I say this prayer to Jesus every morning to thank Him. It seems especially appropriate on this Resurrection Sunday:
Lord Jesus, I praise You and I thank You for Your sacrifice, which I don’t deserve, and for sending Your Holy Spirit. Thank You Lord.
Lord Jesus, You vacated Your heavenly throne, and You left the comfort, majesty, and glory of Your heavenly home, to come to the earth which You created, on the greatest rescue mission in history. Lord Jesus, I praise You and I thank You for rescuing me.
Lord Jesus, You humbled Yourself and took the form of a man; You walked among us, and You taught us; You took on all the aches and pains of earthly flesh; You were tempted and tried, yet You still lived a perfect life, free from sin, so You were an acceptable sacrifice to the Father. Lord Jesus, You are the spotless, the unblemished, Lamb of God. Thank You, Lord.
Lord Jesus, when the Father’s timing was right, You submitted Yourself to horrific, unspeakable torture, and to the agony of crucifixion. You did so willingly, and You did so for me, because You love me so much. Thank You, Lord.
Lord Jesus, You died on the cross. You were laid out in the tomb. But on the third day, God raised You from the dead, for life everlasting, so that by Your grace, I shall live forever, with You, in heaven! Thank You, Lord.
Lord Jesus, You ascended into heaven, where even now, You’re seated at the right hand of God; You’re my Advocate before the Father; You’re praying for me right now; and You’re preparing a dwelling place, a mansion, for me in heaven. Thank You, Lord.
Lord Jesus, You spoke with the Father, Who then sent us Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, NASB)
Worship: “Crucified With Christ,” by Phillips, Craig & Dean
Lord Jesus, I have been crucified with You, and it is no longer I who live, but You live in me. Lord Jesus, my heart is Your home. Please help me not to defile Your Tabernacle, so that You will find complete rest and comfort with me here. Thank You, Lord. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in You. You love me so much that You gave Yourself up for me. Thank You Lord.
Lord Jesus, I love You with all that I am. I thank You for Your sacrifice, which I don’t deserve, and for sending Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Worship: “Was It a Morning Like This?” by Sandi Patty
Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:10-12, NASB)
I was watching The 700 Club Interactive this post Thursday. One of the hosts, Andrew Knox recounted how, many years ago, he had trouble getting excited about Palm Sunday and Holy Week. He decided to ask God for help. God pointed him to Genesis 22, to the story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Abraham had just finished the preparations to sacrifice Isaac, when the Angel of the Lord told him to stop. God then provided a ram in the thicket as a substitute for Isaac. Much the same as Jesus being OUR substitute! God later told Andrew that while He had prevented Abraham from sacrificing his only son, God did not refrain from sacrificing His only Son! God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to cleanse us from our sins with His blood!
Worship: “God Will Provide a Lamb,” by Michael Card
Our dear friends, Bart and Gail Barton, sent us the Holy Week message from their Pastor Marv Fisher (what a great name for a pastor!). Here it is in its entirety:
Dear Church Family,
This Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rides down the slopes of the Mount of Olives, and enters Jerusalem on a colt, saying,
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Palm Sunday begins what many believers refer to as holy week. This week concludes on Resurrection Sunday which we will celebrate this year on March 31st. At our Wednesday evening service on the 27th, we plan to have several of you read through the scriptures beginning with Jesus in the upper room with His disciples, to His crucifixion and burial. On Friday evening we will share the seder together, (sign up by this Sunday) and on Sunday we will celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave!
Jesus was fulfilling prophecy when He rode that colt into the holy city over 2000 years ago, declaring Himself to be King. But perhaps one of the mysteries of this prophecy is when He decares; peace in heaven, as he descends and declares His kingship. Jesus was entering the most difficult week of His 33 years on earth. On Monday, He drives out the money changers in the temple, on Tuesday His authority was challenged, and He tells a parable which described Himself as a vineyard owners son being thrown out and killed, on Wednesday Satan enters into Judas, and the chief priests and scribes plot His death, on Thursday we read of the intimate gathering in the upper room where Judas leaves to betray Him, and later that night, His trial begins under the cover of darkness. On Friday Jesus is crucified, and He spent Saturday in the grave. So, with all this betrayal about to take place, how is therepeace in heaven?
