Because He Lives

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 27th of April, 2025, the first Sunday after Easter and Resurrection Day.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

As we read our Bible and hear the stories and learn of all Jesus did, we may lose track of just how short His ministry actually was.  He didn’t really get started until He was about 30 years old, just after being baptized in the River Jordan by His kinsman John.

We know very little about the first thirty years of His life, except for His birth and then up to around two years old when the family had to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s slaughter of all young boys under the age of two.  Then there was the time when He was about 12 when He was found teaching in the temple instead of heading home in the caravan.

We learned that He pretty much followed His earthly father’s trade as a carpenter and craftsman.  We’ve seen recitations of His heritage and lineage, His ties to the line of David, the house of Judah.  But that’s about it – thirty years wrapped up in a few chapters of the Gospel writers’ accounts.  And then Jesus gave up His mortal life on the cross when He was around 33 years old, as near as we can reckon.

So our Lord’s ministry on earth, His mission from God, lasted a mere three years, give or take.  But in those three years, He changed the world.  This man with the very common name, from a little backwater village in the north near the Sea of Galilee, is still known, praised, worshiped, and followed to this day by millions of believers, because of all He did and taught in those three short years.

During that span, Jesus often hinted to His twelve closest disciples, His apostles, how things would go in the days to come.  I mean, as God, Jesus knew everything that would happen, and when it would happen.  So He tried to prepare His chosen friends for what would come, including the nature of His imminent death.  Sadly, it just confused them and probably frustrated Him a little.  Sometimes they just couldn’t understand His meaning, and sometimes they simply refused to believe Him.

And now the end was near, the time had come and the disciples truly needed to understand.  The Apostle John recorded the conversation between Jesus and His followers just after their Last Supper together, when He stated pretty clearly what would very soon come to pass, and what they should do next.  Please listen and follow along to John’s reporting of our Lord’s words, from the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 15 through 27, and I’ll be reading mostly from the New American Standard Bible this morning…

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.  16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. 21 The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful." 

--John 14:15-27 (NASB)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to atone for our sin, and then giving us Your own Holy Spirit to dwell within us and guide us, the Spirit of Truth.  Thank You for inspiring the Gospel writers to tell us all about Jesus and His ministry so that we can get to know Him better.  But Father, we admit that sometimes we are like His disciples and just don’t understand all that He tries to tell us.  Sometimes we even deny that He is talking to us, we don’t listen to Your Spirit when He is convicting us of wrongdoing.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Give us the mind and the heart to grasp our Lord’s meaning when He speaks to us.  Help us follow Your Spirit’s guidance and advice.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with shouts of, “He is risen!”, and “He lives!”, but what does it mean to live?  What is life?  Comedian Flip Wilson is reported to have lamented that, “If I had my whole life to live over again, I don't think I'd have the strength.”  Humor columnist Erma Bombeck encourages us to, “Seize the moment - remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”

But perhaps the best commentary on life comes from astronomer and popular author Carl Sagan, who noted in his book Other Worlds, that, “A story making the rounds concerned a Biology I examination in which the students were asked:  ‘Suppose you could take to Mars any of the laboratory equipment used in this course.  How would you determine if there was life on Mars?’  One student responded:  ‘Ask the inhabitants.  Even a negative answer would be significant.’  The student got an A.”

I remember many years ago some wag bemoaned the question of whether there is intelligent life on Mars by responding that, “We can’t even determine for sure that there is intelligent life on earth, let alone anywhere else in the universe.”  That doesn’t speak very well of us, does it.  But regardless of the question of life, intelligent or otherwise, we believers can be certain that our Lord Jesus lives, because over 500 people saw Him alive in the flesh, walking around and showing His wounds, days and weeks after He had been crucified, died on the cross, and been buried.  Yet not one of them ever refuted the fact, or their witness – not one.  We might not have seen it for ourselves, but we can take the words of those who did as truth.

I believe that verse 19 in our scripture reading holds the key to our faith, or a least a huge part of the key.  Jesus promised us that, “After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live.”

Because He lives, we too will live.  The Living Bible version of that verse has Jesus putting it like this…

19 “In just a little while I will be gone from the world, but I will still be present with you. For I will live again — and you will too.”

--John 14:19 (TLB)

Now remember that Jesus is talking about after His death, when the world is no longer going to see Him, when He will be gone from the world.  He is saying, “Because I will live again after dying to this world, you will also live again after dying to this world.”  That’s our promise of life after death, life with Jesus, because He will be in the Father and we will be in Him.  And what is required of us to gain this great prize?  He tells us at the start.  We are to love Him, and if we love Him, truly love Him, we will keep His commandments.

