The Third Day

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Easter Sunday morning, the 31st of March, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

The prophet Hosea implores us to, "Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.  After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight."  (Hosea 6:1-2 (NKJV))

“On the third day He will raise us up.”  Those three words – the third day – are seen together 48 times in the New King James Version of our Holy Bible.  They occur together twice as many times in the Old Testament – 32 – as in the New – 16.  And each times denotes a special event.

Now, the number three holds a special place in our worship, in our Bible.  The number three represents God – God in three Persons, the Holy Trinity, the Triune God, God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  So anytime a “three” appears, in any form, we know it has something to do with God or His will, His purpose.  And the third day is no exception.

Looking at a calendar, we note that while today may be the last day of the weekend, it is the first day of the week.  The Jewish Sabbath was yesterday, Saturday.  Well, actually, it ran from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, because the early Jews observed a “day” being from sunset to sunset.  In six days God created the heavens and the earth, and then He rested on the seventh day and declared it holy, as a day of rest for His creation.  God didn’t need to rest, of course, but He set the stage for His creation to be able to rest.  So on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, all labors ceased for the Jewish people.  But then came the first day again, when people could return to their normal daily routines.

Please listen and follow along as I tell you about some of the events that occurred one very special first day, one beautiful Sunday, that also has a connection to “the third day” I mentioned earlier.  This was recorded by the Apostle Luke in the 24th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 31, and I’ll be reading from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the aromatic spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them in dazzling attire. 5 The women were terribly frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then the women remembered His words, 9 and when they returned from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed like pure nonsense to them, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth; then he went home, wondering what had happened.

13 Now that very day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking to each other about all the things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and debating these things, Jesus Himself approached and began to accompany them 16 (but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him). 17 Then He said to them, “What are these matters you are discussing so intently as you walk along?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 He said to them, “What things?” “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied, “a Man who, with His powerful deeds and words, proved to be a Prophet before God and all the people; 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel. Not only this, but it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Furthermore, some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find His body, they came back and said they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. 24 Then some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Him.” 25 So He said to them, “You foolish people — how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things written about Himself in all the scriptures.

28 So they approached the village where they were going. He acted as though He wanted to go farther, 29 but they urged Him, “Stay with us, because it is getting toward evening and the day is almost done.” So He went in to stay with them.

30 When He had taken His place at the table with them, He took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 At this point their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Then He vanished out of their sight.

--Luke 24:1-31 (NET)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Christ to free us from the bonds of sin!  Jesus came to offer salvation to all the world because You love us all.  And He commands us to go and make disciples of all the world.  Sadly, Father, not everyone believes in Jesus as Your Son and accepts Him as their Lord.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  Help us spread the message that Jesus has risen from the dead and lives again.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to do Your will and as our Lord Jesus commands us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for raising Jesus from the dead to show that we too will be raised to eternal life if we just follow Him.  Help us keep the joy of His resurrection in our heart and our actions as we go about each day doing Your will.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A man and his wife saved up and could finally afford to visit Israel and tour some of the holy places.  Even though the husband really hated the thought, they took the wife's mother along because she had always wanted to see the Holy City, Jerusalem.  When they visited the site that is believed to be the burial place of Jesus, the mother was completely overcome with emotion, so much so that her heart stopped beating and she died on the spot.

At the American consulate, the husband met with an officer who told him, "You have two options: you can either have your mother-in-law interred here in Israel, or you can have her body flown back home for burial there.  I can tell you that burying her here will cost much, much less than flying her back to the states.  Which would you rather do?"

The husband thought for only a second before responding, "I guess we'll fly her back home.  From what I understand, about 2000 years ago, a man was buried here and he came back to life three days later.  I just can't take the chance that it might happen again."

That’s a funny little story.  But it reminds me that a lot of people just don’t understand the resurrection of Jesus, and that includes some believers.

While there have been instances where medical teams have been able to revive someone whose heart stopped, and we know CPR and automatic emergency defibrillators can work to revive someone, but there is a point when we can do nothing and the person just dies.  There’s no bringing them back.  No normal mortal has ever brought a person back to life after that point has been reached.

We don’t need a medical examiner’s certificate of death to know that Jesus had indeed died on the cross.  A soldier stuck His body with a spear, drawing blood, but getting no reaction from the limp form.  Jesus was wrapped in linen and placed in the tomb, where He remained for at least 24 hours, until the Sabbath ended.

Jesus was dead.  And yet He rose from the dead and lived again, witnessed in the flesh by over 500 people.  Man could not have revived Jesus at that point, not even with modern techniques and tools.  But God could, and did.

Of course Jesus was no ordinary man.  As God in the flesh, Jesus could also resurrect the dead, and I can think of three times He did so.  Probably the first that comes to mind is when He raised His friend Lazarus back to life after the man had been dead and buried for four days!  And then there was the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum.

The third one we might not remember as quickly.  As Jesus and His disciples were entering the city of Nain, a funeral procession was coming out, for a young man, the only son of a widow, had died.  Jesus took pity on the woman and raised her son from the dead.

But Jesus’ resurrection was different.  For one thing, Jesus predicted it, more than once.  One of those times He told His disciples that the Son of Man – that’s the title He used for Himself that comes from the prophecy of Daniel – “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”  And His resurrection fulfilled some of the more indirect, individual Messianic prophecies I mentioned last week. 

But of greater importance to us, when God brought Jesus back to life in the body, He showed that we would also be given new life, new bodily life, life in a new body.  Reading our scripture, we see that neither the women at the tomb nor the two disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized the risen Jesus at first.  It even took the two disciples quite some time before they realized just who had been walking with them.  Could it be that Jesus had a slightly new body, foreshadowing our own to come, just different enough that those who had been close to Him didn’t recognize Him?  We don’t know; our Bible doesn’t say it, but it is interesting to think about.

Not everyone understands Jesus’ resurrection, not even those whose walked with Him.  The two disciples walking to Emmaus must not have, although they did remember what Jesus said would happen on the third day, and they’d heard about the empty tomb.  But they were still hung up on their Lord’s death.  So Jesus, unrecognizable to them at the time, went over all the old prophecies that were written about Him, all the Messianic prophecies, explaining their meaning to the men.

I worry that many, still today, even among believers, don’t see the connection between Jesus being brought back to life in the body and our own future bodily resurrection.  Some believe that we’ll go to heaven and live there as souls, in the spirit form, for all eternity.  But God promises us a new body to live in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that will come down from heaven.

On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead and He exited the tomb in His body.  All four of the Gospel writers documented this in some fashion in their accounts of their time with Jesus.  And one other prominent apostle reported it as well.  Please listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote in verses 1 through 11 of the 15th chapter of his 1st letter to the Corinthians regarding the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus…

1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received — that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed.

