Events of Holy Week Part 6--Good Friday

Good Friday? Hmmm. What a strange name for a day of such horror...what can be good about a day that is known for the greatest travesty of true justice in all of history? How can it be good that an innocent Man be found guilty through false testimony and rail-roaded to a verdict of guilty?

The answer is this: it's Good Friday because of the good that Man accomplished on behalf of His people! It's Good Friday because the "punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (Read Isaiah 53 today sometime).

I've already shared the timeline...a timeline which, of course, is known precisely. In Mark 15:25 we learn that Christ was placed upon the cross at 9am local time (Jerusalem time). Jerusalem is 8 hours ahead of the Central Time zone...so Christ was actually placed upon the cross at 1am Friday morning, central time. Then we know from Luke 23:44-48 that darkness covered the land from noon until 3pm local time (4am-7am central time). The 7am hour in Birmingham, Alabama is approaching as I type these words...the minutes almost feel more holy...the approaching change of the hour takes on new significance.

The real wonder of the Christian faith is that it is entirely rooted in history...in time and in space. You could hop on a plane and in a matter of hours visit spots where the very events recorded in the Gospels occurred. If you were there by 3pm Jerusalem time, you could spend a quiet moment reflecting that at that precise hour Jesus yielded His Spirit and said, "It is finished."

What was finished? Redemption! Salvation! It's called Good Friday because though it is true that "we ALL like sheep have gone astray...and EACH of us have turned to our own way...it is ALSO true that the LORD has laid on HIM the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

Think about that...and you'll know afresh why it's called GOOD Friday. There IS a Creator...One to Whom we ARE accountable. Why do we feel guilt? Much of the time because we KNOW we ARE guilty!

Where did the conscience come from? Is it some cosmic joke...something that just appeared after billions of years of evolution? Did the impersonal universe plus time plus chance suddenly thrust the "human animal" outside of the helpful realities of his/her own existence? Did we suddenly evolve a conscience so that we have a sense of right and wrong that is merely illusionary? Did we suddenly evolve a thirst for meaning and significance that is unfulfillable because we are really just a cosmic accident?

I love talking to the unchurched...and the de-churched...I love to make people think...why do we deal with guilt...and shame...and self-condemnation...why? Because we know deeply within our own souls that we don't even live up to our OWN standards...let alone the standards of a Holy Creator God. Sin is real...it may not be popular to say...but that doesn't change the reality. Sin is real. Guilt is real. Judgment is real. Hell is real. Christ is Coming Back.

Good Friday is the day on which all those realities were faced...and a particular day on which WE are forced to grapple with what we believe about eternal realities.

So...what are YOU going to do about Good Friday? It's not "good" automatically? All the benefits of the day are not just magically applied to every person on the planet.

It's Decision Time folks.

Who are you ultimately looking to in order to deal with the reality of your guilt, shame and self-condemnation? It's a black or white question...EITHER you are ultimately looking to yourself and your own efforts to build some kind of record of righteousness that you hope will win God's approval and merit His forgiveness OR you are choosing to trust in and rest in and hope in the obedient life Christ lived and the substitutionary death He died to GIVE you forgiveness as a matter of free grace...no matter what you've done...no matter where you've been.

But Good Friday isn't a day that merely offers people "Fire Insurance (from hell)" from above...trusting Christ is an all or nothing proposition...He calls for all of you (and me)...all the time...for the rest of your life. There is nothing half-hearted about following this God-Man who hung on a cross...there is no turning to Jesus as Savior and refusing to bow the knee to Him as Lord.

Listen...none of us who follow Christ, follow Him perfectly...that's the WHOLE point of Good Friday! It is NOT my capacity to "make Christ Lord/Master/Boss" of my life that gives me God's approval...that favor, blessing and forgiveness was purchased by Christ and Christ alone...however, grace that saves a person ALWAYS changes a person.

ALWAYS.

