And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus… (Acts 4.33, ESV)
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15.3, 4, NKJV)
Saturday…the in-between day…no one was expecting the resurrection…so they weren’t even waiting…except to anoint the body.
Maybe it’s a good day for us to read Isaiah’s prescient account…
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 52.13 – 53.12, ESV)
Low in the grave he lay…Waiting the coming day…
It’s Good Friday…
Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of The Chosen, made a short movie in 2014 called Once We Were Slaves about the two thieves. He sets it up beautifully. The two thieves are brothers: one is irreligious, given to crime. The other is studying to be a rabbi. When the Romans assault his fiancé, he lashes out at them, and they both end up on death row. Guess which one “will be with Me in Paradise.”
(Spoiler alert! If you want to take the 26 minutes to watch the movie now, I’ll wait.)
As much as I’ve studied grace, I always think of the repenting thief being the good guy, and the other thief as evil. It didn’t occur to me that it might have been the other way around.
While we were still SINNERS, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8)
For we ourselves were once…slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3.3, ESV)
So many images from Maundy Thursday – we especially remember Jesus’ initiation of “The Lord’s Supper” or “Communion” or “The Eucharist.”
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22.14 – 20, ESV)
In addition to the bread and the wine, John’s Gospel, chapters 13 – 17, records a lot that Jesus said and did that night:
A good night, and worth thinking about as we:
Do this in remembrance of me.
It was Palm Sunday a few days ago – a day I’ve written about, mainly negatively because although it was an important day that fulfilled prophecy, Jesus was crucified just a few days later…apparently by some of the same people.
That said, maybe the Palm Sunday crowd was just disappointed that Jesus didn’t overthrow the Romans, but the Jerusalem crowd incited for his crucifixion. Two different crowds? It wouldn’t be the first time the Jerusalem crowd was out of step. Look again at the visit of the wise men as recorded in Matthew 2:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2.1 – 3, ESV, emphasis mine)
Then notice that the Jerusalem crowd is similarly out of step at the triumphal entry (Palm Sunday):
The disciples…brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21.6 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)
God has always done some of his best work away from the “important cities” and “the elites” of society:
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1.26 – 29, ESV)
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1.43 – 46, ESV)
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (John 1.11, KJV)
Tom Hanks, playing a broken-down manager of a women’s baseball team in A League of Their Own, uttered this famous line:
Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There’s no crying! THERE’S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!
Well, sometimes there is. In the Colorado Rockies opening day game last Friday, Cuban-born Rockies shortstop Jose Iglesias got a base hit in the second inning to drive in the Rockies’ second run. He broke down in tears. Why? Because his father, still in Cuba, had died just a few weeks before. Here’s how the Colorado Springs Gazette described the moment:
What I want to draw your attention to is Dodger first-baseman Freddie Freeman, one of the heroes in the Atlanta Braves’ world series victory last season, and one of the most well-liked players in baseball. Google him, and you’ll read things like this:
“There is no person that doesn’t like Freddie Freeman in the league,” said Miguel Rojas, the Miami Marlins shortstop.
When it comes to earning the respect of your teammates, coaches and fellow players in a sports league, it certainly helps to be good at the sport. And it just so happens that Freddie Freeman is good — really good — at baseball, earning the MVP Award for the 2020 season and leading the league in runs scored while picking up All-Star selection No. 5 in 2021.
But even if Freeman was a .195 career hitter instead of a .295 career hitter, and even if his career-high in home runs was 11 instead of 38, and even if he had a grand total of zero Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers to his name, it seems like he’d still be a beloved member of Major League Baseball. Why? He’s the nicest dude on the diamond. – Audacity.com
Many say that he treats first base like his front porch, and if you’ve gotten a base hit, you’ve dropped in for a visit. He congratulates players for getting a hit, and they often exchange batting tips.
When Jose Iglesias came for his “visit,” and then broke down in tears, here’s how the Gazette described the moment:
On Friday, noticing the emotion, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman immediately tried to comfort him. Freeman lost his mother when he was young and tried to help Iglesias get through the moment. “It was a beautiful moment,” Iglesias said. “Beyond baseball, we are human beings.”
I write frequently about the 6Ms – ways God uses us – and Freddie Freeman at first base demonstrates that we can both Make Good Work and Minister Grace and Love, even in the competitive environment of professional sports.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12.15, ESV)
I know that we’re already into Passion Week, and I’ll no doubt have a few appropriate meditations as we approach Easter. Our reading program has just started Matthew, however, and I don’t like to miss the unsung hero of the nativity: Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. He doesn’t get much press: a few mentions here in Matthew, even fewer in Luke, and a few people in the gospels refer to Jesus as “Jesus, son of Joseph.” None of his words are recorded.
