What wondrous love is this

The vocalist is Fernando Ortega.

(Reposted from last year)

What wondrous love is this?

The vocalist is Fernando Ortega.

(Reposted from last year)

The promise that was fulfilled

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

Mark 16:1-7 (KJV)

The completion

And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, The King Of The Jews. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

Mark 15:12-39 (KJV)

What wonderous love is this?

The vocalist is Fernando Ortega.

(Reposted from last year)

And so it begins...

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him......

John 18:1-12 (KJV)

The timeline of Holy Week

Check out this timeline from the Bible Gateway blog.

Easter as a promise fulfilled

Luke Mbefo has another interesting column in the Arusha Times.

Easter 2010

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away - for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! Here is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go and tell his Disciples - and Peter - that he is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Mark 16:1-8

In Biblical times the weight that the testimony of women was given was half that of a man. If Christianity were an invented religion, then it would be a source of embarrassment to the early Church that women were the first witnesses. Why not Peter? Why not have Jesus appear to all of his enemies and strike them dead, like something out of a Hollywood movie?

Within a few weeks the disciples - the same ones who could not run away from Jesus fast enough - were proclaiming the fact of His Resurrection. One by one they died for their faith. Some, like Stephen, were stoned to death. Peter was crucified upside down! Only John apparently avoided execution, and he spent time on the island of Patmos in exile.

Only one thing could have brought about this change: the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead and they saw Him alive.

Good Friday 2010

Perhaps those who consider Christianity a made-up religion have not fully read the story of Good Friday.

Consider just the basic facts of the story. Even after traveling with Him and hearing His teachings firsthand, Jesus disciples still did not seem to comprehend the chain of events that must happen. The Last Supper seemed to be a source of confusion to them, and the disciples who accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane preferred to take a snooze rather that stay awake with their Lord. One of the disciples betrayed Jesus (for cash, no less), another publiclly denied Him, and none stood trial with Him. After His death, His body was buried in a tomb borrowed from a member of the Sanhedrin - the very people who were loudest in the demands to kill Him.

None of the disciples looks like anything more than a poltroon or a traitor. A very odd, uninspiring story if your goal is to fool people into believing a false religion so you can exploit them.

But if you understand the human condition, that humans are more likely than not to run away from danger and to look out for Number 1, then the actions of the disciples makes sense. Uncomfortable sense, but sense.

Within a few weeks of the events of Good Friday, these same disciples (except Judas, of course) were fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel. They were heckled, beaten, thrown into prison, and even executed. What changed?

To be continued....

Palm Sunday 2010

Today marks the start of Holy Week - the ultimate expression of love.

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love," writes the Apostle John in 1 John 4:8 (NKJV). The promise that was made on Christmas comes true this week.

Although God is love, God is also holy and just. For that reason God cannot tolerate sin and still be holy and just. But humanity - every person throughout history - is sinful. Therefore, humanity cannot be reconciled to a loving God by their own efforts. A hopeless situation, if ever there was one.

The solution? In the name of love, God will voluntarily lay aside His power and become a Man. He will experience hunger, fatigue, rejection, betrayal, pain, and eventually death. By doing so He will take the punishment that we deserve and suffer in our places.

The weight of my own sin is unbearable if I dwell upon it too much. To add the weight of the sin of someone else to my own is something I cannot even comprehend, let alone bear. And to take the weight of the sins of every single person who has lived or will ever live - I cannot even begin to fathom the depth of the powerful love that motivated this.

By taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself, God remains both a loving God as well as a holy and just God. God did not try to evade the punishment, or give Himself special consideration. He took it all - my sin, your sin, the sin of everyone you know and everyone you don't know - and set us free.

On Good Friday we will remember that day of love. God did not ignore our sins in the name of Tolerance on that day so long ago. He did not vote them out of existence in the name of Majority Rule. He did not redefine sins in the light of Modern Scientific Understanding. He did not compromise to hear the applause of men and women or win the favor of governments. He took His Cross, was punished, and died.

To be continued.....