I'll never forget my "first" Easter...it was 1980...the first time Easter got personal...it was just a few months prior that I gave my life to trust and follow Christ...and nothing has been the same since. Maybe this year can be YOUR first Easter. Trust Him.

Maybe some of us have had our FIRST Easter years ago...but have lost our "first Love." What a time to renew your allegiance...to recommit your life...to surrender afresh...to offer every nook and cranny of your heart to Christ...don't expect perfection, simply trust and surrender afresh...it is CHRIST who makes us new and renews us daily.

Huh...I just looked at the clock on my Mac...it is exactly 7am! Guess I'm finished.

Now...as far as a U2 clip...I wish I had their song "White as Snow" from their latest album, "No Line on the Horizon." It could possibly be the most blatent Christ-centered song they've ever performed. I can't find a place where they've performed it in front of anyone...so here are the lyrics...

(however, there is a home-made video of the song on You Tube if you're interested--just copy and paste in your browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1tFa9e9rJA

Where I came from there were no hills at all
The land was flat, the highways straight and wide
My brother and I would drive for hours
Like years instead of days
Our faces as pale as the dirty snow

Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the Lamb as white as snow

And the water, it was icy
As it washed over me
And the moon shone above me

Now this dry ground it bears no fruit at all
Only poppies laugh under the crescent moon
The road refuses strangers
The land the seeds we sow
Where might we find the Lamb as white as snow

As boys we would go hunting in the woods
To sleep the night shooting out the stars
Now the wolves are every passing stranger
Every face we cannot know
If only a heart could be as white as snow
If only a heart could be as white as snow

Of course, what Bono is trying to get us to think about is obvious...if only? If ONLY? Ha! It CAN be!

Events of Holy Week Part 5--Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday

(Be sure and check out the rest of the series - which I started on Palm Sunday).

When our children were small we'd love to read them the book entitled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...a day when everything went wrong in one young boy named Alexander's day. Well, Thursday and the dark hours of early Friday of Holy Week could be called PETER and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Certainly Good Friday was roughest on Jesus as He endured so much suffering, pain and eventually death on the cross...but for Peter, things were pretty bad.

First of all, during the Last Supper, in front of all his friends, Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him 3 times (Luke 22:34). Ouch!

Then, after the Last Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray...He specifically asks Peter and James and John to pray for Him. In Mark 14:37 Jesus specifically asks Peter..."Are you asleep? Could you not watch for one hour?" Ouch...again!

Next, when Judas comes with the crowd to betray Jesus, Peter (John 18:10) takes up a sword and cuts off one of the servants' ears...and then Jesus has to rebuke Peter, again, in essence, telling him that he is setting his sights on the things of men and not the things of God...the very rebuke Christ gave to Peter when he tried to rebuke Jesus after He told them He was going to die (Matthew 16:23).

Finally, and of course this is really more very early Friday than part of Thursday, but it fits with the flow of the worst 24 hours of Peter's life, he does in fact end up denying Christ 3 times...eventually even calling curses upon himself if it would be possible that he is lying about not knowing Jesus...then, of course, the cock crows...and think about it...every day for the rest of his life, Peter was awakened wherever he was by the crowing of the rooster...how'd YOU like to be reminded every day of your worst failure?!

You'll recall that in Matthew 16, Peter before anyone else gets to it, confesses the truth that Jesus is God; that He is Messiah; that He is the Son of the Living God. And when Peter makes that confession, Jesus says upon that confession He will build His church...Jesus did NOT mean that upon PETER He would build the church...Peter is NOT the first POPE! But Jesus does say He will give the leaders of those who make the confession of Christ as Savior and Lord "the keys of the Kingdom."

Imagine what a failure Peter thought he was after the events of late Thursday/early Friday! Could he ever be restored? And here's where the different between regret and repentance show up so clearly. Judas failed too...but he was only filled with regret...remorse without hope. Peter failed, but was filled with repentance...honest acknowledgement of failure, but filled with a hope of forgiveness, love and restoration. When you fail, are filled with regret...or repentance.

