Holy Saturday…the Sabbath…Jesus was in the tomb…a very long day about which there is nothing in the gospels. NO ONE was expecting the resurrection. The women saw where he was laid the day before the Sabbath, and they went there the day after the Sabbath “to anoint his body…”

And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. (Mark 15.42 – 16.2, ESV, emphases mine)

We know, to paraphrase Tony Campolo, “It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s comin’,” but they didn’t. (By the way, if you haven’t heard Tony’s classic sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’,” click the link and listen to it. It’s long but worth it. If you want to hear just the Sunday’s comin’ part, go to about 49:35 into it.)

Back to Holy Saturday. Deathly quiet. Deathly still. As the brother said in Luke 24, “We had hoped…” Feel it with them as we wait.

The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (Luke 23.55, 56, ESV)

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19.41, 42, ESV)

I was sharing with a friend of mine the two blogs I had written about praying for religious leaders and company leaders. He said that his church has a nice liturgy of prayer for a variety of people for the Good Friday services. Here’s part of it. Please pray with me…

Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth, and for those in authority among them: for [the head of our country, state, city…], for all who serve the common good, that by God’s help they may seek justice and truth, that all might live in peace and harmony.

Faithful and compassionate God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those in authority, that justice, peace, and freedom may increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

Let us pray for all who suffer: for the hungry and the homeless, the deprived and the oppressed, for the sick, the wounded, and the handicapped, for those in loneliness and in fear, for those in confusion, doubt, and despair, for the sorrowful and bereaved, for prisoners, and all at the point of death, that God’s love will comfort and sustain them, and that we may be stirred up to minister to them.

Faithful and compassionate God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer, hear the cry of all who call on you in any trouble, grant them the joy of receiving your help in their need, and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Let us pray for all who do not believe the gospel of Christ: for those who have never heard the message of salvation, for those who have lost their faith, for those who are indifferent to Christ, for those who actively oppose Christ by word or deed, and persecute Christ’s disciples, for those who in the name of Christ have persecuted others, that God will open their hearts to the truth, and lead them to faith and obedience.

Faithful and compassionate God, you create and love all the peoples of the earth; may your good news be so lived and proclaimed, that all are brought home to your presence, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3.18, NKJV)

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2.11 – 14, NKJV)

It’s Maundy Thursday (a term I first learned from an Air Force chaplain when I was 24 years old!), the day we remember when Jesus initiated the Lord’s Supper. Here’s Matthew’s version:

As they ate, Jesus took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to his disciples. He said to them, “This is my body. Eat it.” Then taking the cup of wine, he gave thanks to the Father, he entered into covenant with them, saying, “This is my blood. Each of you must drink it in fulfillment of the covenant. For this is the blood that seals the new covenant. It will be poured out for many for the complete forgiveness of sins. The next time we drink this, I will be with you and we will drink it together with a new understanding in the kingdom realm of my Father.” Then they sang a psalm and left for the Mount of Olives. (Matthew 26.26 – 30, TPT)

And after sharing the solemn meal with the 11 remaining disciples, the men to whom he has committed his life and his strategy, Jesus says they will all run away. (Matthew 26.31 – 35) Which was important, actually. If they had stayed, the Romans could have killed them all. What do they care? But the disciples ran because they were weak as Jesus told Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Later, he came back to them and found them all sound asleep. He awakened Peter and said to him, “Do you lack the strength to stay awake with me for even just an hour? Keep alert and pray that you’ll be spared from this time of testing. You should have learned by now that your spirit is eager enough, but your humanity is weak.” (Matthew 26.40, 41, TPT)

So Jesus shared “the first communion” with men who would desert him in hours, and he gave what we call the Great Commission to doubters:

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples heard the wonderful news from the women and left for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. The moment they saw him, they worshiped him, but some still had lingering doubts. Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.” Matthew 28.16 – 20, TPT, emphasis mine)

You don’t feel strong? You don’t think you have your act together? It’s OK. We’re in good company!