But He’s not going to leave us alone.  He’s not going to abandon us, forsake us.  He’s going to send God’s Holy Spirit to guide us and help us keep those commandments.  Oh, and by the way, as soon as we accepted Jesus as our Lord, the Holy Spirit came to us and took up residence in our hearts, just as Jesus promised.

He told us these things while He still walked among us.  And now, even though He is still and always will be with us, Jesus is back in heaven at the right hand of our Father God.  So God’s Holy Spirit has taken over the job of being our constant Companion and Teacher, reminding us of all that Jesus said, did, and taught.  For this reason, we have no need, no reason to be troubled or fearful.

Much earlier, shortly after the feeding of the 5000, Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Capernaum.  John also recorded this teaching, in the 6th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 51 through 58…

51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

--John 6:51-58 (NASB)

This should sound somewhat familiar.  It brings to mind the Last Supper, and the words of our sacred rite of Holy Communion.  It also speaks to our promise of eternal life, life anew after death to this life.

First Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.”  Then He adds emphasis, saying, “The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”  And one more time, just to be sure we heard it, “Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.”  And one last time, to complete the point, “This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

“This is My body, My flesh, which is broken for You.  Take, eat, in remembrance of Me.”

When we truly, fully believe in Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ sent to redeem the world of sin, and accept Jesus as our Lord, we are eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood.  And in that act we become His body, left here on earth to continue His work, to keep His commandments, to show the unbelieving world the love and wonder of Jesus.  This is a spiritual meal Jesus invites us to.  It feeds our faith.  Family, we will live because He lives.  Thank You, Jesus!

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who not only took away our sin but also gives us eternal life.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for choosing us to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  Thank You for giving us the faith to accept Him as Lord and to trust in His promise of eternal life.  Father, we admit that we don’t always keep our Lord’s commandments as we should.  Too often we fall victim to the temptations of the world, to its hatreds and anger, to its false promises and lies.  Please forgive us those times, dear Father.  Please help us release our grasp on the world and its ways.  Help us prepare ourselves for the next life and the world that is to come.  Help us show Your love to others by giving of ourselves, giving of our love freely, unconditionally, sacrificially, just as Jesus gave of Himself for us.  And please help us share our Lord 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 comes our way.

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, so many times You tried to tell Your disciples about Your mission, how Your time on this earth would end, and what would follow, yet they struggled to understand.  Lord, while we now understand what they didn’t, we too have struggles sometimes understanding how to carry out Your commands.  We seem to especially have trouble loving others, all others, just as You love us.  Please help us in our struggles, Lord.  Show us how to love.  Help us be more like You, loving all others, even those who hate us and wish us harm.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

And 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Easter Sunday morning, the 20th of April, 2025.  Our service this morning included the observance of Holy Communion.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, 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.”  Through Hosea, God promised to raise us up on the third day so that we may live with Him, live in His sight.  This is exactly what He did for His Son Jesus, as a sign to us, a reminder of His promise.  Today we celebrate that third day, and Jesus’ victory over the grave.

Since today is such a special day, I thought I’d let God bring His own message this morning.  With just a few comments thrown in here and there, we’ll hear God speak through His word, His scripture, written by the men He inspired, His Son’s apostles.  And we’ll begin with a former tax collector’s reporting of the weekend we have been reliving these last few days, starting Friday evening right before sunset.

So please listen and follow along as the Apostle Matthew relates the events of that first Easter weekend, as recorded in chapter 27 verse 57 through chapter 28 verse 15 of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading mostly from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning, with the very last scripture being from the older King James Version…

27:57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

--Matthew 27:57-28:15 (NKJV)

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.

Thomas a Kempis, in his work, The Imitation of Christ, wrote, in words to the effect, that we ought to so order ourselves, in all our thoughts and actions, as if today we were about to die. We should labor now to live in a manner that at the hour of our death we may rather rejoice than fear.

We who believe have no reason to fear death.  As Warren Wiersbe noted in his book The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, "Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."

The Apostle John describes Jesus as the True Light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  We have that Light within us, and it cannot be extinguished.  Jesus has come and brought with Him a new dawn.

In our first scripture reading, Matthew mentions the day following the Day of Preparation.  The “Day of Preparation” was Friday, when folks would get all the food cooked and everything that needed to be done before the Sabbath began at sunset, since the Israelites considered a day to start and end at sunset.  So the day following the Day of Preparation would be Saturday, the Sabbath, when no work is allowed.  But I guess plotting and scheming was allowed.  Apparently it was OK for the chief priests and Pharisees to ask Pilate for a guard, and then to assign a guard themselves and secure the tomb stone.  After the resurrection, those very guards took a bribe to spread the lie that the disciples came in the night and took the body of Jesus, a lie that is still repeated from time to time today.