--1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (NET)

Jesus died on the cross.  He was buried in a tomb with a huge stone sealing the entrance.  And then, on the third day, God raised Him from the dead back to bodily life, as attested by over 500 who saw Him.  There is no record, in any text or history book or letter, of even one of those 500+ people refuting that Jesus was seen in the flesh after His death and burial.  Not one person refuted the fact of the resurrection.  We might not completely understand it, but we can agree it happened, just as He said.

Family, today is the third day.  Thursday we stood by as Jesus was arrested, and then we scattered and hid, afraid they’d come for us next.  Friday we listened in disbelief as the crowd cried out for Jesus to be crucified, after having welcomed Him to town just a few days earlier with shouts of Hosanna.  Then we watched in horror as the Romans nailed Him to a cross where He breathed His last and died.  He was laid in a tomb and a large stone was rolled into place to seal the entrance.  On Saturday, the Sabbath, a day of rest, we waited, hidden, but nothing happened.

Today is Sunday, the first day of the week, the third day of Jesus’ death.  But look…  the tomb is empty!  Jesus has been raised from the dead!  Our Lord Jesus lives!  Alleluia!

In just a few moments we will come to the table of our Lord to share His last meal with Him.  The Apostle Paul warns that we must be right with God before doing so.  Otherwise, we share the guilt of His execution, of His death, with those who committed the act.

Now is the time to get right with God.  If you are feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit, if you are weighed down by the guilt of disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness.  Get right with God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, who was raised from the dead into flesh and returned to heaven, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for raising Your Son Jesus from the dead!  He gave up His mortal life to atone for our sin so that we could always be with You, and then You resurrected Him in the body to show that we too will be resurrected in the body when our mortal life is finished.  You will give us a new, incorruptible body that will last for all eternity.  Thank You, Father, for such wonderful gifts, for having mercy on us.  Sometimes, Father, we don’t understand everything that has been saved for us in our Bible.  Sometimes we don’t understand because we don’t spend enough time in study and reflection.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us better grasp all that Jesus taught us, and all that the prophets wrote about Him.  Give us greater insight and visibility into all You have promised.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, on this day – the third day - so long ago You left an empty tomb behind as You were raised to renewed life by our Father God, just as You said You would be.  So many had trouble believing this, even those who walked with You.  So You showed Yourself to them, in the flesh, and we have their reports and witness so that we can believe.  Thank You, Jesus, for taking our sin upon Yourself, leaving our sin in the grave, and walking forth into a new day.  Please help us follow Your example and pattern our life after Yours.  Help us see through Your eyes.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more forgiving, remembering that we are all created in our Triune God’s image and that You came to save us all.  And Lord, please help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Now Hurry!

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered on Easter Sunday morning during our Sunrise Service, the 31st of March, 2024, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.]

It was a quiet morning, much like it is now with most of the followers of Jesus hiding for fear of being arrested and taken away.  The sun was about to rise above the horizon.  Birds lifted their sweet songs toward heaven.  The world had not yet realized it, but Jesus our Lord had already risen from the grave, just like He said He would!

Rejoice, for Christ has risen today!  Let us come together now to worship Christ Jesus our Lord.

Please join me in our call to worship, “The Resurrection of Jesus”, taken from the 28th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew…

Leader: After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

People: There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

Leader: His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

People: The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

Leader: "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said...  Go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead.'"

People: So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Leader: Suddenly Jesus met them.  "Greetings," He said.

People: They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him."

Leader: Amen.

Some of the women who had followed Jesus and His disciples from Galilee watched as He was crucified and died on the cross.  These included Mary, His mother, her sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas and the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Mary Magdalene.

Joseph of Arimathea secured Jesus' body from Pilate, wrapped it in linen cloths, and laid it in a new hewn tomb just before sunset, Friday afternoon.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Clopas followed Joseph to see where Jesus was laid and saw the huge stone rolled in place to seal the tomb.  Then came the Sabbath, when no labor is allowed and no work can be done.

Sunday marked the first day of the new week, the first opportunity anyone had to visit the tomb.  Sunday was also the third day of the crucifixion, counting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Did anyone remember what Jesus had told them about that third day?

Please listen to the report the Apostle Matthew left for us describing what happened at the first visit to the tomb that Sunday long ago.  I’ll be reading in the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible, from the 28th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel account, verses 1 through 10…

1 The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord's angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

5 The angel said to the women, “Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. 6 He isn't here! God has raised Him to life, just as Jesus said He would. Come, see the place where His body was lying. 7 Now hurry! Tell His disciples He has been raised to life and is on His way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see Him. This is what I came to tell you.”

8 The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell His disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near Him, held on to His feet, and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said, “Don't be afraid! Tell My followers to go to Galilee. They will see Me there.”

--Matthew 28:1-10 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Thursday night we stood by and helplessly watched as Your Son was arrested.  We were scared that they might take us into custody, too, so we fled, leaving Jesus on His own, denying that we even knew Him.  Friday we were horrified to see Him being crucified.  Many of us hid in rooms in the city, still afraid of what the Romans and temple guards might do to us if they caught us.  And then Jesus took His last breath on the cross, and was buried.  But then this morning, this beautiful morning, Father, we can rejoice, for You have resurrected our Lord Jesus!  You raised Him bodily from the grave so that He could defeat death.  And You and Jesus did it all just for us!  Your Son suffered, and You had to stand by and watch, just so we might enjoy everlasting life in paradise with You both… if we only believe in Him and follow His voice.  We believe, Lord Jesus.  We believe that You are the one true Son of God, and we believe that You rose bodily from the grave.  This morning we celebrate that glorious day.  Bless us Lord, and help us prepare ourselves for Your return.  Help us to better serve You and to never falter in our belief and faith.  In Your sweet name, Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

It’s Sunday morning, the day following the Sabbath.  Just two days ago, in our way of reckoning, Jesus died on the cross.  His body was wrapped in linen cloths and placed in a freshly hewn tomb.  And then everything stopped in observance of the Sabbath.

But now the Sabbath is past, the dew is fresh on the grass, it’s still dark but the sun is just beginning to peek over the eastern horizon.  And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary - the wife of Clopas and the mother of James the Less and Joses - have come to the tomb of our Lord.  The Mary’s were among those who had traveled with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  Another Mary, the mother of Jesus, also came and they all watched Him take His last breath and die on the cross.  What a horrible thing for a mother to have to witness!

So now the two Mary’s have come to the tomb under the cover of darkness, right before daybreak, probably hoping no one would see them.  And just as they arrive, suddenly there is a strong earthquake.  An angel descends from heaven, an aura as bright as lightning surrounding him, his clothes as white as snow.  The angel rolled away the large stone that was used to seal the entrance and nonchalantly sat on it.  The temple guards placed there to make sure none of Jesus’ followers came to take the body were absolutely terrified.  They shook with fear and fell to the ground.

Then the angel spoke, saying to the women, “Don’t be afraid!”  I imagine the guards heard this too, although it wasn’t directed to them, but I bet it had no affect on lessening their fear.  The angel reminded the ladies of what Jesus had said, and then invited them to look in the tomb to see no body, to see the place where His body had been lying.

