John: WEEKEND RECHARGE!

August 23, 2025

Our prayer is that the WEEKEND RECHARGE! helps you stay connected with God’s Word. Let us know if you find these meaningful. We appreciate your feedback.

Monday, August 18—John 18:1-27
Tuesday, August 19—John 18:28-40
Wednesday, August 20—John 19:1-16
Thursday, August 21—John 19:17-24
Friday, August 22—John 19:25-37

THIS WEEK’S DAILY DEVO OVERVIEW: JOHN 18:1—JOHN 19:37

JOHN 18:1-27: Betrayal and Denial

• Even as Judas led the soldiers into the garden, Jesus showed full awareness and control of the situation. His arrest and death were not forced on him — they were part of God’s redemptive plan.
  
  
• Jesus protected his disciples and rebuked Peter for taking matters into his own hands. Jesus was fulfilling the mission given to him by the Father.
  
  
• Peter’s denials didn’t disqualify him. He repented and was restored. God’s grace reaches us in our lowest moments and calls us back into faithful service.

JOHN 18:28-40: Standing Before Pilate

• Although political motives and religious hypocrisy drove the events, God was guiding every detail according to his redemptive plan. Jesus’ journey to the cross was not by chance — it was divine design (John 18:32; Gal. 4:4-5).
  
  
• When questioned by Pilate, Jesus clearly stated that his kingdom is not of this world and that his mission was to bear witness to the truth (John 18:36-37). He was not seeking earthly power but offering eternal transformation.
  
  
• Pilate, despite recognizing Jesus’ innocence, chose to prioritize political safety and public approval over truth. By releasing Barabbas, the crowd exchanged the Messiah for a common criminal — a powerful picture of sinful humanity's tendency to prefer darkness over light.

JOHN 19:1-16: Radical Love

• The brutal flogging, mocking, and beating Jesus endured were not only acts of cruelty—they also served as foretold signs of the suffering Messiah (Isaiah 50:6, 53:3). Jesus bore this willingly as part of God’s plan to redeem humanity.
  
  
• Jesus reminded Pilate that he had no authority apart from what was given from above (John 19:11). Even during political pressure, unjust trials, and public outcry, God was in complete control.
  
  
• Jesus didn’t resist. The image of the suffering Savior—bloodied, mocked, and rejected—is the clearest display of divine, sacrificial love the world has ever seen.

JOHN 19:17-24: The Via Dolorosa

• Our Lord’s suffering fulfilled prophecy and demonstrated his voluntary submission to the Father’s redemptive plan.
  
  
• From Pilate’s fear-based decision to the soldiers' violence, God used even imperfect human choices to carry out his eternal plan, which was promised from Genesis 3:15 onward.
  
  
• Many details of Jesus' crucifixion were foretold in the psalms and by the prophets. From casting lots for his clothing to his placement between two criminals, the events unfolded exactly as the Old Testament prophecies predicted, confirming that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

JOHN 19:25-37: It is Finished!

• God's sovereign plan was affirmed through his Suffering Servant.
  
  
• While suffering on the cross, Jesus made sure his mother was taken care of by entrusting her to John, showing that his love extended even in his agony.
  
  
• When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant that the debt of sin had been paid in full. His death was not a defeat but the victorious completion of his mission to pay the ultimate penalty for sin.  

Additional Points to Consider

Why is this verse important?

John 19:34
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

Bible scholar Bob Utley’s comments are helpful here:

This is an eyewitness medical detail showing that He was truly dead and thereby asserting the true humanity of Jesus the Messiah. The Gospel of John as well as 1 John were written in the days of a growing Gnosticism which affirmed the Deity of Jesus but denied His humanity.^[1]

What is Gnosticism?

Gnosticism was a popular belief in the early church. Here are the primary points: 

1. 1. Gnosis means knowledge, not intellectual knowledge, but a deep spiritual knowledge.
      
      
   2. The spiritual world is good. The material world is evil.
      
      
   3. The material world was not created by the true God but by a lesser god.
      
      
   4. Human beings contain a “divine spark” that is caught in the material body and needs to be awakened.
      
      
   5. Jesus was seen as a spiritual being but not truly human. He only appeared to be human. This is known as Docetism.
      
      
   6. Docetism was condemned in the early church because it denies Jesus’ humanity and undermines the essential Christian beliefs of the incarnation and resurrection.
      
      
   7. Early church opponents of Docetism were John (see 1 John), Ignatius of Antioch, and Irenaeus.