The will of the Father brings peace. Walking in the will of the Father produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Walking in the will of the Father can be very difficult. Walking in the will of the Father may require us to cry out as Jesus did in the garden; not my will, but yours be done. The will of the Father meant hardship for Jesus, but it brought peace to heaven. The prophecy of the redemption of millions of people was about to be fulfilled. This Sunday we will compare the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to the eternal judgement of Satan as he is thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 20:10. The will of the Father brings about the peaceful fruit of righteousness for the many, are you one of them?
Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. (Leviticus 1:1-9, NASB)
This Lenten Season, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice. But in the Torah, we get a picture of sacrifices that Jesus eventually would fulfill. The book of Leviticus has commandments which God passed through Moses, which were fulfilled by the sons of Levi, which were how to perform the sacrifices. Let’s look for Jesus in God’s instructions.
First, Jesus was “without defect.” He lived a perfect life, free from sin, so that He was an acceptable sacrifice to the Father. Next is the blood. God demands blood for atonement of sins. God commanded that the blood of the sacrifice be “sprinkle[d] around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” Jesus’ sacrifice had much blood. We are cleansed from all of our sins by His blood! Finally, “the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.” Jesus is, indeed, that Soothing Aroma to the Lord!
Per God’s command, sinners were required to repeat this process every time they sinned. Believers in Christ Jesus have been forgiven. Once we have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, we only have to confess our sins to Him! Jesus is my Atonement!
Worship: “O The Blood,” by Selah
Worship: “Nothing But the Blood,” by Hillsong UNITED
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27, NASB)
Jesus, on the evening of His resurrection from the dead, appeared to two of His disciples (not apostles) as they traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus, “which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:13) Dr. Luke reports that they were discussing the events of the past few days, specifically the crucifixion of Jesus, and the reports that He had risen from some women who had visited His tomb and found it empty. Angels told the women that Jesus had risen, that He was alive!
Jesus asked the travelers were they were discussing, and wanted to know more about it. Then Jesus lectures them about how the prophets foretold these things. “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Indeed, the Old Testament is full of prophecy regarding Jesus Christ.
The first prophetic words about Jesus: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
The words of Moses: ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
From King David: “They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:16-18)
“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” (Psalm 16:10)
From the Prophet Isaiah: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:5-7)
On this Resurrection Sunday, we pause to remember how much God loves us. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to cover our sins. We remember, too, how much Jesus loves us. He suffered unspeakable pain from torture and execution to deliver us from our sins. The above verses are just a few in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled, and are about the suffering He endured because He loves you and me. In Jesus’ discussion with the travelers on the road to Emmaus, He proved just Who He is. He is God’s Son, sent to the earth to save us, as foretold by the prophets of old!
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NASB)
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43, NASB)
Tomorrow, 7 April, is Good Friday. We remember how Jesus Christ suffered and died on this darkest of days. He suffered unspeakable torture at the hands of Roman soldiers, and then crucifixion on a wooden Roman cross. But as agonizing as His torture and execution were, He forgave those responsible!
Jesus accomplished His mission for coming to the earth He created: He died a sinner’s death in our place as a substitute for us. Jesus submitted Himself to horrific torture and crucifixion. He did so willingly and He did so for me!
He was scourged with a whip which had either pieces of metal or glass embedded in it. This torture often exposed internal organs, and left the victim either dead or delirious. But Jesus kept on, carrying His cross partway to Calvary. Ann Graham Lotz says that the miracle is not that Jesus was able to continue, but that He submitted to this punishment at all! He could’ve just sent His torturers straight to hell. Such is His love for us!
Then there was the cross. The spikes through His hands and feet. The crown of long, sharp, Palestinian thorns, shoved down, piercing His head. The agony of suffocation. The mocking and insults hurled His way. He endured all of this willingly, and He did so for me!
After this torture, while He was hanging on the cross, Jesus forgave His executioners. They truly didn’t know what they were doing! They were killing God! The Man Jesus was dying to save their very souls from the wrath of God, for a chance to spend an eternity in heaven with Him.
The two thieves on either side of Him threw insults at Him, cursed Him, and dared Jesus to save Himself and them. Then one thief had a change of heart. He asked Jesus to “remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” I think the thief figured out Who Jesus is. Jesus forgave him, and the thief became the first recorded man who entered heaven saved by Jesus!
Jesus forgave those responsible for His torture and execution, and one of the men who just a few minutes earlier, had delivered the most vile of insults at Him. If He forgave these, He can forgive us. All we have to do is ask Him!