U2 sings a song called "The First Time." For the first time, I feel love. Bono goes through all three Persons of the Trinity. Now I know some of you will freak out because Bono refers to the Holy Spirit in feminine terms (as does William Young in The Shack). But the fact is, there are times in Scripture when God allows Himself to be described in terms of a loving mother, though certainly it is ultimately orthodox to refer to the Holy Spirit as He...don't let Bono's poetic license freak you out so you miss the beauty of the song.

Imagine Peter, thinking about his confession of Christ as God, remembering the promise of receiving the keys of the Kingdom...and then considering all that in light of the horrible, no good, very bad day he has today...imagine his doubts, his struggles to feel hope and love and forgiveness...imagine...Peter, the apostle, going through the same things we go through when we fail.

Listen VERY carefully to this Song...the Holy Spirit helps, Jesus is a Brother when we're in need and though we are so often running away, He runs after us. The Father has a mansion with many rooms (Gospel of John), He has a rich man's cloak (Parable of the Prodigal Son--Luke 15)...and Peter feels as though he has left through the back door of the mansion and thrown away the key...he is broken...

...but Jesus raises from the dead and specifically shows up and restores Peter...as He will us if we live in repentance and not merely regret.



If you can't understand EACH and EVERY word of the song...look up the lyrics...you do NOT want to miss this one.

There's always hope!

Events of Holy Week Part 4--Holy, but Dark, Wednesday

We come now to a day of Holy Week for which we have little information. We do read in Mark 14:1 that the Passover was only "two days away." The Jewish calendar always looked at days inclusively and treated even a part of a day as a whole day...so Passover was on Thursday, but since the meal was eaten in the evening, both Wednesday AND Thursday were treated as whole days so that Passover was, in fact, according to how they looked at time, 2 days away, not just "the next day" as we would normally say.

This makes more sense, then, of how the Bible could say that Jesus was in the tomb 3 days...because Friday night was counted as a whole day, Saturday of course was, and Sunday from mid-night on until He rose was also counted as a whole day.

Anyway, this Holy Wednesday is also called "Dark Wednesday" or "Spy Wednesday" because it is on this day that Judas decides to betray Jesus. In Mark 14:10-11 Judas agrees to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus (see also Luke 22:2-5)...he is "spying out" the right time. It is a Dark Day, both in Judas' life and for Jesus as well.

As you think of Judas as a disciple and betrayer, be aware of one thing...none of the disciples suspected for a moment that Judas could be the betrayer. Even around the Table at Passover when Jesus says clearly that one of the disciples will betray Him, they all wondered who it might be...there was NOTHING about the outward life of Judas that revealed he would be the one...and THAT is scary.

There are many in the church who CALL themselves Christians, and who OUTWARDLY seem to live the Christian life, who end up being exposed as frauds...may we pray for each other that we would be, by God's grace, the "real deal." But let Judas' life also be a warning to all of us...Jesus says it is the one who perseveres to the end who will be saved. The Christian life can't be lived on past laurels or experiences. Daily Continuance is evidence of a grace-filled heart. There is a need for us to guard our hearts and to examine ourselves regularly to see whether or not we are in the faith.

I don't say this to upset your faith...but to get us all to realize how desperately we need grace on a daily basis. We need community to keep us on the straight and narrow, both in belief and behavior.

One possible cause of Judas "snapping" could be what we read of in Mark 14:3-9 (Matt 26:6-13). A woman who had lived a sinful life (a euphemism for prostitute) anointed Jesus' head with very expensive perfume...as a matter of fact it was worth an entire year's wages!

On Monday we learned that Jesus drove out the money changers and merchants in the Temple courts because they were gouging the poor...from a rational perspective it DOES seem a bit inconsistent that Jesus would care about the poor and yet a year's worth wage of perfume be dumped on his head...on the surface, the disciples had a point...it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

As inexplicable as it seems, sometimes God wants us to be extravagant toward the Kingdom...sometimes money should be spent in a way that honors Christ in a way different than through taking care of the poor. Judas apparently couldn't handle the tension and it seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back...he lost faith in Jesus as the One who could deliver them from Roman oppression...so he agrees to betray Him.

