Peace and Forgiveness

Posted on by korgrocker

“Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.””
John 20:21-23 NLT

Once again Jesus said “Peace be with you”. In a world that had seen the disciples’ bumpy ride following Jesus in His ministry, the chaos was continuing in their souls. They had seen the miracles, the dead raised, Jesus walking on water. They had received training for the future in Jesus’ University of Kingdom Life. They had experienced the abuse from the Jewish leaders. They had even gone out themselves, healing the sick and preaching the good news about the Kingdom of God. And now, following a couple of days of grieving for their crucified Leader, entombed and graveyard dead, He was now standing with them, alive and well, in a locked room. And He said “Peace …”. They needed a shed load of that, for sure.

Jesus then said to them, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” The disciples commissioned, sent out to continue Jesus’ mission. The handing on of the Kingdom baton, charged with the message of hope for an otherwise dying race of people. Then Jesus breathed on them. This wasn’t just a febrile puff. It was a full throated blast of air from the bottom of Jesus’ lungs, emulating what was to come on the Day of Pentecost, where the disciples would indeed “Receive the Holy Spirit”. The connection was that on their own, and in their own strength, they would be unable to carry out their mission. They would need the Holy Spirit without doubt, empowering them and working through them each and every day. 

Jesus continued, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”. Does that mean that Jesus was giving the disciples the authority to forgive sins? That can’t be true of course, because only God can forgive sins. There seems to be a problem with the translation, according to Greek scholars, and a better translation might be, “If sins have already been forgiven, then they are forgiven. If they have already been retained then they are not forgiven”. Perhaps another of the Bible’s foibles that needs further scrutiny, which is why we need to read the Scriptures often and in depth, prayerfully asking God to reveal the meaning of His Word.

Peace and forgiveness are both features of God’s Kingdom living. We pilgrims can experience both on our journey to Glory.

Dear Father God. Living in Your Kingdom here on earth provides a foretaste of what is to come, and we are so grateful. Amen.

Stop Clinging

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.”
John 20:15-18 NASB

What else could Mary Magdalene do? Here was the Man, Jesus Himself, who she had seen being crucified and dying on the cross. She knew that He had been buried in a sealed tomb. Yet here He was, standing before her. In spite of the misogynistic culture of those days, Mary was overcome with all sorts of emotions, and just couldn’t help herself. She gave Jesus a big hug. How long it went on for we don’t know, but Jesus had an important message for her to take to His  brothers, the disciples. Factually, and unemotionally, John wrote that Mary “came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”. I suspect that, if I had been a fly on the wall, I would have found it was more than that. Mary would have burst into the room where the disciples were and exploded with shouts of joy as she delivered the message Jesus had given to her. But what would those disciples who were there have made of her display of emotion? We know that Peter and John had seen the empty tomb, so they must have been wondering. But, as cold logic goes, a corpse does not just climb out of a grave and start a conversation with a random woman who just happens to be there. The disciples must have had some thoughts about the reliability of the woman’s account. That something significant had happened would have been without doubt, but Jesus, risen, alive and well? Surely that can’t be true, must have been their thoughts. 

In a way, Mary was a very fortunate woman, who saw the fruit of her commitment to Jesus. Note that there were no disciples hanging around the tomb that Easter Sunday morning. The experience of being the first to see and hold the risen Jesus would never have left her, and I’m sure that there came a day when she was with Him again. Hearing His voice once again say, “Mary”, as she crossed the Great Divide. As we pilgrims take our final breaths, our spirits will also follow Mary into our new home. Will we too renew our friendship with Jesus as He calls our name? We won’t have had the opportunity to cling to Jesus but we can talk to Him in prayer. We can fellowship with Him, walking with Him through the Gospel pages. Constantly wondering about how He loved us so much that He did what He had to do, just for You and me.

Dear Lord Jesus. Will we really hear You call our name one day, as You welcome us into Your home? Thank You for all You did that weekend long ago. Amen.