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2.8, 9, ESV)

There are so many side stories going on as Jesus approaches the cross that it’s hard to choose what to meditate on! Thanks to Dave Wyrtzen of Dave’s Daily Devo for stimulating these thoughts. I had never compared and contrasted Peter and Judas in this way. Here’s the story as Matthew tells it:

Peter denied it, and using profanity he said, “I don’t know the man!” At that very moment the sound of a crowing rooster pierced the night. Then Peter remembered the prophecy of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows you will have denied me three times.” With a shattered heart, Peter went out of the courtyard, sobbing with bitter tears.

Before dawn that morning, all the chief priests and religious leaders resolved to take action against Jesus and decided that he should be executed. So they bound him with chains and led him away to Pilate, the Roman governor.

Now, when Judas, the betrayer, saw that Jesus had been sentenced to death, remorse filled his heart. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and religious leaders, saying, “I have sinned because I have betrayed an innocent man.” They replied, “Why are you bothering us? That’s your problem.” Then Judas flung the silver coins inside the temple and went out and hanged himself. (Matthew 26.74 – 27.5, TPT)

We know from the rest of the story that Peter hung around (see John 20.1 – 8, for example) and was restored by Jesus (John 21.15 – 17). Judas’ death is in this section. But it could have gone either way for either of them:

• Two men: Peter and Judas, both members of Jesus’ inner circle of 12
• Two similar actions: denial (Peter), betrayal (Judas)
• Two immediately similar responses: tears (Peter), remorse (Judas)
• Two different outcomes: restoration (Peter), suicide (Judas)

As Dave Wyrtzen says:

Judas seeks to pay for his guilt by suicide. Peter could have done the same, but he didn’t. We have to decide whether we will let Jesus’ death pay for our guilt or whether we will arrogantly try to pay the bill ourselves. – Dave Wyrtzen, March 26, 2021

The Apostle Paul clarifies the same option:

God designed us to feel remorse over sin in order to produce repentance that leads to victory. This leaves us with no regrets. But the sorrow of the world works death. (2 Corinthians 7.10, TPT)

One of the fun things about the four-column through-the-Bible-in-a-year program is reading passages from different places on the same day. Recently I read Matthew 23 and Number 13 – both depressing. What’s the common theme?

In Matthew 23, Jesus is criticizing the Pharisees for a variety of things, including not entering the Kingdom themselves and preventing others from doing so:

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. (Matthew 23.13, ESV)

Numbers 13 and 14 is the sad account of 10 of the 12 spies bringing a negative report on the land, causing the people not to want to go into it. Notice in this paragraph that verses 5 – 9 express the hope of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb contrasted with the beginning and the end where the people want to choose a leader, go back to Egypt, and stone Joshua and Caleb!

4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. (Numbers 14.4 – 10, ESV)

So there’s one connection: the Pharisees didn’t want to enter the Kingdom, and 10 of the 12 spies did not want to enter the promised land.

The other connection is that Jesus, as well as Joshua and Caleb, were in the minority. Sometimes the majority is wrong.  

Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” (Matthew 27.20 – 23, ESV, emphasis mine)

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. (Exodus 23.2, NKJV)

God is sovereign, make no mistake. There’s no better example than this short paragraph in Matthew. Notice that Jesus says he will be killed at Passover even while those who are planning to kill him say that it can’t be at Passover:

After Jesus had completed his teachings, he said to his disciples, “You know that the Feast of the Passover begins in two more days. That’s when the Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over to be crucified.” Meanwhile, the prominent priests and religious leaders of the nation were gathered in the palace of the high priest Caiaphas. That’s when they made their decision to secretly have Jesus captured and killed. But they all agreed, “We can’t do this during the Passover celebrations or we could have a riot on our hands.” Matthew 26:1-5 (TPT)

He’s the Passover Lamb – he must be killed at Passover.

The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1.29, ESV)

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5.7, ESV)

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. (Acts 4.27, 28, NIV)

I have mixed feelings about Palm Sunday. Truly, it was a great event, prophesied by Zechariah in such detail that a friend of mine, whose father was an artist and a devout Jew, painted a giant picture that hangs in my friend’s home. When I look at it, I see Palm Sunday. But my friend explained, “This is Messiah riding into Jerusalem.”

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9.9, NIV)

The reason I have mixed feelings is that some of these same people were clamoring for Jesus’ crucifixion just a few days later.