On another level, how might you have opportunity to show extravagance toward Christ and toward the Kingdom of God that would be an unusual use of finances? It's something to consider during this Holy Week.

As far as our U2 connection today...the choice is obvious...they song "Until the End of the World" is all about Judas' betrayal. Even though it doesn't occur until tomorrow, since it was planned today, I'm including in this devotional...plus, there are other songs that fit with the events of Passover Thursday.

Events of Holy Week Part 3--Holy Tuesday

We're trying to follow, as best we are able to guess, how the events of Holy Week occurred. We're pretty sure from the Gospel of Mark that we have some confidence of the chronology we've followed so far. In Mark 11:1-11 we read of Palm Sunday. Then in Mark 11:12, we're told about "the next day" which would be Holy Monday when He cursed the fig tree and then drove out the money changers and merchants who were gouging the poor by overcharging for Passover sacrificial animals (see the past few days blogs for all this).

It is now Holy Tuesday because we are told in Mark 11:20 that Jesus and the disciples went along "in the morning," after they had left the city the previous night following Christ cleansing the Temple.

So on Holy Tuesday, we discover these events:

First, Jesus wasn't afraid of a fight. In Mark 11:27-33 the chief priests and elders (the conservative RELIGIOUS folk!) came to Jesus and challenged His authority to teach and to do what He was teaching and doing. Jesus could see past their trap and asked THEM about the authority of John the Baptist...He caught them in a no-win situation, and they left Him alone. Then in Mark 12:18-27, other religious leaders, this time the liberals, try to trap Him. The liberals didn't believe in a resurrection, but tried to trap Jesus in a question dealing with a woman who had married seven brothers because each one had died after marrying her, one after another. Jesus ends up rebuking the liberals who refuse to believe what the Bible teaches.

The application for us is obvious: we must avoid both extremes of dead conservativism and worthless liberalism. We must seek grace to avoid becoming either legalistic, self-righteous, self-reliant Pharisees on the one hand, or cheap grace, subjective, relativistic, truth-denying liberal Sadducees on the other hand...and, like Jesus, we ought to be willing to graciously pick of fight with any of them!

Second, Jesus took the opportunity on this final Tuesday of His earthly life to teach the people. He teaches again about His impending death and teaches boldly that He is the Stone that the builders reject and becomes the Cornerstone of God's Redemptive, Restorative plan for the cosmos.

He also teaches on the role of Christians in, as Augustine wrote, the City of God and the City of Man...we're to give to the civil government the honor they require and we are to give to God the honor He requires.

Then Jesus teaches, this just a few days before His death, His greatest commandment...to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, mind and strength...and He gives the second great commandment too...to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-34). May God give us His grace to love well!

We read that the widow's offering, two small coins that were all she had, occurred on this Holy Tuesday...are we sacrificial in our giving to the Kingdom of God?

Finally, Jesus teaches a lot on this Holy Tuesday about His Return and the End of the World. He talks about the separation of all humanity into the sheep and the goats; the former going to inhabit the New Earth and the latter suffering eternity apart from the Presence of God (Matt 25:31-46).

Now, we know that one is only rescued from hell and made a citizen of the New Earth by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ alone...but we also know that conversion is the supernatural work of the Spirit...a work that creates a new heart, a new nature...and therefore, a new lifestyle. Jesus makes it clear that those with new hearts, those who are sheep, who are destined to be inhabitants in the New Jerusalem, will take care of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the rejected and the imprisoned...how we doing there, Church?

Lastly, on Tuesday evening, most likely, Jesus teaches about the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in 70AD. We know from Matthew 26:1-2 that Passover is still "two days away" so it's still Holy Tuesday. We read in Luke 21:5-36 that Jesus teaches on the signs of the End of the Age...wars, revolutions, EARTHQUAKES, famines, diseases and other fearful events.