Rabboni

Posted on by korgrocker

“She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).”
John 20:14-16 NLT

Mary Magdalene had just received a vision of two angels in the empty tomb, seen through her tears of grief, and she was now turning away to leave, broken-hearted. But she then became aware that there was someone standing there. The person asked her why she was crying and who she was looking for. Perhaps at this point she thought there was something familiar about the person she saw, but her first impression was that she was conversing with the gardener, who was looking after the cemetery where the empty tomb was situated. She thought that perhaps it was he who could have removed the body of Jesus, so Mary asked where He was now so that she could make other arrangements for His burial. But there was then a pivotal moment in Mary’s life. The person before her knew her name and spoke it out. And all of a sudden, Mary turned to the Person before her and called out “Rabboni”, which we are told means “Teacher”. She recognised it was Jesus standing before her. But why refer to Him as Teacher? It explains much about their relationship, because she could have used His name, or Master, or Lord. The word “Rabboni” signified respect and her close friendship with Jesus, and could even have raised her expectations that Jesus had returned from the dead, as He said He would, to continue His ministry. 

That moment on the first Easter Sunday morning brought a message of hope, not only to Mary, but to the disciples and for anyone reading this Biblical account over the years since it was written by John. There were many ways in which Jesus could have used Mary’s name. Harshly, unfeelingly, or even dismissively, but I’m sure that when Jesus used her name, Mary felt waves of love and acceptance wash over her. Had Jesus spoken her name before? He must have done because in Luke 8:2 we read, “along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons“. Mary had been a follower of Jesus for some time, grateful for her release from demonic influences, and she knew Him as her Teacher and friend. 

There were several times when Jesus called someone by their name. Worthy of note is the time when Jesus called the dead Lazarus, now resurrected, from the grave. The account is in John 11, but in verse 43 we read, “Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”” But before Mary on the Easter Sunday morning it was the resurrected Jesus who was calling out another name.

Our names are important to God. We get a glimpse of God’s love for us from Isaiah 49:14-16, “Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.” “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins“. In Hebrews 13:5b we read, “ … I will never fail you. I will never abandon you”. We pilgrims are truly favoured children of God and He knows our names. And sometimes in a moment of quiet, He whispers them so that we can receive the assurance that He is still there and is still with us. One day each of us will receive a new name that will only be known to Jesus and to us. Revelation 2:17b, “ …  And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it“. 

Dear fellow pilgrims, our names are important to both us and to God. There was no special relationship between Jesus and Mary, exclusive just to them. Jesus knows our names too because we matter to Him. He loves us and will never abandon us. Ever.

Father God. We can only pray prayers of thanks and worship today, saying that we love You Lord, and we always will. Thank You. Amen.

The Empty Tomb

Posted on by korgrocker

“She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.
John 20:2-10 NLT

John’s account of the first Easter Sunday morning continued to be factual, providing details of the events following Mary Magdalene’s startling news that the tomb was empty. We don’t know where Peter and John were when they heard the news but they wasted no time in getting there and we then read of what they saw. No body and the grave-clothes, the “linen wrappings”, just lying there, as though the structure, the body, that was holding them in shape, had suddenly disappeared, leaving them to collapse under their own weight. It is significant that the two disciples didn’t just assume that someone had stolen the body, because if that was the case, the graveclothes would either not have been there, or would have been lying in an unravelled heap. But Peter and John immediately “saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead”. And the verses today end with the underwhelming statement that “they went home”. Really? I expect that they were talking excitedly with each other, even offering prayers to God requesting an explanation. If social media had been around in those days, their Facebook pages would have been buzzing. Everyone in their WhatsApp group would have received a message. But John was now a believer in Christ. Before, he was a disciple and friend of Jesus, now he said that he believed. 

To be fair to the two men, the events that Sunday morning were far outside their experience. Nothing like this had ever happened before, certainly in their lifetimes. So what was going to happen next? They were in uncharted waters and were probably feeling that they had lost control of their lives. But there had to be an empty tomb. If Jesus had still been inside a grave then there would be no Christianity. No eternal life. No Holy Spirit as we know Him. After all that Jesus had said, then if He was still in the tomb today, then He would have had no credibility at all. But, praise God, the tomb was empty. Demonstrably so. In Acts 13:35-37 we read, “Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay“. The Holy Spirit prophesied through David when he wrote Psalm 16, enabling him to see down the centuries to an empty tomb.

We thank God today for the empty tomb. There is no other religion on earth today where their god came to earth, born as a human baby and after their death, left behind an empty tomb. I love Matthew’ account where the angel rolled away the tomb and then sat on it. A touch of humour that seemed to say that it would take more than a lump of rock to keep Jesus in the grave. There was no tomb on earth that could retain the Son of God because, as Jesus said, He not only had the power to lay down His life. He also had the power to take it up again. We worship a living Saviour today, not mourn and grieve in front of a grave, marked with the gravestone inscription, “Here lies Jesus, the Son of God”.

