301 "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where e the Lord your God has banished you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey e Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today , you and your sons , 3 then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity , and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where e the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth , from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. 5 " The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed , and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers . 6 "Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants , to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul , so that you may live . 7 " The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 "And you shall again obey e the Lord , and observe all His commandments which I command you today . 9 " Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand , in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground , for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good , just as He rejoiced over your fathers ; 10 if you obey e the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law , if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul .
11 "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach . 12 "It is not in heaven , that you should say , ' Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' 13 "Nor is it beyond e the sea , that you should say , 'Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?' 14 "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart , that you may observe it.
15 "See , I have set before you today life and prosperity , and death and adversity ; 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God , to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments , that you may live and multiply , and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where e you are entering to possess it. 17 "But if your heart turns away and you will not obey , but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish . You will not prolong your days in the land where e you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 " I call heaven and earth to witness against you today , that I have set before you life and death , the blessing and the curse . So choose life in order that you may live , you and your descendants , 20 by loving the Lord your God , by obeying His voice , and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days , that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers , to Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , to give them."
311 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel . 2 And he said to them, "I am a hundred and twenty years old today ; I am no longer able to come and go , and the Lord has said to me, ' You shall not cross this Jordan .' 3 " It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken . 4 "The Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og , the kings of the Amorites , and to their land , when He destroyed them. 5 " The Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 " Be strong and courageous , do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." 7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel , " Be strong and courageous , for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance . 8 " The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed ."
9 So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests , the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord , and to all the elders of Israel . 10 Then Moses commanded them, saying , "At the end of every seven years , at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths , 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place which He will choose , you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing . 12 "Assemble the people , the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town , so that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God , and be careful to observe all the words of this law . 13 "Their children , who have not known , will hear and learn to fear the Lord your God , as long e as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess ."
14 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Behold , the time for you to die is near ; call Joshua , and present yourselves at the tent of meeting , that I may commission him." So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting . 15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud , and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent . 16 The Lord said to Moses , "Behold , you are about to lie down with your fathers ; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land , into the midst of which they are going , and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 " Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day , and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed , and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day , ' Is it not because e our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?' 18 "But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do , for they will turn to other gods . 19 "Now therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel ; put it on their lips , so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel . 20 " For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey , which I swore to their fathers , and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous , then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant . 21 "Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants ); for I know their intent which they are developing today , before I have brought them into the land which I swore ."
22 So Moses wrote this song the same day , and taught it to the sons of Israel . 23 Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun , and said , " Be strong and courageous , for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you."
24 It came about, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete , 25 that Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord , saying , 26 "Take this book of the law and place it beside e the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God , that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 "For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness e ; behold , while I am still alive with you today , you have been rebellious against the Lord ; how much e more e , then, after my death ? 28 "Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers , that I may speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. 29 "For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days , for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord , provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands ."
30 Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song , until they were complete :
151 Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council , immediately held a consultation ; and binding Jesus , they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate . 2 Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews ?" And He answered him, "It is as you say ." 3 The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly . 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again , saying , "Do You not answer ? See how many charges they bring against You!" 5 But Jesus made no e further answer ; so Pilate was amazed .
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested . 7 The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection . 8 The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. 9 Pilate answered them, saying , "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews ?" 10 For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy . 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead . 12 Answering again , Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews ?" 13 They shouted back , "Crucify Him!" 14 But Pilate said to them, "Why , what evil has He done ?" But they shouted all the more , "Crucify Him!"
15 Wishing to satisfy e the crowd , Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged , he handed Him over to be crucified . 16 The soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium ), and they called together the whole Roman cohort . 17 They dressed Him up in purple , and after twisting a crown of thorns , they put it on Him; 18 and they began to acclaim Him, "Hail , King of the Jews !" 19 They kept beating His head with a reed , and spitting on Him, and kneeling e and bowing before Him. 20 After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.
21 They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country , Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus ), to bear His cross .
22 Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha , which is translated , Place of a Skull . 23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh ; but He did not take it. 24 And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take . 25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him.
(Read Mark 15:1-14)
They bound Christ. It is good for us often to remember the bonds of the Lord Jesus, as bound with him who was bound for us. By delivering up the King, they, in effect, delivered up the kingdom of God, which was, therefore, as by their own consent, taken from them, and given to another nation. Christ gave Pilate a direct answer, but would not answer the witnesses, because the things they alleged were known to be false, even Pilate himself was convinced they were so. Pilate thought that he might appeal from the priests to the people, and that they would deliver Jesus out of the priests' hands. But they were more and more urged by the priests, and cried, Crucify him! Crucify him! Let us judge of persons and things by their merits, and the standard of God's word, and not by common report. The thought that no one ever was so shamefully treated, as the only perfectly wise, holy, and excellent Person that ever appeared on earth, leads the serious mind to strong views of man's wickedness and enmity to God. Let us more and more abhor the evil dispositions which marked the conduct of these persecutors.
(Read Mark 15:15-21)
Christ met death in its greatest terror. It was the death of the vilest malefactors. Thus the cross and the shame are put together. God having been dishonoured by the sin of man, Christ made satisfaction by submitting to the greatest disgrace human nature could be loaded with. It was a cursed death; thus it was branded by the Jewish law, Deuteronomy 21:23. The Roman soldiers mocked our Lord Jesus as a King; thus in the high priest's hall the servants had mocked him as a Prophet and Saviour. Shall a purple or scarlet robe be matter of pride to a Christian, which was matter of reproach and shame to Christ? He wore the crown of thorns which we deserved, that we might wear the crown of glory which he merited. We were by sin liable to everlasting shame and contempt; to deliver us, our Lord Jesus submitted to shame and contempt. He was led forth with the workers of iniquity, though he did no sin. The sufferings of the meek and holy Redeemer, are ever a source of instruction to the believer, of which, in his best hours, he cannot be weary. Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I, a vile sinner, fret or repine? Shall I indulge anger, or utter reproaches and threats because of troubles and injuries?
(Read Mark 15:22-32)
The place where our Lord Jesus was crucified, was called the place of a scull; it was the common place of execution; for he was in all respects numbered with the transgressors. Whenever we look unto Christ crucified, we must remember what was written over his head; he is a King, and we must give up ourselves to be his subjects, as Israelites indeed. They crucified two thieves with him, and him in the midst; they thereby intended him great dishonour. But it was foretold that he should be numbered with the transgressors, because he was made sin for us. Even those who passed by railed at him. They told him to come down from the cross, and they would believe; but they did not believe, though he gave them a more convincing sign when he came up from the grave. With what earnestness will the man who firmly believes the truth, as made known by the sufferings of Christ, seek for salvation! With what gratitude will he receive the dawning hope of forgiveness and eternal life, as purchased for him by the sufferings and death of the Son of God! and with what godly sorrow will he mourn over the sins which crucified the Lord of glory!
