Burunche’s Blog

MATTHEW 28: 16 “Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus had completed His mission. The Messiah had come into Jerusalem, had died, shedding innocent blood, had risen from the dead, and had showed Himself to His followers. Now it was time for Jesus’ final act on earth: His ascension into heaven.

The location of the ascension is in dispute. Some sources say Bethany, just outside Jerusalem. Matthew describes a mountain in Galilee. Actually, it’s not the physical location that matters; it’s what Jesus told His disciples just before He left.

1.” All authority (all power) in heaven and on earth has been given to me” As the risen glorified Lord, Jesus could speak from a position of ultimate authority.

2. “Go and make disciples of all nations” Jesus’s disciples are to train others in the ways of the kingdom, just as Jesus trained them.

3. Baptizing them (the new disciples) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Here Jesus reinforces the concept of the Holy Trinity and orders the disciples to continue the practice of baptism as a symbol of dying to sin and resurrecting to new life

4. “and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” The disciples were to be very careful to pass on the teachings of Jesus and not something else or something more.

Dallas Willard in his book “The Great Omission” makes the point that today very few Christians are actually making disciples. Willard writes, “We have lost discipleship largely because, in the evangelical tradition, we have lost Christ as Teacher. The idea of Christ as Teacher no longer means much, if anything at all, to evangelicals. Willard emphasizes that three things are necessary: “conviction of sin, conversion to a godly life of faith, and testimony to the saving work of God in the soul.” Without these elements, it is impossible to make disciples. Sadly, many people who attend churches today are not disciples but merely members. Membership cannot lead to a life ablaze with the glory of God.

PRAYER: Father God, forgive us! We have tried to make following Jesus easy when it is not. We have settled for substitutes. Lord, open our eyes. Enlighten our hearts. And help us to truly love You and truly follow You all the days of our lives. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Luke 24:⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus and the disciples are in the upper room. Jesus has made his appearance and has demonstrated that he is not a ghost by eating a piece of fish and by allowing the disciples to touch him and to feel his wounds. Now Jesus is explaining his death and resurrection to the disciples, as well as giving the disciples an idea of their future ministry. Luke tells us that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” For hundreds of years, men had been reading those same Scriptures in the temple, but they didn’t fully understand what the Scriptures were talking about. Now Jesus, the greatest Teacher of all time, helps the disciples to understand the Scriptures that they had read all their lives.

1. Jesus reminds the disciples of the prophecies regarding the Messiah.

2. Jesus advises the disciples that they have been eye witnesses to the fulfillment of these prophecies.

3. Jesus tells the disciples to stay in Jerusalem “until you have been clothed with power from on high.” At that point, the disciples were probably looking at each other and shrugging their shoulders some more.

Jesus opened the disciples’ minds to the Scriptures. God doesn’t play favorites. If we ask God to help us understand His Word, He will do so. And we should be asking for enlightenment each time we study the Scriptures. The more we study the Scriptures, the more we will understand about God and the closer we will come to God. Studying the Scriptures is like giving your mind a refreshing bath; you feel mentally and emotionally clean.

The disciples were eye witnesses to Jesus’ death and resurrection. We too have seen God working in our lives; each time we share what God has done for us, we are glorifying Him.

God had definite plans for the disciples. God has definite plans for each one of us. Right now many of us are at home due to the threat of COVID – 19. Rather than becoming frustrated, ask God what He wants you to do during this time. Trust God that He has definite plans and purposes for you, even now.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that just as you had plans and purposes for the disciples, so you also have plans and purposes for us. Help us to seek your will for our lives and not to waste this precious time that you are giving us. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Luke 24: ³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” ⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

When Cleopas and his friend realized that Jesus had walked with them all the way to Emmaus, they were so excited that they nearly ran all the way back to Jerusalem! They must have been panting and near collapse as they informed their friends that they had seen Jesus. Just about the time the other disciples were ready to call these guys crazy, Jesus appeared. To prove that he was not a ghost, Jesus had the disciples touch him and see that he had a solid body. Then Jesus ate a piece of fish, something no ghost could ever do.

Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be resurrected. (Isaiah 53: 11 “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…”) Now the disciples were witnesses. The shock and joy of seeing Jesus in the flesh must have been incredible! The resurrection WAS real! Nobody had stolen Jesus’ body; his resurrected body was there in that room – clean, no sign of decay, no blood, no evil. The disciples were literally overjoyed!

For the rest of their lives, the disciples would never forget that night with Jesus! The Romans and the priests thought they had killed him, but they were wrong! It’s possible that in that room there were men who knew some of the people who had screamed for Jesus’ blood. Early the next morning, those disciples were probably out telling everybody they knew that they had actually touched Jesus. (Nobody ventured out in the streets at night if they could help it; you never knew when a Roman guard might decide to harass or arrest you.) And that experience and the experiences that followed in the next few days stayed with those disciples for the rest of their lives. They could face anything; they had touched Jesus!

PRAYER: Father God, this morning, we want to touch Jesus! Some of us are tired or frightened or anxious about loved ones. Some of us must work in dangerous places. Lord, touch us with your mighty power! Give us grace and wisdom and courage and joy, so that we will follow you no matter what you ask us to do. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.

Luke 24:13 That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 And as they talked and deliberated, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stood still, with sadness on their faces. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in recent days?19 “What “The events involving Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action before God and all the people. 20 Our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death, and they crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping He was the One who would redeem Israel. And besides all this, it is the third day since these things took place.

22 Furthermore, some of our women astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 but they did not find His body. They came and told us they had seen a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had described. But Him they did not see.”

25 Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself. 28 As they approached the village where they were headed, He seemed to be going farther. 29 But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”

So He went in to stay with them. 30 While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, gathered together 34 and saying, “The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.“

Grief and worry can do strange things! Here were two serious followers of Jesus who had listened carefully to everything that Jesus had said, had hoped that He was the Messiah, but now because women had brought a report about angels, they couldn’t believe but still doubted. It’s crazy but true that many times we are so caught up in the way we think God is going to answer our prayers that when God does something far more wonderful, we refuse to believe it! WE have God in a box! WE know exactly what God should be doing. Meanwhile, God is standing there saying, “Look! Over here! You wanted something small while I am giving you mighty miracles! Come see what I am doing!”

There was nothing wrong with Cleopas and his friend, except that their vision of the Messiah was far too small. Today the world is convulsed by a pandemic and many people are living in terror. But what if God is using this threat to do new things throughout the world? Doctors and nurses who never thought of God at all are now turning to Him. Prayers are going up as never before. And new kinds of simple ventilators and other equipment are being produced. None of this have happened without the pandemic.

We grieve for every person who has died with COVID – 19. But in the midst of tragedy, God is bringing forth new things that will help millions. It was as a result of the Spanish Flu pandemic that many new advances came forth, including the Empyema Commision, that helped medical workers deal with lung complications more effectively.

Today we are on the Emmaus Road. There is One who walks beside us who wants to teach us. Let us open our ears and hear what the Master has to say. And He will make Himself known to us in the breaking of the bread.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you are doing new things! Please help us to follow hard after You and to trust where we cannot see. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

MATTHEW 28: 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” 8 So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. 10“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go, tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”

The men had stayed back that morning. After all, it was really women’s work, and anyway, by now the body would be starting to smell. No! Far better to let the women handle applying the spices and re – wrapping the body. The men would stay in the city and discuss important issues.

“Mary! Will you please hurry up! We need to get to the tomb and take care of Jesus’ body.” “I’m coming as fast as I can. But I’m carrying all these spices. But how we are going to get that stone rolled away so we can get into the tomb is beyond me. And what is that terrible noise! It sounds like an earthquake! Watch out for those rocks!”

It was always the women. It was the women who followed Jesus. It was the women who helped care for Jesus and the disciples. And when Jesus was crucified, it was the women who faithfully followed all the way to Golgotha. The Romans weren’t worried about the women; after all, what could mere females do? So it was the women who helped take down the body, who washed the body, and who helped wrap the body as it was laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. And now those same women were about to be paid in full for their faithfulness.

