What happened in the trial of Jesus? The Sanhedrin certainly had the right, the jurisdiction, to try Jesus because of the charges brought against Him; namely blasphemy. After all, He had claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30), He had forgiven sin, the prerogative of God alone (Mark 2:7-11), and He had said He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed (Mark 14:61, 62).

In the haste of the mob to try and condemn Jesus, almost every rule of the then existing law of Moses and Hebrew custom was violated, which, of course, made His trial illegal.

1.    To begin with, the Sanhedrin decreed that Jesus should be killed (Matthew 26:1-5). This was “pre-trial” judgment. “No judge could sit in judgment if he be at enmity with the accused or if he had formed a preconceived idea concerning him.”
2.    His arrest was effected through the information of a traitor, which violated the code of Leviticus 19:15-18. See Luke 22:1-6, 47-53.
3.    He was arrested by members of the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:52-54).
4.    The arrest was made without the issuance of any legal warrant. It was not the result of a legal mandate from a court whose intention it was to conduct a legal trial.
5.    His arrest was at night (Mark 14:17, 27-, 32,43-66).
6.    He was taken to the house of Annas, who was not the high prie4st at that time (John 18:12-14, 19-23).
7.    This trial was in a house, not in the Temple.
8.    All the Sanhedrin were not present in Annas’ house.
9.    Jesus was struck physically by a member (John 18:22) and spat upon (Matthew 26:67).
10.    He was judged and bound over to the high priest (John 18:24).
11.    The trial before Caiaphas, the high priest, was before the morning sacrifice.
12.    The witnesses could not agree (Mark 14:56).
13.    Jesus testified against Himself (Mark 14:56, 60-63).
14.    The high priest rent his clothes (Matthew 26:65). An ordinary Israelite could tear his garment as a sign of grief, but priests were forbidden because their vestments were made according to specific directions from God and were figurative of his office.
15.    The trial before Caiaphas was also in a house, not a Temple (Luke 22:54). Not only should a trial of this nature be held in the Temple, but any sentence of condemnation also had to be pronounced there.
16.    Jesus had two trials by the Jews, only hours apart, not on separate days (Matthew 27:1, 2; John 18:28a).
17.    The high priest could never say the accused was innocent or guilty. Yet Caiaphas did (Matthew 26:65.)
18.    Jesus was never afforded the opportunity for someone to speak in His favor (remember, all his disciples had forsaken Him; Mark 14:50).
19.    He was found guilty upon His uncorroborated testimony.
20.    All condemned Him to death (Mark 14:64). (to be continued)

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless, touch, strengthen, and heal you in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is it about the choir director that…you know what I’m saying.  You never see the drummer or the bass player with questionable behavior.

Don’t you think it is about time you get control of your computer? If you are fully aware of what is going on with your computer then this isn’t for you, but it would be nice if you gave any nuggets of advice you have to share. Also, and I just have to say this, if you are using a Mac you probably don’t have this problem.

The problem I speak of, the control you should have, is the software that is running on your computer right now. It is your computer and it is only right for you to know what is running - background applications too. We are living in a time where we have an application for so many things that computer companies and those with malicious intent will slip something extra in without you knowing. I’m talking about crapware.

Crapware is software that you don’t want on your computer. There is some debate concerning what is and isn’t crapware because a piece of software that one person wants might be something that another person doesn’t. Some software will fall in the grey area where people need - or they think they need - certain features of the software but it causes them grief by causing system slowdown or instability. Yes, there it is right there! What I’m talking about could be causing your computer to slow down right now. If that doesn’t get your attention this is either old hat to you or you are using a Mac. Otherwise, you need to know about crapware and what you can do about it.

For the most part crapware makes its way to your system courtesy of the manufacturer (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) or is included as a bonus (yeah right) when you install other software. Think about it, you may enjoy playing all those demo games and like the fact that you have a 60-day trial of Norton Security Suite, but what happens later? One thing that will happen is you will keep getting bugged when those trials run out. Do you think those programs just start to ask you to upgrade or they are running in the background all the [...] Continue Reading…

How about this: what if you had to go outside to get water and weren’t able to walk to your indoor sink and shower or outdoor water hose, etc. and just turn a knob? Sounds like the stone ages huh? Well that is exactly the case for 67 residents in a small town near Zanesville, OH. Yes, I said Ohio. I didn’t say the back woods in a third world country, I said Zanesville, OH! What a shame! This is 2008 and supposedly the land of the free and the brave! Well, 67 people weren’t free to have the luxury of running water in their homes, and it appears, somebody/ies weren’t brave enough, until now, to make it happen!
Here is what a story recently published about the situation in the small town near Zanesville, OH says:
Black Ohio residents denied water get millions
A federal grand jury awarded residents of a Black neighborhood in Ohio almost $11 million last week because, for nearly five decades, they were forced to dig wells, haul water or collect rain so they could drink, cook and bathe, while Whites enjoyed the benefits of the public water system. The jury found that the 67 residents of the Coal Run community in Muskingum County in east-central Ohio were victims of longstanding discrimination and awarded them between $15,000 and $300,000, depending on how long they had lived there. The award is for “monetary losses and the residents’ pain and suffering between 1956, when water lines were first laid in the area, and 2003, when Coal Run got public water,” The Associated Press reports. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission found in 2003 that the residents had been discriminated against, which prompted the lawsuit. “As a child, I thought it was normal because everyone done it in my neighborhood,” said one of the plaintiffs, Cynthia Hale Hairston, 47. “But I realized as an adult it was wrong.” The city, county and water company, however, deny that any discrimination has occurred. Attorney Mark Landes, who represented the county and water district, described the suit as “a case that was started and filed by out-of-town lawyers who saw an opportunity for a cash settlement.”
http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/national-news-black-ohio-residents-denied-water-get-millions-jury-selection-resumes-in-nichols-trial-naacp-convention-to-host-both-presidential-candidatates/
Can you believe this? [...] Continue Reading…

