John 19:10-11 Degrees of Sin and the Lake of Fire

10: Then said Pilate to him Speakest thou not unto me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and have power to release you 11: Iesous answered You could have no power at all against me except it were given you from above therefore they that delivered me to you have the greater sin[1]

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[1] There is only one sin that can consign a person to the Lake of Fire (which Jesus spoke of in Matthew chapter 25, and Revelation chapter 20 speaks of as the second death), and that is the sin of unbelief, in rejecting Jesus the only Christ as Messiah. But beyond the sin of unbelief and the penalty of eternal condemnation, Jesus clearly speaks of degrees of sin and condemnation.  What this consists of, we cannot speculate. But, in this verse, there is no mistaking that Jesus spoke of greater sin (and elsewhere in the gospels, he spoke of greater condemnation). The same applies to reward. Eternal life is granted to those who believe. And beyond that, Paul wrote of rewards for how believers build upon the foundation of Christ.

John 19:1-2 Crown of Thorns

    1: Then Pilate therefore took Iesous and scourged him 2: And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns and wounded[1] his head and they put on him a purple robe

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[1] One of the Strong’s definitions for the Greek verb, epitithemi, G2007, is “wound.” Although the word is not generally translated as such, it can be if context permits. And the context does permit in John 19:2. This writer believes that to use the most common translations of the word (to put or to set), minimizes the physical trauma our savior endured when the crown of six inch thorns was violently jammed into his scalp. He was wounded for our transgressions.

John 16:12 Jesus and Science

12: I have yet many things to show you but you do not have the power to carry [sustain and support] them at this time [1]

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[1] Jesus could have been referring to unpleasant facts he wanted to shield his disciples from, but that is doubtful as he was forthright about his upcoming crucifixion and future martyrdom of his disciples. More likely, he was referring to things (he would show his followers later) that would be supported by discoveries in the last days when knowledge would be increased. 

   For example, along with the rise of evolutionary Darwinism which espouses the blind watch-maker theory for how the universe came into existence, great strides in astronomy and physics reveal the inescapable fact of intelligent design—something which requires a creator. 

   The Bible contains all one needs to know about life and godliness. We do not need to understand the science of creation in order to attain eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, our creator and savior. But do we credit our God with compassion enough to reach down to those with scientific minds and give them the evidence they crave from his handiwork? 

   The Bible says he does just that. 

   We must never forget Thomas, who had to see the nail prints in His hands and wound from the spear in His side before he could believe in the resurrection of his master. Jesus graciously allowed Thomas the assurance he needed (based on forensic evidence), without denigrating blind faith. 

   In fact, Jesus accredited believing the preaching of the gospel, without seeing, as the better thing. 

  As the prophet said, the Just shall live by faith. 

  And what is faith? It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Even so, our Savior promised to show us things that could be supported with forensic evidence at some future date—things that could not be supported by the limitations of knowledge in the day he and his disciples walked the earth. 

   God told us in his Word that the day would come when knowledge would be increased, and that Centers of Knowledge would be used to draw his creation away from him. 

   That is why his Word also says the fear of the LORD must be the foundation of all knowledge.