It was not the disciples who witnessed the earthquake or the angel of the Lord descending and rolling away the stone. It was the women. And it was those same women who carried the glorious news of the resurrection and who were the first ones to see the resurrected Savior with the eyes of faith.

God delights in the humble and loves to give them delight! These ladies were given the honor of sharing the greatest news ever announced. Jesus was risen! Jesus had conquered death and the grave!

Today you may feel that you are working in a very obscure position, with few people to notice or care what you do. Perhaps you are working behind the scenes while others are taking credit or getting publicity. Never forget that it was the women who had followed Jesus and quietly cared who were given such singular honor. God knows! God sees! Be encouraged! If you fulfill your duties faithfully, God will honor you. And rejoice! Easter has come! Jesus is risen! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

PRAYER: Father God, thank you! thank you! thank you! You sent Jesus to live as a man, to die for our sins, and to rise victorious from the grave! We have no words that are adequate! We can only thank you and praise you and accept Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins! Amen! HALLELUJAH!

Matthew 27: 57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.” 65 “You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.”

Jesus was dead! The women had watched as the soldiers thrust a spear into his side and blood and water flowed out. They had helped take the body down from the cross and had done what they could to help prepare the body. There was very little that could be done because Jesus died at 3 PM and the Shabbat had to start at sundown, or roughly 6 PM. So there was relatively little that could be done until the Sabbath was over. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy disciple who had prepared a tomb for himself and now offered it as a place for Jesus’ body. This act fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53: 9 that said “He was assigned a grave with the wicked,and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

No, there was nothing that anyone could do. All they could do was to go quietly and celebrate the Sabbath and try to nurse their broken hearts. All of the hopes and dreams of Jesus’ followers seemed to lay in the dust, shattered and completely destroyed. Sometimes we feel like those followers of Jesus. We have hoped. We have struggled. We have sacrificed, and it looks as if it was all for nothing. We torment ourselves with questions: “Should I have been wiser? Should I have kept more of my resources for myself? Should I have refused to take that risk?” We pray, but it seems as if the heavens are brass; there are no answers forthcoming, at least that we can see or hear or understand.

But, unbeknownst to Jesus’ followers, Jesus had already conquered! When Jesus cried out that “it was finished!” he really meant it. Everything in Jesus’ life had led up to the moment in which he cried out. Jesus was in anguish, so this was a cry of anguish. But Jesus was also victorious! He had made it successfully to the finish line. He had fulfilled the ultimate purpose of his life. He was through! And as Jesus gave up his breath and died as a human being, he was released into victorious eternal life. Why was it necessary for Jesus to wait until Easter morning? Why didn’t he just rise right then? Let me suggest something: Jesus’ followers weren’t ready for an instant resurrection.

Peter needed to thoroughly and completely face the fact that he had denied Jesus; he needed the full force of that denial to work its way in his soul so that he would never again judge someone else hastily. We don’t know what issues the other disciples were dealing with, but we do know that none of them had been able to stay awake in Gethsemane. That failure alone must have haunted those men. No, spiritual change does not take place instantly; it takes suffering and time to reflect.

God’s timing is perfect. Many times we feel that God has really made some mistakes! How can He possibly insist that we suffer sickness or poverty or loss of money or jobs or friends or loved ones? But the fact remains that we learn very little from prosperity and a great deal from suffering. And God is too great to allow us to wallow in our mediocrity; it is God’s goal to “bring many sons to glory,” to help us to mature as believers.

Today you may feel like those disciples on Easter Saturday. You see no hope. But don’t give up. God is always doing new things, and He shows up when and where you least expect Him.

PRAYER: Father God, we come to you in our despair. We had such high hopes and now it seems that everything we have treasured is being taken away from us. But Lord, you are the One who gave us friends and loved ones and everything else that we had in the first place. Thank you that no matter how hopeless it appears, you are faithful and you have proven your faithfulness by sending Jesus to die for our sins and to rise from the dead. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.