Now we’re all familiar with the resurrection story, how the Mary’s went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, but upon arriving found the huge stone rolled away and the tomb empty.  An angel was there to greet them, to let them know Jesus had risen from the grave, just as He’d promised, and to relay the message that all Jesus’ followers should go to Galilee where they will see Him.  And then Jesus Himself appeared to the ladies as they were on their way to tell the others what had happened.

Yes, we all know the resurrection story.  It is central to our faith in that it proves Jesus to truly be the all powerful Son of God, as well as assuring us of the promise of our own resurrection to new life.  But this wasn’t the first time the grave was denied.

There are three recorded instances of Jesus raising someone from the dead.  The first was in the city of Nain, as the only son of a widow was being carried out of the city for burial.  Please listen to what the Apostle Luke reported of this event in verses 13 through 15 of the 7th chapter of his Gospel account…

13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

--Luke 7:13-15 (NKJV)

Luke says that Jesus had compassion on this woman.  As a widow, she had no husband to see to her needs, and so depended on her children for sustenance, or in this case, her only son.  With her son now dead too, she had no one to help her, no one to provide for her.  So Jesus gave her another chance at life by giving her son new life, defeating death.

The next came in Capernaum, when the twelve year old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, became deathly ill.  Please listen to how the Apostle Mark recorded this in verses 22 through 24 and verses 41 and 42 of the 5th chapter of his Gospel account…

22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

--Mark 5:22-24, 41-42 (NKJV)

I left out the part in the middle when a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and was healed.  Now, her ailment might have led to her death eventually, but at that point the grave was not yet denied another victim.

But she did manage to stop Jesus and delay him just long enough that the little girl died from her illness.  Had she not passed, Jesus would have simply healed her, as He had healed so many before.  But now He could raise her from the dead.  He could glorify God and prove to the very few witnesses just who He truly is.

The third resurrection is the best known, when Jesus raised His dear friend Lazarus from the dead.  Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary, were present that day, along with a crowd of mourners.  This is the same Mary who had anointed Jesus' feet with expensive oil, and dried them with her hair.  Please listen to what the Apostle John witnessed of this miracle, from verses 38 through 45 of the 11th chapter of his Gospel account…

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

--John 11:38-45 (NKJV)

There is no such thing as a coincidence.  This was meant to look somewhat similar to what would soon happen with the Son of God, to prepare us.  Jesus was entombed for only two days, men weren’t required to roll the stone away, and as far as we know, Jesus didn’t just walk out of the tomb.  I wonder, though, if God didn’t shout, “Jesus, come forth, My Son!”

Three times Jesus brought the dead back to life.  Three times death was defeated and the grave denied.  Jesus, fully God while fully man, gave these three folks new life, brought their physical bodies back to life.  And then His Father God brought Him back to physical life after His sacrifice, to redeem us of our sin.

There’s one more passage I’d like to close with, one that speaks of life and death.  The Apostle Paul writes of the resurrected Christ and His defeat of our last enemy: death.  Hear what Paul said in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 15, verses 54 through 57, and this from the King James Version of our Holy Bible…

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

--1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (KJV)

We Christians, we followers of Christ, have no reason to fear death.  Jesus took away death’s sting and denied the grave its win over us.  And we believers all get to share in the great victory.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we will shed this corruptible shell and put on incorruption, the mortal being will pass away as we put on immortality.  Death is swallowed up in victory!  Our Lord Jesus lives!  Thanks be to God!

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 us of 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 they 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 witnessing 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.

Roll Away the Stone

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning at dawn for our Easter Sunrise service on the 20th of April, 2025.  This service was held outside and not recorded or streamed.]

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, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James the younger and Joseph, and Salome.  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, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene 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.  Saturday evening saw the end of the Sabbath, when labor could be resumed.  And then came Sunday, the first day of the new week, and the first opportunity for anyone 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 Mark recorded for us describing what happened on that Sunday long ago.  I’ll be reading the 16th chapter of the Apostle Mark’s Gospel account, from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid His body. 7 Now go and tell His disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there, just as He told you before He died.”

8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw Him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they didn’t believe her.

12 Afterward He appeared in a different form to two of His followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. 13 They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

14 Still later He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen Him after He had been raised from the dead.

15 And then He told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in My name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

--Mark 16 (NLT)

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 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, the sun is slowing making its appearance in the east.  And Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome have come to the tomb of our Lord, to anoint His body with fragrant oils and spices, purchased just after sunset last night.

