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How is Truthfulness Demonstrated in Scripture?

New from Character Sketches, Volume IV!

3 min
Listen to this story from Scripture:

Evening was coming, bringing an end to a grueling, tragic day. The man was one of the religious leaders of the Jewish nation, a member of their ruling Council. He was wealthy and respected, but he had been unable to prevent the others from condemning an innocent man to death.

The Sanhedrin had convened before dawn to bring charges against the Prophet from Galilee Who claimed to be the promised Messiah. A stream of witnesses appeared to testify against Him, but their stories, lacking credibility or verification, failed to provide enough evidence to bring a conviction. When the Man on trial affirmed that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, the High Priest pronounced Him guilty of blasphemy. The Council burst into an uproar, and Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to death.

One of two Council members who disagreed with the decision, this man had long been looking forward with eagerness to the coming of God’s Kingdom, and he was known as a righteous man. When Jesus appeared and declared that the Kingdom was at hand, the religious leader listened intently. He soon became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. However, he kept his opinion secret, because the rest of the leaders were fiercely opposed to the Galilean Prophet.

As the day progressed, Jesus was sentenced to death by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate; severely beaten; and then led through the streets of Jerusalem to a hill outside the city. There, Jesus was crucified beneath a sign proclaiming, “This is the King of the Jews.” He was flanked on either side by two other men who had been condemned to death. He spent the next hours in agony as onlookers mocked Him.

Finally, the end came. Jesus uttered, “It is finished,” bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

The Godly religious leader realized that he had allowed fear to keep him from openly acknowledging Jesus, and now was the time to act with courage. He started walking toward the Roman governor’s residence. He asked for an audience with Pilate and presented his request: “I would like to take the body of the crucified Man from Nazareth so that I can give him a proper burial.”

Surprised to hear that the crucified Man had died so quickly, Pilate summoned the centurion in charge of the execution to receive confirmation of the death. Learning that Jesus was indeed dead, he granted the request for His body. The man conferred with another member of the Council who was also a secret believer in the Lord, arranging for the materials required for Jesus’ burial. The leader himself purchased clean linen while his friend Nicodemus procured a large amount of myrrh and aloe spices.

Together, they removed Christ’s body from the cross and wrapped it along with the spices in the linen cloths, following customary Jewish burial practices.

Joseph of Arimathea previously had arranged for a tomb to be hewn into the rock in a nearby garden, intending it to be his own burial place. In this tomb, unused by anyone, he and Nicodemus placed the body of Jesus Christ. In so doing, he publicly and courageously acknowledged that he was a follower of Jesus.

From Character Sketches, Volume IV, page 251, based on Matthew 26–27, Mark 14–15, Luke 22–23, and John 18–19

Explore more as a family!

The very nature and character of God is seen all throughout His created universe. Job remarked, “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee” (Job 12:7-8).

Each section of Character Sketches, Volume IV begins with a captivating “read-aloud” nature story that introduces the character quality being taught. The printed volume continues with interesting facts on the featured species’ characteristics and physical features. This is followed by a story from Scripture that illustrates the character quality, along with background information on the individual or situation in the story, which is then summed up in a “character sketch.” Generously illustrated with stunning lifelike watercolor and pencil drawings, the oversized book (9 1/2″ by 12 3/4″) is available to order and will be treasured and enjoyed for generations.

The Character Sketches series is designed to be a tool that fathers can use to teach their children basic concepts of Scripture that are illustrated in the world of nature. Among our best-loved publications, hundreds of thousands have enjoyed the gripping stories and beautiful illustrations that the volumes contain.

Explore more about this topic in Character Sketches, Volume IV

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