Dear Lord Jesus. There was no power that could keep You dead and buried. And today You await us in Heaven, having gone before us. Thank You. Amen.

The Stone

Posted on by korgrocker

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!””
John 20:1-2 NLT
“On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?””
Mark 16:3 NLT
“Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.”
Matthew 28:2-3 NLT

The question, “Who rolled the stone away”, is answered in Matthew’s Gospel. As he wrote, “an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it”. There were a number of guards there, ensuring that no-one came to steal the body and Matthew records that “The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint” (Matthew 28:4). These were seasoned soldiers, battle hardened, and not easily scared. But they saw something early that morning that had a devastating effect on them. It was only Matthew who recorded in his Gospel that an angel rolled away the stone, accompanied by a “great earthquake”, and the amusing part of the story is that the angel then sat on the stone, almost as though he was saying that it would take more than a stone to hold Jesus in the tomb. The stone would have been very heavy, and it took at least two men to move it into place – Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus. So the women who came to the tomb that first Easter Sunday morning were of course concerned about how they would remove it. But they needn’t have worried – the task had already been done.

John records that it was only Mary Magdalene who came to visit the tomb and it was still dark. She must have had little sleep, and was probably feeling a bit frustrated that she couldn’t have been there before, prevented by the Sabbath and Passover events. Mary reached the tomb and immediately she must have assumed that the body of Jesus had been removed, so John records that she ran to find Peter and John, to let them know. In some ways this was a nightmare scenario for Jesus’ friends, because they were unable to complete the burial process. 

We read the account and immediately we are aware of the authenticity of what happened. Small details emerge in the different accounts and come together to set a backdrop for the events yet to come. The rolled away stone emerged as a symbol of the empty tomb, as though God was saying that there was nothing that could keep His Son in an earthly grave. If the story of Jesus had ended with a sealed up tomb then there would be no pilgrims like us, and I wouldn’t be writing these words down. But the stone signified the start of Christianity, and believers in Jesus have increased in every period of history ever since. Were Jesus’ friends and the first disciples starting to feel that something significant was about to happen, as reports of the empty tomb started to circulate? We’ll soon find out.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Jesus, the One who left the tomb, alive and well. Without the empty grave we would have had no faith or belief in Jesus for His forgiveness for our sins. We are so grateful and we worship You this morning. Amen.

Nick and Joe

Posted on by korgrocker

“Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”
John 19:38-42 NLT

In spite of the conspiracy theories that claimed Jesus never died on the cross and that He just “swooned”, Jesus definitely died that fateful day. The Roman soldier, used to seeing death, confirmed it with his spear, and the two Jewish leaders (secret disciples of Jesus), took Jesus’ body down from the cross and prepared His body for burial, tightly wrapping it in sheets of linen interspersed with a large quantity of spices. That they were fooled into thinking Jesus was dead when He was still alive, is so unlikely that such an event can be discounted as being totally untrue. There are all sorts of legends around Joseph but little about him can be found in the Bible. He may have been a relative of Jesus and, because Jesus’ father, Joseph, was no longer around, he may have taken on the responsibility of dealing with Jesus’ body, hence Pilate’s willingness to allow him to do so. Nicodemus we know more about, as we can read in John 3. After preparing the body, the two men laid Jesus in a new tomb, that Matthew recorded had been prepared for Joseph. But Nicodemus and Joseph were in a bit of a hurry because the start of the Passover celebrations were imminent. The proximity of the tomb to the place of execution helped them greatly.

This factual account of what happened to Jesus’ body forms another facet of the Good Friday events. They were just normal details of the process of dealing with the dead. Nothing really worthy of note at all. But John included them, facts for which we’re grateful. To just have been told that Jesus died and was buried, although true, would not have provided the authenticity that has helped people come to faith in Jesus ever since.

What do we pilgrims think of the arrest, trial, whipping, crucifixion and then burial of Jesus? It of course has formed the bedrock of our faith, that Jesus went through all of that and in the process took on the punishment we so richly deserved for our sins. It was a time when Heaven and earth collided, when sins performed in the body on earth, were forgiven in Heaven, implementing God’s plan for the salvation of the world. But, as we will find out, it didn’t just end with a body in a tomb. Jesus’ body rested there for a while as His Spirit spent time elsewhere. But we pilgrims look at the story before us with horror, that God would allow His Son to suffer what He did, but also with gratitude that His love for us was so great that Jesus’ death was a price worth paying. 