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 see!

So now these three women are walking to the tomb just as the sun peeks above the eastern horizon.  Friday afternoon they watched as the tomb was sealed by having a huge stone placed across the entrance.  So now, as they walked, they were trying to figure out how they were going to roll that stone away so they could enter the tomb and anoint their Lord’s body.  The three of them couldn’t possibly do it on their own.  Would someone be there to help, maybe a gardener?  Why didn’t they think of this before heading out, and maybe asking one or two of the men to go along with them?

But to their surprise, the tomb was already standing open, with the stone off to the side.  They received another surprise when they entered the tomb.  Instead of the body of Jesus, they found a man dressed in a white robe, an angel, sitting rather nonchalantly off to the right.

“Don’t be alarmed”, he said.  “I know you’re looking for Jesus, but He’s not here.  He has already risen from the dead, like He told you He would.  Now go and tell the rest of His disciples that He will meet up with you all back in Galilee.”

They did as told and ran to the tell the eleven the great news, but no one believed them.  Even when the two disciples who encountered the risen Jesus while on the road to Emmaus reported this amazing event to the eleven, they were not believed either.  Only when Jesus Himself suddenly appeared in their midst did His stubborn followers believe.  Before ascending back into heaven and the right hand of God, Jesus gave His disciples, including us, our mission while we live.  “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

As the women were walking to the tomb, they fully expected to find a huge impediment keeping them from accomplishing the task before them.  They had seen the hewn boulder set in front of the tomb, blocking the entrance.  No way the three of them could budge it.  How were they going to carry out their mission?

But lo and behold, when they got to the tomb, the stone had already been rolled aside!  God removed what had been keeping the women from doing what they set out to do.  Of course, once they got inside they discovered they couldn’t anoint their Lord’s body after all, even with the stone removed, because…  There was no body to anoint!  Jesus had already risen and left the grave.  Nonetheless, their original problem had been solved for them.

What heavy stone is blocking us?  What huge impediment is keeping us from carrying out our mission, the task Jesus gave us?  Are we afraid – afraid of what others may think or say when we express our faith, afraid of how they might react?  Is fear or embarrassment our boulder?  Or is it we’re just too timid, too shy, especially when it comes to approaching a stranger?  Or maybe we think we just won’t know what to say or do to try and preach the Good News, the Gospel?  What is the huge, heavy stone that we can’t seem to roll away from blocking our path?

Just as those three women found out, God can and will roll that stone away for us.  All we have to do is ask.  Just pray and ask for strength, for courage, for the will to do our Lord’s will, and God will do the rest.  Remember: we have the greatest power in the universe right here inside us.  We have God’s own Holy Spirit within us.  He will move any stone that gets in our way.  Just trust in God, in His Son Jesus, and in His Holy Spirit and our way will be open and clear.

So let’s get out there 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.

The Lamb Is Sacrificed

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Friday afternoon, the 18th of April, 2025, Good Friday.  A recording of our service may 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, one of His friends, His chosen, betrayed Him, readying the Lamb for the Passover sacrifice.  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, first by His fellow Jews and then again, more severely, by the Romans.  Throughout all this, He remained mostly silent, answering the false accusations with the truth.

Today, at about this time, He will be nailed to a cross, where He will take His last breath around three this afternoon.  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?

The Apostle Mark, who is normally quite reserved in his writing, using words sparingly, gives us a very good record of this last day in Jesus’ mortal life.  Please listen and follow along as I read verses 1 through 39 of chapter 15 of the Apostle Mark’s Gospel account, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible...

1 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”

3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” 5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

6 Now at the feast he 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.

16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. 22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”

29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”

31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”

Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

--Mark 15:1-39 (NKJV)

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.  You knew that 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 scatter His following.

Now Jesus stood in judgment before the highest human authority in Judea, the Roman governor and commander of the occupying army: Pontius Pilate.  But quite frankly, Pilate was only concerned with appeasing the mob gathered there.  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 settle things down again.

Still, Pilate wasn’t convinced that Jesus had done anything deserving of death.  First, 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 rebel Barabbas.  “Which do you choose?”, he asked.  “Who would you have me release, your King, or Barabbas?”  “Release Barabbas!”, they cried.  “What then would you have me do with this King of the Jews?”, Pilate responded, astounded by their choice.  “Crucify Him!”, the people shouted.

“Crucify Him!”  These were the same people who just a few days ago had been shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Shouts of, “Hosanna in the highest!”, had now become, “Crucify Him!”  

