 17–37). The fact that the Judeans asked these two antagonistic nations for help further indicates the desperate consequences of the Babylonian conquest (compare Jeremiah 2: 36; Hosea 7: 11; 9: 3).
What Do You Think?
What is the best course of action to take in light of whatever or whomever is now oppressing you or a loved one?
Digging Deeper
How can you know whether such oppression is a natural consequence or God’s own reaction?
Bread was a basic food staple. It was something that the people had been able to make for themselves when their fields were their own to sow and harvest. Reference to bread can also imply food in general (see Lamentations 5: 9, below). The need to appeal to Assyria and Egypt for aid could have resulted from the fields having been devastated by the invading Babylonian army.
7. Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
In many places, the Bible affirms that each person suffers for his or her own wrongdoing (examples: Genesis 18: 16–33; Ezekiel 18: 2–4; John 9: 1–3). However, biblical precedent exists for a generation to suffer for the iniquities of its fathers. The curses that God included in the covenant as potential discipline clearly expressed that people who were not the original guilty parties would suffer (example: Deuteronomy 5: 9). Part of the reason for this generational suffering was the ripple-effect inheriting of sinful behaviors and habits, which required God’s attention (compare Jeremiah 14: 20; 16: 12).
Those who lifted their voices in this lament certainly felt the shock waves of the sins of previous generations. But throughout those generations, God had warned about judgment (see Lesson Context). Even more, God had promised to relent from punishment when the people repented (example: Jeremiah 18: 7–8; compare Jonah 3: 4–10).
The Babylonian exile, shocking in its scope, marked the end of God’s patience. The book of Lamentations is witness to how horrifying that judgment was. Jeremiah did not refrain from asking whether this punishment fit the crime (Lamentations 2: 20–22). Indeed, God acknowledged that the Babylonians had overstepped their role in carrying out His decreed judgment; they would be punished for that (Isaiah 47; Habakkuk 2: 2–20).
8. Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.
Judah lost its kings when one surrendered to the besiegers (2 Kings 24: 10–16) and his replacement rebelled (24: 17–25: 21). The people taken to Babylon were ruled by Babylonian servants there, while those left in Judah had to obey similar servants (25: 22). Those who remained behind suffered the shame of being governed by foreigners within the borders of the promised land.
9. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
There may not have been much more to eat than bread in the land (contrast Lamentations 5: 6, above). The sword represents all the violence the people still feared and experienced. Its appearance in the wilderness probably refers to the special dangers of trying to harvest any food.
10. Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
The reference to an oven may be a way of referring to a raging fever; the literal translation our skin was black calls to mind food that has been burned to a crisp (compare Job 30: 30). The great hunger that the famine created has opened the door to all kinds of ailments (compare Lamentations 4: 8–9).
11. They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
Women and maids are parallel terms that refer to adult females. Whether they were married or not, they suffered sexual violation throughout Zion and the cities of Judah—also parallel terms. God’s laws established punishment for sexual violence (examples: Deuteronomy 22: 25–29). But to the invaders, this means nothing.
12a. Princes are hanged up by their hand.
The princes, representing the monarchy and advisers, perhaps had expected treatment in accordance with their positions. Being executed in a public way such as implied here was a grave indignity. The spectacle of their deaths was meant to remind the people of their powerlessness.
12b. The faces of elders were not honoured.
The elders were due reverence based on their wisdom gained with age. Given the parallelism of the two lines of this verse, it seems likely that the dishonor afforded them was also public execution. The fate of King Zedekiah comes to mind: the last thing he saw before his eyes were gouged out was the slaughter of his sons and all his officials. Then the king was bound and taken to a Babylonian prison where he died (Jeremiah 52: 10–11).
13. They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
Typically it was female slaves who were the ones to grind grain. But this task has fallen to young men who would be better suited to different tasks. In contrast, the children are given work much too difficult for them. The image is that of falling under their burden of sin—the weight of its punishment.
14. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.
In gated cities like Jerusalem, elders congregated at a main gate to decide legal cases, to reach business agreements, etc. (see Ruth 4: 1–12). The absence of the elders from their usual place speaks to the complete upheaval of the government. The lack of musick further reveals the cultural upheaval that is evident throughout this book. The young men are grinding grain (Lamentations 5: 13, above) rather than engaging in the expected artistic pursuits.
