Blog 09-29-2011

Thursday

 PRaP 09-29-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 240

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Appears To Mary Magdalene”

Mark 16:9-11

John 20:10-18

 

John:

¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

 ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

 ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

   “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

 ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

   Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

 ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

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

 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 ¹⁸ 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.

 

I bet that was an amazing experience.  She didn’t get to meet the risen Lord until she saw the tomb was empty.  We do not get to meet the risen Lord until we seek Him in life and believe that the tomb is empty even to this day.  Do you believe?  Is your heart filled with joy when you hear the Good News?  Do you share that joy with others?  Are you not afraid to walk and talk with Him in His place?  I love walking down the street talking with Him as we walk around.  I get some funny looks sometimes as I am walking around talking with Jesus because they don’t see what I see or feel what I feel.  Sometimes we have some great discussions and laugh with each other and cry with each other and sing and dance with each other.  Is that how you feel when you walk with Him?  Do you even do that?  Try it you’ll like it and your neighbors will either join in or look at you like your nuts like they do me.

 

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-27-2011

Tuesday

 PRaP 09-27-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 239

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Rises From The Dead”

Matthew 28:1-7

Mark 16:1-8

Luke 24:1-12

John 20:1-9

 

Luke:

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

 ⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² 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.

 

The two angels asked the women why they were looking in a tomb for someone who was alive.  Often we run into people who are looking for God among the dead.  They study the Bible as if it is a mere history book and go to church as if going to a memorial service.  But Jesus isn’t among the dead but He lives!  He reigns in the hearts of believers, and is the head of the church.  Do you look for Jesus among the living?  Do you expect Him to be active in the world and in the church?  Look for signs of His power they are all around us.

 

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-26-2011

Monday

 PRaP 09-26-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 238

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Guards Are posted At The Tomb”

Matthew 27:62-66

 

⁶² The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

 ⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

 

The tomb was sealed and posted Roman soldier guards at the entrance of the tomb.  The religious leaders took Jesus’ resurrection claims more seriously than the disciples did.  The disciples didn’t remember Jesus’ teaching about His resurrection (Matthew 20:17-19); but the religious leaders did.  Because of His claims, they were almost as afraid of Jesus after His death as when He was alive.  They tried to take every precaution that His body would remain in the tomb.

They were so afraid that Jesus was going to come back to life that they sealed the tomb with a cord and clay but that wasn’t even enough to keep our Savior from resurrecting and defeating death itself.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-23-2011

Friday

 PRaP 09-23-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 237

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb”

Matthew 27:57-61

Mark 15:42-47

Luke 23:50-56

John 19:38-42

 

Matthew:

⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Mark:

⁴² It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

Luke:

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

 ⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

John:

³⁸ Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹ He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.^{[a] 40} Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹ At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

 

It was the day before Sabbath so we know that they took Jesus on a Friday and placed him in the tomb.  This also meant that they were required to make preparations for the Sabbath and were not going to be able to do the customary preparations for the tomb and they would have to be done after the Sabbath.  The large stone was rolled in front of the tomb to keep out unwanted guests if you will.  This had to have been a difficult time for the disciples of Jesus because they weren’t quite sure what was going to happen and they just didn’t quite have that faith.  Many of them left town and went home but Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed.  It requires a lot of faith to believe that Jesus was going to come out of that tomb and it takes a lot of faith to believe that He will one day return.  All it takes is a mustard seed sized faith?

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-22-2011

Thursday

 PRaP 09-22-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 236

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Dies On The Cross”

Matthew 27:45-56

Mark 15:33-41

Luke 23:44-49

John 19:28-37

 

Matthew:

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[c] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 ⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[d] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

 

Why do you think that Jesus cried out those words?  He was quoting Psalm 22:1.  Even in the end of his human existence He quoted scripture to confound the religious leadership of the time.  At the moment of Jesus last breath here on earth the Temple no longer was the authority of religious leaders.  Jesus set all people free to worship without having to be at the Temple.  Our sin was released for eternity for those who believe He is who He says He is, the Messiah, the Christ, God in flesh.  Religiousity died that day so that we can walk free from it.  We are free to walk with Christ without fear.  Even in persecution we are still free.  No man can take us to the level it was back then because of what Christ did for us.  We are free to worship God in our own way not by a set of rules that are likely impossible for anyone to follow flawlessly other than the One who is flawless.  Free to follow 2 rules of life.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind and love your neighbor as Christ loves the church.  You are the Church!  Do you believe?  Are you free?  Believe and set yourself free!