Now back up just a second…  When the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb entrance, did anyone come out?  Did Jesus walk out and say, “Hey, Ladies!  How’s it going?  Nice morning, huh.”  No, Jesus didn’t walk out because He was already out.  The angel even told the ladies, saying, “He isn't here! God has raised Him to life.”  Jesus did not need for the stone to be rolled away before He could exit the grave, because He had already defeated death.

Then why did the angel open up the tomb?  So that the women could see for themselves, with their own eyes, that the body of Jesus was no longer in that cold, dark tomb!  And sure enough, the grave was empty.

Then the angel told the ladies to hurry and tell this good news to the disciples, and let them know that Jesus said He would meet them in Galilee, where they can all see Him again.  As can be expected, the Mary’s were frightened by all that had just happened, but overjoyed by this new development, that their Lord had been raised to life again.  So they did as they were told and hurried off to tell His followers the news that Jesus lives!

But then, suddenly, Jesus appeared before them, and greeted them.  They ran to Him, fell down at His feet and worshiped Him.  And Jesus repeated the angel’s message:  “Don't be afraid! Tell My followers to go to Galilee. They will see Me there.”  I imagine that His presence and message had a more calming effect than when the angel delivered it, considering all the circumstances.

Everyone thought that Jesus was dead, dead and buried Friday afternoon.  They expected His body to be in that tomb on Sunday morning.  I guess they just never fully believed all that Jesus had told them, no matter how often He repeated it.  He was dead and that was the end of it, the end of everything they’d worked for these past three years.

Not only was their Master, their Teacher dead, but any of them might be next.  So they hid behind locked doors, venturing out only when necessary.  But then the Mary’s rushed in with an amazing report: “Jesus lives!  We saw Him on our way here!  He said to tell you to go to Galilee where He will meet us and you can all see Him for yourselves!”

Back at the tomb, the angel accomplished what he was sent and instructed to do by delivering the message to the women.  This is made clear by his comment, “This is what I came to tell you.”  And the women did what they were instructed to do by hurrying to tell the disciples this wonderful news.

Before returning to heaven, Jesus gave us the assignment of telling this Good News to the whole world.  He didn’t necessarily tell us to hurry, but He did say, “Go”.  “Go and make disciples of all the world, teaching them to obey all the things I have command you.”

Just that word “go” carries a sense of urgency, doesn’t it?  I mean we can’t “go” by sitting in our nice comfy homes, or even by coming here to worship every Sunday.

We have to get up, get out, and go to the people of the world, sharing the Good News of salvation through Chrit Jesus.  And family, there are just too many signs in our current age that point to the time when Jesus will return to judge the world.  To me, this ups the urgency level for us to do as Jesus commands.  And seriously, it would be rather hypocritical for us to teach others to do as Jesus commands if we’re not willing to do as Jesus commands ourselves.  So let’s hurry and tell others the wonderful news that Jesus the Christ has risen from the dead and lives again!  Hallelujah!  He is risen!  Christ has risen!

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Master…  You came as our Messiah, our Savior.  But You died on the cross, and for a moment the world lost hope.  Then You rose from the grave, just as You said You would, once again alive and full of life!  You conquered death and promised we would share in that victory if we would only believe in You and accept You as Lord.  As the sun rises on us this morning, just as it did on You so long ago, that promise remains our expected and anticipated hope.

Dear Lord, may our faith remain strong and not waiver during our struggles and trials in this present age.  May we continue to see You, our living Lord, always at our side.  And may we be completely prepared for Your return, which You also promised.  May we fully grasp what You told us before, and what You are whispering now in our hearts.  May we serve You, with all that is in us.  This we pray, in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Master and Savior.

And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son Jesus taught us…  Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Now if you would, please join me in our reading of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today!”…

Christ the Lord is risen today!

Sons of men and angels say,

Raise your joys and triumphs high!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply,

Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? 

Dying once, He all doth save!

Where thy victory, O grave? 

Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done,

Fought the fight, the battle won,

Death in vain forbids Him rise,

Christ has opened paradise!

Alleluia!  Amen!

He is risen!  Rejoice, for Jesus lives!  Our Lord lives again!  He’s not still hanging from the cross.  His bones are not lying in a tomb somewhere.  His body did not need sweet smelling oils and spices to cover the stench of decomposition, for He rose and walked away from that grave!  Jesus is alive and lives to this very day!  God’s Christ has risen from the dead and opened paradise for all who would follow Him.

Let’s share this Good News with all the world.  Let everyone know that Jesus lives!  Alleluia!  Amen.

It Is Not Finished!

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered on Good Friday, the 29th of March, 2024, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Yesterday afternoon, we shared the Passover meal with Jesus and His dearest friends, His chosen disciples.  One of those seated at His table betrayed Him, one denied Him, and all abandoned Him, fleeing for their lives, scattering like sheep whose shepherd had been struck down.  What followed are the darkest hours in the history of mankind.  During the night and into the day, Jesus was not only betrayed, denied, and forsaken by His own followers, He was also humiliated, ridiculed, tortured, beaten, and whipped, by His fellow Jews and by the Romans.  Throughout all this, He remained mostly silent, as the Spotless Lamb led to the slaughter.

Today, at about this time, He will be nailed to a cross where He will take His last breath around three this afternoon.  Our church reading earlier is adapted from Mark 15, giving a somewhat condensed version of the last day of Jesus’ mortal life.  But what role did the Jewish religious leadership play in the day’s events?  And what about the crowds who greeted Jesus with shouts of “Hosanna!”, “Save us!”, and threw their cloaks and palm branches out into the street before Him just a few days ago?  Will they come to Jesus’ rescue?  Will God send an army of angels to free Him?  And what about the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate?  Is this just part of the job he signed up for?

I’d like to look at how the Apostle John reported what took place that Friday afternoon.  This is quite long, but I think it’s better to listen to what God thought important enough for us to hear that He ensured all four Gospel writers included it in their reports.  Please listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle John as I read from chapter 18 verse 28 through chapter 19 verse 42, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible...

18:28 Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then He was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. 29 So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this Man?”

30 “We wouldn’t have handed Him over to you if He weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

31 “Then take Him away and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied. 32 (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way He would die.)

33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked Him.

34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about Me?”

35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought You to me for trial. Why? What have You done?”

36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, My followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But My Kingdom is not of this world.”

37 Pilate said, “So You are a king?”

Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. 39 But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

40 But they shouted back, “No! Not this Man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

19:1 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. 2 The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put a purple robe on Him. 3 “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped Him across the face.

4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring Him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find Him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the Man!”

6 When they saw Him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“Take Him yourselves and crucify Him,” Pilate said. “I find Him not guilty.”

7 The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law He ought to die because He called Himself the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever. 9 He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked Him, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave no answer. 10 “Why don’t You talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t You realize that I have the power to release You or crucify You?”

