September 13-17, 2010

Was not our heart burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32)

What an amazing week!!! This is certainly a major part of our journey that we don’t want to just skip over lightly. The events of these days literally turned this world around! But with so much to consider and so many details, it’s difficult to know which path is the best to pursue.

I hope you read the sign Pilate had posted over Jesus’ head with new understanding. JESUS THE NAZARENE - KING OF THE JEWS. The “Branch of Jesse” was hung on a lifeless tree, and by His death brought new life to all who would believe. When Pilate was confronted with the Jewish leaders’ request to change the sign declaring the verdict for which the criminal was being executed, Pilate belligerently bellowed, “What I have written, I have written.” Why was Pilate so adamant about his wording? Was he truly convinced that the statement was true and the Jews were putting their Messiah to death? His wife Claudia was certainly convinced that Jesus was a righteous man, and begged her husband not to have anything to do with His death. The Coptic church (Eastern Orthodox) has a belief that Claudia became a Christian and venerates her as such. Later on, after the death and resurrection of Christ, Pilate was exiled to Gaul where it is said that he committed suicide. Oh the speculations we could entertain!!! If his wife truly became a Christian, (and I have no doubt believing she did), could it have been that, although Pilate washed his hands of the matter, he couldn’t wash his heart? Interestingly, we have very little substantiated history to paint us a picture of Pilate’s life after the resurrection. This fact is very uncharacteristic of the history of Roman rulers. It is shocking to see how much is normally recorded of a ruler’s life and influence, but of Pilate, there is almost nil. Whatever became of him, this much we know for certain, God alone will judge his life.

This week we stood at the foot of the cross with four people who are mentioned by name. Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary, Jesus’ step-aunt who was married to Clopas, who is believed to have been Joseph’s brother, Mary from Magdala, and John. Isn’t it interesting that the women mentioned all have the name “Mary.” How apropos! Bitter! Bitter!! Bitter!!! The name “Mary” means “bitter.” And what about John’s name, “favored by YHWH!!!” What a picture is painted by those who are mentioned that day - just in their names alone! And what a cloud of witnesses they are to us today. We have a lady who was righteous and loved God, even as a teenager. She was a woman who was chosen for a specific task, knowing that it would cost her everything. “Be it unto me according to Your word,” was her humble reply. Then we have a woman who is basically an unknown, whose life and reputation is defined more by who she is joined to, rather than by her own life. Other than her name and who she was married to, we really know very little. One thing we know for sure is that at the time Jesus died, she was one of the few who stood by Him through it all. Our last Mary is a woman whose past life before she met her Rabbi was anything but righteous. The last one standing at the foot of the cross was John, a man who had been known for his trade and his strong desire to know the Master. And a man who was willing to forsake comfort and stability to follow the One who called him. Whether we are someone chosen by God for a specific purpose, a person whose life is relatively obscure, an individual with a whole closet full of skeletons, or someone who is called to give up all to follow the Master so that we can preach Him crucified to a world, there is a place for each of us at the foot of the cross!

DAY OF PREPARATION

Have you ever considered why it is that we often hold tradition over fact? When the season comes around next year when we will commemorate the events of Christ’s death and resurrection, once again Good Friday services will be held all over the world. I wonder when the majority of the church forgot how to count!?!? Jesus clearly said that He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sigh shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Johah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:39-40)

Jesus gave a precise timetable when He would be in the tomb. Only two times in Scripture are three “DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS” mentioned - the account of David fasting for his son who was born of his infidelity with Bathsheba, and Jonah’s layover in the belly of the sea monster. Did you notice that it says “three days and three nights,” and not “three nights and three days?” If Jesus was crucified on Friday, He would have been in the tomb late in the day on Friday and all day Saturday. He was risen before daylight on Sunday. Let’s see - 1 + 1 = hmmmmm! Also, if He was crucified on Friday, He would have been in the tomb Friday night and Saturday night - 1 + 1 = hmmmmmm! If He was crucified on Thursday, He would have been placed in the tomb by the later part of the day on Thursday, all day Friday and all day Saturday - 1 + 1 + 1 + 3!!! He would have also been in the heart of the earth all night Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - 1 + 1 + 1 = 3!!! So what caused all the confusion? The answer is, “Several things.”

1. Misunderstanding of the Preparation for the Sabbath

The Sabbath that the Jews were preparing for was not “Saturday.” Any of the festival days where the Jews were commanded to do no work were also known as Sabbaths. At the time when Jesus hung on the cross, the Jews were preparing for their Passover and they were slaying their lambs for the meal. It was the day of Passover preparation.

2. The Unfamiliarity of Two Calendars

We know that Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples, and yet I just mentioned that the Jews were preparing for Passover at the time Jesus was crucified. Isn’t there a discrepancy? To make things even more confusing, John tells us that Jesus ate dinner with His disciples “before” the Feast of the Passover. (John 13:1) So did Jesus actually eat Passover with His disciples? Did He eat it early? The answers are, “Yes,” “No and yes?” Did He eat Passover with His disciples? Yes! Did He eat it early? No, if you are following the ancient Essen calendar, in which case it would ALWAYS be eaten on Tuesday evening. Yes, if you are following the Temple calendar. For far too many reason to go into in this short blog, we know that Jesus commemorated Passover with His disciples on the date of the ancient Essen calendar. It wasn’t until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls when they found the calendar the Essenes used that this calculation confusion was resolved.

Jesus was completely accurate when He gave the religious leaders the sign they asked for. He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights - AND HE WAS!!! Crucified on Thursday, placed in the tomb BEFORE the end of the day, and risen before the sun came up on Sunday - 1 + 1 + 1 still equals 3!!!

NEW EYES FOR A NEW LOOK

Have you ever questioned why those who had walked with Jesus had a difficult time recognizing Him after He rose from the dead? Obviously, something in His countenance had changed! Glorified flesh without the law of sin and death in it doesn’t even look the same. As Jesus walked with the two disciples who were traveling back to their home in Emmaus, they were deeply moved by His teaching. Jesus began with Moses and the Law, connected it with the Prophets and the Psalms and taught them about all that had happened. With one heart, they listened to His words, but it wasn’t until their eyes were opened as He broke the bread at their table that they saw Him for who He was. How many people today study the Word of God, and yet they don’t see Him - they don‘t experience the reality of the resurrected Christ in the everyday place where they live? The glorified, resurrected Christ is only seen by those whose eyes are opened to see by the Spirit. Jesus could have been displayed to the world after His resurrection, but God chose for Him to only be seen by those who truly sought to know Him. Today Jesus can still be seen by those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit; those who hunger to see Him and know Him, and obey His commands. God, may our spiritual eyes behold the risen Lord!!! Amen!!!!!!!!!