EASTER RECAP

I truly enjoyed writing a Lenten series.  As usually happens, the series did not go where I thought it would. 

My first writing, March 4, was to be on Passover.  I even looked it up on a Jewish website.  Then I started writing and somehow the words For The Third Time became the title.  I wondered how the disciples did not get it.  I have thought this before, but they had been with him three years.  Yet, Jesus still had to tell them three times.  I quickly realized I am no different than the disciples.  I sure do not get it the first time around.  Nor the second.  Sometimes not even the third.

March 11 blog, Glory and Anger, was to be on Jesus’ glorious entry into Jerusalem and his anger in the temple.  I was excited to write about the commotion his turning over those tables would have caused.  But somehow, the anger of the Pharisees stood out.  They were angry as they saw their source of income and their power slipping away.  Soon, they were angry enough to kill.  Anger can lead a person away from God.

By the time the March 18 blog, Gotcha, was finished, I realized this series was not to be the normal Easter series.  Like the “How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?” questions, the blogs were not going to be logical.  Instead, this series was to be the opposite.  I needed to look at all that was going on around Jesus.  I needed to picture the crowds.  I needed to figure out why people acted as they did.  I needed to figure out why I act like I do. 

Anointing and Betrayal, March 25, told about a woman whose generosity was called waste and a man whose greed consumed him.  Anointing and Betrayal gave me goals.  I will strive to be as generous as the woman who anointed Jesus.  I will strive to never allow earthly greed to turn me away from God’s love and blessings.

I hope Jesus and His Own, April 1, made you think about the emotions of the Last Supper.  This one evening contained tradition, gentleness, drama, and the realization that lives were going to change.  We should take Communion with reverence as we honor the Lord’s Last Supper.

The April 8 blog, They Slept – They Missed It, tells how the disciples missed the opportunity to pray with and support Jesus.  They did not hear Jesus freely agree to His Father’s will.  My heart feels sorry for the disciples and they must have felt so guilty when they looked back at that evening, but I understand.  I go to sleep saying prayers and my eyes get heavy while I am reading the Bible.  What prayer did I not say?  What verse did I not understand?  I slept.  I missed it.

I did not want to write the blog for April 15, NO!  NO!  I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS!   We want to make Easter pretty.  We want nice pastel colors and flowers and new clothes and candy and the Easter bunny.  But this part of the Easter Story is not pretty and we must realize how Jesus suffered.  Remember, he was human!  He felt the spit land on him.  He felt each strike to his back.  He felt the thorns poke into his scalp.  He felt humiliated when he was stripped.  He felt abandoned.  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.  This is God’s Son!!!  HE DID THIS FOR ME!  HE DID THIS FOR YOU!  HE DID THIS FOR EVERYONE!  But it was not pretty.  Never forget that. 

Where Did He Go?  The Guards, The Women, and The Disciples, April 22, is written to help you see the confusion.  The guards would have been afraid to report the body missing.  I am sure they figured their head would be missing if they didn’t come up with an alternate truth.  They found a way out.  They took a bribe and lied.  The women were in shock.  The arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, and the body being placed in the tomb happened so quickly they were trying to put it all together.  The disciples were confused and afraid.  Would they be killed also?  Were they to go back to their “before Jesus called me” life?  After all, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  What now?

What now?  We are to be disciples.  We are to allow Jesus to work with us!

EASTER RECAP

Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Jesus died and was laid in a tomb,

BUT He is risen and sits at the right hand of God

It  IS  NOT  finished!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:1-4, 6-7

HE LIVES!  HE HAS A PLACE PREPARED!

It  IS  NOT  finished!

AMEN

 

 WHERE DID HE GO?

            The Guards, The Women, and The Disciples

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:30

THE GUARDS – MATTHEW 27:65-66, 28:4, 11-15

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered.  “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”

Matthew 27:65

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ….. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Matthew 28:2-4

…the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.  … gave the soldiers a large sum of money … “you are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. 

Matthew 28:11-15

Imagine those poor guards.  Given one small job:  Guard the tomb!  Instead, there they lay like dead men.  Can you see them opening their eyes and realizing the stone had been rolled away?  Can you see them looking in the tomb and hoping the body was still there?  Can you see their thoughts going wild, as they try to figure out how they were going to explain this?  Can you see them getting their story straight before they reported to the chief priests?

The guards took a bribe.  They lied.  

THE WOMEN

MATTHEW 28:1-10, MARK 16:1-10, LUKE 24:1-10,

AND JOHN 20:1-3, 11-18

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. … an angel rolled back the stone and sat on it.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. 

Matthew 28:1-2, 5-6

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

(Mary Magdalene) turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

John 20:16

The women had prepared the spices.  They were being strong as they made their journey to the tomb.  How could he be dead?  We thought ….  What was the last thing he said to me?  How will we move the stone?  Can you hear their thoughts?  Can you feel their anguish?  Each tear echoing, “It is finished.” 

A few steps more and .. and the stone was no longer covering the entrance to the tomb.  There was an angel sitting there and he said to not be afraid….

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

Luke 24:9

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news:  “I have seen the Lord!”  And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:18

Can you feel the joy?  Can you see the wonder in their eyes?  “HE HAS RISEN.”  Can you hear the relief in their voice?  

THE DISCIPLES

MATTHEW 28:7, LUKE 24:11-53, AND JOHN 20:3-10, 19-29

(Angel speaking to the women)  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him.’  Now I have told you.”