11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over Me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”

12 Then Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jewish leaders shouted, “If you release this Man, you are no ‘friend of Caesar.’ Anyone who declares himself a king is a rebel against Caesar.”

13 When they said this, Pilate brought Jesus out to them again. Then Pilate sat down on the judgment seat on the platform that is called the Stone Pavement (in Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 It was now about noon on the day of preparation for the Passover. And Pilate said to the people, “Look, here is your King!”

15 “Away with Him,” they yelled. “Away with Him! Crucify Him!”

“What? Crucify your King?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the leading priests shouted back.

16 Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying the cross by Himself, He went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). 18 There they nailed Him to the cross. Two others were crucified with Him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it.

21 Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”

22 Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.”

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His clothes among the four of them. They also took His robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s cast lots for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided My garments among themselves and cast lots for My clothing.” So that is what they did.

25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And He said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

28 Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, He said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, so they didn’t break His legs. 34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may believe.) 36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of His bones will be broken,” 37 and “They will look on the One they pierced.”

38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

--John 18:28-19:42 (NLT)

Let us pray… Father God, this afternoon we remember the darkest day in all of Your creation – the day we tortured and executed Your Son, nailing Him to a cruel cross.  Jesus came to offer us salvation, but the world refused Him.  We drove nails into the hands He stretched out to save us.  We cursed Him, spat on Him, beat Him, killed Him.  But You knew all this had to happen.  By Your law, only a blood sacrifice can atone for sin, and only the blood of the one true Spotless Lamb could wash us clean and atone for our sin.  Thank You, Father, for Your great love and mercy.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice.  Imprint this day on our hearts so that we might understand just how important this is to us and to others, how critical it is for our eternal life.  This we pray in the name of the Lamb, Your Son Jesus.  Amen.

The Jewish religious leadership were through with Jesus now.  They’d done all they could do under Jewish law.  They arrested Him, accused Him of ridiculous crimes, had Him slapped around some by their guards.  It was time to turn Him over to someone who could do what they couldn’t – put an end, once and for all, to this Jesus and His New Way, scattering His followers in the process.

Now Jesus stood in judgment before the highest human authority in the land, the governor of the region, the commander of the occupying army: Pontius Pilate.  But quite frankly, Pilate would rather have not been involved at all.  He was a Roman, not a Jew.  He even said as much when questioning Jesus.  He worshiped multiple gods, not just one.

The only reason he cared about any of this at all is because the leaders of the occupied people were stirring the crowds into a frenzy, and he feared riots and unrest might erupt.  He was there to keep the peace, the Roman peace, and that meant keeping the people under control, by any  means necessary, even putting this man Jesus to death if that would quieten the mob.

Still, Pilate wasn’t convinced that Jesus had done anything deserving of death.  So he gave Jesus a chance to answer the charges against Him, but He said nothing in His defense.  That didn’t work, so next Pilate offered the people, the mob, a choice: he could pardon either Jesus or the notorious prisoner, the revolutionary Barabbas.  “Which do you choose?”, he asked.  “Who would you have me release, Barabbas or Jesus?”  “We want Barabbas!”, they cried.

Pilate still saw no guilt in Jesus or His actions, but the mob was rapidly approaching the boiling point, so he ordered that Jesus be flogged with a lead-tipped whip.  The Roman soldiers went a bit further, jamming a crown fashioned from thorns onto His head, cutting His flesh.  They put a purple robe on Him, then slapped Him across the face as they mockingly shouted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”

Hoping this would be enough to appease the crowd, Pilate had Jesus brought out on bloodied display.  Instead, the chief priests and temple guards led the mob in shouting, “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”  The same people who began the week by greeting Jesus as He entered Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna” now called for Him to be put to death.

Pilate was quickly running out of options.  In his frustration he shouted, “If you want this man crucified, take Him yourself and do it!  I find no guilt in Him!”  But then the Jewish leaders replied in a way that actually frightened Pilate, made him even more concerned about putting Jesus to death.  They said, “He calls Himself the Son of God!”

OK, so this is just a normal, ordinary, human man.  Right?  If He were a god or a son of a god, wouldn’t He be… different, in some way?  But what if He really is the Son of the Jew’s God?  Who in their right mind would be willing to face the wrath of a god for killing his son?!?

So Pilate had Jesus taken back into the building again and almost pleaded with Him, “Please!  Talk to me!  Who are You!  What are You?  Don’t You realize I have Your life in my hands?!?”

And then Jesus utters a very telling response:  “Any power you have over Me comes to you from above.”  Pilate’s power doesn’t come from Caesar or Rome, it comes from God in heaven.  A little later, the Apostle Paul, in the opening verse to the 13th chapter of his Letter to the Romans, echoes this sentiment when he writes, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”  (Romans 13:1 (NKJV))  Any power that those in authority over us have comes from God.  God is the ultimate authority.  If it had not been God’s will that Jesus would be in the hands of Pilate, then Jesus would not have been.  It’s that simple.  This was all part of God’s plan, God’s will in action.

Pilate tried one last time to free Jesus, but the Jewish leaders would have none of it and the mob was getting more hostile by the moment.  He ignored his own misgivings.  He had no other choice if he wanted to appease the crowds and maintain the peace.  This Jesus had to die, guilty or not.  So he turned Jesus over to the soldiers, who took Him away to be crucified.

It’s still Friday morning, but fast approaching noon.  Jesus was forced to carry the very tool of His execution: His cross.  And there at Golgotha He was nailed to it.  The cross was stood on end and dropped into a hole to hold it erect, there between two other convicted men.  Pilate ordered that a sign be nailed to the cross above Jesus’ head reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.  This upset the Jewish leaders who demanded it be changed, but for once Pilate refused.  The Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes, fulfilling yet another Messianic prophecy.

Hanging there, Jesus saw His beloved disciple John standing beside His mother.  He initiated a covenant with John, that he would take care of Mary, treat her as his own mother, and that Mary should consider John as her son.  And for what we can tell, John held true to this for the rest of Mary’s days.

Finally, Jesus uttered His last words, “It is finished!”, bowed His head, and died, giving up His spirit.

Now, to understand what John tells us next, we need to see just how horrible a method of execution crucifixion was.  It wasn’t the blood loss from the beatings or from being nailed to the cross that killed the person.  They didn’t die from starvation or dehydration.  They died, very slowly, from suffocation.

If you are crucified, nails are driven through your wrists just below the palms, one through each hand as your arms are held outstretched.  And then your feet are brought together and one nail is pounded through both of your ankles.  When the cross is stood up on end, you are not holding on to anything or standing on a little ledge.  Those three nails are holding you in place.  It hurts, a lot, but if you let your body slump, giving in to the pain in your ankles and legs, then your lungs can’t fully expand because of your outstretched arms.

So after a while of struggling just to catch a breath, you force your weight back on to the nail through your ankles.  Eventually you tire of this and slump down again, restricting your lungs once more.  This repeats, over and over, often for days until you finally can stand no more and you slowly suffocate.