But Matthew tells us of four angelic visits and four instant responses:
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”…When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1.20, 21, 24, 25, ESV)
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt... (Matthew 2.13 – 14, ESV)
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. (Matthew 2.19 – 22, ESV)
Four angelic visits, four immediate responses, two in the middle of the night!
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt. (2.14)
And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. (2.21)
No one wants to get up in the middle of the night! A few days ago, our dog who almost always sleeps through the night had a problem, and I had to take him out at 2:30 am and again at 5 am. Even when I know that he’s not just changing positions, but he needs to go out, I have a tough time “rising and taking.”
“Rise, take the child and his mother…” Obedience requires work, and sometimes it requires an instant response! Arise…
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15.10, NIV)
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them…Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. (John 14.21, 23, 24, NIV)
Our 5x5x5 Reading Plan takes us to the Gospel of Matthew after James, and with Matthew’s opening, we have a most unusual genealogy: one that includes women! I briefly referred to this the other day when talking about Skip Gray’s one-liners, but it’s worth another look. Here are the first two-thirds of it, as shown in the ESV on my iPad with my highlights:
Artist C. Farrell Johnson, of whom I know nothing, captured the question well:
The opening verses of the Gospel of Matthew trace the ancestry of Jesus back to the patriarch Abraham. Not surprisingly, Jesus’ genealogy is an illustrious one, including Jacob, Judah, David, Solomon and Hezekiah. Somewhat unusually, however, the list includes four women from the Hebrew Bible.
In Matthew’s Jewish world, genealogies typically mentioned only men. Even more surprisingly, the four women—Tamar [Genesis 38], Rahab [Joshua 2 and 6.22-25], Ruth [read the whole book with her name on it!] and “the wife of Uriah” (that is, Bathsheba)—have somewhat spotty reputations. What prompted Matthew to include a prostitute (Rahab), a woman who pretended to be a prostitute (Tamar), a sexually forward widow (Ruth), and a woman taken in adultery (Bathsheba) in his “account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham”? – C. Farrell Johnson, scripture references added
Why, indeed? Moreover, most, if not all, of these women were Gentiles!
The late Skip Gray said, “God cares about the weak, the abused, the marginalized, and the sinful.” Amen. And in addition, Matthew is showing us that God uses all kinds of people. Anyone can be part of God’s plan, “regardless of who you are or what you have done.” That’s good news – a worthy start for a book of that name: “The Good News, as told by Matthew, the tax collector,” another person of questionable reputation.
Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. (Romans 3.22, Living Bible)
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2.10, NIV
We cited James 3.5 – 8 when writing last week about Will Smith’s Oscar outburst. The tongue surely is dangerous.
But the solution is right there in James 3 although the appropriate verses are usually under another heading like “Wisdom from Above.” The break causes us to miss what might be a connection to the earlier warnings about the tongue. What’s the solution? I offer it straight from scripture without further comment:
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom… The wisdom from above is
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3.13, 17, 18, ESV, bulleted for clarity)
I ran across a note in my Bible while reading James 4.17:
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
I used to read that as good versus evil: making the right choice. But that’s not what it’s saying. It’s more the idea of performing a positive good for someone else. In this case, doing nothing is a sin if you don’t carry out the good. Here’s the story I wrote in a note in my (iPad) Bible:
We were at the memorial service of June’s pastor from childhood, Mark Senter, who passed in 2013 at the age of 97. I knew him too and was blessed by his preaching at the summer camp where June and I met at age 11 (another story!). A friend of ours from those days, Robert Pettus, was preaching the service, and he told a story that went something like this:
My ambition in life as a teenager was to become a race car driver. Pastor Senter didn’t think that was a good use of my potential, so he came to our house one day and said, “I think I can get you a baseball scholarship to Bryan College.” (Pastor Senter was on the board.) So I went to Bryan and played baseball. It didn’t occur to me until later that I really wasn’t very good at baseball. [And I would add, schools the size of Bryan College don’t have athletic scholarships.] I realized that Pastor Senter himself had provided that “scholarship.”
To me, it was an example of James 4.17. To Pastor Senter, he had an opportunity to help a young teenager go off in the right direction. (Robert Pettus ultimately had a long and successful career with Coca-Cola.) I’m sure to Pastor Senter that not using his means for that purpose would have been a sin.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6.10, ESV)