C. Reversal (v. 15)
15. The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.
In Psalm 30: 1–3, the psalmist rejoiced in God’s deliverance from enemies and sickness. The opposite is seen here: the conquered people suffered from both, with joy turning to mourning (contrast Psalm 30: 11). How utterly hopeless their current situation seemed!
WORDS FOR MOURNING
It was one of the darkest days I experienced as president of a Christian university: a precious little girl lost her life in a tragic accident on our campus. The next day, hundreds of mourners gathered in the college chapel. We were almost too brokenhearted to pray. Yet in those dark days, prayer was our greatest resource. Amid intense grief, it was heartfelt prayers and laments that knit our campus together and helped us care for the family who had lost their child. Faith comes easily when the music of your life is joyful. But what will you say and how will you pray when your joy turns to mourning?—D. F.
II. Confession
(LAMENTATIONS 5: 16–22)
A. Of “Our” Sins (vv. 16–18)
16a. The crown is fallen from our head.
This verse summarizes the societal and governmental upheaval that the people have experienced. Though the crown represented the monarchy, the monarchy itself represented Judah.
16b. Woe unto us, that we have sinned!
These mourners had claimed that they suffered for previous generations’ sins (Lamentations 5: 7, above). Here they take responsibility for their own sin. The word woe expresses their grief.
What Do You Think?
How bad would the consequences for your sin have to be for you to grieve openly?
Digging Deeper
What was a time in the past when you should have done so? Why did you not?
17–18. For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
Weakness of heart and eyes resulted from the fate of the mountain of Zion. This place had great significance, first as the stronghold of the Jebusites that David defeated (Joshua 15: 63; 2 Samuel 5: 6–7). David’s palace had been built there (2 Samuel 5: 9–11) as had the temple (1 Kings 6: 1; 7: 51).
We need not assume Jeremiah had only one of these specific ideas in mind. After all, the people mourned for the fate of the city, the monarchy, and the temple. The presence of foxes in the heart of the capital city marks the profound desolation of Jerusalem.
B. Of the Lord’s Reign (v. 19)
19. Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
Although the Lord has been addressed throughout the chapter, He has not been called out since verse 1. This absence emphasizes the feelings of distance that the people felt. The call on Him now is a brief moment of praise.
To speak of God’s eternal throne emphasizes His role as King. It is He who has the power and authority to decide and impose punishment. Having existed from generation to generation, He knows how unfaithful those generations have been (see Lamentations 5: 7, 16, above). Yet knowing that God’s presence can be counted on can be a source of comfort, even if in the current moment He seems far off.
C. Of Hope and Fear (vv. 20–22)
20. Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
The Lord does not forget as people do, as though His memory were faulty. Yet knowing that God is indeed “from generation to generation” (previous verse) makes the question of His forgetting or forsaking all the more painful. Though Jeremiah had offered words of encouragement previously (see Lamentations 3: 22–33), those seem to be a drop in the bucket in light of the overwhelming pain that continued.
HAS GOD FORGOTTEN YOU?
When James Hurley was 5 years old, his parents and 13-year-old brother lost their lives in an accident involving a private airplane. After the tragedy, a cousin and her family adopted James, along with his two other brothers and his sister. Together they started a new life.
James admits that for many years he asked himself why God had allowed this tragedy. But as he grew older, he learned of his parents’ faith, and he saw his cousin’s faith in action. Eventually, he realized how blessed he and his siblings were to grow up in a family that practiced their faith openly.
Now in his 60s, James has found peace and gratitude for God’s love. The people in Jerusalem were desperate to find this peace, but feared that God had forgotten them. What makes the difference in your life when it feels like God has forgotten you?—D. F.
What Do You Think?
How would you comfort and guide someone who feels forgotten by God?
Digging Deeper
How do passages such as Job 2: 11–3: 26; 13: 4–5; 16: 2–5; 23: 1–4; 29: 1–3 frame your answer?
21a. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned.