Still, Pilate saw no guilt in Jesus or in His actions, but the mob was rapidly approaching a boiling point, so he ordered that Jesus be scourged and then crucified.  The Roman soldiers went a bit further, dressing Him up in royal purple, jamming a crown fashioned from thorns onto His head, taunting Him, hitting Him, spitting on Him, mockingly shouting, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  Then they took Him out of the Praetorium and headed to the place of crucifixion.

At this point, with the blood loss from the scourging, Jesus would have been too weak to carry His own cross, as was Roman custom, so the soldiers pressed a passerby into service to carry it for Him.  Simon of Cyrene just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, simply heading back into town from the countryside.  He was forced to bear Jesus’ cross on to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull.

The soldiers offered Jesus some wine mixed with myrrh, which would have helped ease the pain a little, but He refused it.  So they lifted Him up on that cross, and gambled for His clothing, just as the prophet had foretold.  After being ridiculed and humiliated some more – even as He suffered there on the cross – Jesus finally cried out, then breathed His last.

The Spotless Lamb had been sacrificed, to take away the sin of the world.  And the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Now I included that last verse to remind us of the significance of the temple veil being torn in two.  I spoke on this a few weeks ago, because it holds great importance for all people, not just we believers.

In the temple, veils were used over doorways to separate the chambers, effectively keeping the people, even the priests, from entering into areas they should not be in.  The innermost chamber was the most sacred, where only one priest could enter, because this was where God supposedly would come into.  It held the Ark of the Covenant, where God would sit.  No one was allowed in there except the one priest.  No common person could ever be with God.

But now that veil is torn, that curtain has been ripped down, and we may all be with God all the time, and He with us!  In the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, we are assured that, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”  God is with us because of the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb, and we are His people.

To have some idea of what Jesus went through for us, I believe we need to better grasp what was done to Him.  We know He took our punishment, bore our stripes, as the prophet Isaiah put it, but do we understand to what degree this poor Lamb of God suffered?

First the scourging.  This involves whipping the subject with a cat-o’-nine-tails, a short whip of leather straps that have bits of broken pottery and iron tied in to the ends of the straps.  The effect is brutal, with the pottery shards and iron bits cutting into the flesh with each blow.  The blood loss is immediate and heavy.  This is why Jesus was too weak to bear His own cross.

Then the crucifixion itself, an absolutely horrible method of execution.  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.

In crucifixion, nails are driven through the subject’s wrists just below the palms, one through each hand as their arms are held outstretched.  And then their feet are brought together and one nail is pounded through both of their ankles.  When the cross is stood up on end, they are not holding on to anything or standing on a little ledge.  Those three nails are holding them in place.  It hurts, a lot, but if they let their body slump, giving in to the pain in their ankles and legs, then their lungs can’t fully expand because of their outstretched arms.  So after a while of struggling just to catch a breath, they force their weight back on to the nail through their ankles.  Eventually they tire of this and slump down again, restricting their lungs once more.  This repeats, over and over, often for days until they finally can’t stand any more and they slowly suffocate.

I guess we could say it’s fortunate that Jesus suffered like this for only a few hours before giving up His spirit.  But this was the pain He endured for us.  This was our punishment He took so we wouldn’t have to.  I wonder, though, if the greatest pain might not have been physical, but emotional.  Jesus was fully human while fully God.  He had emotions, could feel emotionally as you and I feel.  He knew sorrow and He knew happiness.  Could not the rejection by the people he came to save have caused Him intense suffering?  Would not taking all our sin upon Himself, He who had no sin of His own, bring great emotional pain?  We could never have borne up under the physical or the emotional pain that Jesus bore for us.

Thankfully, 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 will see Him alive and in the flesh again, and not one will ever refute it.

So, no, our Lord’s mortal life did not completely end at that point, with the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb.  But 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.  Had the chief priests succeeded in scattering His followers and putting an end to this new Way?

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.

There on that cruel cross, Jesus completed His part in God’s plan for mankind’s redemption.  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.  By that knowledge, it’s up to us to stay clean.

Now, we know that we’re all sinners, 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.

But we still have to get through this earthly life.  We have a race to finish, as Paul put it, and we have a job to do.  Before going back to heaven to be with God, Jesus gave us 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 completed 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.  Remember how the Spotless Lamb was sacrificed so that our sin would be forgiven and we would be spared eternal death.

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, 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 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 would be completed.  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.

The Passover Sacrifice Readied

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Thursday afternoon, the 17th of April, 2025, Maundy Thursday.  Our service this afternoon included the observance of Holy Communion.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

For this afternoon, I’d like us to travel 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 the known world enter the city to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Passover Observance.  Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the same age as the Gospel writers, put the Passover population at over 2,000,000!  The place is crowded, to say the least.  Especially since the One some are calling the King of the Jews came to town.

