New Palestine Bible Church

Let Him be Crucified!

“Are you the King of the Jews?”…  Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!”… “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” Matthew 27:11, 22, 24 I hope this finds you reflecting on our message last Sunday — Pilate, prophecy, and the astonishing truth that led to our King being crucified. We walked through Matthew 27:11–26, watching Jesus stand on trial before Pilate, Jesus’s silence and words, and Pilate’s wife’s dream. We traced Pilate’s custom of releasing a prisoner, the shocking choice of Barabbas, the crowd crying, “Let Him be crucified,” Pilate washing his hands, and the scourging of Jesus, all in keeping with God’s redemptive plan.  I reminded us that Jesus alone was righteous and innocent as the passage further demonstrated, that His death is substitutionary for our sins, and that this passage must not be twisted into hatred toward the Jewish people but rather into prayerful witness and compassion. May this find you encouraged in Christ and looking for opportunities to share Him today.

Innocent Blood

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Matthew 27:4a Sunday, we began Matthew 27 and considered the conclusion on Jesus’s trial before the Council and Judas’s regret in betraying Him. The Council disregards its own legal safeguards and presses on with a plot rooted in blindness to Christ’s identity; Jesus remains sinless even as the leaders pursue condemnation. Judas, confronted by that condemnation, returns the thirty pieces of silver with the bitter admission, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” then throws the money into the temple and kills himself. The priests refuse pastoral care, callously dismiss Judas’s guilt, and use the returned funds to buy the Potter’s Field—thus sealing a public scene of hypocrisy that becomes known as the Field of Blood. Matthew frames these actions as fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, linking the thirty pieces and the potter’s field to the prophetic witness (Jeremiah and Zechariah), and thereby showing how events fit within God’s sovereign plan even amid human sin.  We considered the sharp pastoral contrast between regret and biblical repentance: remorse without returning to Christ leaves the soul unredeemed, while Peter’s later restoration models genuine repentance that turns toward the cross.  Suicide receives sober treatment as both a sin and a tragedy; it adds to guilt rather than erases it. Nevertheless, the Bible never declares suicide automatically unforgivable—God’s grace and the mystery of the heart remain factors beyond human certainty. Applications press both inward and outward. History and prophecy warrant conviction and trust in God’s purposes; personal sin calls for true repentance that seeks Christ’s forgiveness and life; communities must bear one another’s burdens so desperate individuals do not fall into isolation. Finally, we meditated on the unique innocence of Jesus—the only one whose shed blood can wash away sin.

Denying Christ

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:75 Matthew 26:69–75 recounts Peter’s threefold denial in the high priest’s courtyard and exposes the raw interplay of fear, presumption, and grace. The narrative shows Peter following Jesus at a distance, warming himself by a fire as questioners press for allegiance. Confronted first by a servant girl, and another, then by bystanders who notice his Galilean accent, Peter moves from feigned ignorance to sworn denial and finally to invoking a curse on himself—each denial stronger than the last. The text emphasizes that these denials happened quickly, driven by fear and the real prospect of consequence, and that Peter’s earlier boast and failure to pray left him vulnerable to temptation. Parallel gospel accounts clarify the scene: Jesus had predicted the denials and had prayed for Peter’s faith. The crowing rooster and Jesus’s look serve as the pivot that brings Peter to remembrance and immediate, bitter weeping. Tears mark conviction, but true repentance requires a turned heart and changed life, which becomes evident in Peter later in the gospel accounts. The account functions both as historical record and pastoral counsel. It asserts that public witness matters more than private promises—faith proves itself under pressure, not in private boasts. It insists that prayer and watchfulness guard against falling, and that God’s foreknowledge and intercession do not excuse sin but provide a path back. Finally, it models restoration: Peter’s repentance leads to renewed ministry, bold proclamation, and pastoral leadership, supported by later apostolic writings that urge humility, vigilance, and casting anxieties on God. The story closes with an open invitation: those who have denied, failed, or fallen can repent, receive forgiveness, and be restored to faithful service through Christ’s grace and the Spirit’s work.

Tell us if You are the Christ

And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63-64 Tell us if You are the Christ Sunday, we resumed our study of Matthew’s gospel and saw how the arrest and first trials of Jesus reveal both human wickedness and divine purpose. The narrative traces Jesus from Gethsemane to the high priest’s palace, noting the irregular procedures, the search for false witnesses, and the legal violations that marked the proceedings. Jesus’ measured silence before fabricated charges is presented as a fulfillment of prophecy and a moral indictment of His accusers. When pressed to declare His identity, Jesus affirms His divine messianic identity by invoking the Son of Man, the right hand of power, and the clouds of heaven. Caiaphas’s theatrical tearing of robes and the council’s hasty verdict expose how truth was trampled by fear, power, and religious self-preservation. The account is held together with theological clarity: these events were foreknown and ordained within redemptive history, and the humiliation Jesus accepted was the route chosen to accomplish reconciliation. The paradox is highlighted—Jesus’s apparent defeat at the hands of unjust judges is the pathway to cosmic victory. The practical application of meditating on the passage: 1) confidence in Scripture as the trustworthy record, 2) the call to recognize Jesus’ identity, 3) and the urgency of responding to, and sharing, the gospel.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to God’s People?

Pastor Bill Henderson addresses the persistent question of why God allows suffering and offers a gospel-centered framework for understanding pain. Opening with candid honesty about changing course to meet the congregation’s needs, the talk maps four common responses to affliction—denial, anger, blame, or acceptance—and urges Christians to move from victimhood to apprenticeship under God’s providence. Anchoring the discussion in Romans 8:18–27, the speaker contrasts present sufferings with the future glory to come, stressing that the misery of this age is temporary and weighed against an incomparable revelation of God’s children. Creation itself is portrayed as groaning under futility, a vivid reminder that decay and frustration are woven into the world because of sin. Yet that groaning points forward: creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God and the redemption of bodies. Suffering, then, is not meaningless but educational—meant to cultivate hope and patience as believers await adoption and resurrection. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is central; when words fail and human weakness overwhelms, the Spirit intercedes with groanings that align prayer with the Father’s will, ensuring that believers are upheld even in their inability to pray. Practical implications are plain and pastoral. Suffering does not prove divine punishment or abandonment, nor does it sever the believer from Christ’s love. Rather, present trials can prepare believers for future glory, refine faith, and reveal dependency on God’s triune compassion. The congregation is encouraged to persevere, to refuse despair, and to view hardships as temporary instruments of sanctification rather than final verdicts on God’s goodness. The closing moves from teaching to worship: communion is presented as a remembrance of Christ’s death and a sign of hope until he comes. The final benediction points believers to citizenship in heaven and the transformation of their lowly bodies into likeness with Christ’s glorious body. Throughout, the tone is pastoral and urgent—suffering is real and painful, but undergirded by a faithful God whose Spirit prays, who prepares, and who will one day end all decay.