Language of turning speaks of repentance. The people did not trust themselves to turn to the Lord as they should (compare Jeremiah 31: 18–19). Certainly their history proved that they struggled to turn to God on their own. For this reason, they asked that God would give His grace to them by turning them himself.
God would honor this prayer by giving hearts of flesh in place of stone (Ezekiel 11: 19; 36: 26). The ultimate answer to the plea of the half-verse before us is found in the church, where we are “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (Romans 12: 2; compare Hebrews 8: 10).
21b. Renew our days as of old.
Though the days as of old were full of disobedience, they were days when God showered His people with blessings in the land He had given them (Deuteronomy 28: 1–13). The desire was not simply to renew those days, but for transformation by the repentance of the people.
22. But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
After fleeting expressions of hope, the people turned once again to what they feared was true. Could God be so very wroth with them that He would utterly reject them forever (compare Malachi 4: 6)?
What Do You Think?
How do we keep the genuine sorrow of repentance from becoming merely a pity party?
Digging Deeper
Without giving directive advice, how would you counsel someone who has failed to do so?
The book ends here on this issue. God does not answer. Jeremiah offered no further words of hope (contrast Psalm 22). The people were not consoled; the wound was not healed (Jeremiah 30: 12–15). This reality emphasized the depth and breadth of God’s anger.
Conclusion
A. Called to Lament
In the midst of our suffering, we know that God is still trustworthy and faithful. However, there are times when we do not feel that He is still trustworthy or faithful. We do not know where God is when we confess and repent of our sins but do not experience mercy in the consequences. We find that worship and praise lag behind the mourning and lament. Like those left in a destroyed Jerusalem, all we can see is devastation; the only thing we want is to make sure God sees and knows what we are experiencing.
Lamentations helps us find language to tell God the very deep, very real pain that we remember or still experience. The book serves as an invitation to take those things to God. As Paul wrote, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 38–39). Though the inclusion of Lamentations in the Bible may seem odd, it gives evidence of the truth of Paul’s assertion. No siege, no famine, no cannibalism, no destruction, no forced labor, no exile could separate God’s people from His love.
God demonstrated this love in Jesus Christ, making a way for all people to turn to the Lord and experience His blessings. Through Jesus’ great suffering, we have been added to those people who will be freed from all suffering (Revelation 21: 4).
B. Prayer
Father, strengthen us to be willing to turn our hearts to You! Help us to be honest with You as Jeremiah and Jesus were honest with You in their suffering. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Let sorrow draw you closer to God.
KID’S CORNER
Where Loving Wealth Can Lead
Sunday, April 21, 2021
John 19:8-16
John 19:8-16
(John 19:8) Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;
Notice: John wrote that Pilate was “more afraid than ever,” In 1 John 4:18, John wrote, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” Pilate feared the possibility that Jesus might be the Son of God, and God or Jesus might punish him if he ordered Jesus’ death. He also feared the chief priests would report him to the emperor if he set Jesus free, and the emperor might punish him for freeing a revolutionary. Because his position, power, and wealth as a Roman governor were his gods instead of the true God, Pilate because increasingly fearful the more he learned about Jesus. When he questioned Jesus, Pilate probably saw in Jesus the qualities of character and courage that he had seen in no one else—qualities he knew he did not possess; so, he probably thought Jesus just might be the King as He claimed. Jesus had certainly shown Pilate wisdom from above in answering his questions, so maybe Jesus was the Son of God as He claimed (see John 19:7). Pilate’s fear of Jesus, the chief priests, and what the emperor might do to him influenced Pilate to question Jesus once again.
(John 19:9) and he entered into the Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
Away from the chief priests and the crowd, Pilate returned to questioning Jesus. He asked Jesus where He was from, and Jesus had already told Pilate that He had come from a kingdom that was from another place. Pilate did not ask for a further explanation from Jesus at the time of his first meeting with Jesus when he could have done so. Jesus knew that if He tried to explain to Pilate exactly where He was from and what He had been teaching as the King of the Jews about the Father and himself that Pilate would not understand. Pilate did not seem interested in understanding Jesus. He only wanted to know enough to determine if Jesus were guilty or innocent and pass judgment in a way that would enable him to stay in power. Jesus had already told Pilate that “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” and He knew Pilate would not listen to Him (John 18:37). When Pilate could have done so, he had not waited for Jesus to answer His last question, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Therefore, Jesus gave no answer to a man who had no interest in taking the time to understand who Jesus was and is as King and the truths Jesus had been teaching. Jesus has given Christians an example they can prayerfully follow.
