WEBVTT - When Your Burden Makes You Fall (John 19:17)

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<v Speaker 1>Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day

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<v Speaker 1>to learn more about God and his will for us.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm your host, Jessica Vanrokel, and after the short word

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<v Speaker 1>from our sponsor, will continue our journey to the Cross

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<v Speaker 1>with today's Bible verse, John chapter nineteen, verse seventeen. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>Bible verses John chapter nineteen, verse seventeen. And he went

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<v Speaker 1>out bearing his own cross to the place called the

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<v Speaker 1>place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

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<v Speaker 1>For the last few decades, I've met with a friend

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<v Speaker 1>every other week. We raised our kids side by side,

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<v Speaker 1>served together in our local body of believers, worshiped God together,

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<v Speaker 1>and grown in grace and trust. We've celebrated together and

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<v Speaker 1>sorrowed together. God knit our hearts through our shared commitment

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<v Speaker 1>to live for Him no matter what we face. When

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<v Speaker 1>her heart breaks, my heart breaks too. When I'm joyous,

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<v Speaker 1>she rejoices too. Whether we have internal or situational struggles,

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<v Speaker 1>we point each other to Christ and God's word. She

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<v Speaker 1>has borne my burdens and I've borne hers. Burying each

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<v Speaker 1>other's burdens is a gift we can give to those

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<v Speaker 1>who struggle to carry them alone. It is a privilege

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<v Speaker 1>to walk with my friend through her ups and her downs.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm beyond grateful she allows me access to her inner heart.

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus also had to bear burdens. He needed his friends

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<v Speaker 1>to pray with him through the Garden of Gsemine, and

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<v Speaker 1>they couldn't stay awake. Then they scattered at his arrest,

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<v Speaker 1>and he faced the next several hours alone. When he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't carry his cross, the Romans pulled a stranger from

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<v Speaker 1>the crowd. In this episode, on our Journey to the Cross,

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<v Speaker 1>we dive into the gospel's accounts describing Jesus's carrying his cross.

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<v Speaker 1>You can find each of these accounts in Matthew chapter

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<v Speaker 1>twenty seven, verses thirty one and thirty two, the Book

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<v Speaker 1>of Mark in chapter fifteen, verses twenty one through twenty two,

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<v Speaker 1>Luke chapter twenty three, verses twenty six through thirty one,

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<v Speaker 1>and John chapter nineteen, verses sixteen and seventeen. Where today's

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<v Speaker 1>passage is taken from each one of the gospel writers

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<v Speaker 1>presents the same event, but with an individual perspective. Reading

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<v Speaker 1>them in conjunction, or one after another paints a vivid

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<v Speaker 1>picture of what Jesus experienced. Carrying his own cross is

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<v Speaker 1>considered the sixth stage of Christ's suffering. It was the

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<v Speaker 1>Roman custom to place the cross beam on the man.

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<v Speaker 1>Before they placed the man on the cross, they forced

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<v Speaker 1>the criminal to carry his cross in a public procession

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<v Speaker 1>designed to draw attention to the condemned, his crime, and

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<v Speaker 1>his fate. It was good advertising for Rome's stance on

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<v Speaker 1>criminal justice, and because of that, the criminal was often

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<v Speaker 1>led the longest way possible to Golgotha so more people

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<v Speaker 1>could be see and more warnings declared. Jesus had been condemned,

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<v Speaker 1>A herald shouted his crime and death was his fate.

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<v Speaker 1>By the time the crossbeam, weighing anywhere from seventy five

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<v Speaker 1>to one hundred and twenty pounds, was tied to Jesus's shoulders,

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<v Speaker 1>he was exhausted. He had been up all night without food, water,

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<v Speaker 1>and sleep while he faced false accusations and mistreatment from

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<v Speaker 1>the Jewish Council. After Pilot's ruling, he was scorged. Scorging

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<v Speaker 1>is a cruel and inhumane treatment of criminal sentence to death.