Matthew 27: Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. ² So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor….¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd…²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” …

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

These verses are selected from Matthew 27. Jesus was falsely accused, beaten, mocked, spat upon, and tortured before being led out to be crucified. Crucifixion was the most cruel death the Romans could devise. Prisoners would be nailed to the cross through their wrists or palms. ( There is controversy about these details.) There was a small ledge on which the crucified man could stand, but the only way he could breathe was to force himself upward. Jesus hung on the cross for 6 hours while the Roman soldiers played dice for his clothing. The religious leaders stood at a distance and screamed insults at him. Even one of the thieves crucified with Jesus made fun of him, although the second thief repented and begged for salvation. (Luke 23:39-43)

Why did Jesus have to suffer? Jesus was the only perfectly sinless man in the history of the world. Jesus had done nothing wrong; yet, he was killed. It was love that sent Jesus to Jerusalem, love that kept Jesus quiet as he was accused, love that moved Jesus as the soldiers beat him and shoved a crown of thorns on his head, love that gave him the strength to stumble through the streets of Jerusalem, and love that kept him still as those horrible spikes were driven into his arms and feet.

This suffering was for you! This suffering was for me! None of us is good enough to earn our way into heaven. Only the blood of a sinless man could pay that sin debt. Will you not accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord? He went to the cross for you! He loves you! Open your heart to him today!

PRAYER: FATHER GOD, PLEASE LET EVERYONE WHO READS THESE WORDS ACCEPT THE SACRIFICE OF YOUR SON JESUS ON THE CROSS. CHANGE OUR HEARTS, LORD! HAD WE BEEN THERE, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF THE MOB DEMANDING JESUS’ BLOOD. FORGIVE US OUR SINS! CLEANSE OUR HEARTS! SAVE US! IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS. AMEN.

Matthew 26:³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” …. ⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him… ⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward….⁷³ After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

DISAPPOINTMENT! ARREST! TRIED ON FALSE CHARGES! BETRAYED BY A CLOSE FRIEND! All of these things happened to Jesus on that Thursday night. Jesus and the disciples went out to a place where there was an olive press so that he could pray, but the disciples were exhausted and fell asleep, leaving Jesus to pray alone. Then a mob came to arrest Jesus, led by Judas, who had promised to indicate Jesus by a kiss. (This is ridiculous, right? Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was witnessed by thousands of people, he taught for days on the teaching steps of the temple, and he healed people and performed miracles. So why does Judas feel it necessary to point out Jesus? Perhaps Judas was fed up and disgusted. Jesus hadn’t behaved the way Judas wanted and Judas was ready to let the religious leaders have him. Or was it that Judas already was demonically influenced and the demons just got a further hold on him?

Then there were the trials. Trials were not supposed to take place at night; however, the religious people hated Jesus so much that they were willing to ignore their own tradition. Besides, the Sabbath was coming and they wanted to tie up all the loose ends so that they could celebrate the Passover Sabbath properly.

And finally, Peter denied knowing Jesus. To his dying day, Peter never forgot that moment when he claimed he did not know Jesus, only for Jesus to look straight across that courtyard into Peter’s eyes. And at that moment, Peter knew that Jesus had heard him and that this was the moment Jesus had predicted earlier in the evening. It was a terrible moment for Peter and yet a very important one. As a leader of the early church, Peter would be compassionate with others because he remembered that moment in the courtyard.

Today, some of us or our friends or family members are undergoing unimaginable suffering. We are sure that nobody can possibly understand what we are going through. But Jesus knows! Jesus cares! The sufferings of that night were only the prelude to the agonies Jesus was to suffer on Good Friday.

There is a Savior. His Name is Jesus. And He cares!