(John 19:10) So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
Pilate may deserve some credit for respecting Jesus enough not to have Jesus beaten until He answered Him. Looking at Jesus after He had been beaten and wearing a crown of thorns may have given Pilate some sympathy for Jesus, sympathy given to Pilate by the Father. The hand of the Father also restrained Pilate from abusing Jesus more before they crucified Him. Pilate asked Jesus two reasonable questions. Jesus answered the first question by speaking to Pilate. Jesus answered the second question because it deserved an answer, for Pilate misunderstood the source of his power and authority and he needed correction. Pilate thought he had power and authority from the emperor to release or crucify Jesus, and he was quickly learning that if he did not order Jesus to be crucified that the chief priests would report him to the emperor, and the emperor would remove him as governor. Though he probably did not want to admit it, because of his fear he was also under the power of the chief priests. Jesus wanted Pilate to know that he was under the power of God and he should rightly fear God far more than he feared the priests and the emperor. The emperor eventually removed Pilate as governor and he disappears in history,
(John 19:11) Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
In correcting Pilate’s claim that he had power over Jesus, Jesus referred to what He had previously told Pilate (see John 18:36-38). Jesus emphasized the fact that His kingdom was from above; therefore, He was a King from above. Jesus’ kingdom was not from this world because Jesus’ kingdom was greater than all the kingdoms of this world. Jesus’ kingdom had power over the kings and kingdoms of this world. Jesus’ kingdom had power over Rome and the emperor. Jesus had no time to explain all this to Pilate, and Pilate would never have understood, repented, and believed in Jesus. Pilate knew about the Greek and Roman gods, but he did not know the true God. Pilate understood Jesus, but he did not believe that ultimately God had given him the authority and power he exercised over Jesus. As King from a different world, Jesus showed no fear. He showed complete peace of heart and mind when He told Pilate that Pilate depended on God for his power. Jesus also told Pilate that if he exercised his power over Jesus to crucify Him then he was guilty of sin or disobedience to God. Jesus also stressed that the chief priests who handed Jesus over to Pilate were guilty of greater sin, of greater disobedience to God, for they knew or had the opportunity to know the Law of God and they ignored God and His Law of Love. The chief priests would further demonstrate their greater sin when they threatened Pilate so Pilate would unjustly condemn Jesus to death. When Pilate tried three times to release Jesus, they took advantage of Pilate’s fears so he eventually felt compelled to order Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate also feared Jesus, because if Jesus was truly a King and the Son of God, then Jesus or His soldiers might punish him. He feared the high priests more than God or Jesus, for they could tell the emperor that he had not done his duty and cause him to lose his position or worse, his life. Fear ruled Pilate’s life.
(John 19:12) As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
The Bible does not tell us all we might like to know about Jesus’ trial before Pilate, but the Bible does tell us some of the influences that can motivate people to do what they do. Fear of the possible consequences from Jesus’ kingdom may have motivated Pilate to try to release Jesus with all the legal means at his disposal—he found no case against Jesus. By his use of “Jews,” John wanted his readers to understand that the Romans bore little responsibility for Jesus’ crucifixion, because the Roman governor wanted to release Jesus. But Pilate caved under pressure from the chief priests, who feared they would lose everything if Jesus became the Messiah. Pilate lacked the courage to do his duty and release Jesus, and he feared what might happen to his career more than he feared God or God’s punishment for his sins. Many people have this problem.
