Saturday, April 11^th

What was happening on Saturday?

The body of Jesus was entombed.

Jesus Is Buried Luke 23:50-56

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment.

Three Thoughts…

Was it Really Three Days and Nights?

According to Christian tradition, Jesus died on Good Friday at 3pm (or, the ninth hour of the day according to Matthew 27:45-46; Mark 15:33-34; and Luke 23:44). By 6pm He was entombed and then on Sunday at dawn, Jesus rose from the dead. That’s approximately 36 hours. Yet, according to Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, “For, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” So, what’s up with that?

First-century Palestine didn’t begin new days at midnight like we do in our 21st-century cultural context. For them, it was sundown, which the Jewish people still practice. In first-century Judaism, part of a day counted as a whole day. So, because Jesus was buried on Friday evening and rose on Sunday morning, He was in the tomb “three days and three nights.” The authors of the Gospels all point to the resurrection occurring at dawn on the first day of the week (for them it was Sunday). So, it was the beginning of a new day—both literally as well as symbolically!

What Was Happening Between the Cross and the Empty Tomb?

After Jesus’s human body died on the cross, Jesus descended into death. Death did indeed capture Jesus and He entered into it fully. We read in Luke 23:43 that Jesus told the humble criminal who was crucified next to Him that, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” We also read in the Apostles Creed that, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.” So, what was happening on this Holy Saturday? There are no specific scriptural references, but many have attempted to answer the question by examining many of the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament (mostly those contained in Psalms) and what the New Testament records. My own thoughts are probably too simplistic for well-studied theologians, yet my current thinking is that Jesus did descend into hell, but not to continue His suffering. John was there as Jesus died on the cross and he records Jesus saying, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). My thoughtful speculation is that Jesus went into hell to seize the keys of death and hell from Satan. In Revelation 1:18, the risen Christ appears to John and declares, [I am] “the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” After seizing the keys of death and hell Jesus took them to His Father in Paradise—and returned to the tomb for resurrection.

Sabbath Rest

Luke 23:56b: And on the Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment. On Holy Saturday we wait. It’s a Sabbath Day, and as such, a time of quiet and restful reflection. That first Holy Saturday was anything but restful for the disciples of Jesus. There was much anxiety, fear, and depression. These emotions are processed best in prayer and thoughtful reflection.

Author G. K. Chesterton in “The Everlasting Man” writes that this Sabbath “was the last Sabbath of the old creation, which was marred by Adam’s sin…What [the disciples] were looking at on Sunday morning, was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.”[1]

Thoughtful and reflective: Andrew Peterson “Resurrection Letters: One Album, Ten Years” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx3vDBtf78E&list=PLSOArt-wtjbDxjvTK9gO62ok2EIdqZX2g

[1] G.K. Chesterton: The Everlasting Man, Part Two, Chap. III.

The gospels tell the what of the crucifixion while the epistles help us to understand the why. One of the most subtly graphic passages in the epistles is Paul’s declaration to the Corinthians (5:21),

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

This doesn’t mean that God made Jesus sinful, it means that on the cross the Father treated Jesus the way sinners deserve. Jesus sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane was a mere foretaste of the coming rejection. One commentator wrote, “Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before His betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before Him…”[1]

On the cross, Jesus endured the FULL WEIGHT of the sins of humanity. Think about it, every past, present, and future sin of every person who would ever live was beginning to smother the soul of Jesus. Someone has said that the physical suffering that Jesus endured was like a flea bite compared to the emotional and spiritual suffering of bearing our sin.

What we encounter in the gospels is that Jesus didn’t exude the peace of God on the cross. If we look closely, we see that he actually lost His peace while He was dying on the cross. He cried out in agony saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”  and then a few minutes later, in His final moment, “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last” (Mark 15:34, 37).

To paraphrase what happened as He passed from life to death, we must acknowledge that Jesus died screaming. It was torturous, excruciating, and violent, fueled by unfathomable pain.

Here’s what may help us to better understand what happened on Good Friday, Jesus relinquished all of His peace so we could receive and enjoy eternal peace. The essence of the gospel is that God, out of unfathomable pain and immeasurable love became one of us and accomplished for us what we could not accomplish on our own. The Christian life is not about what we could do or should do to earn God’s favor and acceptance, it’s about what God accomplished for us. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).

[1] Bill Lane. The Gospel According to Mark. Eerdmans, 1974: 573.

Good Friday, April 10^th

What happened on Good Friday?

Several sorrowful events took place…Jesus praying in Gethsemane (either late Thursday night or early Friday morning), the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, His denial, His sham trial and flogging, and His crucifixion.

Why is this Friday Good? Certainly, as the day unfolded it didn’t look or feel good—His disciples were still expecting a geopolitical kingdom (like David’s) to be established, so this day was shocking and bewildering to them. It is in looking back that we see the resolute goodness of that fateful day. By His death, Jesus became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. Jesus willingly accomplished what we could never do for ourselves by dying for us on that first Good Friday.

Gethsemane

Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

The key-word, of course, is anguish. One commentator wrote: “Jesus came to be with the Father for an interlude before His betrayal, but found hell rather than heaven opened before Him…”[1]

Betrayal and Arrest

John 18:3-5a So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.”

Our tendency is to place the blame on Judas as a bad seed. But what we see later in Peter’s sermon that launched the Church (Acts 2) is that “we” killed Christ.

• Acts 2:23 This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
• Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you”

Denial

Luke 22:60-61 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

Two things stand out here:

• We’ve all heard the phrase, “If looks could kill I’d be dead.” So, when Jesus turned and looked at Peter after he denied Him three times, what did Peter see and experience? He did not see anger or pity, Peter encountered gracious love and complete acceptance in the eyes of Jesus, which caused a deep and life-changing repentance.
• What’s the difference between Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial? Certainly, both were grievous sins. The difference appears to be that Judas did not repent, he relented while Peter truly repented. True repentance is a summons to a personal, absolute, ultimate, and unconditional surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Though it includes relenting and regretting, it is so much more than that. The unresolved guilt and shame of Judas’ relentance culminated in taking his own life.

