Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Matthew 27:27-31  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.  28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.  29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!  30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.  31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.  Jewish historian Josephus stated that there were about 500 Roman soldiers in the hall of judgment when Jesus was led away for execution. Forcefully putting a crown of thorns upon Jesus' head was designed to mock Him as a king as well as to inflict pain. Jesus being spat upon was the ultimate sign of disrespect and shame and this fulfilled Messianic ...

  I need to point out that some theologians and denominations and pastors in the past, have looked at the Jews rejection of their own Messiah. Over the years, many of them have vilified the entire Jewish race for what happened during the betrayal, suffering, and death of Christ. We must be reminded that the Jewish people have not been cast off by God (See Romans 9-11).  He has a plan for them and they will be gloriously saved during the seven years of tribulation. Those who promote such negative views of the Jewish people are wrong. Yes, they rejected Jesus and yes, the called for his crucifixion and gloried in it. However, as we have repeatedly noted, this was in accord with God's plan of redemption. Also, I pointed out that Pontius Pilate represented the Gentiles of the world, and all Gentiles are guilty of the death of Christ, for He came to die for the sins of all people, Jews and Gentiles. Romans 3:9-11  What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have...

  Good morning to each of our Readers.... Below is a link that will take you to the YouTube channel of Heritage Baptist Church in Smithville, Ohio. There you will find a livestream of the Sunday School lesson that I taught on July 26, 2026. We learned how Jehoshaphat began very well and if his tory stopped there, we would say it was all sunshine and blue skies because so many good things happened. However, his story continued on and what happened next is very perplexing. Jehoshaphat initially strengthened himself against Israel because wicked king Ahab ruled and he feared being attacked. Remember, ten tribes broke away from Judah and Jerusalem, and formed Israel, the northern kingdom.  Judah and Jerusalem continued with kings in the line of David and the Levitical priesthood established by Moses, and were known as the southern kingdom. We learned that from 2 Chronicles 17. However, in the next chapter, we find Jehoshaphat traveling to Samaria after he made and "affinity" with...

Matthew 27:11-14  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.  12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.  13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?  14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.  We now look at Jesus' more formal trial in front of the Roman governor named Pontius Pilate. Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews and Jesus simply said "That is what you say." Chief priests and elders launched baseless accusations against Jesus but our Lord did not respond to them. Isaiah 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Jesus did not respond to those who inte...

Good morning to all of our Readers around the world! It has been a while since I posted a hymn story for you. This hymn has become one of my favorites and it is based upon the words of Isaiah the prophet, about 800 years before Christ was born. The refrain was inspired by the following text from Isaiah. Isaiah 6:1-8  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.  4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.  5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean ...

More evil actions undertaken by the chief priests and elders. Matthew 27:1-2  When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:  2  And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.  in our last post, we left with Christ in the hands of the chief priests and elders, condemned to die.  They could only threaten Jesus with execution because about two years prior, the Romans took away the Jews right to inflict capital punishment. Since they could put no man to death, they met early in the morning with another council to consider what options they had.  They concluded that Jesus must be sent to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Next, Matthew gives a parenthesis telling us about what happened with Judas Iscariot. The gruesome fate of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. Matthew 27:3-5  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw tha...