I wrote yesterday about the Big Ten and how that even in an age of grace, this is not a bad list. Moses’ sermons in Deuteronomy continue:

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? (Deuteronomy 10.12, 13, ESV)

What does the Lord require?

• Fear the LORD your God
• Walk in all his ways
• Love him
• Serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul
• Keep his commandments for your good

See, there’s nothing wrong with the Big Ten! They are for my good. “Walk in his ways” implies living as God would have us live. Not like the Pharisees, who tried to keep the commandments but managed to do it without walking in God’s ways.

Moses continues with a helpful how-to, which we’ll look at tomorrow.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6.8, ESV)

I was reading Deuteronomy (“second law” ) when I discovered one of only three places where the phrase “the Ten Commandments” is used (the others are Exodus 34.28 and Deuteronomy 10.4). Moses is talking:

Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. (Deuteronomy 4.12, 13, ESV)

Just 10. Do you know what they are? If not, or if you want an easy way to remember and teach them, here is a version I learned from John Schmidt, now pastor of CenterPoint Fellowship Church in Prattville, Alabama. I don’t know whether these are original with John or if he borrowed them. Just 33 words:

1. No other gods
2. No idols
3. Honor God’s name
4. Honor God’s day
5. Honor your parents
6. Don’t take your neighbor’s life
7. Don’t take your neighbor’s wife
8. Don’t take your neighbor’s stuff
9. Don’t lie
10. Don’t covet

It’s a good list.

A friend of mine was telling me one day that now we are under grace, the law doesn’t apply. I said, “Of the Ten, which is not worth keeping today?” The only one he could come up with was the fourth – the Sabbath. I said, “So you want to work all the time? Not take a weekly break?” Keeping the law isn’t for earning salvation or favor with God, but which of the Ten would you want to break?

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5.17 – 19, ESV)

Yesterday I talked about our restorative time in the mountains, essentially alone. In addition, God gave us two delightful encounters with wildlife.

The first was two miles before we arrived at Mt Elbert Lodge, our destination. June captured this stunning picture of a female bighorn sheep on her way to join a herd of about 15 more. (About 30 of them came out to see us off as we were on our way home, blocking the road!)

Then, one evening we had a charming encounter with a fox.

The first picture shows my encounter with the fox while I was walking our dog, Babo. The fox was blocking our entrance to the cabin. If you look to the left side of the picture, you can see June taking pictures, including the middle one when the fox started moving toward us. Babo and I are in the background with Babo hiding behind my leg. Finally, the fox moved enough for us to get inside and remained to pose for pictures when I came back out.

A fun experience.

The high mountains are for the wild goats… (Psalm 104.18, ESV)

You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9.6, ESV)

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8.20, ESV)

June and I were in the mountains March 22 – 26 – it’s the way we do spring break here, a cabin in the woods:

We were beginning to question the wisdom of going to the mountains in March. Every day we were there, the temperatures ranged from a low of 12 to a high of 25. We’ve heard that some people go to Phoenix or the beach for spring break!

But if they do, they miss what we had: the mountains to ourselves. NO ONE else was there. No other guests in the lodge, no cars to speak of on the road. We’ve never experienced that level of solitude.

And the solitude was restorative. And that’s not counting a couple of fun encounters with wildlife. More about that tomorrow.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90.2, ESV)

¹  I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
²  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121.1, 2, ESV)

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 125.2, ESV)

He is risen, indeed!

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. (John 20.1 – 8, ESV)

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)