Some days it is best to give thanks, a way to give a verbal testimony about the good things in your life. We all know we hear about the bad things in the world as well as the troubles of our friends and family - sometimes we are the ones talking about the bad things.

In all things, we should give thanks.  It is just that simple.  I would like to hear from you and what you have to give thanks for.  It isn’t about what you need, but about what you already have.

I will speak first.

In the other room I have a healthy wife and little girl.  For the first time, I have a family (I’m not discounting my wife, but now there are three of us).  What an emotional couple of days this has been.  I miss my mother and wish she could have been here to share in this time, but two of my sisters were here and I know if not for distance my other sister and brother would have been here.  I’m thankful for them as well.

I will speak for O - he writes the great sports articles that seem to go un-noticed.  He lives in Texas and he is enjoying a new addition to his family as well.  His wife recently had a little boy and as far as I know everyone is doing well.

Now it is your turn.

“Stocks stayed flat Friday as the price of oil extended its decline, falling below $112 a barrel and helping to offset a disappointing report on consumer sentiment.
Oil fell on a growing sense that economies around the world are joining the U.S. in a slowdown. The rising dollar, which is gaining strength on economic concerns, contributed to the sell-off in crude and other commodities.”
The above is from the article “Oil skids below $112 as commodities sell off; stocks flat.”
Whatever we have been doing, we need to keep doing!  The economy has caused oil prices to go down.  In my mind, this is notable for two reasons:

We need to watch the oil prices because if the price of oil goes down and the gas prices don’t follow, we have been duped.  Why on earth would the price of gas follow the price of oil when oil is on the rise, but not follow when oil prices are on the decline?  Read number 2.
If a slow global economy means the price of oil will go down, why was it ever so high to begin with?  Yes oil is important, but is it so important that oil drives everything else?

According to a story by Elizabeth Douglass and Richard Simon in the Los Angeles Times, Exxon Mobil Corporation posted a profit of $11.68 billion for the second quarter of 2008 — the highest three-month profit in the history of the US.

It is basic economics.  Let’s say I make $10 profit on an item.  If production costs go up $2.50 and I raise the price by $5.00 I now make a profit of $12.50.  Pretty simple huh?  That is what happens every time you go to the pump ladies and gentlemen.  How does that make you feel?  It kind of upsets me.

At a time when we have to pay more across the board for products, I just don’t think it is fair for some people to be making record profits.  It just isn’t right!  Our salaries stay the same, prices go up and we essentially become poorer.  Meanwhile, some businesses are doing better than ever.  Our taxes are on a roller coaster cycle and oh, by the way, government officials keep getting those raises like clockwork.

I love this country, but [...] Continue Reading…

You can make an argument that the year 1968 was the most pivotal year in the 20th century, and many would agree.  The deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy clearly changed the future of the country.  One of the happenings that may not be talked about enough was the performance of the United States athletes in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.  Without question, the performance of the track and field team was the greatest of all-time.  The reason people do not talk much about the performances of the athletes because they remember or have seen the “Black Power” salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos.  It was only 40 years ago, but today it seems like a lot longer than that.

Kobe Bryant and Lebron James may be the most recognizable faces performing for the United States in the Olympics.  They are the most popular players on the “Redeem Team,” and arguably the most popular basketball players in the world.  During last season, both Bryant and James spoke out against the injustices committed by the Chinese government in their support of the Sudanese government in Africa.  The Chinese buys oil from and provides arms to the Sudanese government, a government responsible for a genocide that murdered 400,000 Sudanese in Darfur.  Both Bryant and James said that they would be making comments later on about the injustices, but mysteriously, that has not been the case.

The Chinese government has been going to the limit in order to have a situation-free Olympics in Bejing.  They even revoked the visa of Joey Cheek, a former Olympic medalist turned human rights advocate, because they did not want him mentioning the genocide in Sudan.  Well, doing that to Cheek is not that difficult because no one knows him, but they could not do the same with either Bryant or James since they are global icons and are immensely popular in basketball-crazy China.  Had Bryant or James continued to speak out against the Chinese, they would have exposed the public to China’s policy, but they have not.  Instead, they have fallen into silence, which is exactly what the Chinese government wanted in the first place.