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” . . . Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ . . . “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God . . . “ (John 3:3, 5-7, 16-18, NASB)
The Apostle John records the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, in which Jesus states what would become the most famous verse in the Christian Bible. John tells us Nicodemus is a Pharisee, “a ruler of the Jews.” (John 3:1) Nothing more is mentioned of him until he assisted Joseph of Arimathea to lay Jesus in the tomb. Nicodemus brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.” (John 19:39)
John tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus by stealth, “at night.” He doesn’t want his colleagues to know. Nicodemus acknowledges that Jesus is from God, that “no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2) Jesus answers him in the text above, that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus is naturally puzzled. “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (John 3:4) Jesus replies (again in the text) that it’s not a fleshly birth He’s talking about, but a spiritual birth.
After some back-and-forth conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus how to achieve a spiritual birth in that famous verse: “For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him SHALL NOT PERISH, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, emphasis mine) God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us to take our place, and take the punishment we deserve for our sins. How do we achieve that spiritual rebirth? By believing in Jesus! In so doing, we achieve everlasting life, and in Jesus’ words, we “shall not perish.” At Christmas we celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ that God gave us because He loves us so much. We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday, in which Jesus fulfilled the life everlasting (He was raised from the dead), which He told Nicodemus he would have if he were to be born again.
Jesus concludes His discussion with the Pharisee by telling him His mission on earth is not to judge, but to save the world; that if we believe in Jesus, we’ll not be judged. His final warning to Nicodemus is that anyone who does not believe in Jesus has already been judged, “because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
We’re not told of Nicodemus’ reaction to his conversation with Jesus. In “The Chosen,” Season 1, they do a splendid job of portraying the conflict that must have gone through his mind. In the film, after their encounter, Jesus invites the Pharisee to go on a journey with Him and His disciples. As they leave on their trip, Nicodemus is seen hiding behind a corner, sobbing. The Pharisee had grown comfortable in his lifestyle. He was conflicted about leaving all that behind to follow Jesus. But he must have eventually made the choice to be born again–he helped Joseph to bury the body of the Son of God.
Using Jesus’ own words, the choice is simple: Without Jesus: Face God’s judgment and perish. With Jesus: Be saved and have eternal life.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen.” (Luke 24:1-6, NASB)
In the narrative above from Luke the beloved physician, it’s now Sunday morning, the day after the Sabbath. The disciples are still in shock after witnessing their Teacher brutally tortured and executed. They’re behind locked doors for fear of the Temple leadership coming after them next. The two Marys (Jesus’ mother, and Mary Magdalene) have prepared spices for a proper burial, and now that the Sabbath is past, are going to the cave where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had put Jesus’ body late Friday afternoon.
According to Luke, they find the stone rolled away from the tomb’s opening, and Jesus’ body is not there! Two angels appear, and they utter a statement that is arguably the most important of all Christendom: “He is not here, but He has risen.”
The fact of the resurrection is crucial to our faith. Jesus said He would be crucified, and the third day would rise again. The disciples and the two Marys watched Him die and didn’t remember what He told them. After all, they weren’t used to seeing people come back from the dead, even though just weeks before they had seen Jesus call Lazarus from out of his tomb. If Jesus was Who He claimed to be (God), then if He had not come back from the dead our faith would be useless. There would be no hope of everlasting life. No hope.
The angels also ask the question: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?” They wanted to emphasize that not only had Jesus been risen, but He was alive. There was hope in their question and statement. Jesus would seem to emphasize His being alive when He appeared to the disciples several times before His ascension. What’s important is that to followers of Jesus, Christ’s death and resurrection means that sin and death are defeated. Because He’s alive, we can also have life everlasting.
We have seen despair and hopelessness on Friday turn to joy and hope on Sunday morning. It took awhile for reality to catch up to some of the disciples (Thomas the Doubter, for one), but over time they understood Who Jesus really is, and His words of salvation. Jesus told His disciples what would take place, and it did. He came to earth to die as a substitute to take the punishment we all deserve as sinners. God’s most precious gift that we celebrate at Christmas fulfilled His mission on Good Friday. He completed the promise of eternal life on Resurrection Sunday. Because He lives, we have hope for eternal life. Do you believe in Him? When Christianity was in its infancy, in the middle east and southern Europe, it was dangerous to be a follower of Jesus. The Christians used a greeting that only they were familiar with, used to find out if a stranger was a brother or sister in Christ. The first person would use the greeting, “He is risen!” The second would reply, “He is risen indeed!” He is risen!