Jesus never set himself against the emperor, for Jesus’ kingdom was not from this world. When the scribes and Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus had told them: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). Jesus had far more important obligations than “setting himself against the emperor.” But the lies of the chief priests intimidated Pilate and influenced him to order Jesus’ death the way the chief priests wanted Jesus to suffer and die by crucifixion. Their evil intent fulfilled the prophecies of God in their Scriptures. Jesus would sacrifice His life and die on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
(John 19:13) Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
To satisfy the chief priests, Pilate brought Jesus outside his headquarters again, and representing Roman justice Pilate sat on his judge’s bench to pass official judgment against Jesus. John carefully gave the Hebrew name for “Stone Pavement.” Today, we do not know its exact place in Jerusalem, but it was an elevated bench designed to impress people when the governor made judgments and to enable a crowd to hear him speak.
(John 19:14) Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
The day of Preparation for the Passover would have been Friday, and the chief priests continued to be more concerned about obeying their ceremonial laws instead of the moral law of God, the Law of Love. They had refused to enter Pilate’s headquarters to keep from becoming unclean while they demanded the death of an innocent man, the Son of God. For this reason, in Matthew 23:25-26, Jesus said rightly of them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.” Jesus had celebrated His Last Supper with His disciples the night before, on a Thursday, when He established the New Covenant in His blood that He would spill for the salvation of those He came to save when He died on the cross on Friday. Whether Pilate was convinced or not that Jesus was a king, in a final effort to humiliate the chief priests and the Jews who demanded Jesus’ death, Pilate introduced Jesus to them as “their King!” Unintentionally, Pilate spoke the truth.
(John 19:15) So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
In response to Pilate’s efforts to release Jesus, the chief priests expressed their hatred of Jesus, who had done nothing but good. When Pilate asked if they wanted him to crucify their King, their Messiah, they told the truth with deep implications. Though their Scriptures taught that God was their King, their ancestors had demanded a man for a king, so God gave them Saul. In 1 Samuel 8:6-8, when the people asked for a man for a king, we read, “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the LORD, and the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you.’” Many years before, the chief priests had rejected God as their King. When God sent them the Messiah as He had promised, they also rejected Him as their King. Unwittingly, they truthfully declared that the Roman emperor was their god and king, and they would serve him as their god and king. In 70 A.D. by using a Roman emperor and his army, the true God destroyed Jerusalem and ended a corrupt religious and political priesthood.
(John 19:16) So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.
In response, Pilate handed Jesus over to the chief priests to be crucified at the hands of Roman soldiers. Pilate never convicted Jesus of a sin, of rebellion, or any other crime. By threatening Pilate, he only did what the chief priests demanded of him. They wanted to murder Jesus and they wanted Jesus crucified and Pilate gave them all they wanted.
Where Loving Wealth Can Lead
Sunday, April 21, 2021
John 19:8-16
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar (John 19:15—KJV).
So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15—NASB).
They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor” (John 19:15—NRSV).
Though Pilate did not know the full meaning of what he said when he presented Jesus to the chief priests, he announced, “Here is your King!” Jesus was their true King, the Messiah that in the Bible God promised to send. In reply, the chief priests demanded Jesus’ crucifixion, and declared they had no king but the Roman Emperor. They spoke a partial truth. Long before Jesus began teaching the truth about God, the chief priests had turned from serving God to serving money; so, to increase their wealth, they helped the Romans. Money had become their king. Their actions proved the truth of Jesus’ words: “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). Because Pilate and the chief priests did not love and serve God, they served what they loved — money. They lived in fear of losing what they loved and served. They feared losing the powerful positions that led to their wealth. Pilate feared losing his position as a Roman governor if he did not do what the chief priests demanded, for they would report him to the emperor. The chief priests feared losing their powerful positions and increasing wealth if Jesus took their place as Messiah and King. Because they loved and served money, they came to hate and fear God and Jesus. They served whoever promised them wealth, and they feared whoever threatened to take it from them.
Thinking Further
Where Loving Wealth Can Lead
Sunday, April 21, 2021
John 19:8-16
Name _________________________________
1. Why do you think Pilate was “more afraid than ever”?
2. Why do you think Jesus refused to answer Pilate?
3. Why do you think Jesus finally chose to answer Pilate?
4. What did the Jews (the chief priests and the police) cry out
when Pilate tried to release Jesus?
5. When Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” what
did the chief priests say and what did that reveal about their
relationship with God?
