Month: April 2023 Page 1 of 2

He is Risen!  Listen to the story in song here. 

Try this response on Easter:

When someone says: Christ is risen!
Respond with: He is risen indeed!

“But the angel said to the women,
‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus,
who was crucified. He isn’t here,
for He has risen, as He said.
Come see the place where He lay.
Then go quickly and tell His disciples
that He has risen from the dead,
and behold, He is going before you to Galilee;
there you’ll see Him. See, I have told you’”
Matthew 28:5-7

Angel.  Jesus’ birth was announced by an angel, so it is fitting that an angel now at the end of His life makes the announcement that He is risen.  The angel knew there would be some of His followers looking for Him at the tomb sooner or later so he hung around and waited so he could tell them the good news.

Story.  The angel told the women the story in a nutshell.  I know you’re looking for Jesus.  He was crucified, died, and buried, but He is not here.  He is risen.  He didn’t stop with just the facts.  He knew the women would want to see for themselves, so he invited them into the tomb to see where Jesus had been lying.  Once they saw that He was gone, the angel told them to hurry and tell the rest of His disciples and followers what they saw and what he told them.  Oh, and be sure to tell them that Jesus will meet them in Galilee just like He told them.

Excitement.  The silence of yesterday turned rather quickly into excitement as the women saw and heard what happened.  They were beside themselves with joy and anticipation of being able to see their Savior again.  I can imagine the angel saying, Get going and spread the news! because they probably stood there for a few minutes in awe and wonder.

Go tell.  The task assigned to the women was to go and tell.  Our task is the same.  We’ve been through a lot of learning and thinking these last six weeks of the season of Lent.  What are you going to do with it?  I pray that it doesn’t just go in one eye/ear and out the other, but that you will share it with others.  He is risen!  What better news can we share with anyone?!  If you missed any of the Lent posts or want to start from the beginning, go to the archives to post # 19 for the first one.

Salvation.  The whole point of the story of Jesus and of Easter is that Jesus came into the world as a baby, lived a sinless life, shared and taught, and went through such suffering and pain on the cross so that you and I can have our sins forgiven, be cleansed, have fellowship with Him and eternal life in Heaven.  That is something I wouldn’t want to live here without and definitely would not want to die without.  I want to know that when I die I will live with Jesus in Heaven for all eternity, and I know I will.  How about you?  Do you know the risen Christ?  You can.  The victory Jesus had over death can be ours when we believe, trust Him as our Savior, and ask Him to forgive our sins.  If you haven’t done that, I pray you will do that today on this Resurrection Sunday.  What better day than to accept Him into your life and be assured of the promise of eternal life?!

HAPPY EASTER!
HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!
GO AND TELL!

PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord,  thank You once again for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace, and Your forgiveness.  I believe and trust in You.  Make me bold as I go out and share You with others.

Come back in a couple of days and watch for more posts on God’s perfect peace and other related topics.

Today is basically going to be a day of reflection.  It’s not a time to get into a discussion with anyone or talk.  Just spend the day thinking and praying.

What is Silent Saturday?  After the events of Holy Week and particularly Good Friday, silence was felt in many homes. Jesus’ body had been placed in the sealed tomb with guards standing watch.  His followers shed tears as we would at a funeral. In a borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus got the rest coming to Him as He awaited the glorious resurrection that would come. 

From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath Day.  So it would normally be quiet anyway, but with all that happened on Good Friday, people may have been hiding and silent, lost in their own thoughts.

Grief.  The believers were grieving the death of Jesus, still not understanding all that happened and would happen in the next few days.  They thought that Jesus was gone and they’d never see Him again.  They may have talked quietly among themselves about all the things He taught, the miracles they watched Him perform, the healings, even the way He marched into the temple and overturned the money changers, sending money rolling all over and animals fleeing for their lives. 

Think about what and how you would be grieving on this day in history if you were there.

Fear.  Perhaps the believers were fearful that the Romans would persecute and arrest the now that their leader was gone.  They might have gone into hiding to protect themselves and their families, especially those who had been seen with Jesus and were vocal about their beliefs.

Think about what your fears might have been as well as what your fears are in the present in light of the way Christians are being persecuted around the world.

Doubt.  The believers had no problem trusting Jesus to save them while He was alive, but now He was gone.  They may have doubted that He really was the Messiah.  Along with the doubt came disappointment that things did not turn out the way they envisioned it.  Their whole world was turned upside down and they weren’t sure what to think or do.