This isn't fiction...this is history....and it is also prophecy. We were made for another world...a world that is quickly approaching. We are to live as those already citizens of the New Earth and we are to bring the restoring power of that New Earth to bear in all our activities, responsibilities and relationships every day. May we practice New World living on this Holy Tuesday.

Now, as far as the U2 connection for today's events on Holy Tuesday...since Jesus spoke so much on this day of the World to Come, it's only appropriate that we use what is perhaps U2's greatest song, the song of heaven, of the New Jerusalem, Where the Streets Have No Name.

Notice Bono on his knees in prayer quoting Psalm 116:12-14 from The Message translation of the Bible: "What can I give back to God for the blessings He's poured out on me? What can I give back to God for the blessings He's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation as a toast to our God...to follow through on a promise I made to You...from the heart."

Think about this place where there is "no sorrow and no shame..."

Events of Holy Week Part 2--Holy Monday

We read in Luke 19:45-46 that Jesus sees merchants at the Temple selling animals for sacrifices for Passover. Jesus, even as He is facing His coming suffering is still concerned primarily with the unjust suffering and oppression of others. We must realize that Jews came from all over the world to Jerusalem for Passover and they were commanded to offer sacrifices. Since many traveled many, many miles, there we thousands who couldn't bring sacrificial animals with them.

Since they had to offer sacrifices, yet had none, many, especially the poor, were at the mercy of oppressive merchants who could charge outrageous amounts of money for sacrificial animals. Few things upset Jesus more than injustice...and His righteous anger against such oppression was kindled. Imagine the scene...Jesus, the meek One, turning over tables, throwing boxes of money. In Mark 11:15-17 we're told he threw the chairs of those selling pigeons...pigeons were the Passover sacrifices of the most impoverished...those who couldn't afford anything "nicer" like a lamb.

Christ came to not merely pay for our sins and bring us eternal life...Christ came to bring freedom to the oppressed...and He came to set us free from our own self-absorption so we too would fight against injustice. During this Holy Week, perhaps even on this Holy Monday...what tables and chairs can you "throw around" and "overturn" on behalf of the oppressed?

The other event that occurred on this Holy Monday is Jesus' cursing of the fig tree that didn't provide the fruit He desired (Matt 21:18-22). He uses it to teach the disciples on the power of prayer.

Do we believe the promises Christ gives us concerning prayer? Do we believe that if we ask in His Name and do not doubt we shall receive what we've asked of Him? And what DO we ask for? What is the CONTENT of our praying? Is it focused on self and all our little dreams for ourselves? Or, do we pray BIG prayers...KINGDOM prayers...that the rule and reign of Jesus and the restoration of the cosmos that He promises would come in power?

U2 has written a song called "Crumbs from Your Table." Its a song about how the poor and oppressed of the world are just looking for some crumbs from the tables of Christ-followers to help them overcome oppression and disease and poverty in their worlds. Christians talk about revival in terms of "signs and wonders" and "miracles" when the greatest sign of Christ is often revealed in the Church taking care of orphans, widows and other disenfranchised people. It fits will with Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers in the Temple...and it certainly gives us something to pray for on this Holy Monday.



Here are the lyrics:
From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Events of Holy Week Part 1--Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is one of the better known elements of Holy Week...it involved the "Triumphal Entry" of Christ into Jerusalem. The Jewish people were looking for a Deliverer to free them from the oppressive rule and bondage of Rome. They were looking for the One who would lead them to the Golden Age of Prosperity, Safety and Security...what Jesus brought as King was even more than they could have ever imagined!

Our cruelest oppressors are not people who threaten us with injustice or somehow seem to keep us from prosperity....our cruelest oppressor is the condemnation of the Law of God and sin that enslaves us to our worst nightmares. Christ entered Jerusalem as the King Who would conquer sin, satan and death. Jesus is the King of Kings who brings us the spiritual freedom we all long for, but most of the time, don't even realize we're longing for.