Discussion and Thinking Further
1. Why do you think Pilate was “more afraid than ever”? He was probably extremely impressed by Jesus’ previous answers to him. They were not the answers of a common criminal or revolutionary. They were the answers of a wise spiritual person, and this made him afraid of what type of person Jesus might be, because Jesus had said that His Kingdom was not of this world. When he heard that Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God, he was more afraid than ever, because Jesus acted and spoke as though He could be the Son of God.
2. Why do you think Jesus refused to answer Pilate? Jesus had already answered the question and had told Pilate the truth. He did not need to tell Pilate again and argue about the issue. He knew that Pilate did not belong to the truth and would not listen to His voice. John needed to learn that he (and other Christians) would not need to answer every question either when he (and they) would later be put on trial for his (their) faith in Jesus.
3. Why do you think Jesus finally chose to answer Pilate? Pilate claimed to have an ultimate power over Jesus and His destiny that Jesus knew Pilate did not have; so, Jesus told Him the truth before Pilate, the Romans with Pilate, and John who was most likely with Jesus. John needed to hear Jesus’ answer so he could tell others Jesus’ statement. Jesus went to the cross on His terms and not on the terms of Pilate or the chief priests who wanted Him crucified.
4. What did the Jews (the chief priests and the police) cry out when Pilate tried to release Jesus? They told Pilate that if he released Jesus that he was no friend of the Roman emperor. The chief priests would make certain that their charge would get back to the emperor and that would get Pilate in trouble with the emperor and that might cost him his job or his life.
5. When Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” what did the chief priests say and what did that reveal about their relationship with God? They told Pilate that they had no king but the Roman emperor. As Jews, the Old Testament teaches that Yahweh, the LORD, is their King. They proved they were not true Jews; they were not spiritual Jews. As Jesus had said, their father was the devil. In John 8:44-45, Jesus told them, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” Like Pilate, they did not belong to the truth.
Word Search
Where Loving Wealth Can Lead
Sunday, April 21, 2021
John 19:8-16
Name ___________________________________
Y R S C R U C I F Y Z C X R Y
K N K F I S Z N A X F A G E K
E I B D H M X F R Z W S Z W Y
C R N S L B R U A E R G M S B
N E T G E A G H T E T X Q N L
S L K N I V T U F J W A C A R
N E F D E A O U I R U O E G W
O A Q A B M S B W L M V P R R
W S L B U E E T A J T E H O G
M E A X Q N G V E Y L Y R K B
Y G C W E I E S A X B E P T R
R O S G Y S U O T P P O N S Q
A V D V H S H M J M W H D B W
R J F K T L Z Q E E G L T L P
I K S N H A W N R D N E I R F
Afraid
Answer
Refuse
Power
Release
Crucify
Above
Guilty
Greater
Sin
Friend
Emperor
King
Pavement
Gabbatha
True and False Test
Where Loving Wealth Can Lead
Sunday, April 21, 2021
John 19:8-16
Name ___________________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
1. Pilate was not afraid of God, Jesus, the chief priests, or the emperor and what they could do to him. True or False
2. After Pilate entered his headquarters again, he wanted to know where Jesus was from, but Jesus did not answer his question. True or False
3. Pilate thought he had power over Jesus to crucify Him or release Him. True or False
4. Jesus told Pilate that he had derived his power from above. True or False
5. Jesus told Pilate that if he crucified Him, then his sin would be greater than the sins of those who sought just judgement from Pilate. True or False
6. When Pilate tried to release Jesus, he showed that he was a friend of Jesus and not the emperor. True or False
7. Those who wanted Jesus crucified said, “Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.” True or False
8. Those who wanted Jesus crucified, got what they wanted by threatening Pilate. True or False
9. The Hebrew word “Gabbatha” means “Stone Pavement,” where Pilate sat on his judge’s bench and said, “Here is your King!” True or False
10. The chief priests wanted Jesus crucified, so they said “God and the emperor are our kings! We must obey God and the emperor.” True or False
True and False Test Answers
- False
- True
- True
- True
- False
- False
- True
- True
- True
- False
Prayer
Father, strengthen us to be willing to turn our hearts to You! Help us to be honest with You as Jeremiah and Jesus were honest with You in their suffering. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
