You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. –Psalm 88:6
The night Jesus was arrested He was taken to Caiphas, the high priest, where He was tried summarily and beaten.
Author Archives: Mike Mason
Holy Steps (Chapter 52 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Having finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. –John 18:1
Here is where this book began, at this ancient Roman stairway known as the Holy Steps. Standing beside these steps on a hot Jerusalem afternoon, it suddenly struck me: Jesus walked here.
The Rock of the Agony (Chapter 51 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed. –Luke 22:41
If this book were about the trees of the Bible, rather than the rocks, we would now be at the heartwood of our story: the Garden of Gethsemane, home to an ancient grove of olive trees, some of which may be two thousand years old.
The Stele of Bethphage (Chapter 48 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. –Mt 21:5
When I first heard about the “Stele of Bethphage,” I laughed.
The Stones Cry Out (Chapter 47 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. –Luke 19:40
What is more inert, more inanimate, more incapable of voice than a stone?
The Destruction of Jerusalem (Chapter 46 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down. –Mark 13:2
Jesus could be such a killjoy. One of His band of Galilean rustics, agog with wonder at the sights of the big city, exclaims, “What magnificent buildings!”
Christ the Cornerstone (Chapter 45 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. -Mt 21:42
Here we come to one of the central messianic images in the Bible.
The Forbidding Placard (Chapter 44 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. –Eph 2:14
So far we have examined impressive first-century remains from the Temple Mount platform and from some of its auxiliary structures. When it comes to the Temple itself, however, the fact is that not a single positively identifiable stone survives.
Coins (Chapter 43 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
A poor widow put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. –Mark 12:42
If we want to get technical in this book about stones in the life of Jesus, we must admit that a number of miscellaneous materials—including pottery, glass, and metals—are all forms or components of stone.
Who Moved the Stone? (Chapter 63 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away?” –Mark 16:2-3
On the first Easter morning, the women who wanted to anoint Jesus’ body with spices had a problem. Who would move the stone from the tomb entrance?