Think about whether you would have doubted and how you would have felt after Jesus died—not knowing what you now know from the Bible.  Then think about your current doubts about Jesus, the Bible, salvation, and the Christian faith in general.

Fatigue.  Yes, fatigue!  It had been a stressful week for everyone.  The believers didn’t agree with the trials and the decisions made to put their Messiah to death, but they were unable to do anything about it, especially without risking their own life as well.  Emotional stress is just as tiring as physical stress.

Think about your physical body and how emotional stress affects it.  How would you be feeling after a week like this?  What emotional and physical stressors are affecting you right now?

Silence.  Sometimes silence seems deafening.  On this day Heaven was silent.  God was silent.  Jesus was silent.  Silence does not mean absence.  God was waiting for the appointed time to bring Jesus back to life, but this was a day of waiting in silence for God to make the next move.

What do you do with silence?  Do you fill it with noise because you can’t stand silence?  Or do you lean into it and really listen to hear what God is saying?

Waiting.  I read a quote on the internet but I’m not sure who said it:  “It may be good for us to sit in the tension of the already and the not yet.”  That’s waiting at its best!  Who wants to sit in the middle of tension, stress, and problems?  We want things fixed and the frustrating issues to go away.

What would you have done while you waited for the Sabbath to end?  What would you do when it did end?  What do you do now on Sundays?

Scriptural account.  This is the account from the Bible of what happened on Saturday:

“ 62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”
Matthew 27:62-66, NIV

Now that you know what the Bible says about Saturday, the day after Jesus’ crucifixion, does that change how you would have responded or how you now respond?

Tomorrow is RESURRECTION SUNDAY!  I am going to post tomorrow’s at the same time as today’s so I can spend the day celebrating with family.  Enjoy!  I’ll be back next week with one or two new posts after Easter, but they won’t be every day going forward.

PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, it is so hard to just be still and be silent, but I know that is what You want me to do.  Help me to be more diligent about guarding the sabbath day from activities that take my mind and devotion away from You.  Help me to use it as a day to draw closer to You, rest, and share with others.

• Week 1 – temptation
• Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
• Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
• Week 4 – God’s love for us
• Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
• Week 6 – suffering (W), pain (T), and struggles (F-S), rejoicing (Palm Sunday), Trials (M-T-W), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday
• Easter – resurrection and salvation

Good Friday is the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus and his death on the cross at Calvary.  It is a sad day of mourning as we remember what happened to Jesus that day, but it is also a day of victory because Jesus defeated the devil when He died to pay for our sins on that cross. 

Some Christians spend Good Friday in fasting, prayer, repentance, and meditation on the agony and suffering of Christ.  We’ve been doing that for the entire season of Lent leading up to Holy Week and Easter.  Years ago some churches had three-hour services divided up with the last words of Jesus on the cross, but most churches today just have a normal one-hour service.  It is good to take the time on Good Friday to stop and think about the fact that this was the day that Jesus died, stop, and reflect on all that He’s done for us.

Why is it called Good Friday?  This excerpt from an article on Christianity Today online summarizes it better than I can, so I’d like to quote it here:

“For the gospel’s good news to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is essential to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then, the gospel of Jesus’ grace brings us relief and salvation.

“In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26).”

Christianity Today online

The Trials continued into the early morning hours of Good Friday, ending with Jesus being sentenced to death by crucifixion on the cross.  Jesus was exhausted from lack of sleep.  Even if He would have had a chance to lie down or at least sit (which He most likely did not), I doubt He would have been able to rest or relax because of the pain inflicted on His body and mind.  Everything about Him was on heightened alert, making rest impossible.  I’m amazed that He was able to stand and walk with all the abuse His body had undergone.

The Via Dolorosa “is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have taken, forced by the Roman soldiers, on the way to his crucifixion.”  Wikipedia gives more details about the path.  It was a long walk which was even harder and slower while carrying a heavy wooden cross.  It’s inhumane enough to use a cross for death, but to have the person carry their own means of execution seems inexcusable.  Can you imagine carrying a bulky piece of wood on your back weighing approximately 165 pounds?  It is said that the distance was only a half mile, but because of the weight of the cross, the crowds, and the need for frequent stops and starts, it took between one and three hours to cover the distance from the trials to Golgotha.  It’s no wonder the Romans coerced Simon into carrying the cross for Jesus who was too weak to continue.  They wanted to make sure Jesus was still alive when they arrived at Golgotha so they could watch Him be crucified.