But on this day, the Jews couldn’t allow the condemned men to hang there for days.  Tomorrow was the Sabbath, the day of rest, and a very important Sabbath this time because it came during the Passover celebration.  It just wouldn’t do for these three men, or their bodies, to be hanging there in full sight on a special Sabbath like this!  So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by having his men break their legs.

That’s right – the Jewish leaders wanted the Roman soldiers to break the leg bones of these three men – including Jesus – who were already suffering so much on their crosses.  Why?  Because with their legs broken, they could no longer push themselves back up, relaxing their lungs so they could breathe.  Their death would come quicker.

Pilate relented and the soldiers went about smashing the legs of the two men on either side of Jesus.  When they got to Jesus, they found Him already dead.  Just to make sure, one of the Romans jabbed Him in the side with a spear, and a little blood and fluid oozed out but the body otherwise did not react.  These two incidents also fulfilled Messianic prophecy, that the Messiah would be pierced but no bone would be broken. 

The rest of the passage deals with the kindnesses shown by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the Pharisee who had secretly met with Jesus one night, whom Jesus told one must be born again, born of the Spirit, to enter the kingdom of God.  These two men ran some risk in asking for and receiving the body of Jesus, for who knows what the Jewish leadership may have done to one of their own for what they may have seen as treachery.  So they took the body, anointed it with a huge amount of ointment mixed from very expensive spices, wrapped it in long sheets of linen, and prepared it for burial.

Near Golgotha was a garden, and in the garden was a newly dug tomb which had never been used.  By this time it was almost sunset and the time of the Sabbath and Passover was at hand, when they would no longer be able to do any labors, so they laid the body in that new tomb and left.

It is finished.  That’s the last thing Jesus said on the cross – “It is finished”.  But what did He mean?  What was finished?  His mortal, human life?  That would seem obvious, since we know He died there on the cross.  And John says He gave up His spirit, lowercase “s”, the part of us that gives us life.  But we know the rest of the story.  We know that in just a couple of days, Jesus will conquer death, rise from the grave, and walk among us again.  Hundreds of people saw Him alive and in the flesh again, and not one ever refuted it.  So, no, His mortal life did not completely end at that point.

What about His ministry on earth?  Surely it ended there on the cross.  After all, only a few of His followers showed themselves in public at this point.  He would no longer walk around teaching and preaching and healing people.  Again, we know the rest of the story, and we know that His disciples finally got it all together and, with the addition of a former Pharisee named Paul, they began carrying the Good News of salvation to the people, creating the early church in the process.

So what was finished, there on that cruel cross?  Jesus’ role in God’s plan for mankind’s redemption was completed, finished.  He had done what He was sent to do.  Only the blood of a spotless, unblemished lamb could redeem a man of his sin against God.  Only God’s own Son, the true Spotless Lamb, can redeem the sin of all mankind.  By His selfless sacrifice upon the cross, by His precious blood shed, we are washed clean of our sin in the sight of God.  God gave Jesus human life again, for a short time, so that we could know the truth, and as a promise to us of our own return to eternal life once this life is finished.  By that knowledge, it’s up to us to stay clean.

Now we know that all sin, all have fallen, all come short of God’s glory.  So God gives us a wonderful gift.  If we will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one true Son of God, and if we follow His commands, accepting Him as our Lord and Master, then we will stay clean, and our sins will be forgiven and forgotten when we stand before God.  All we have to do is believe, truly believe, and in our belief, live as Jesus would have us live.

So for us, it is not finished.  For one thing, we still have this earthly life to get through.  We have a race to finish, as Paul put it.  But more than that, we have a job to do.  Before going back to heaven to be with God, Jesus left us with a new commandment and a mission.  We are to love one another just as much as we love ourselves, just as much as Jesus loves us.  And we are to go into the world making disciples, telling people all about Jesus, about what He has done and everything He said.

God set His plan in motion to reconcile mankind to Himself.  He wants us all to be with Him again, like we were in the very beginning before we sinned.  Jesus did His part to make that happen.  He gave up His own life one Friday long ago, and we who believe are the beneficiaries; we are saved.  But there are way too many out there who have not accepted Jesus as Lord.  And this is where we come in.  It’s our job to help the lost come to salvation.  Jesus finished His part.  Now let’s get out there and do ours.

On Sunday we will celebrate our Lord’s resurrection and the promise of our own new life.  But today, let us remember all that Jesus went through just for us.  Remember that He took the punishment we deserve.  Remember that He suffered at the hands of those He came to save.

Sunday we can rejoice, but today let us weep and reflect on what happened that Friday many years ago.  In the blessed name of Him who died so that we might live, in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Lord Jesus, You came to us holding out the arms of God’s love.  You came to us when we were lost in our sin, reaching out Your hand to us to pull us from the depths of our sin, offering to redeem us.  You came to break the chains of sin that hold us captive to this world.  You came to save us from ourselves.  And how did we react to all this mercy and grace?  We refused to accept You.  We tortured You and nailed You to a cruel cross.  You forgave Your followers who fled for their lives in fear when You were arrested and executed.  You came to them after Your resurrection and brought them back to You.  Yet still, to this very day, even we who are called by Your name, we also abandon and deny You from time to time.  We fail to witness for You, we fear speaking out for You, we hesitate to go out helping the lost find their way.  We believe in You and Your goodness, but the world has too strong a grasp on us, and we are afraid to let it go.  We judge others based on their looks or their background or the color of their skin, without taking the time to see what is in their hearts.  Forgive us, Lord, because sometimes we just can’t force ourselves to do what is right.

Lord Jesus, every step of the way, You knew what was coming.  You knew how the events of each day would play out, including that one Friday when You lived Your last day as a mortal man.  You knew exactly how God’s plan would be accomplished, and when Your part in it was finished.  You knew why it was necessary for You, the Spotless Lamb, to be sacrificed for the atonement of our sin.  You knew the truth.  Help us, please Lord, to fully grasp the importance of Your sacrifice.  Help us realize that Your greatest suffering came not from any physical pain, but from having to take all our sin upon Yourself.  Forgive us when we fail You.  Forgive us when we won’t listen to Your voice, when we don’t live as You would have us live, when we hesitate to speak out in Your defense, when we deny You by our actions and our inactions.  Forgive us when we fail to love sacrificially, unconditionally, as You love us.  Help us be worthy of Your great sacrifice.  Help us better serve You.  In Your precious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Denial

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered on Maundy Thursday afternoon, the 28th of March, 2024, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, let’s step back in time to the first century, to early April in 33 AD.  We’re in the great Jewish city of Jerusalem, where the permanent population has more than tripled as devout Jews from all over gather to observe the Feast of Passover.  Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the same age as the Gospel writers, put the Passover population at over 2,000,000!

The city is packed with pilgrims.  All kinds of domestic and exotic goods are being sold in the marketplace, from stalls and carts further clogging the streets.  Up until this past Sunday, you could have purchased doves and grain and incense and the other items used for sacrifices for the atonement of sins, right there on the Temple grounds – convenient for the pilgrims.  But not now, because Sunday was when Jesus came to town.