All manner of domestic and exotic goods are being sold in the marketplace and in stalls and from carts dotting the streets.  Up until this past Sunday, you could have purchased doves and grain and incense and other things used for sacrifices right there on the Temple grounds.  Sunday is when Jesus rode in.

You’ve heard of Jesus, haven’t you – the great Healer and Teacher, the holy Man from Nazareth?  He rode in with a whole parade of followers, and all the people came out shouting “Hosanna” and throwing their cloaks and some palm branches onto the street for His mount to walk on.  And get this – He came riding in on a donkey!  A little, lowly donkey!  What kind of king rides into Jerusalem on a donkey?!?

Anyway, He went right into the Temple and drove off everyone who was trying to profit off 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 join this Jesus and His followers for dinner.

Please listen and follow along to the report provided in chapter 22 of the Gospel account of the Apostle Luke, verses 1 through 33 and verse 39, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover, was approaching. 2 The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people’s reaction.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest Him when the crowds weren’t around.

7 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”

9 “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked Him.

10 He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters, 11 say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with My disciples?’ 12 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 13 They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.

14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before My suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”

17 Then He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

20 After supper He took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

21 “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray Me. 22 For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays Him.” 23 The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.

39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

--Luke 22:1-23, 39 (NLT)

Let us pray… Father God, this afternoon we step back in time to one day nearly 2000 years ago, a day that only holds meaning for believers.  This day and the next were long and painful for Your Son Jesus, and now painful emotionally for us as well.  So much happened those two days, and it was all for our benefit, we poor sinners.  Speak to us, Father, speak into our hearts, that we might relive that dark time and understand its true meaning and full impact on us, both in this life and especially 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.  At His last supper with His disciples, Jesus commanded us to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.  A little earlier, He had also given us the commandment to love each other, just as much as He loves us.

In 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 something that happened that Thursday so long ago.

Now it’s important to remember that Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen.  This is evident in Luke’s account when he noted that Peter and John, who Jesus sent to prepare a place for them all to eat the Passover meal, found everything exactly like He had said they would.  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 wonder if those two disciples weren’t 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 what would happen next.  Especially if it had to do with His death.

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.  Obviously astonished, they began questioning, “Who would ever do such a thing!?!  Is it you?  Is it you?”

Some of the Gospel writers report that Judas left the room at this point, so he could go set his own plan in motion.  After this and the revelation that Peter would soon deny even knowing Jesus, they finished supper and headed out to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus would pray before being betrayed and arrested.

When we look at this supper, we can see that Jesus varied just a little from the customary Passover meal tradition by sharing the bread and announcing that it was His body.  He blessed and then broke the loaf of bread so that they might eat, just as 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 it to be a new covenant between God and His people, an agreement sealed by His blood – the blood of God’s only Son - poured out for us, shed for the many who will believe, not just those gathered there that night.

The sacrifice is readied.

As I and the scripture mentioned, this is all taking place as the Passover observance is about to begin.  Just as a reminder, the original Passover occurred when God intervened for the Israelites to free them from Egyptian captivity.  As His final sign against Pharoah, God sent His angel of death to slay the firstborn son of every household in the land.  The Israelites were told to slaughter a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts and lintels so that the angel would pass over their home, sparing their sons from death.  That sacrificial lamb had to be one year old and unblemished – a spotless lamb.

When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching the River Jordan to be baptized, he proclaimed, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  Jesus is the Spotless Lamb, without the blemish and stain of sin.  And in our scripture reading, we see Him being readied for sacrifice.  The blood of the Spotless Lamb of God spares us of eternal death.

But that comes tomorrow.  Tonight begins the preparations.  Judas plots with the chief priests and then betrays Jesus, with a kiss, no less.  Jesus is arrested and taken off to be tried in a sham trial.  The Spotless Lamb being led to the slaughter.

We know that tomorrow, Friday, after being betrayed, denied, and abandoned, Jesus will be nailed to a rough-hewn cross, there to yield up His mortal life.  But tonight we dine, we fellowship, and we share.

“Do this in remembrance of Me”, Jesus said.  It was as much a plea as a command.  “Remember Me.  Let the bread and the wine remind you of the sacrifice made on your behalf, the offering made for your sin, the covenant made between you and God confirmed and sealed by My blood.”