The crucifixion.  Jesus wasn’t alone as He was crucified.  There were criminals on each side of Him, one who went up and one who went down.  What happened at the cross?  More insults, thirst, pain, dehydration, brief conversation, momentary separation from God, a soul saved, bystanders who may have believed, and victory when death conquered sin and the grave.

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice,
he gave up his spirit. … When the centurion
and those with him who were guarding Jesus
saw the earthquake and all that had happened,
they were terrified, and exclaimed,
“Surely he was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:50, 54, NIV

It had to be.  Nothing except Jesus’ death on the cross would have satisfied the debt of sin.  The price was paid.  We are free and live because He died.

PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, thank You for the cross and the price You paid so I wouldn’t have to.  Thank You for being my substitute.  I could never repay the debt I owe to You but I know I don’t have to because You gave it willingly with no strings attached.

• Week 1 – temptation
• Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
• Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
• Week 4 – God’s love for us
• Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
• Week 6 – suffering (W), pain (T), and struggles (F-S), rejoicing (Palm Sunday), Trials (M-T-W), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday
• Easter – resurrection and salvation

Maundy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus and is when the Love Feast and the Washing of the Feet act of service are practiced in some Christian churches.  Churches observe Maundy Thursday in various ways. 

Love Feast.  The Love Feast was a fellowship meal eaten by Christians in the early church for the purpose of fellowship and usually ended with sharing in the Lord’s Supper (Communion).  At the services I’ve attended there was a light meal of soup and bread followed by the foot washing and then the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  In the verses below Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to come to the Lord’s table in the right spirit which some of them weren’t.  They were coming on empty stomachs and thinking only of themselves.  The Love Feast is meant to give Christians a time of fellowship over the meal and unite them as they eat together.  Once this takes place, they are prepared spiritually to serve each other as Jesus did.

“When you meet together,
you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper.
For some of you hurry to eat
your own meal without sharing with others.
As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.
What? Don’t you have your own homes
for eating and drinking?
Or do you really want to disgrace
God’s church and shame the poor?
What am I supposed to say?
Do you want me to praise you?
Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!”
1 Corinthians 11:20-22, NLT

Foot Washing.  I have been to a couple of Foot Washing services, and it is humbling to get down on your knees and wash someone else’s feet and then have them wash yours, yet that is what Jesus did for His Disciples at their last meal together.  It would do us all good to participate at least once in a lifetime in such a service to experience what the Disciples were experiencing when Jesus washed their feet. 

“Jesus got up from the meal,
took off His outer clothing,
and wrapped a towel around His waist.
After that, He poured water into a basin
and began to wash His disciples’ feet,
drying them with the towel
that was wrapped around Him.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example that
you should do as I have done for you.”
John 13:4-5, 14-15, NIV

Washing your guest’s feet when they arrived after a long dusty walk in sandals was a common courtesy but one the Disciples hadn’t thought about in preparation.  Jesus demonstrated servanthood and washed their feet which also showed them in a tangible way that spiritual cleansing was needed as well.

The Last Supper.  After these acts of fellowship and service were done, Jesus continued teaching and preparing His Disciples for what was to come next.  He shared His last meal with His Disciples which has become known as The Last Supper or Communion, and is our way of commemorating Jesus death, burial, and resurrection until He comes again for us in the clouds.

“He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.
Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples,
saying, “This is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper he took another cup of wine and said,
“This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—
an agreement confirmed with my blood,
which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”
Luke 22:19-20, NLT

Garden of Gethsemane.  Upon finishing up their time of fellowship with singing a hymn, they walked out to the Mount of Olives.  The Garden of Gethsemane is a garden that sits at the base of the Mount of Olives.  Jesus and His Disciples spent a lot of time there praying, teaching, and fellowshipping together because it was a quiet place where they could rest without being disturbed…until this night.  Jesus asked His friends to stay and watch and pray while He went a little further to pray alone, but as we know they fell asleep more than once.  Finally, it was time for things to start heating up.  Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and Jesus was dragged away which began the physical abuse at the trials that started that night and concluded the next day.