You’ve heard of Jesus, haven’t you – the great healer and holy man from Nazareth, of all places?  He came in with a large crowd of followers, and all the people came out to see Him.  They shouted “Hosanna” and threw their cloaks and some palm branches onto the road for the whole parade to walk on.  And get this – Jesus came riding in on a donkey.  A donkey!  What kind of king rides into Jerusalem on a donkey?!?  Anyway, He went right into the Temple and ran off everyone who was trying to make a profit from the pilgrims who’d come here to worship, turning over their tables and kicking their chairs.

Well, that was Sunday and now it’s Thursday, the day of preparation for the Feast of Passover, which begins tomorrow evening at sunset.  Come with me and let’s all join Jesus for supper and listen to what He tells His followers.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Mark recorded in verses 12 through 31 of the 14th chapter of his Gospel.  I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for You?”

13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with My disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with Me here will betray Me.”

19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”

20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with Me. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays Him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is My body.”

23 And He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

27 On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert Me. For the Scriptures say,

‘God will strike the Shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.’

28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

29 Peter said to Him, “Even if everyone else deserts You, I never will.”

30 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter — this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know Me.”

31 “No!” Peter declared emphatically. “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You!” And all the others vowed the same.

--Mark 14:12-31 (NLT)

Let us pray… Father God, this afternoon we step back to a day nearly 2000 years ago that is meaningless to some and may have lost a little meaning for even us.  It was a long and painful day for Your Son Jesus when so much happened to Him, and all for our benefit, we poor sinners.  Speak to us, Father, speak into our hearts, that we might relive that day and understand its true meaning and full impact on our behavior in this life as we prepare for the next.  Speak to us that we might know the truth of our ways.  Convict us of our sin and forgive us of our disobedience.  This we pray in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen

Today is Maundy Thursday.  The word, “Maundy”, comes from the Latin word meaning command or commandment.  On the night of His last supper with His disciples, Jesus gave us a commandment to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.  He also gave us a new commandment: to love each other, just as much as He loves us.  And He gave us a warning, too.

In just a few minutes we will share the elements of our Lord’s body and blood, just as He shared the bread and the wine with His disciples that night.  We will renew the covenant God made with us, sealed by the precious blood of Jesus.  But first, let’s look a little more closely at the events surrounding that meal on this Thursday so long ago.

Now it’s important to remember that Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen.  This is evident in Mark’s account when he noted that the disciples sent to prepare a place for them all to eat the Passover meal, found everything exactly as Jesus had said they would.  They found a man carrying a water pitcher and followed him into a house.  They told the master of that house that their Teacher needed to use the guest room for the Passover, and he showed them the fully furnished upper room.

Since we believers today know and accept that Jesus was God in the flesh, we are not at all surprised that Jesus knew beforehand what would occur, because God knows everything.  But I bet those two unnamed disciples were a little surprised.  It’s just like last Sunday when He told another pair of followers where they’d find a donkey and her foal.

At some point, you’d think these men would start to realize Jesus would be correct with anything and everything He said, yet they still seemed to doubt Him, they still seemed amazed when He told them something that didn’t quite fit in their mental box.  We can see that again at supper.

While they were eating, Jesus told His friends that one of them present that night, one of them sitting right there, one of His twelve chosen disciples would soon betray Him.  While greatly distressed by this proclamation, they seemed to accept the truth of His words.  I can just imagine all of them clamoring at once, “Am I the one?  Are You talking about me?  Will I betray You?”  I don’t know about you, but after hearing such profoundly bad news, I would think the meal and all normal conversation would have stopped cold!  But no, they continued to eat their supper, almost like nothing had happened.

As they were eating, Jesus varied just a little from the Passover meal tradition by sharing the bread and announcing that it was His body.  Just as He blessed and then broke the loaf of bread so that they might eat, His body - blessed by God - would soon be broken so that they, and all of us, might be forgiven of our sins before God.  Then He passed the cup, declaring its contents to be His blood, poured out to confirm our covenant with God, shed for the many who will believe, not just those gathered there that night.

And then we have a nice touch.  Mark is usually a man of few words when it comes to his account of Jesus’ life and ministry.  He usually sticks just to the details, and the barest minimum of those.  But here he takes a moment to tell us that after they had all eaten, they sang a hymn before heading out to the Mount of Olives.  They sang a hymn.  After some bad news, after being told they were eating Jesus’ body and drinking His blood, they sang a song of worship and praise to God.

Why did Mark bother to tells us this when he is usually so frugal with his words?  Why did God make sure this one little verse was included in our Bible?  Why else but to show us that no matter what we might hear, no matter what we’re going through or what we can expect to happen next, we should always take time to be thankful to our glorious God and praise His holy name in our words, our deeds, and even in our songs.

OK, so Jesus and the disciples headed out for the Mount of Olives, where Jesus would be going off a little ways to pray and where He would be arrested a short time later.  Mark doesn’t mention it, but Judas must have left the group by now, for he will return shortly accompanied by a contingent of Temple guards to perform that aforementioned arrest.  But as Jesus and the rest were making that short walk to the Mount, He rather casually announced, “All of you will desert Me.”

And there's another little shocker for the evening!

“The scripture says it, so it is to be, that soon you will all scatter and leave Me by Myself.  Oh, but after I’m raised from the dead – I did mention I’ll soon be dead, right? – after I’m raised back to life, You can meet up with me in Galilee, where this all started.”

Peter seemed to ignore the part about Jesus being raised from the dead, but jumped on the bit about deserting His Master.  “Not gonna happen, Jesus!  The rest of these guys might walk away, but I will never desert You!”  Jesus calmly responded to His hot-headed disciple, “Not only will you all desert me, but Peter, this very night, before the rooster crows twice to announce the sunrise, you will deny three times that you even know Me.”  And of course Peter became more vehement in his refusal to believe any of this, saying that even if he had to die for it, he would never deny Jesus!

Never.  That’s a mighty long time, isn’t it.  I will never deny You.  I’ve always been told to never say never, because things might change.  But is there anyone here that would deny Jesus?  Would any of us deny knowing Him if asked?

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I’m a pre-Trib believer.  That means that I believe Jesus will come and call His church home before the great Tribulation begins.  Some believe the Rapture will occur during the Tribulation, and some believe it will happen after.  The Bible has passages that can support all three beliefs, but I feel it gives more evidence of the Rapture happening first.  Of course, I’m a little prejudiced in that belief, because I absolutely hate the thoughts of having to live through the Tribulation.  And one of the reasons is that at one point in that horrible time of chaos and evil, we will be asked if we deny Jesus.  If our answer is “No, we do not deny Him as our Lord and the one true Son of God”, we will be put to death.  Of course if that happens, the Tribulation will be over for us anyway, so maybe it won’t be so bad after all.