And this Palm Sunday, think about this: Jesus didn't merely come to conquer our enemies of sin and satan and death...He came to conquer our own hearts as well! Is every area of your heart surrendered to Him today? Is He YOUR King and are you following Him as YOUR Lord and Master? Is there any area of your life that you are keeping from the King today? Offer it to Him as a gift this Palm Sunday. Let revival come to you today by His grace!

Read The Triumphal Entry in Luke 19:28-40--Are YOU shouting out His praise for all He has done in freeing you from condemnation and shame? Are you singing His glory for the freedom from the rule and reign of sin He has promised those who hope in Him?

Bono and U2 had an album in 1981 that Rolling Stone actually called a "Christian album." It's called October. On the album is a song called "Gloria." It uses the latin phrase "Gloria, in te Domine; Gloria...exultate; Gloria...Gloria" which translates, according to Wikipedia: "Glory in you, Lord / Glory, exalt [him]" with "exalt" in the imperative mood, a reference to Psalm 30:2 (in te Domine, speravi). The song also contains references to Colossians 2:9-10 ("Only in You I'm complete")"...similar to what the people lining the streets into Jerusalem sang and shouted as Jesus, the King, entered the city....read the words and watch the 1981 video...

I try to sing this song
I...I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet
I try, I try to speak up
But only in You I'm complete


Gloria...in te Domine
Gloria...exultate
Gloria...Gloria
Oh Lord, loosen my lips


I try to sing this song
I...I try to get in
But I can't find the door
The door is open
You're standing there
You let me in


Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Oh Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to You
I'd give it to You

Gloria...Gloria...



Another element of this day is Jesus weeping over Jerusalem...Luke 19:41--as you approach Holy Week...ask God for the gift of tears...ask God to put people on your heart who don't have the passion of singing and shouting praise to King Jesus. Ask God to break your heart over the plight of people who live without the life of Christ flowing into their souls.

Finally, remember this: this same crowd that on Palm Sunday shouted praise to King Jesus, several days later changed their cries to "Crucify Him!" We are such a fickle people...filled with faith one minute, doubt and unbelief the next...may God grant us grace to persevere and to fight the good fight of faith!

Chronology of Holy Week with a U2 Twist

I began to wonder, with all the spirituality of Bono and U2's lyrics, could I find a way to mesh some of their more "blatent" Christ-centered songs with the days of Holy Week.

Today is Saturday...the last Sabbath Jesus was alive before His crucifixion...a day of worship...what was going through His mind as He read and heard Scripture all pointing to Him...all pointing to the events of this week?

Though the song "Magnificent" is Bono's autobiography and his call to sing to the Lord...it fits with the song of Christ's life as well.

A Likely Chronology of Holy Week

I had some time because of the Palm Sunday Worship Program tomorrow to think about Holy Week. I have been amazed that there is so little out there on any kind of chronology of the days. So, here's my attempt...may it lead you devotionally this week to love Christ more and overflow with gratitude for the love and grace of God...

Sabbath before Palm Sunday
John 12:1-8—worship, teaching, fellowship meal, Mary anoints Jesus

Palm Sunday
Luke 19:28-40--The Triumphal Entry
Luke 19:41-44—Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

Monday (b/c of Matt 21:18-19 and Mark 11:12)
Matt 21:18-19—Jesus curses the fig tree
Luke 19:45-46—Jesus cleanses the Temple; anger at injustice
Mark 11:19—evening they went out of the city

Tuesday
Mark 11:20-26—in the morning—teaches on faith and prayer
Luke 19:47-48—Jesus teaches in the Temple and chief priests plot
(Mt 21:23-22:46)
Luke 20:1-8—chief priests question His authority; John the Baptist
Mt 26:1-2--Olivet Discourse—Late Tuesday Evening

Wednesday
Luke 22:3-5 (called “Dark Wednesday” or “Spy Wednesday”)

Thursday
Luke 22:7-38—Last Supper (lamb slaughtered around noon, then prep)
Luke 22:39-46—Prayer in Garden of Gethsemene
Luke 22:47-53—Judas’ Betrayal

