NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27

JEREMIAH 1-2:
The book of Jeremiah was written between 627 and 580 BC. Counting the number of verses, Jeremiah is longer than all other books of the Old Testament except Genesis and Psalms. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Having just heard in 2 Kings  an overview of what happened during the last days of the kingdom of Judah, we now will hear the poems and sermons of a sensitive man living through it all. Mears says, “No other prophet bares his soul to his readers as does Jeremiah. Although Jeremiah announced the coming destruction of Judah, he looked beyond this judgment to a day when everyone would know the Lord personally through the forgiveness of his or her sins (Jer. 31-34). This new kind of relationship with the Lord would be part of the “new covenant” the Lord would establish with his people (Jer. 31:31).”

PSALM 138:
This is the first of a series of eight psalms where the psalmist speaks in the first person singular. This psalm includes an important declaration in verse two, which ESV translates like this:

Ps. 138:2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

NLT and CEV have done a good job translating the meaning, and I particularly like the second phrase in NLT.

JOHN 18a:
As John said in chapter 13, “Jesus, having always loved his disciples, he loved them to the end.”

NLT Translation notes:
John 18:22 Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. [He snapped,]“Is that the way to answer the high priest?” [/he demanded.]
28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor.f His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and [they would not be able//they wouldn’t be allowed to] celebrate the Passover.
30 [The Jewish leaders replied,] “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” [/they retorted].
35 [Pilatos snapped back,] “Am I a Jew?” [/Pilate retorted.] “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.