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<v Speaker 1>It was designed to induce blood loss and circulatory shock

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<v Speaker 1>by ripping the flesh and cutting through muscle. Next, they

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<v Speaker 1>placed a king's robe on him and a crown made

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<v Speaker 1>from thorns on his head, and they mocked him. They

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<v Speaker 1>spit on him, and they beat him. Lastly, they stripped

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<v Speaker 1>him of clothes, possibly reopening the wounds on his back,

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<v Speaker 1>placed the crossbeam on him, and let him out. The

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<v Speaker 1>weight of the crossbeam plus physical exhaustion, pain and weakness

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<v Speaker 1>caused Jesus to fall down. The burden was too great,

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<v Speaker 1>so a man, Simon of Syreene, was pulled from the

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<v Speaker 1>crowd to carry Jesus's cross. The Romans placed the cross

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<v Speaker 1>on Simon's shoulder, who then followed Jesus through the crowd

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<v Speaker 1>to the place of the skull, which was arising on

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<v Speaker 1>a greater hill northwest of Jerusalem. Mark chapter fifteen, verses

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<v Speaker 1>twenty through twenty two tells us they started by leading

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus and ended by bringing Jesus because he was too

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<v Speaker 1>weak to walk. Jesus did all of this for us.

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<v Speaker 1>He stepped into the role of savior because he loved us.

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<v Speaker 1>John chapter three, verse sixteen states for God so loved

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<v Speaker 1>the world that he gave his only son, that whoever

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<v Speaker 1>believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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<v Speaker 1>We can have this gift of eternal life when we

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<v Speaker 1>believe and receive. He also taught us what it means

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<v Speaker 1>to take up our cross. Jesus taught this particular teaching

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<v Speaker 1>in Matthew chapter ten, verse thirty eight, along with chapter sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>verse twenty four, and in Luke chapter fourteen, verse twenty seven.

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<v Speaker 1>In Jesus's phrase take up your cross and follow me

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<v Speaker 1>painted a vivid picture in the disciples minds because a

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<v Speaker 1>cross in their day meant death. Taking up our cross

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<v Speaker 1>is a way to deny our self, which is not

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<v Speaker 1>the same as self denial. We deny self when we

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<v Speaker 1>surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will.

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<v Speaker 1>Self denial is me centric, while denying self is to

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<v Speaker 1>live as an others centered person, and it is the

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<v Speaker 1>radical command of our Christian life. Our cross is not

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<v Speaker 1>our troubles or trials in life. It is the internal

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<v Speaker 1>wrestling between indulging our wants, our ambitions, and our ways,

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<v Speaker 1>or surrendering to God's wants, ambitions, and his ways. Human

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<v Speaker 1>nature wants to indulge self, not deny self. Yet this

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<v Speaker 1>is what Jesus demonstrated in the garden of Gessemite, and

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<v Speaker 1>when he carried his cross, God has given us his

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<v Speaker 1>strength when carrying our cross seems too heavy and the

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<v Speaker 1>fight too intense. Galatians chapter six, verse two says, this

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<v Speaker 1>bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus bore our burden of judgment so we wouldn't have to,

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<v Speaker 1>and he gives us his strength to surrender our self

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<v Speaker 1>to him. And he also gives us each other, just

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<v Speaker 1>like God gave me my friend and he gave me

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<v Speaker 1>to her. To help us walk out this life of

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<v Speaker 1>self denial. We can help each other bear our struggles,

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<v Speaker 1>which teaches us to deny self and reflect Jesus's sacrifice

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<v Speaker 1>to the world. Let's bear our cross and help others

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<v Speaker 1>bear theirs. Let's pray, Holy God, we thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>this example of what it means to bear burdens for

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<v Speaker 1>each other, but also to deny ourself. Lord, we wrestle

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<v Speaker 1>every day. Are we going to indulge our human nature

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<v Speaker 1>of wanting our own way at whatever cost? Or are

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<v Speaker 1>we going to live in such a way that we

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<v Speaker 1>are asking you, Lord, what do I need to do today?

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<v Speaker 1>What plans do you have for me today, How can

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<v Speaker 1>I live for you at whatever cost. Lord, give us

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<v Speaker 1>the courage and be our strength, Be our cross bearer

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<v Speaker 1>with us as we say yes to taking up our

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<v Speaker 1>cross and living for you in Jesus' name. Amen,