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Quotes & Things David Collins

Bible Commentary - John

John 13:35. So many Christians have taken to adorning themselves with crucifixes, charms, motifs, and other such icons; intended to identify them as those belonging to Christ, as if being identified was the main goal. Jesus shows that the true mark of a disciple is in the doing of love; a principle found throughout the scriptures: `Do not let your beauty be that be that outward adorning... but let it be the hidden person of the heart.' Adorning one's self with icons, far from identifying one with Christ, indicates a lack of understanding and immaturity.

John 19:30. There are those that suppose Jesus merely passed out or swooned on the cross. I can only assume that such people have not carefully read the gospel accounts of the suffering He endured before the actual crucifixion: He was arrested, tried all night long without food or drink. He then endured further trials, beatings and mockings. This left Him in a severely weakened state, so much so, that He could not carry His cross. It was in this weakened state that He was nailed to the cross, lifted up, and left to die. Accounts abound of the great suffering that such victims endured on the cross: exhaustion, thirst, tetanus, and gangrene, to say the least. Then, finally, we read that a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear and there came forth blood and water. To suppose that wrapping such a victim up in yards of bandage and then leaving them in a tomb for three days is a means of aiding recovery is pure foolishness and an indication that such a person may need psychiatric attention. I only pray that it was not a practicing doctor that supposed such a thing!