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:21-24, NASB)
Worship: “Evidence,” by Josh Baldwin
On Good Friday night, Sue and I watched Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ.” We saw it in the movie theater when it first came out. Powerful. Gibson captured the last 18 hours or so of Jesus’ life as authentically and true to the Bible as possible. What also struck me was how quiet it was afterward. I don’t think anyone said a word filing out of the theater. I remember a column written by Charles Colson at the time. He said that Mel Gibson had a cameo appearance of sorts in the movie. During the film when Jesus is being nailed to the cross, Gibson’s hand is wielding one of the mallets. We’re quick to judge the people who had a part in Jesus’ crucifixion. Truth be told, if any of us had been there, we would have done the same. This was Gibson’s way of acknowledging his guilt and his sins. Colson explained that years ago one of the masters (I think it was van Gogh) painted himself into the crucifixion as a Roman soldier and an active participant. Interesting!
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43, NASB)
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:50-51, NASB)
As Thursday night turned into Friday, Jesus found Himself bound and beaten by the officers of the temple. He would be taken to be interrogated by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, then to Herod (who had jurisdiction over Galilee, where Jesus resided), then back to Pilate. All the while, He was beaten and mocked by the Roman soldiers. They placed a crown of thorns on His head. These thorns were middle eastern thorns, long and sharp. They didn’t just “place” it on His head, they jammed it down, so the blood ran down His face. Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me.
Then they scourged Jesus. The whips they used had jagged pieces of metal embedded in the cords. When the whip made contact, the metal would tear into the flesh, often exposing the internal organs (” . . . and by His stripes we are healed.”). Often the criminal going through this torture would die from the organ exposure. Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me.
Next, Jesus was forced to lug the cross to the place of His execution. When they arrived at Golgotha, He was nailed to the cross. He endured more mocking and scorn from the chief priests and passersby. And the two thieves on either side of Him, also being crucified, joined in. Jesus endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me.
In Dr. Luke’s account above, one of the thieves had a change of heart. I think this was the first-ever recorded “death bed conversion.” The thief scolded his counterpart, and acknowledged Jesus is God. Then he asked Jesus to “remember me when You come in Your kingdom.” Jesus replied that they would be together that day “in Paradise.”
Jesus was crucified at about 9 o’clock in the morning. At around noon, the sky became as dark as night (God was not pleased at what was going on). At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, per Matthew’s account above, “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” At the same time, an earthquake occurred (God continued to show His displeasure), so powerful it split the rocks. Also, Matthew reported, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
The tearing of the veil is significant on two points: First, Matthew emphasizes that the tear was from top to bottom. It was impossible for men to do this. God had to have done this, and He did it using the earthquake. Second, the veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the inner sanctuary. Only the High Priest was allowed access, once a year, bringing blood from a sacrificed animal to atone for the sins of himself and the people. God tore the veil to say that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for repentance of sins and there was no longer need to separate God from man. As the author of Hebrews said, “we [now] have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” (Hebrews 10:19-20)
Good Friday was a momentous day. Our Lord, the Messiah, was brutally tortured and executed by the authorities, who as Jesus said in an act of forgiveness, didn’t know what they were doing. We see the death bed conversion of a thief who acknowledged Jesus as God, and asked His forgiveness. We also see an act of God, the tearing of the veil, that told the world that the way to salvation and forgiveness of sins is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ mission coming to earth was to die as an acceptable sacrifice to the Father God. As we used to say in the Air Force, “mission complete!” Jesus made the sacrifice, it’s up to us to acknowledge it, confess our sins, and ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life. Jesus Christ did His part (He endured all this willingly, and He did so for you and for me). Have you done yours?
As Friday wound down, as sunset approached and the Sabbath with it, Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb. His disciples were distraught, and went home defeated. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, also eye witnesses to the whole spectacle, noted where Jesus was lain, went home to mix spices to prepare the body for a proper burial, then observed the Sabbath. Jesus was dead. All seemed hopeless. But then there was Sunday . . .
Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. (Matthew 26:14-16, NASB)
Tomorrow is Spy Wednesday. It’s one of the days of Holy Week. I had never heard of it until a Bible study several years ago. Spy Wednesday is the day that Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, met with the chief priests, and conspired to betray Jesus Christ to them. The price they were willing to pay Judas? Thirty pieces of silver. The same valuation assigned for slaves in the book of Exodus. The text says that “from then on [Judas] began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”
He found that opportunity the next (Thursday) night. After Jesus celebrated the Passover Seder meal (the Last Supper, in which He also instituted the Lord’s Supper) with His disciples, He led them out of Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, as was His custom in the evening, to pray. Judas, aware of his Master’s habits, led a mob from the chief priests to the Garden, where Jesus was arrested. Judas told the crowd to arrest the Man that he kissed. So Jesus was betrayed with a kiss.
Imagine how Jesus was crushed. He was fully God, and knew He would be betrayed. He also knew who the perpetrator would be. But Jesus was also fully human, with emotions like yours and mine. He had to have been grief-stricken to have been betrayed by a friend. But the betrayal by Judas was only one of His trials that night.
Jesus knew what agony lay ahead of Him. Before He was betrayed that night, Jesus asked His disciples to stand watch in the Garden while He prayed. His men fell asleep while He prayed–not once, but three times. While Jesus prayed, His anxiety over what was going to happen to Him was so great, He sweated drops of blood. As the mob descended on Him with their swords and clubs, and Judas kissed Him, the other eleven disciples fled, abandoning Jesus to His fate (He told them they would do that, and they all pledged they would die with Him). But if Thursday night was bad, it was nothing compared with what awaited Jesus on Friday.
Jesus knew what would happen to Him over the course of these few days. He told the disciples the exact events that would occur. But they didn’t understand. Simon Peter even did his best to hinder Jesus from going to the cross. But this was all part of God’s plan of redemption to bring us back into fellowship with God. When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, it ruined the harmony man enjoyed with God. God made a plan then to make things right, which culminated with sending His Son to earth to die as a sacrifice. By identifying ourselves with Jesus’ sacrifice, we make ourselves whole again with God. When we die, we’ll enjoy fellowship for eternity with Him. Have you placed your hope and trust in Jesus?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:21-23, NASB)
This account is from Apostle Matthew. He was an eye witness as Jesus began to prepare the disciples for what was about to take place, His arrest, torture, crucifixion, and resurrection. Other Gospel accounts speak of the apostles’ grief, or their failure to understand. But Matthew’s story tells of Simon Peter’s “rebuke,” and Jesus’ declaration that Peter was a “stumbling block.”
Jesus’ prophecy of His own coming demise must have been hard to understand. He had been telling the disciples that He was the Son of God. He had performed miracles and healed the sick and the crippled. How could the authorities arrest this Man and put Him to death? And what was this about being “raised up on the third day”?
Peter to the rescue! He wouldn’t let the prediction of Jesus’ demise come true. He, along with the Zebedee brothers, was part of Jesus’ inner circle. He would be Jesus’ bodyguard. Jesus would have nothing to worry about. He would talk some sense into Jesus, straighten Him out. What could go wrong? Wait, what?
Satan? Jesus rebuked Peter’s rebuke by calling him “Satan.” “A stumbling block.” That he was “not setting [his] mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Many of Israel’s people were looking for a political Messiah Who would expel the Roman occupiers and rule Israel with justice. The disciples, despite all the time they spent with Jesus, didn’t comprehend what this was all about. Jesus didn’t come to the earth He created to free them from Rome, He came to free them from their sins. To do that, He had to go to Jerusalem, and present Himself as the Lamb of God, a sacrifice acceptable to God the Father.
Imagine how Peter felt at Jesus’ rebuke. Not long before this, during a discussion about Who Jesus is, he had confessed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Jesus praised him, and was ready to hand him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Now the Christ was calling him “Satan”! Did Peter have a demon? I don’t know. Perhaps Jesus was giving him a wake-up call. After all, He had The Plan, The Big Picture, and He wanted Peter on board.
Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God had a plan of redemption to bring men and women back to peace with Him. He would eventually send His Son to earth, and He would act as a sacrifice. He would take the punishment we deserve as a substitute for our salvation. We deserve to die for our sins. Jesus paid the price for us. Our part is to accept His sacrifice, and ask Jesus into our hearts.
Worship: “Victor’s Crown,” by Darlene Zschech and Kari Jobe