In just a few moments we will come to the table of our Lord, to do just as He commanded.  We will share His last meal with Him at our side.  We will eat the bread and drink of the cup, in remembrance of 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 your 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 Your Spotless Lamb was being readied for sacrifice.  For on that day so long ago Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation, was betrayed and led off to be tried and then crucified.  Instead of being received as Lord, Jesus was rejected and scorned.  And even today, Father, we often betray and deny Him because we are too timid to testify for Him, too fearful of what others may think or say.  Forgive us, Father, when we let our fear and hesitation keep us from doing 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 loved us to the very end.  

Forgive us, Lord, when we deny You by our inaction.  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.

The Lord Needs It

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 13th of April, 2025, Palm Sunday, the sixth Sunday in Lent.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

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

Family, we humans can be a needy people, can’t we.  Many of our true needs are a result of our physical stature.  In nature, the full animal kingdom, we are at a decided disadvantage.  We are not the strongest of animals, nor the fastest, nor the best of swimmers.  We’re not very well camouflaged for most settings, so we sort of stand out in plain sight.

Speaking of sight, ours is not all that great, and our night vision is quite limited, as is our sense of smell.  We don’t really have sharp teeth or claws.  We don’t even have nice furry pelts to protect us.  But God blessed us with the best brain and opposing thumbs, and the ability to use them, so we survived and became the fiercest, most deadly creature on earth.  God saw our need and filled it, and He still does.

Do you remember the story of Zacchaeus?  He was the chief tax collector in the city of Jericho, and he may have sometimes taken more than necessary from his fellow Jews, for he was wealthy.  But Zacchaeus was also short in stature – or height challenged, we might say.  When he heard that the Jesus was entering town, he ran out to see this man who everyone talked about.

By the time he got to the main roadway, a huge crowd had already gathered and Zacchaeus couldn’t see over all the other people.  But then he spotted something that could compensate for his need to rise above the crowd: a nearby sycamore tree.  When Jesus and His disciples passed by, the Lord saw Zacchaeus perched up in that tree and told him to come down, that He needed to stay at the tax man’s house that day.  Zacchaeus came down and they all went to his house, where Zacchaeus promised to give half of his possessions to the poor, and to pay back four times as much to anyone he had cheated on their taxes.  And Jesus granted salvation to Zacchaeus and his household.

Did Jesus really need to visit with Zacchaeus to accomplish this?  No, of course not.  But I think Zacchaeus actually had two needs, both filled by God in His way.  First the obvious – he was short and couldn’t see Jesus, but there just so happened to be a climbable tree along the route.  Coincidence?  No such thing.  Coincidence is simply God’s unseen hand at work.  But the greater need was for the man to recognize his sin and repent of it.  God made this possible, too, through the visit of Jesus and His kindness to the man.

Shortly after leaving Jericho, Jesus and His followers headed to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, for what would be our Lord’s last visit to the city and the end of His earthly life.  It was on this stretch when another incident occurs of a need made known and filled.  But this one is very different.  It took place just outside Jerusalem, at the Mount of Olives.  Please listen and follow along to the Apostle Luke’s reporting of a particular aspect of our Lord’s last visit to the Holy City, from the 19th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 28 through 40, and I’ll be reading from the New English Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

28 After Jesus had said this, He continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 Now when He approached Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples, 30 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it. 36 As He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As He approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

--Luke 19:28-40 (NET)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for seeing to our needs, especially those we don’t know we need at the time.  Thank You for working behind the scenes, making things happen for us that some may look at as being mere chance or good luck, although we know better.  But Father, we admit that sometimes we just don’t understand why You do some of the things You do.  Sometimes we don’t even notice the good work You’ve done for us, as individuals or as a people.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Give us greater insight into Your overall plan.  Help us recognize Your hand at work in our lives.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, our worship, and our service.  And please keep us healthy and safe through these trying time.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1986, Christianity Today magazine published this little anecdote: 

There is a story of a tool company that manufactured drill bits.  Faced with financial losses, company executives gathered to discuss the problem: a declining demand for drill bits.  The CEO challenged his men: "How can we revive the bit market?"  After an embarrassing silence, one member of the team dispelled the fog: "Sir, the market isn't for bits - its for holes!"  The story, though apocryphal, does illustrate a basic but often overlooked truth: "The customer never buys a product.  By definition, the customer buys the satisfaction of a want" (in the words of Peter Drucker).  To put it another way, there are no markets for products - only markets for what products can do.  In contemporary industry, the Xerox Corp. shows this principle in action.  Xerox successfully pioneered the copy-machine industry by leasing copiers at a "per copy" price rather than selling machines outright.  They correctly saw the market was for copies, not machines.

There are four implications to this story: 1) We must constantly evaluate customer needs; 2) We must design products to meet specific needs; 3) We must redesign products as needs change; 4) We must delete products that no longer meet customer needs.