But for now, let’s enter into Passion Week with joy!

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21.1 – 9, NIV)

Lisa Kelly of Omaha, Nebraska, wrote a blog: Six Characteristics of Ignatian Courage. (She’s talking about Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.) I especially like #4:

Courage Takes One Step at a Time

The spirit not of God detracts people from moving toward the good by sowing seeds of doubt in one’s capacity and enlarging the possible negative long-term “what ifs.” The Spirit of God, instead, offers the grace of courage for each step of the way. Ignatius had no plan to start a global order of priests or the largest educational network in the world. He did, however, have the courage to discern each decision on the way, seeking only that the outcome reflected movement toward the will of God.

Compare to a math problem: you just take the next step. I just worked a problem on the math calendar my grandson gave me for Christmas. I had no idea where I was going, but I took the next step: look up the formula for the tangent of a sum, plug in what was given, solve for what you don’t have, voila!

Here’s one “next step” that’s always appropriate:

I trust in the Lord. And I praise him!
I trust in the Word of God. And I praise him!
What harm could man do to me?
With God on my side I will not be afraid of what comes.
My heart overflows with praise to God and for his promises.
I will always trust in him. (Psalm 56.10, 11, TPT)

Trust in God, take the next step.

I hope you’re joining me in praying for our leaders:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2.1, 2, ESV)

In addition to government leaders, I suggested Sunday that we ought not to forget religious leaders. They can have enormous influence.

Here’s another group that we don’t always think of when we think “high positions” – business leaders. Some of them have enormous influence: think Amazon and the books it chooses to carry or not carry and YouTube with the videos it can allow or block. Twitter and FaceBook come to mind, also. These companies have increasing influence. Their leaders are truly in “high positions,” and we ought to be praying for them.

In addition, all companies have influence at least over their employees and the clients / customers they are trying to serve. We ought to include those leaders in our prayers, too.

My “word for the year” is ASK – both in its form as a simple verb, a synonym for prayer – and as an acronym: Ask, Seek, Knock from Matthew 7.7. The Lord seems to keep showing me more things to ASK for!

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7.7, 8, ESV)

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints… (Ephesians 6. 18, NKJV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phlippians 4.6, 7, ESV)

A lady asked me the other day about our ministry with The Navigators, about whom she knew nothing. In the middle of the conversation, responding to something I’d seen in one of her emails, I asked what she was teaching two days each week. I was shocked when this 76-year-young lady said, “Martial Arts.” Wow, I said. That’s a participation sport! Can you tell me about that? Part of her response went something like this:

I asked God to give me something I could be passionate about. One day, in a Starbucks, I met a man who told me owned a martial arts school – why don’t you visit? So I did. Two sessions were free. My instructor started working with me and observed that I was a visual learner, so he adapted his instruction to fit my learning style. I took to it, and before I knew it, I was a red belt. I said, well, I’ve come this far, I can be a black belt! And I did. And now I’m one of the teachers.

I said, “May I tell you what I heard?”

• You had an instructor who worked with you one-on-one.
• Starting from nothing, with participation, doing what the instructor told you to do, you experienced growth in your skills .
• You reached a level of competence with the red belt and then the black belt.
• You’re repeating the process by being an instructor yourself.

Yes? Yes!

And then I said:

That’s exactly what I do as a Navigator. I invest time in people who want to follow Jesus and be involved in his mission. I teach them some basic skills: how to have daily time with God, how to memorize scripture, how to do Bible study, how to share the gospel, how to help someone else do those things. I’m expecting they will participate – not just listen. That they will grow in their skills and in their love for Jesus and become competent to do what I’m doing. Participation, Growth, Competence.

And I asked her to look up 2 Timothy 2.1 – 7 after our conversation was over.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (NIV)

The text gives the method (verse 2) and examples (verses 3 – 7). In addition to the specific applications belonging to soldiers, athletes, and farmers, I think all three are examples of activities in which Participation leads to Growth leads to Competence. 

Martial Arts…Discipleship: the process is the same.

Train yourself to be godly. (1 Timothy 4.7, NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 8.24 – 27, NIV)