“And when they had sung an hymn,
they went out into the mount of Olives.”
Matthew 26:30, KJV

Reflection.  What can we learn from the events of this Maundy Thursday?  Look back at each of the pieces of that day…which was really only an evening…and listen to what Jesus is telling and showing us here.

PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, You were busy right up to the end teaching and demonstrating love and servanthood to those around You.  May I be able to do the same until You call me home to Heaven.

• Week 1 – temptation
• Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
• Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
• Week 4 – God’s love for us
• Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
• Week 6 – suffering (W), pain (T), and struggles (F-S), rejoicing (Palm Sunday), Trials (M-T-W), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday
• Easter – resurrection and salvation

Trials come when we least expect them, especially when you’re out hiking on an unfamiliar path.  A friend and I were hiking a path which led to the spot pictured above.  We looked around for signs or markers to see how the trail was going to get us around this waterfall and slippery rocks.  We finally found it, but it required climbing up and over huge boulders—not easy and not exactly what we had in mind for a leisurely hike in the woods.

The Roman trial of Jesus included three parts of the trial.  Keep in mind that there is a slight overlap with the Hebrew trials we talked about yesterday.

(1) The appearance of Jesus before Pilate. 

“Then the entire council took Jesus
to Pilate, the Roman governor.”
Luke 23:1

When the religious leaders heard what Jesus had to say for Himself, they figured they had enough proof to put Him away and took Him to Pilate.  So Pilate asked Jesus a few questions and then turned to the leading priests and the crowd.  In an attempt to get Jesus out of his hair and off his mind, Pilate told them he didn’t find anything wrong with what Jesus said.  The crowd became insistent that Jesus should be crucified.

When Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent Jesus to Herod because that was his jurisdiction…anything to get rid of Jesus.  Besides Herod had a reputation for corruption…let him deal with it.

Jesus gave short answers that did not directly affirm nor deny their questions.  You have said it.  He let them think about their own question and decide the truth for themselves.  What is our first recourse when someone accuses us of something?  I didn’t do it. OR It was him as we point the finger at someone else to get us off the hot seat.  Jesus did not do that.  He was willing to take the brunt of the accusations.

(2) His arraignment before Herod. 

“Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus…
Then Herod and his soldiers began
mocking and ridiculing Jesus.”
Luke 23:8a, 11a

At first Herod was pleased to see Jesus.  He’d heard about Jesus and was hoping to see Him perform a miracle.  I wonder if Herod would have believed if Jesus had performed a miracle???  But it wasn’t a private audience.  The religious leaders were also present and were not at all silent.  They were hurling accusations to which Jesus wasn’t responding.  When Herod wasn’t getting what he’d hoped for he, too, began mocking Jesus.  

Jesus had short answers for Pilate, but now with Herod, He did not answer a word.  That is a good example to follow.  No answer is often better than short angry answers or longer ones that say too much.  Responses that aren’t what the other person wants to hear usually spur on more unnecessary disagreement and tension whereas no response lets things simmer and die.

(3) His reappearance before Pilate. 

“Finally, they put a royal robe on Him
and sent Him back to Pilate…
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.”
Luke 23:llb, 24

Jesus must have felt like a ping pong ball being batted back and forth between Pilate and Herod.  Politics at its finest!  Pilate and Herod weren’t exactly friends before this, but now they were becoming friends because they became united in their mockery and disdain for Jesus.  It looks and sounds like Pilate really didn’t see any reason to execute Jesus but was afraid of not only the crowds but the Roman authorities who had already warned him about restlessness in his jurisdiction.  He was afraid the crowd might get out of hand and threaten his own leadership.

It’s not my job.  That’s your responsibility.  Essentially that’s the game Pilate and Herod were playing with Jesus in the middle.  We play that game in life, too.  If there’s something in it for us, we want to take credit, but if there’s nothing in it, we want to pass the buck to someone else.  Jesus didn’t do that.  He accepted full responsibility for the weight of the world that was on His shoulders.  He didn’t call it quits when it got tough.  He went all the way to the end, to the cross, and then resurrection.

PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, help me to know when to be quiet and when to speak.  May I be willing to take the blame when it’s mine to take, give it up when it belongs to someone else, and the wisdom to know the difference.

• Week 1 – temptation
• Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
• Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
• Week 4 – God’s love for us
• Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
• Week 6 – suffering (W), pain (T), and struggles (F-S), rejoicing (Palm Sunday), Trials (M-T-W), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday
• Easter – resurrection and salvation