 

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-21-2011

Wednesday

 PRaP 09-21-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 235

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Is Placed On The Cross”

Matthew 27:35-44

Mark 15:25-32

Luke 23:32-43

John 19:18-27

 

Luke:

³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

 ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

 ³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

 ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

 ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

 ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[b]”

 ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

Today is a great day for Salvation!  Today if you seek His forgiveness and then take your last breath you too will be with Him in paradise.  All you have to do is believe in Him and accept Him as the Savior of the world and you too can have that peace in knowing you will walk with Jesus in Heaven today if He so chooses to take you there.  Here’s the big issue.  Many people think they have plenty of time for this Jesus stuff and say they will accept Him later.  Well friends you are not guaranteed your next breath.  What if a building falls on top of you or you are in a serious car crash or plane crash or bus crash?  What if a spy satellite falls from the sky and hits you?  You will not have time to ask His forgiveness and then when you take that last breath it will be too late.  If you know Him then seek Him as your Lord and Savior and proclaim it.  Jesus forgive me of my sins and be my Lord and Savior.  There that’s all you need to say.  Don’t just speak the words believe with your heart and it will be done.  Shout it from the rooftops tell your friends and family.  If God so chooses you then you need to get to know Him better seek wise counsel and follow Christ in His plan for you.  Yes, for you personally He has a plan laid out and He will help you follow it every day of the rest of your life.  Don’t let another day go by without Him.

 

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-20-2011

Tuesday

 PRaP 09-20-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 234

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Is Led Away To Be Cricified”

Matthew 27:32-34

Mark 15:21-24

Luke 23:26-31

John 19:17

 

Matthew

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

Mark

²¹ A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

Luke

²⁶ As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’^[a]

   ³¹ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

John

¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

 

They led our Savior to be crucified that we would be free from our sin through Him.  The Sacrificial Lamb of God being led off for the final slaughter that we may live freely from our own doing.  This is a tough thing to think about.  Could you would you lay your life down that others may live?  Many say yes and many do but when it comes down to it would you lay it down for Him?  Think about it!

 

Peace and Agape love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-19-2011

Monday

 PRaP 09-19-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 233

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Roman Soldiers Mock Jesus”

Matthew 27:27-31

Mark 15:16-20

 

Matthew:

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

 

Mark:

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

 

Let me help with some perspective here.  A whole company of soldiers was about 200 men.  All 200 of these men mocked Him and spat upon Him and hit Him in the head with the staff.  People often make fun of Christians for their faith, but believers can take courage from the fact that Jesus Himself was mocked as greatly as anyone.  Taunting may hurt our feelings, but we should never let it change our faith.  In Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus says:

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

For Jesus was beaten almost to the point of death before they forced Him to carry His cross to Golgotha.  Jesus, weakened by His beating was helped by Simon of Cyrene, which we will read about tomorrow.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-15-2011

Thursday

 PRaP 09-15-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 232

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Pilate Hands Jesus Over To Be Crucified”

Matthew 27:15-26

Mark 15:6-15

Luke 23:13-25

John18:38-19:16

 

Matthew:

 

¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[a] Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

 ¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

 ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

 ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

   “Barabbas,” they answered.

 ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

   They all answered, “Crucify him!”

 ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

 ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

 ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

 ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

 

Faced with a clear choice, the people chose Barabbas a revolutionary and murderer over the Son of God.  Faced with the same choice today, people are still making the choice of “Barabbas”.  They would rather have the tangible force of human power over the Salvation offered by Christ alone.

Pilate washed his hands and thought that he had done the right thing but by doing so he was giving the crowds permission to crucify Jesus.  Although he washed his hands of the situation doesn’t remove the guilt it doesn’t cancel out what he did.  Washing your hands of a tough situation doesn’t cancel out your guilt.  It merely gives you a false sense of peace.  Don’t make excuses – take responsibility for your choices and decisions that you have made.  Seek forgiveness and repent of those wrong things that you will have true peace in knowing you have done the right thing.  Look before you leap, think before you speak and by all means love without expecting it in return.  What have you done for Him lately?

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

Blog 09-14-2011

Wednesday

 PRaP 09-14-2011  

           

 250 Events In The Life Of Christ/ A Harmony Of The Gospels Part 231

Section 3: Death And Resurrection Of Jesus Christ

“Jesus Stands Trial Before Herod”

Luke 23:6-12

 

⁶ On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

 ⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹ He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

 

Here we go pass the buck.  Pilate didn’t know what to do with Jesus knowing He is innocent and knowing He was from Galilee sent Jesus to Herod who had political leadership over Galilee and just so happened was in Jerusalem for Passover since he was half Jewish he was following the law of Moses.  Herod and Pilate became buddies after this because Herod no longer felt threatened by Pilate because Pilate was a Roman leader and respected the jurisdiction of Herod.  They found common ground in the fact that Jesus was innocent and Pilate respected Herod’s authority.  Sounds political to me.  Being in Texas and having the death penalty here makes this little didy play out on occasion.  Had a recent case with Mexico over an incident where there was an illegal alien that committed murder and was sentenced to the death by lethal injection and Mexico doesn’t have the death penalty, well not on their books anyway, but I digress, I don’t remember the outcome of the event but it goes to show you that things happening in Jesus time still go on today.  Political games are played out so that the best at the game can win no matter the cost.  Isn’t it interesting that all this comes up in a time when politics are hot and heavy in the U.S.?  To God be the glory.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve