Burunche’s Blog

Galatians 3:1-13 Faith and Belief (James 2:14–26)

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Christ Has Redeemed Us

All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Paul is frustrated beyond belief. After spending long amounts of time leading the Galatians to Christ and discipling them, Paul now finds that the Judaizers and others are leading them astray.

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe? “

Evidently, the Galatians have accepted the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection; however, they still wonder if they shouldn’t slaughter a few animals or something. From Paul’s remarks, it seems that God has lavished the Holy Spirit on the Galatians in very special ways, even working miracles. Certainly, such wonders should convince anybody of the truth of Paul’s teachings, since God Himself has crowned those teachings with miracles. Nobody has ever caused miracles to happen by following a set of laws, no matter the source.

Paul wants the Galatians and all of us to know that holiness comes by faith in Christ Jesus. It is by faith that we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. Face it, none of us can possibly earn miracles; we can only praise God when they appear.

So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

Why does the Bible spend so much time describing the story of Abraham? Abraham was a man of faith and God blessed him for it. God knew that all of us would need the example of such a man. Forget worrying about sexist verbiage; all who live by faith are sons-and daughters-of Abraham.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” No matter how much we might hate the idea, each of us is born with a sin nature, something we cannot get rid of by ourselves. Sins can only be paid for with blood and Jesus has paid that debt for all who will believe in him.

What does Jesus substitutional death have to do with holiness? Without the remission of sin, none of us can be holy. And “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” (Hebrews 9:22) Why should we want to be holy? Because a holy God cannot tolerate anything unholy near to Him. If we want to truly be close to God, we must be holy. Only the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ makes such holiness possible.

“Why should I want to be close to God?” You might ask. God is the Source of all light and life and love and everything else good in the entire universe. Who would not want to be close to Someone who knows us and loves us more than we can even love ourselves.

What can we do to become holy? Ask Jesus to become the Lord of your life and ask Him to live in your heart. The closer you get to Jesus, God’s Son, the closer you get to God and the more you will want to please God.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we long to be near You. We give You permission to enter our lives and hearts and to remove anything that is keeping us from You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” 

For those of you who read these studies regularly, you might have become frustrated when I breezed through one of the most important statements Paul ever made. PEACE! We’re getting there.

To understand what Paul meant by being crucified with Christ, you must first understand the process of crucifixion. Here is a medical description of the suffering of Jesus from the book by Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ. The description is courtesy of Dr. Alexander Metherell.

“When Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was captured, he sweated blood out of distress about the crucifixion. “This is a known medical condition called hematidrosis. It’s not very common, but it is associated with a high degree of psychological stress,” Metherell adds.

“What this did was set up the skin to be extremely fragile so that when Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldier the next day, his skin would be very, very sensitive. Roman floggings were known to be terribly brutal. They usually consisted of 39 lashes but frequently were a lot more than that …

“The soldier would use a whip of braided leather thongs with metal balls woven into them,” he continued. “When the whip would strike the flesh, these balls would cause deep bruises or contusions, which would break open with further blows. And the whip had pieces of sharp bone as well which would cut the flesh severely.

“The back would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep, deep cuts. The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs. It was just terrible.

“A third century historian by the name of Eusebius described a flogging by saying, ‘The sufferer’s veins were laid bare and the very muscles, sinews and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.'”

Metherell adds, “We know that many people would die from this kind of beating even before they could be crucified.”

But Christ survived, only to face more suffering on the Cross.

Metherell then provides further medical analysis as he describes the site of the Cross where there was a vertical beam already in the ground. The Romans then drove tapered spikes through Christ’s wrists, attaching Him to a horizontal beam called a patibulum.

“This was a solid position that would lock the hand; if the nails had been driven through the palms, his weight would have caused the skin to tear and he would’ve fallen off the cross. So the nails went through the wrists. …

“It’s important to understand that the nail would go though the place where the median nerve runs,” Metherell says, explaining that this is the largest nerve going out of the hand and would be “crushed” by the pounding nail.

“Do you know the kind of pain you feel when you bang your elbow and hit your funny bone … well, picture taking a pair of pliers and squeezing (as he twists his hands) and crushing that nerve. The pain was absolutely unbearable.” Jesus’s feet were nailed and those nerves were similarly crushed.

The doctor explains that Christ’s arms would have been stretched 6 inches and his shoulders dislocated.

Strobel notes in his book that Metherell provides explicit details about how Christ died an “agonizingly, slow death by asphyxiation.” The doctor explains that the stress on the diaphragm put the chest into an inhaling position and that in order to exhale, Christ would have had to push up using his painful feet in order relieve pressure on the diaphragm and temporarily exhale. “In doing so, the nail would tear through the foot, eventually locking up against the tarsal bones.”

Metherell said this breathing motion would go on and on, Christ scraping His shredded back against the coarse wood until He became completely exhausted and unable to push up and breathe.

“As the person slows down his breathing, he goes into what is called respiratory acidosis — the carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid, causing the acidity of the blood to increase. This eventually leads to an irregular heart beat.”

“In fact, with his heart beating erratically, Jesus would have known that he was at the moment of death, which is when he was able to say, ‘Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ And then he died of cardiac arrest.”

Separated from that crucifixion by nearly two millenia, we are used to crosses of all kinds, including beautiful gold ones set with precious jewels. But the fathers of the church chose the cross as a symbol of their faith so that nobody would ever forget the terrible price Jesus paid for the sins of the world. Crucifixion was one of the most shameful deaths available and the founders of the church wanted to emphasize that Jesus bore our shame in his body.

When Paul says that he has been crucified with Christ, he means that he has confessed his sins, literally nailing them to a cross. Just as Jesus has died to the world, so Paul is announcing that he regards himself as dead to the world, paying attention only to the will of God through Jesus Christ, God’s Son. It is now the power of God through Christ Jesus that is keeping Paul alive, inspiring him, giving him the energy to do God’s work. Paul feels that Jesus has taken over his life, and he is thrilled about it.

Following Jesus is always an individual thing. One friend who owns a sailboat in Long Island has asked if God would force him to give up the sailboat. We replied, “Why?” That sailboat gives our friend entry into a group with whom we cannot identify, namely yacht owners. Jesus has died for yacht owners, so why won’t Jesus want our friend to keep his boat but use it to spread the good news of salvation?

We never know what God will do when we turn our lives over to Him completely. Millard Fuller was a millionaire chasing money until he met Clarence Jordan, a true believer who led him to the Lord and helped fuel the vision for housing for the poor. Fuller and his family wound up moving to Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo, where he realized the need for affordable housing. Fuller returned to the U.S. and founded Habitat for Humanity. By 2019, Habitat was helping families somewhere in the world gain housing every 21 seconds, an astounding record. Perhaps the most notable volunteer to work for Habitat has been former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. All of this began because Millard Fuller said “Yes” to Jesus, allowing Jesus to live in him.

Being crucified with Christ is not a one-time thing but is a daily decision. We can choose to go our own way or to follow Jesus. Yes, giving up our right to ourselves is painful, but living for Jesus makes it worth it. The difference is results. What will your choice be today?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord Jesus, we confess that we are sinners and without you we are nothing. Please come live in us and take over our lives so that people will see You in everything we do. In Your mighty and precious Name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 2:1-21 “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.

No Return to the Law

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Paul is still fuming about his struggles with the original disciples-all of them Jews, and particularly Peter. While Peter has been willing to live more or less like a Gentile, when Jewish Christians show up, Peter evidently eats only with them, pretending to be an observant Jew. Paul is sharp enough to realize that such double-dealing is only going to confuse all the non-Jewish believers who are streaming into the church.

While Paul is trying to preach freedom in Christ Jesus, Pater and the other Jews are sometimes playing religious gamers. Paul’s point is well taken; Jesus’ death and resurrection have created a chasm between the traditional Jews and Jewish believers in Christ. Attempting to stand with one foot on each side of that chasm will only lead to disaster.

The Ashantes in Ghana have a proverb that says, “We don’t tell strangers anything bad.” In other words, don’t bring out your problems in front of strangers. But Paul is deliberately describing his struggles with the Judaizers because individuals with this same mind set have already reached Galatia and are creating confusion there. Paul wants his new Galatian converts to find freedom in Christ to live holy lives, but he knows that observing a myriad of rules and regulations will only lead to frustration and heartbreak, not to holiness and peace.

Make no mistake. God gave the Mosaic Law to the Israelites at a time when they needed that Law. As it was, the Israelites refused to observe the Law, but only kept portions of it while they wandered off into idolatry. But now Jesus has come and has made the ultimate blood sacrifice for sin, so this new day demands new ways of thinking and acting. Jesus himself said that he came to fulfill the Law and not to set it aside. But Christians are now saved by believing in Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, not by the number of rules they are following.

“For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Paul wants to make this matter perfectly clear before he goes into the implications of this freedom. We will see that Paul wants believers to find new life in Jesus Christ and God the Father, not in rules. Righteousness cannot come through the Law. We will see how Paul tries to lead the Galatians into a new understanding of their freedom in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you have tried to find holiness by following rules. But the harder we try, the more frustrated we become, for there is no end to the number of rules or sub-rules. Come along with us as we follow Paul leading the Galatians into a new understanding of holiness. And ask yourself this: Can you say with Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please come and live in us so that You are the One who lives in our hearts and minds and who controls our lives. In Your mighty and precious Name, King Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 1:1-9 Paul introduces himself and justifies his ministry

“Paul, an apostle-sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead— and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!”

Sometimes we might think that things were far simpler in Biblical times and that there were fewer cults and misbeliefs. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Just study the story of the Exodus and you swiftly realize that there were all kinds of cults-fertility cults, death cults, cults demanding unusual practices, and even cults demanding sacrifices of live infants.

By Paul’s day, new cults are springing up combining some traditional Jewish practices with the actual Gospel as preached by Jesus. Many of the Judaizers are hoping to compromise, making themselves more acceptable to the Jewish religious hierarchy. These Judaizers insist on Gentiles adapting some Jewish practices and abandoning the freedom preached by Jesus.

Paul is absolutely furious! After spending large amounts of time teaching the Galatians the true Gospel, Paul now finds himself needing to correct a host of misconceptions. As a result, Paul uses stricter language here than in practically any of his other epistles, cursing those who twist the Gospel to suit themselves.

How can we defend ourselves from such problems? The solution is to study the Scriptures so thoroughly so that we know when someone is manipulating or using Scripture to lie. The key to such study is to ask God to guide us and to highlight those principles He wants us to gain from His Word.

James 1:5-8 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”  

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we need Your wisdom to learn Your ways and Your Word. Please guide us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

INTRODUCTION TO GALATIANS FROM INSIGHT FOR LIVING BY PASTOR CHUCK SWINDOLL

“Who wrote the book?

Galatians has always been among those Pauline epistles least challenged on the issue of authorship. Paul wrote to the churches in southern Galatia after having a hand in starting them on his first missionary journey to Asia Minor. Paul’s close relationship to these churches helps to explain the extremely strong tone he took with them from the very beginning of the letter. Galatians exhibits Paul at his angriest, as he risked the good favor of the converts in those churches to make sure they were on the path of truth and not led off into deception. In fact, to emphasize the seriousness of his purpose, he took the pen from his scribe and wrote the end of the letter himself in large letters (Galatians 6:11).

Where are we?

Upon arriving back in Antioch from his first missionary journey after eighteen months on the road, Paul received a report that the churches he had started in Galatia had fallen into hard times—specifically, they had fallen into error. A group of Judaizers—those who sought to make living under the Mosaic Law a requirement of the Christian faith—had gained an influence in the Galatian churches. Paul wrote the book a few months before his attendance at the Jerusalem Council in AD 49, a meeting where the apostles would take up this very topic (Acts 15:1–30).

Why is Galatians so important?

In advance of the Jerusalem Council, Paul’s letter speaks wisdom and clarity into the first real controversy that plagued the church in its early years—the relationship between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles. Paul’s aggressive tone shows just how important it was to him that the people embrace unity in Christ, no matter their racial distinctions. For him, this was no minor issue, as he went so far as to call the Galatians deserters of Christ, people turning from the truth toward a gospel contrary to the one they had received from Paul (Galatians 1:6–9).

What’s the big idea?

When the Galatians fell away so quickly from the gospel of grace Paul had preached to them, they also made clear their disloyalty to Paul’s authority as an apostle. Therefore, Paul began the letter to the Galatians by spending two chapters defending that very issue. Only in chapter 3 did he begin to get to the heart of their error; namely, that these Galatians sought to be justified by the Mosaic Law. In contrast, Paul presented his argument that justification comes to people by faith in Jesus Christ, not by their works under the Law.

Part of the problem that confronted the Galatians came in one of the arguments made by the Judaizers. These false teachers suggested that to live by grace and in freedom meant to live a lawless and therefore degenerate life. And so in the final chapters of the letter, Paul made clear that justification—an act of grace through faith—need not result in a sinful lifestyle. Because Christians have been freed from bondage to the sinful nature, we now have the path of holiness open to us. 

How do I apply this?

Unfortunately, the false teaching brought to the Galatian churches by the Judaizers has been extremely difficult to root out even today. We must walk a fine line—on one hand, we do not want to fall into the legalism that the Galatians struggled with, but on the other, we cannot just live as if anything goes. The Christian’s commitment to Christ is based on the free gift of grace through faith, but as Paul articulated at the end of Galatians, it also results in a life of walking by the Spirit.

Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in your life, or do you find yourself living according to the flesh or “the compulsions of selfishness” (Galatians 5:16–26 MESSAGE)? Too often we lose ourselves at the extremes, ending in a legalistic attempt to earn our salvation or a devil-may-care attitude about our sin.

Use Paul’s words in Galatians as an encouragement to pursue a life of holiness, not in your own strength but in the knowledge of God’s empowering grace in your life.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You and to seek Your leading to be holy. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 28:16-20 The Great Commission

“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Well, the disciples obey the instructions the angel at the tomb has given the women and go to Galilee, to a particular mountain. The actual location of this mountain is unknown because some of the Gospels mention the Mount of Olives. Matthew indicates that there is a mountain in Gali lee. John, the disciple closest to Jesus, describes a fishing expedition on the Sea of Galilee but then fails to mention the Ascension at all.

The actual location of Jesus’ ascension is not as important as his final instructions to his disciples. The interesting observation mentioned in passing here is that while the disciples worshiped Jesus, “some doubted.” Say what??? Jesus is standing right there in the flesh and some of the disciples are still DOUBTING??? They can touch Jesus and hear him speak and they are still doubting?

At any rate, Jesus isn’t worried because He knows that the Holy Spirit is soon coming, and the disciples will never be the same again, even the ones who are now doubting. Let’s look at Jesus’ orders.

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” As the risen Messiah, Jesus no longer must use parables but speaks plainly. Jesus is now the Risen and Glorified Son of God with all the divine authority of His Heavenly Father.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” Jesus has spent the last three years teaching the disciples and now it’s their turn. As modern disciples, we have the same mandate and the same orders. If we are truly to be Jesus’ disciples, we must study all the things he has commanded us.

“lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” As disciples, we can rest in the knowledge that Jesus will always be with us and that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit will always be there to guide us, encourage us, and strengthen us. We can go forth as disciples knowing that God is always with us. May God help us to trust, to obey, and to go forward making disciples throughout the rest of our lives!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and help us to continue to fulfill the Great Commission. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 28:1-8 He Is Risen

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.”

After two days of agony, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb at dawn to see the tomb and hopefully to complete the preparations on Jesus’ body they were unable to accomplish on the day of his crucifixion. As the two women approach the tomb, suddenly the earth begins to shake violently, the huge stone blocking the tomb door rolls back, and an angel sits on it. Meanwhile, the guards collapse in fright; however, the two women see the angel and remain calm. When the angel tells the women that Jesus is risen, they are thrilled and run to inform the disciples. 

Why are the women the ones who first get the glad news of Jesus’ resurrection? The women have remained faithful throughout the entire ordeal, the trial, the mocking procession to Calvary, the crucifixion, and the hasty burial. While the disciples have lost hope and are hiding somewhere, the women continue to patiently carry out their duties. Because of the faith and endurance of the women, they are the first ones to learn that Jesus really has risen from the dead.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that appear totally hopeless and we wonder why we are continuing to carry out our duties. Why not just give up? But our understanding of the Easter story is not complete unless we see those humble women coming to the tomb at first light to fulfill the assignments they had to leave undone on Friday evening. The magnificent thing about the One True Living God is that He meets us disciples in the middle of our trials and sends hope and courage when we are ready to give up.

Matthew 28:9-10 The Women Worship the Risen Lord

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The women are following the angel’s orders when Jesus meets them on the way. What if the women had just gone home and refused to tell anybody else? Jesus would never have met them. The women encounter Jesus because they are being faithful and obedient.

Matthew 28:11-15 The Soldiers Are Bribed

“Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”

The penalty for Roman guards deserting their post or failing in their duties is death. These men are probably shaking in their sandals as they report Jesus’ resurrection to the chief priests. But notice the response of the priests: do they change their minds about Jesus and his divine origin? No! All these men can think of is a cover-up.

Here the priests set an example of how to ignore a divine miracle when the details don’t match preconceived beliefs. Disciples must always be prepared to readjust their thinking when God steps in and moves radically.

As we consider the Easter story, let’s remember the faithfulness, obedience, and patience of the women. Let’s worship Jesus and follow His leading. And let’s remember that God is much greater than our preconceived notions. Those poor priests had spent their lives claiming to search for the Messiah, but when Messiah came, they were looking in the wrong direction.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to be patient, obedient, faithful, and ever-ready to readjust our thinking when Your miracles appear. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 27:45-66 Jesus Dies on the Cross

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.

The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

The centurion and his men have seen crucifixions before; in fact, they have carried out hundreds of them. Crucifixion is a cruel and dreary business, an act that leaves a stain on one’s conscience and spirit for weeks afterwards. Today there are only three candidates for crucifixion, that Jewish carpenter the priests and elders hate so much and two common criminals.

“Humph!” thinks the centurion as they begin putting these men on the cross.” These two guys aren’t nearly as evil as Barabbas, that guy Pilate released. What was Pilate thinking of anyway? And then there’s Jesus. Jesus healed my friend’s servant when the boy was nearly dead. Some other friends have watched Jesus heal blind people and deliver people from demons. No way does this man deserve to die! But orders are orders. Ah, Roma! What we get stuck doing in your service! After this, I’m going to offer a sacrifice to Mithras for cleansing.”

While the centurion is still musing, suddenly the sun disappears and everyone is enveloped in inky darkness. After three hours, those watching hear Jesus cry out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” Then Jesus cries out once more and dies; meanwhile, a heavy earthquake shakes all of Jerusalem, rending graves open and allowing righteous men and women buried there to rise from the dead and walk throughout the city. Witnesses are fleeing in terror, hiding wherever they can. The huge curtain in the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple is suddenly torn in two, top to bottom, despite the fact that it is 60 feet high, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick. Surely only the Hand of God can possibly do such a thing.

Nobody has to tell the centurion and his soldiers or the women watching about Jesus. The centurion himself says, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” As disciples, we might be familiar with this story, but do we stop to contemplate the power that could precisely time an earthquake, the resurrection of the dead, and the destruction of the temple curtain all simultaneously? Jesus’ obedience has released a power into the universe that has never been quenched.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.”

While nobody knows the precise location of Arimathea, authorities assume that it must have been within a day’s journey of Jerusalem so that Joseph could claim to be buried near Jerusalem. Cutting such a tomb into the stone would have been a major expense, so freely donating a brand-new tomb was a big sacrifice. By collecting Jesus’ body, Joseph was also identifying himself as one of Jesus’ followers, making himself a target for ostracism by the religious authorities in the process. As women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were less likely to come in for censure; after all, their opinions would scarcely count for anything.

Pilate Sets a Guard

On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”

This business of securing the tomb is no small affair. Not only is the stone rolled across the entrance, but there are also seals placed over the edges of the stone. The Logos forum tells us this: First, a strong rope was placed around the stone at the door of the tomb. Secondly, the two ends were drawn to the side of the door on the outer wall of the tomb. Thirdly, a wax or clay seal was placed on the rope where it crossed itself in front of the stone and where the rope touched the two sides of the tomb.”.. Breaking the seal would have been considered a defiance of Roman authority and would have resulted in the death penalty.”

Not only is the tomb sealed, but the Romans also set a guard over the tomb. Surely nobody will be foolish enough to tamper in such a situation! The Jewish Passover is still going on, meaning that families are continuing to observe the celebration and to refrain from work. Now the priests and elders and Pilate are certain that they are fully in control of the situation.

The temptation for us as disciples is to skip over that agonizing period of waiting. After all, we know that Easter is coming and Jesus will rise from the dead. The power of God will roll back that stone, bursting the seals, and causing those soldiers to collapse as if they are dead. But if we do skip that period, we are missing something critically important. Many times, we may encounter situations that appear to be as hopeless as that of the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Our hopes are dead, our dreams are shattered, and we think all is completely lost. We weep bitter tears, sure that there’s nothing God can do to rectify the situation… and we are wrong! God specializes in resurrections. God is always doing new things, bringing streams in the desert, springs in the valley, leveling heights and forging new ways where none existed before.

Perhaps you are currently in an “Easter Saturday” mode. Things have fallen apart and you see no means of recovery. Wait and see!

Psalm 126 tells us, “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” May God who grants all new beginnings deliver you out of your captivity and fill your mouth with laughter and your tongue with singing!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are discouraged, down-hearted, and beaten. We have run out of energy, strength, and hope. Lord, do great things for us! Make new paths! Lead us in new ways! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.