At any rate, in this case, Peter should have avoided using that word “never”, for as we know, he did indeed deny knowing Jesus three times when asked.  But what about us?  Would we ever deny Jesus?

My guess is yes, we would.  Now I don’t mean intentionally deny Him, even under threat of death, although that might be sufficient reason for some.  What I mean is, while we may say we will never deny Jesus, our actions might otherwise belie our words.

How do we deny Him?  Anytime we ignore His commands.  Every time we fail to act with a loving attitude and manner.  Whenever we just can't force ourselves to love someone because of something they’ve done or said, or because of their political beliefs, or the color of their skin.  When we hesitate to share what He has done for us with a world that desperately needs His help.

And on and on and on.  There are so many ways we deny Jesus, when we don’t live and act like He told us to.  We deny Jesus when the world can’t tell any difference between us and any non-believer.  And when that difference shrinks away to nothing, we deny evening knowing Him, for we are not listening to Him, obeying His voice, following Him.

Like sheep whose shepherd had been struck down, the disciples all scattered.  First betrayal, then abandonment, and now denial.  Family, sometimes we are in denial.  Like Peter, we firmly believe we would never abandon Jesus or deny Him as our Lord.  But even that belief could be a form of denial, for like a lost sheep, we sometimes stray from where our Shepherd has tried to lead us.

Jesus will never leave us, but sometimes we turn our backs and walk away from Him.  In doing so, we deny that He is our Lord, for we are not doing as He commanded.  Our actions may or may not give evidence of our denial.  We may smile and pretend to love someone we perceive as an enemy, all the while in our heart stabbing them in the back, or strangling them in our mind.  Jesus said that hatred is the same as murder; when we hate someone in our heart it is the same as if we would take their life in cold blood.  Hatred goes against how Jesus commands us to live, so it is a form of denial.  We must work hard to rid ourselves of hatreds, intentionally stop ourselves when a hateful thought creeps up from the depths.  We must stop denying the One who gave up everything just so we might be saved.

Family, tomorrow – Friday - Jesus will be nailed onto a cruel cross, there to yield up His mortal life.  He has been betrayed, He has been abandoned, He has been denied.  All of this must have weighed heavily on His heart.  But surely He feels even greater heartache when we turn our backs and deny Him still today.  When we hesitate to witness for Him, when we fail to respond to apostasy or heresy, when we look the other way while a wrong is committed, when we don’t do what Jesus would have done in any given situation, we deny Him as our Lord.

The Apostle Paul warns us that denying Jesus is a sign of unbelief, defilement, and disobedience.  In the 10th chapter of his Gospel account, the Apostle Matthew records Jesus Himself warning us that, “[Therefore] Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”  (Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV))

Jesus has promised us that He will stand at our side when we approach God at our end.  When that time comes, do we want Him to deny us?  Do we want to hear Him say, “I never knew you”?  It’s up to us, it’s entirely in our control.  Let’s make sure we do not deny Jesus in our words, our actions, or even our thoughts and feelings.

In just a few moments we will come to the table of our Lord to share His last meal with Him.  The Apostle Paul warns that we must be right with God before doing so.  Otherwise, we share the guilt of His execution, of His death, with those who committed the act.  Now is the time to get right with God.

If you are feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit, if you are weighed down by the guilt of disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness.  Get right with God.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, this afternoon we reflect back on a time when mankind saddened You yet again.  For on that day so long ago we betrayed Your Son, Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation.  Instead of receiving Him, we rejected Him.  And even today, we are often too timid and shy to testify for Him, too fearful of what others may think or say.  Forgive us, Father, for our fear and hesitation to do what we know is right.

Father, we pray that You show us not only the error of our ways, but also how to do what is right in Your eyes.  You gave us the faith to believe in Your Son Jesus, and then He gave of Himself to wash us clean of our sin.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much!  Please help us understand how everything we do while bearing the name of Jesus, reflects back on Your Son.  Please let others know Your love through our love, through our words and deeds.

Lord Jesus, You gave so much of Yourself on our behalf.  You took our punishment, You bore our stripes, You died so we could avoid the final and permanent death just by believing in You and accepting You as Lord.  You accepted us as if a gift from God, and You loved us to the very end.  

Forgive us, Lord, when we deny You.  Forgive us our times of doubt and confusion.  Forgive those who refuse to believe, who reject Your authority.  Forgive us when we could stand up for You against the doubters and disbelievers, but we are just too timid, too afraid, to do so.  Forgive us when we can’t let go of the world, refusing to put all our faith and trust in You and our Father God.  Help us, please Jesus, to not be so concerned with what others may think about us, or with anything this world might offer.  Give us the strength of our convictions, the fullness of our faith, so that we can serve You by serving others.  Help us be good and faithful servants.

This we pray in Your sweet name, Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Everyone Loves a Parade

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 24th of March, 2024 - Palm Sunday and the sixth and final Sunday in Lent.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today is Palm Sunday and the sixth and final Sunday in our season of Lent, our time to look deep within ourselves to see if we are living as God would have us live.  Today we celebrate our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem for what will be His last trip to the Holy City.

The cross is looming ever closer, almost in sight now as our walk through Lent nearly ends.  We will mark that end, and our Lord’s arrest, this coming Thursday afternoon.  But for today, let us join the crowds and rejoice, for our Savior, God’s Messiah, has come to set us free!

I mentioned in our invocation that Jesus humbled Himself in His service to God and to mankind, and He instructed us to be humble as well.  He never exalted Himself or set Himself higher than anyone else, although He did often knock the Pharisees down a notch or two.  Could He have exalted Himself, could He have bragged and boasted?  Sure, if for no other reason than on the healings and casting out of evil spirits He performed.  But there’s much more.

One source I read noted that there are 48 prophecies in the Old Testament specific to the Messiah.  Mathematician Peter Stoner calculated the probability of one person fulfilling all of just those 48 prophecies to be one in 10 followed by 157 zeros!  I can’t even write that number on a piece of paper, it’s so huge – astronomically huge!  And yet, Jesus fulfilled not only all those 48 specific Messianic prophecies, but over 324 individual prophesies that related to the Messiah!  How great do you think the odds of that would be?!!?

Most of these 324 Jesus would have had no control over, such as the one that said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  There are some, though, that as an adult He could perhaps have arranged.  One of these centered on His arrival in Jerusalem.  Please listen and follow along to the last time that Jesus came into the Holy City for the Passover celebration, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 21st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 11, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

--Matthew 21:1-11 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Messiah to set us free from our bondage to sin!  Jesus came to offer salvation to all the world because You love us all.  And He commands us to go and make disciples of all the world.  Sadly, Father, not everyone accepts Your Son Jesus as their Lord.  Please help us reach out to the lost of the world, showing Your love.  Help us lead them in a triumphal parade to Jesus and salvation.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to do Your will and our Lord’s commands.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for letting us share in the triumph of our Lord Jesus.  Help us keep the joy of His resurrection in our heart and our actions even as we feel great sorrow thinking of Him suffering on the cross, taking our punishment.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Parades can bring unexpected, and sometimes pleasant, results.  Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and ABC baseball analyst Tim McCarver related that, “In 1964, after we won the World Series, the pitcher Bob Gibson and I got a call from a team representative who wanted us to be in the Rose Bowl Parade.  The representative told us to bring our wives.  I said I didn't have one.  ‘Well, get married, then,’ he said.  I thought ‘good idea’ and called my girlfriend (hometown sweetheart Anne McDaniel), who I'd been seeing for a while, and asked her to marry me.  We got married two months later.  Twenty-four years later we're still together.”