Friday
Luke 22:54-62—Peter’s Denial
Luke 22:63-65—Jesus mocked
Luke 22:66-71—at daybreak, Jesus’ “trial”
Luke 23:1-5—Jesus before Pilate
Mt 27:3-10—Judas hangs himself
Luke 23:6-12—Jesus before Herod
Luke 23:13-25—Jesus scourged and sent to crucifixion (Mt 27:26)
Luke 23:26-32—the walk to Golgotha
Mark 15:25—it was the third hour when they crucified Him
Third hour=9am
Luke 23:44-48—from the 6th hour until 9th hour—darkness
Noon until 3pm
Seven Words of Christ on the Cross
Father, forgive them . . . (Luke 23:34)

This day you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)

Woman, behold your son . . .(John 19:26-27)

My God, my God . . . (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)

I thirst. (John 19:28)

It is finished! (John 19:30)

Father into your hands . . . (Luke 23:46)
Luke 23:46—Jesus breathed His last
John 19:30—It is Finished
Mark 15:42—when evening had come, body taken
Luke 23:50-56—Joseph of Arimathea—tomb


Saturday
Luke 23:56—on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment
Matt 27:62-66—A Roman guard set up to protect the tomb

Sunday
Luke 24:1-12—on the first day of the week, at early dawn
Jn 20:3-8—this happened in the early morning
Mary goes to tomb, stone rolled away, she runs and tells Ptr/Jn
Confusion; believed, but w/o complete understanding
Jn 20:10—peter/john then went back to their homes—stunned
What’s it all mean? But apparently separate for day
Jn 20:11—Mary stays, angels appear to Mary but not Jesus yet
Jn 20:14—now Jesus appears, but again, she doesn’t recognize Him
Doubts can only ultimately dealt w/ by supernatural grace
God can and does use secondary means, but not intell probl ult
Jn 20:18—Mary went and announced…still early morning—Lk 24:9
Only not told in Lk24 that Jesus appeared to Mary after angels
Matt 28:8-9—get more of the same picture here
Mark 16:8—before Jesus appr’d to Mary, only filled w/ fear
No boldness in witness; silence—said nothing to anyone
Lk 24:11-12—it wasn’t just Thomas…ALL the disciples thot idle tale
The women were told by the angels, no one seen Jesus yet
and it STILL isn’t JUST Thomas who doubts
here again we read Peter ran to see, went home marveling
Lk 24:13-24—told story a/b morning, but Him they did not see vv23-24
EVERYONE is foolish and slow to believe—all wrestle w/ doubt
Doubt is not talked a/b enuf in the Church…
It’s talked a/b PLENTY in the Scriptures
Even John the Baptist had his doubts
Lk 24:29—Jesus explains Scripture, getting toward evening
Breaks bread, their eyes are opened—mystery of sacrament!
v31—their eyes were opened—takes supernatural power
Lk 24:33—went to find disciples…who are NOW gathered together
As day wore on, realized wild things are happening
Lk 24:34—at some point, while Peter marveling, Jesus appears to him
1 Cor 15—He appeared to Peter
Luke 24:38—Jesus appears, yet doubts arise in their hearts
Luke 24:41—they disbelieved for joy and were marveling
Luke 24:39-43—Xp goes to great lengths to diffuse their doubts
Disbelieved for joy?? Too good to be true?
Lk 24:45—He opened their minds, just as He HAD to do on Emmaus
Lk 24:47—b/c of what we know, must proclaim, manifest Xp thru gospl
Doubt leads to weak witnss; convictn leads to boldness in missn
BUT we need pwr from on high…filling of Holy Spirit
John 20:19—at evening Jesus appeared and showed them His hands and side
He didn’t really give them time to doubt…He addressed them
Thomas only asked for him to experience what the others given by grace

Imagine the gladness, the wonder, the joy...the responsbility...to whom much is given, much is required