One would have to wonder how disappointed the U.S. athletes from the 1968 [...] Continue Reading…

Let me start off by saying that I am a San Francisco Giants fan.  I have been one for years now, going back to when Joe Morgan was playing and Frank Robinson was managing the Giants.  In 1993, the Giants brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco and he responded with a MVP season.  Bonds went on to become one of the greatest players to ever play baseball and last season Bonds became the all-time home run king by passing Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs.  Today, Bonds has not retired, but he is not currently on a team and no one has picked him up.  How in the world does that happen?

The excuses are so pathetic that it is utter and complete nonsense to even repeat them, but for information sake, here goes.  The main excuse is that he would be a distraction for the team.  For what team and what distraction?  Bonds has only played for two teams in his career, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants, and the only distractions he was for those teams were of a positive nature because those teams have not been nearly as successful since he has left.  Some say that he should not be back in baseball because his name is linked to steroids and it tarnishes the game.  Well, I do not see anyone having a problem with Andy Petitte or Jason Giambi playing on the same team together and both of their names are also linked to steroids.  There are also those who say that Bonds’ personality would ruin a team’s chemistry.  We still have no evidence that he was ever the reason for a team’s downfall and while there are definitely players who do not like Bonds, what player does everyone like?

All of the excuses stem simply from the fact that most people do not like Barry Bonds.  They will use any excuse to keep him away from the game so that he does not keep the home run title for very long or do anything else on the playing field that will increase his standing in the game.  I find this absolutely insane.  The object in major league baseball is to win games, not to be popular, so why in the [...] Continue Reading…

It is commonly believed that a strong family unit creates a safe, positive and supportive place for all members to thrive.  In other words, a strong family unit is able to utilize resources and to live together in a fairly healthy manner.  But with the way the family unit is declining, I have a couple of questions for you:  Do you think family values have slipped?  Or better yet, what exactly makes up a strong family that possesses good family values?

Today I’m concerned about this more than any other day in my life.  Today is the day my daughter will be born and I feel the change in responsibility already.  I have a former co-worker, who referred to Kim and I as DINKs, which stands for Dual Income No Kids.  As you read this, that term is no longer applicable to us!  Simply put — one child, increased responsibilities!  Obviously, we are the adults in our small family unit, so the responsibilities that go along with raising a child fall squarely on our shoulders.

In a strong family unit, the adults set the tone. They lead by example. They reach out to friends and community and teach their children the importance of doing the same — and that becomes part of who the children are. They work together to solve problems, and they pass their skills on to the next generation. Some important elements of a strong family system are family cohesion, family flexibility and family communication.

Cohesion could be thought of as the feeling of being loved, of belonging to the group and being nurtured by it. A family cannot always be together, and that is a good thing, but the confidence that goes along with being part of that family unit must be there.

Structure in a family is a must or it will become chaotic and will not be a peaceful setting. On the other hand, there must be flexibility or the family becomes rigid and the authority figures become resented.  The strong family unit works together to avoid stressful situations and solve problems without blaming, criticizing and finding fault with each other.  Families that tend to have a strong spiritual base seem to have a sense of well-being that facilitates this working together [...] Continue Reading…

The following references serve as a background study for His Trial: Matthew 26:57-58; 27:1,2,11,26: Mark 14:53-65; 15:1-15; Luke 22:66—23:25; John 18:12-14,19-24,28—19-24,28—19:16.

Considerable controversy concerning the propriety of the trial of Jesus has existed ever since His crucifixion. Volumes have been searched in an effort to find some legal justification for the verdict rendered, but nowhere is there to be found any logical or legal excuse for the absolute disregard of the then existing Hebrew code, nor the customs usually followed in criminal proceedings before Jewish courts.

Jesus had to undergo two trials: one ecclesiastical and the other civil; the first before Caiaphas and the second before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. This was necessary at that time because Judaea was under the jurisdiction of Rome and under the administration of a Roman ruler. In matters of religion Rome permitted the Jews to continue their ecclesiastical courts (the Sanhedrin), before which body all religious offenders were prosecuted and by which all punishment was meted out. In the case of Jesus’ trial, however, where the only punishment which would satisfy His accusers was death, the ecclesiastical court did not have the power to inflict the desired penalty, thus making it necessary to resort to the civil tribune to procure their object. Knowing full well that Jesus had many followers, the entire plan to capture, try, and convict Him was carefully laid, so that all would be fully completed after sunset and before daybreak. Then only a few persons beside the horde which made up the army of conspirators would know what was taking place and only the actual execution would be left to be done after sunrise.

There were a number of steps which had to be followed in a Hebrew trial, especially if the accused was guilty of a crime worthy of death.
1.  A court could not meet for capital punishment during Feast Days (Mattew 26:4,5)
2.  When a trial was in order, before anything was done, the morning sacrifice had to be offered first.
3.  There had to be the assemblying of all the Sanhedrin (Judges)—in their appointed place (the Temple in this case). The Sanhedrin was comprised of seventy men—the highest tribunal of the Jews. There were 23 priests, 23 scribes, 23 elders, and the presiding officer; namely, [...] Continue Reading…