You may be asking what this has to do with our message, or with church at all for that matter.  Well, don't we have a "product" to "sell"?  We were given the critical mission of spreading the Gospel and making more followers for Christ.  We do this by telling folks about Jesus and His mighty works and promises, teaching them all He taught us.  In effect, we are selling people on the idea of salvation and everlasting life through Jesus and Jesus alone.  We must make sure we are making our pitch to meet the need of the non-believers.

In our scripture reading, it almost sounds like Jesus is telling His two unnamed disciples to steal a donkey.  “Go and untie it and bring it here.”  His addition of the “If anyone asks” kind of sounds like He’s giving them an alibi in case they get caught.

Now, we know that isn’t the case, and we can assume the donkey was eventually returned to its owner.  And actually, it would not have been stealing anyway.  At the time, there was a custom called angaria that allowed for an animal to be pressed into service for a “significant figure”.  Jesus was certainly a significant figure, as evidenced by the huge crowds He always attracted.  Saying “the Lord has need of it” allowed the disciples to take the colt by that custom.  But I’m not concerned about the disciples taking the donkey so much as why they took it.

“The Lord has need of it.”  Jesus needed the donkey.  Really???  Did Jesus, fully God while still fully man, really have need of anything, much less a donkey?

You know how much I enjoy “The Chosen” TV series.  One of my many favorite moments in the show is when Jesus calls Simon the Zealot to be one of His twelve.  He takes Simon’s dagger and throws it in the river.  Puzzled, Simon asks if Jesus doesn’t need him to fight for Him, what does He need him for?  Jesus responds, “I have everything I need, Simon.  I don’t need you with Me, I want you to be with Me.”  Jesus didn’t need the donkey to ride in on because He was tired or unable to walk.  He just needed it, or wanted it, so that Messianic prophecy would be fulfilled.

Oh, and did Jesus need for the crowd to shout His praises?  No, because even if the people had remained silent, the very stones would have cried out.

Jesus needs us to better understand the ways of Heaven and of our Father God.  He needs us to carry on His work on earth.  But Jesus is God, one of the three persons of God.  What could God possibly "need"?  Nothing.  If He really needed anything, He could simply create it or make it happen, like ensuring a sycamore tree would grow in exactly the right spot.  But if we substitute “need” for “want”, the question becomes a little clearer.

Jesus wants us to have greater insight into God’s will.  He wants us to carry on His work.  He wants us to have faith, to spread the Gospel, to make more followers.

We are the church, the hands and feet and voice of Jesus, left on earth for a purpose, with a mission.  Hear the words of Jesus as He and His disciples approached another city, as reported by the Apostle Matthew in the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 through 19…

13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

--Matthew 16:13-19 (NET)

Now, Jesus was speaking to Simon Peter here, but He was talking to us, to all of His followers.  He has built His church upon us, and nothing can overpower it.  He fully expects us to withstand and endure any attempt to destroy it, even a pandemic or systematic persecution.

Jesus doesn’t need us to be His church, He wants us to be His church, His body left on earth.  God doesn’t need more people to join Him in heaven, He wants more people to be saved.  He wants us because He loves us.

The Lord doesn’t really need us, but we certainly need Him.  We need Him to continue blessing us, sustaining us, guiding us.  We are His church, but more than that, we are His representatives, His ambassadors, His apostles.  He has sent us out on a mission, and we go out bearing His name: Christians.  The world sees Him through us, through our actions and words.  Let’s make sure we are representing Him well.  For the Lord needs it.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who wants all of us to follow Him.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for choosing us to believe in and follow Your Son Jesus.  You don’t need us for anything, not to populate Your heavenly home, but You want us there with You, all of us.  So You sent Jesus to redeem us of our sin and offer us salvation.  Father, we admit that sometimes we don’t live the way You want us to live.  Too often we forget that we are Yours, that everything is Yours and we only have what You give us.  Please forgive us those times, dear Father.  You don’t need us – we need You.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us show Your love to others by giving of ourselves, giving of our love freely, unconditionally, sacrificially, just as Jesus gave of Himself for us.  And please help us share our Lord 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 comes our way.

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, it isn’t that You’ve ever truly needed anything, even when You walked among us as one of us.  Your needs, like ours, were filled by our Father God.  But there were things You wanted to do, deeds You wanted to accomplish, our Father’s will and plan You wanted to finish.  And now You want us to carry on Your work.  Please help us be better workers, better representatives.  Help us be more like You.  Help us love all others, even those who hate us and wish us harm.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us the deeds to do to lead the lost to You.

And 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.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.