Matthew 28:7

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.  Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.  Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 24:11-12

An empty tomb?  He has risen?  Go to Galilee?  What were these women talking about?  Can you picture Peter running to the tomb?  John 20:3-4 says the other disciples also started for the tomb and actually outran Peter.  Can you see them trying to be the first one to the tomb?  Can you see them hesitate as they wondered what they would see?  Can you see Peter looking at the strips of linen?

The disciples were trying to understand the last few days.  The entry into Jerusalem and the overturning of the tables in the temple.  The Passover meal.  The garden.  The soldiers.  The fear.  The denial.  The death of Jesus.  The disciples were trying to understand the last few days and now the tomb was empty.  How were they to carry on?

Then two disciples came to the Eleven and told about the man they met on the road to Emmaus.  They told how they had walked with him and invited him to stay with them.

But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”  So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 

Luke 24:29-31

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Luke 24:36, 44

Jesus said, “It is finished.”  Jesus died and was laid in a tomb, BUT it was not finished!

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:19-20

Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Jesus died and was laid in a tomb,

BUT it  IS  NOT  finished!

AMEN

 

NO!  NO!  I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THS!

I do not want to write this one.  I want to go back.  I want the cup taken from him.  I do not want my Jesus to suffer.  I do not want to see Jesus betrayed, arrested, tried and beaten.  I do not want to see the disciples desert him.  I do not want to hear the crowd shout, “Barabbas.”  I do not want to hear the words, “Crucify him.”  But I must. Jesus did this for me. 

ARRESTED AND TRIED – MATTHEW 26:47-67 AND 27:11-31

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.  …..  Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God:  Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.  “But I say to all of you:  From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy!  Why do we need any more witnesses?  Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.  What do you think?”

Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you:  Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 

“Barabbas,” they answered. …….. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ……. Then he released Barabbas to them.  But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified."

Jesus was stripped and a scarlet robe was put on him.  He had a crown of thorns set on his head and a staff was placed in his right hand.  He was mocked with, “Hail, king of the Jews!”

Jesus was spit on and was struck in the head again and again. 

Then they led him away to crucify him.

No!  No!  I do not want to see this.  I want to shut out these visions.  I want to stop my imagination.  I want to cover my ears and not hear the crowd shouting, “Crucify him.”  I want this cup taken from him!  I do not want to see Jesus being flogged … and stripped … and spit on … and hit in the head.  But I must.

I must because Jesus did this for me!  Each scar.  Each drop of blood.  Each pain.  Each humiliation.  For me.

You must also see … and hear … and feel, because Jesus did this for you!

Jesus was arrested

Jesus was led away to be crucified

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him Mark15:25

 

 

THEY SLEPT – THEY MISSED IT

GETHSEMANE – MATTHEW 26:36-46

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.  Rise!  Let us go!  Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus did not ask much of the disciples as they entered Gethsemane.  All he wanted was for them to sit and keep watch.  As Jesus was overcome with sorrow, they fell asleep.

How alone Jesus must have felt.  He had asked his most trusted disciples to be there for him, to comfort him, to pray with him.  The disciples slept.  They missed the opportunity to keep watch with Jesus.

How quiet it must have been as Jesus prayed.  The only sound breaking through the darkness was his voice.  Did he pray in a whisper?  Did he put special emphasis on the words My Father?  The disciples slept.  They missed the Son praying to His Father.

Jesus fell to the ground and prayed to His Father.  Jesus asked for the cup to be taken and then said may your will be done.  Three times Jesus prayed.  Three times Jesus freely agreed to do the will of his Father.  The disciples slept.  They missed Jesus submitting to the will of His Father.

And then it was no longer quiet.  The hour had come.  The betrayer was there.  The disciples woke up.

The disciples slept

Jesus prayed

May your will be done

Jesus was arrested

 JESUS AND HIS OWN

THE LAST SUPPER – MATTHEW 26:17-35 AND JOHN 13

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says:  My appointed time is near.  I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ “  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

Matthew 26:17-19

It was just before the Passover Festival.  Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

John 13:1-3

How easily we find an excuse not to go to church.  It is snowing!  It is too hot!  The kids/grandkids have a ball game.  I went the last two Sundays.  Jesus did NOT use an excuse to skip the Passover meal.

There was no excuse for not celebrating Passover!  The priests were trying to find a way to kill Jesus, but they would carry on the Jewish traditions.  Judas would betray him, but that was no reason to not prepare for this Festival of Unleavened Bread.  The disciples asked where they were to make preparations.  No problem!  A certain man had a place.  Of course he did! 

The disciples made ready.  They had a lamb killed in the court of the temple, roasted said lamb, provided bitter herbs, laid out the bread, and had the wine ready.  The cloth was laid and everything was ready for this sacred solemn feast.  This Passover would be according to the Law.

Jesus sat down with his twelve disciples. 

I wonder what Jesus thought as they began to eat.  Did he look around with sadness?  Did he worry about the disciples?  Did Jesus pray for each disciple as he washed their feet?  Did he take a deep breath before saying he would be betrayed?  Did a tear fall as he said he would be denied?

Too many times we read this part and do not realize the emotions that would have been in the Upper Room.  A tradition was continued.  A disciple sat knowing he was going to betray Jesus.  A disciple vowed he would not deny Jesus.  The disciples felt the hands of Jesus wash their feet.

So many emotions

Tradition

The touch of Jesus’ hands

And then Jesus taught and prayed.