We might not remember Tim McCarver or Bob Gibson or any of the St. Louis Cardinals World Series winning team of that year, but most of us probably remember 1964.  By today’s standards, it was a much simpler time.  Boys and girls usually dated for quite a long period before becoming engaged and married.  Sports stars could make a decent living playing the games they loved, but they certainly weren’t idolized millionaires.

Some things haven’t changed, like our love of parades.  Or how one simple, off-hand statement can change our life from that moment onward.  The team rep told McCarver and Gibson to bring their wives to join them in the parade.  That was all well and good for Gibson, but McCarver wasn’t married at the time.  The rep had a quick and easy answer to that little glitch – get married!  So McCarver did just that, and they enjoyed a life together for many, many years thereafter.  It’s happy stories like this that add to our love of parades.

As I mentioned, our scripture reading opens with Jesus fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah as spoken in the 9th verse of the 9th chapter of the book bearing his name:  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."  God set this particular plan in motion when He whispered the words to Zechariah centuries earlier.  And Jesus carried it out, fulfilling one more of the over 300 prophecies that spoke of the Messiah.

Matthew doesn’t tell us if the disciples recognized what was happening, but they carried out Jesus’ command, brought the donkey, took off their cloaks to make a clean place for their Master to sit, and helped Him on.  And then they all headed into the city, with some going ahead and some following behind, forming a nice little parade with Jesus on His foal in the center of it all.

For any parade, a good bit of work and preparation goes on beforehand, like McCarver getting married.  And there is usually much that happens afterward, including some necessary “clean up” duties.

As we read Matthew’s account, our parade into Jerusalem seems to have been spontaneous, without any planning, with the people all coming out just to see what all the commotion was about.  Of course, we know that everything was done and came about according to God’s plan, including what occurred prior to this parade into Jerusalem.  Hear what the beloved Apostle John reported in chapter 12 of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 11, of an occurrence just before this…

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

--John 12:1-11 (NKJV)

Notice how John referred to Judas Iscariot.  They had been working together, walking alongside Jesus together for three years, but John did not write his account until many years after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.  So by the time of his writing, he knew what Judas had done, he knew the real reason behind the betrayer’s complaint that day when Mary anointed Jesus with expensive, fragrant oil.  And right there, Jesus told them that the time was coming when He would no longer be with them.

Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead earlier in His ministry, was there, too, of course, since it was his house shared with his sisters.  This double attraction – both Jesus and the man He brought back to life – drew a crowd.  It also drew the ire of the chief priests and Pharisees.  They started plotting to have Lazarus killed – again – because some of the people began believing in Jesus for the miracle He performed on Lazarus.  It seems there was no end to the plotting being carried out by the religious leadership of the day.

And like I said, after a parade, there’s always a mess to clean up.  After our parade into Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate was left with the mess created by the Pharisees.  They arrested Jesus, with the help of Judas, and took Him before Caiaphas and the chief priests.  From there He was “paraded” before Herod, the titular king of Judea.  And finally, on Friday morning, He ended up in the hands of Pilate, because the Jews could not put a man to death for breaking their laws, but the Romans could.

After an interrogation, Pilate just could not see any guilt, any fault, with Jesus.  He wanted to let Jesus go, but the crowd was getting noisier and more violent in their ravings and he feared unrest in the streets.  So he tried to make a deal with the people that would spare Jesus’ life.  Hear what the Apostle Mark recorded of this crucial moment in his Gospel account, chapter 15, verses 6 through 15…

6 Now at the feast Pilate was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.

11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

13 So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!”

14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”

But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!”

15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

--Mark 15:6-15 (NKJV)

The crowd wanted no deal, no exchange.  They cried out for Jesus’ death, and not just any death but execution by the cruelest means known at the time: crucifixion.  These were the same people now shouting “Crucify Him!” who had shouted “Hosanna” just a few days ago.  The same people, who had cut palm branches from the trees and laid them in the road along with some of their cloaks just so Jesus wouldn’t have to ride in a cloud of dust, now screamed for His execution.

What happened?!!?  How could they turn on Him so quickly?  Were the Pharisees that influential, that convincing?  No, God happened.  God’s will happened.  Everything unfolded as it had to.

Everyone loves a parade.  We’re drawn to them.  We want to see what’s going on, share in the moment.  We watch from the sidelines, clapping and cheering the performances and accomplishments of others.  But if the people at the center of those parades don’t live up to our expectations, we can turn on them in a heartbeat.

So family, be careful, for we’re all part of that parade now.  We’re part of the parade of believers, and Jesus is still at our center.  Many are on the sidelines cheering, but not taking part, not walking alongside us, not helping in the mission Jesus gave us.  And they could turn on us at any moment.

The world hates Jesus, just as much now as when He walked the earth, so the world hates us.  The folks watching the parade go by… well… they’re watching us, watching for us to slip up and act like them instead of like a Christian should.

Let’s keep marching, keep doing our Lord’s work, keep helping others, seeing to their needs, and trying to bring the lost to Jesus.  The parade route is long and the walk tiring, but Jesus is walking with us and will hold us up when we grow weary.

March on, family.  March on.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us the faith to be in the parade rather than just watching it go by.  We know that there are certain risks in being under the watchful eye of the world.  We also know there will be some cleaning up to do after the parade is over.  But this time, Father, Your Son Jesus will be doing the cleaning, picking up His believers for their new home in heaven and sweeping the non-believers off to the lake of fire.  Sometimes, Father, we hesitate a bit before stepping out in front of the crowd.  Sometimes we are fearful of the unwanted attention our actions might bring as we try to serve You by helping others.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us be quicker to respond to the needs of others with no concerns for what our good works might cause the world to think of us.  Help us serve You by showing Your love to a weary world.  Guide us around any pitfalls and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, on this day so long ago You climbed upon a donkey’s back and rode as Your followers led a grand parade into the Holy City of Jerusalem.  The people lined the streets, waving and cheering Your arrival.  No one could foresee how quickly those very same people would turn against You, or how Your own disciple Peter would deny even knowing You.  No one but You, that is.  You knew exactly what was coming, and You went through it anyway, just for us.  Please help us remember the sacrifice You made on our behalf.  Help us joyfully march in the parade serving others with You in the center, rather than merely watching from the sidelines.  Please help us be more understanding, more merciful, more forgiving, remembering that we are all created in our Triune God’s image and that You came to save us all.  And Lord, please help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.