PRAYER: Father God, hear our cries! We are suffering! We are afraid! Some of us are alone with nobody to comfort us or to help us! But you, O Lord, are the God who hears and sees and knows. Please, Father, save us. Help us. And give us your peace. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Matthew 26:⁷ On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸ He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. ²⁰ When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” ²² They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” ²³ Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” ²⁵ Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” ²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” ³⁰ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Passover had come and Jesus and the disciples were celebrating it together with bread and wine. As an observant Jew, Jesus had celebrated 32 Passovers; now he was celebrating the last Passover he would see as a man. Jesus knew his time was short. Jesus also knew that Judas had already done a deal with the religious rulers. All during Jesus’ ministry, Judas had been the treasurer; however, he also had been systematically stealing. What a sad situation! Judas was sent out to preach and to do miracles just like the other disciples. Judas had seen Jesus raise the dead, heal the sick, cast out demons, and heal the blind and lame; yet, none of this moved Judas. Jesus even washed Judas’ feet just as he did for the other disciples.

Jesus knew what would happen that night. Jesus knew that when the Romans came to arrest him, his disciples would desert him. But Jesus also knew that those same disciples would later repent and would become heroes of the faith. The real tragedy was Judas, because Judas betrayed Jesus for the price of the lowest kind of slave. When Jesus gave Judas that piece of bread, even then Judas could have still repented. Judas could have pulled Jesus off into a corner and confessed his betrayal, and Jesus would have forgiven him. Judas could have refused to meet up with the soldiers….but he didn’t.

Judas’ tragedy is our tragedy. So many times God has moved in our lives, and yet we have made excuses, brushed Him off, or even taken credit when all the time it was God who helped us. Now we all are facing the threat of COVID – 19 and many of us are turning to God. But if that threat passes and we survive, will we continue to be faithful or will we give ourselves the credit and turn away from God?

As we consider the events of that Passover night, we must ask ourselves this question: would I do any better than Judas?

PRAYER: Father God, please forgive us! So many times we have promised to follow you, only to draw back. Lord, forgive us. Give us faithful hearts so that we will follow you, no matter how difficult things may be. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Lord, forgive us! Lord, save us! In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 21:33 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. 35 But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

36 Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?” 41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew He was speaking about them. 46 Although they wanted to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they considered Jesus a prophet.

Jesus is in the last few days of his life. He is trying as hard as he can to teach his disciples as much as possible before he has to leave them. In those last few days, Jesus crammed in so much wisdom about the kingdom, and he did it in the form of parables. We cannot possibly study all of those teachings in a short devotional, but this parable as much as any illustrates what Jesus knew was going to happen to him.

Jesus knew he was going to die. Jesus knew that it would be the religious people who would have him killed out of fear and anger and jealousy. Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies already spoken about him centuries earlier. Jesus also knew that he was that stone that the builders had rejected. But was Jesus saying these things to the religious leaders out of hatred? No! Absolutely not! Jesus loved those Pharisees. Jesus was preparing to die just as much for the Pharisees and the Roman soldiers and even for Herod and Pontius Pilate. And had the Pharisees allowed Jesus’ teachings to penetrate their hearts, they could still have turned and followed him.

Jesus was going to die. But he was offering all who heard him the opportunity to repent and follow him. Had the Jews not handed Jesus over to the Romans, the Romans would probably have arrested him anyway. Rome did not tolerate anyone who remotely looked like a potential leader of an uprising. Only a few years earlier, the Romans had crucified a number of Jewish rebels, so one more crucifixion was no big deal to them. And the saddest part of the whole thing was that Jesus KNEW those Pharisees. Jesus was both God and man, and as God he knew those Pharisees. He could look at those Pharisees and remember them as little boys when they still really wanted to serve God, before their hearts became proud and hard. How it must have broken Jesus’ heart as he looked at those Pharisees, especially the younger ones, and foresaw the suffering they would eventually have at the hands of the Romans. And the greatest tragedy was that while Jesus was offering eternal life, most of the Pharisees were choosing something else and something less.

Today many of us stand on the brink of eternity. As I am writing this, we have learned that the Prime Minister of England is now in Intensive Care and terribly sick. Social media feeds give us stories of suffering and death. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to follow Jesus. None of us is promised tomorrow.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for sending Jesus to live as a man and die for our sins and to rise from the dead, conquering death and the grave. Lord, help all who read this to realize it was love that sent Jesus to the cross, love that kept him there, and love that raised him from the dead. Please, Lord, let everyone who reads this come to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.