Sham Trial and Flogging

Mark 15:15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Seven hundred years before the crucifixion Isaiah prophesied about the death of the coming Messiah: But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man (Isaiah 32:14). Wow.

On the cross, Jesus endured the FULL WEIGHT of the all past, present, and future sins of humanity. Someone has suggested that the physical suffering that Jesus endured was like a flea bite compared to the emotional and spiritual suffering of bearing the sin of humanity.

Jesus didn’t exude the peace of God on the cross. If we look closely at what Jesus endured on the cross, we see that he actually lost His peace while He was dying. He cried out in agony and said,

• Mark 15:34 “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
• Mark 15:37 “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last.”

Paraphrase: Jesus died screaming.  It was an excruciating and violent death. Here’s what this means for you and me: Jesus let go of all of His peace so we could have eternal peace.

Application: Somehow, we must allow the events of this day to penetrate the lingering hardness and complacency of our hearts. I don’t know how to do that for you. Certainly, it will take some moments of quiet reflection. Will you get by yourself to reflect? Will you read these passages and pray with your spouse and family (or housemates)? We’ll also be reflecting on this in our Good Friday service later today…

[1] Bill Lane. The Gospel According to Mark. Eerdmans, 1974: 573.

Maundy Thursday, April 9^th

What was Jesus doing on Thursday of Holy Week?

The big event of the day is the Last Supper and Jesus and the disciples making their way to Gethsemane.

Note: In liturgical churches this day is known as Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, which reflects Jesus’ words, in John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment.”

Jesus Washes The Feet Of His Friends, John 13:1-17; 34-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:31–17:26 is a unit known as The Farewell Discourse, which are the final words and instructions of Jesus before He was arrested. If we were to reduce these chapters to two words, they would be assurance and comfort. Jesus prepares the Disciples for His death and the coming of the Holy Spirit. He speaks of the opposition between the ways of this world and them as His disciples, preparing them for the hardships to come.[1] He does this by showing them that this opposition will come from their union with Himself (e.g., abiding in Him, see John 15:4).

One of my VitalChurch colleagues made the observation that the Last Supper, with Jesus stooping to wash the feet of the disciples, is the most pivotal moment in all of human history. What we witness is the culmination of the Old Covenant (or Testament) and the launch of the New Covenant (or Testament). At the official inauguration of this new age, Jesus is modeling for us a new ethic and practice—humbly serving others (see Philippians 2:2-7). Jesus didn’t want this object lesson moment to be missed, we are to find our comfort, joy, and delight in being found “in Him” and from that assurance we are to humbly love and serve one another—and “the other,” through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Application: Two thoughts…

1. How is your assurance of salvation? Do you know that you know that you know that you are secure in God’s love and full acceptance? If not ask God to reveal to you what might be hindering that. Surrender afresh your whole life to Him and ask for that assurance to warm your heart.
2. How is your servant’s heart? If you do not live alone during this shelter-in-place moment, you are experiencing, CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS in a whole new way, where we’re in each other’s space more than usual. How’s it going? (I’ll leave it at that.)

Deeper Dive: Jesus and the Disciples Making Their Way to Gethsemane

After the Last Supper Jesus and the Disciples began to make their way through the streets of Jerusalem to Gethsemane. Along the way, in the moonlight, they would have seen small fires burning in the vineyards that shared the Mount of Olives with the olive groves. And keep in mind that the national emblem of Israel was a golden vine.

It is possible that Jesus spoke His John 15 words with a view of the vineyard fires in the background. What were the fires about? At the end of each day the vinedressers would stack the dead and fruitless branches into a pile every few rows and then burn them at dusk. Perhaps as Jesus spoke His words, the Disciples could see the fires burning from where they were standing (or walking)??

And then Jesus and the Disciples would need to cross the Kidron Valley on their way to Gethsemane. On the afternoon before the Passover Celebration in Jerusalem, which would have begun on Wednesday, the Temple Priests would have been sacrificing of the lambs on the altar of the temple. Theologians speculate that as many as a quarter-million lambs were slain in a typical Passover season, requiring hundreds of priests to carry out the task. There would be a tremendous amount of blood drained from 250,000 lambs along with the water used in the ritual cleansings. The water and blood would have been flowing down the Kidron Valley which separated Jerusalem from Gethsemane. The word, Kidron means “black brook” or “gloomy brook,” perhaps the name was in response to the continuous flood of blood and water from the Temple.

When Jesus and the Disciples walked through the Kidron Valley, it’s likely that Jesus couldn’t help but be moved by the biblical symbolism that the valley held in terms of sacrifices made “for sins,” the river of blood from those sacrificial lambs. Jesus knew that as “The Lamb of God” His blood would soon flow for the sins of the whole world—past, present, and future. His crossing the Kidron was a confirmation concerning “the cup” of the sins of the world that He was about to drink and die for. He came to die as God’s perfect Sacrificial Lamb for our sins that we might be restored to direct access to an intimate life-giving relationship with our Father God. He is, indeed, a good, good Father.

Application: The best, maybe the only legit, application is to worship. When you have a few minutes maybe slip out of the house and take a short walk. Reflect on the suffering that Jesus was about to endure. Thank Him and worship Him.

You can also gather your household and tell them the story I just told you. And here’s a link to a video from the Bible Project about sacrifice and atonement that you can share with your household…

https://bibleproject.com/explore/sacrifice-atonement/

[1] cf. Tolmie 1995:228-29.