Dear Father God. We pray prayers of gratitude this morning. We worship You with wonder in our hearts. We once again confess our sins, knowing that You will forgive us and wipe the record clean. Thank You Lord. Amen.

No Broken Bones

Posted on by korgrocker

“It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their dead bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) These things happened in fulfilment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and “They will look on the one they pierced.””
John 19:31-37 NLT

A factual account from John, providing an insight into Jewish religious culture. The Jewish leaders wanted to avoid having the gruesome sight of men, still alive, but in the process of death by crucifixion, hanging on crosses on the Sabbath, the following day. So the custom in those days was to hasten death by breaking the legs of the people involved, so that they could only hang by their arms, which would accelerate death from asphyxiation. The unfortunate two thieves were dealt with in this way, but John’s account records that Jesus was already dead. To make sure, the Roman soldier speared Jesus, and blood and water flowed out of the wound, something that has been confirmed as being medically accurate for a recently deceased person. Once again, John then reminds his readers that Scripture has been fulfilled, with prophecies from Psalm 34:20, “For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!” and Zechariah 12:10, “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died“. 

As an aside, modern communion services often allude to Jesus’ sacrifice and His body broken at Calvary. But this isn’t factually correct because none of Jesus’ bones were broken. A better way is to thank God for how Jesus gave Himself for sinners. 

We pilgrims always stay close to Jesus on the Cross, reminding ourselves of the time when He selflessly and deliberately chose to die, taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of mankind, so that through Him we will receive forgiveness. Before the Cross, the ground is level, with no one able to claim better treatment than anyone else. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And we can only marvel at the audacity and success of God’s gracious salvation plan. The devil was defeated that day and he can never prevent a sinner saved by grace from entering God’s presence. He can never anymore wield control over those who believe in Jesus. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We fall on our knees and worship the Saviour of the World, Your Son Jesus. Amen.

It Is Finished

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfil Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
John 19:28-30 NLT

The crucifixion account in John’s Gospel lacks the other details contained in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, but John recorded the way Jesus finally died. The Scripture that Jesus fulfilled was in Psalm 22:15, “My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead” and Psalm 69:21, “But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst”. There was nothing more that Jesus had to do, to complete His mission to Planet Earth. He had done everything that His Father in Heaven had asked of Him. Even on the cross, Jesus could remember the Scriptures and the prophetic words uttered in Psalm 69 would resonate with Him. But it was more than coincidence that there was some sour wine available, because it was used, when mixed with gall, to provide a little pain relief to those being crucified. On its own, the sour wine would have provided a little alleviation of thirst, and perhaps would have extended the time of consciousness for the dying. Jesus tasted the wine and then called out the timeless three words, “It is finished”. He finally then “gave up His spirit”. 

Jesus made it clear in John 10:17-18 that He had the power to allow Himself to be killed but would also return to life. “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded“. Back in the Garden during His arrest Jesus reminded the disciples that He could call upon a large number of angels to protect Him, but He didn’t and what followed, right through to His final words, demonstrated Jesus sacrificing His life voluntarily. Without His death there would be no resurrection. Without His willingness to take on the sins of humanity there would be no salvation and eternal life with God.

John’s account told us that Jesus “gave up His spirit” when He died. His dead body remained on the cross but His spirit went elsewhere. There are an intriguing couple of verses in Peter’s first epistle – “So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood” (1 Peter 3:19-20). What that is all about I’ll leave to the theologians, but the point is that, although His body was of no use any more, Jesus’ spirit was alive and well. And so it is with human beings. After death our spirit lives on and dwells somewhere else. Paul referred to it as being “unclothed”. Will believing spirits end up in the “many rooms” or “mansions” that Jesus taught His disciples about? Perhaps, but it is clear that the place for spirits after death will either be in “Paradise” (read the account of the thief on the cross next to Jesus, a sinner saved in his final moments) or in prison, like the people who died in the flood. Also worthy of mention is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, where the Rich Man ends up in torment, and the poor man “in the bosom of Abraham”. Spirits after death go to one of two places that we can refer to as either Heaven or hell. 

Of course, we pilgrims know where we are going. We have no doubts. But many around us are like lemmings, heading for destruction over the cliff of death. Once beyond life, there is no going back. We pilgrims have a mission and we mustn’t give up spreading the Good News about Jesus.

Dear Lord. We thank You for sacrificing Your life so that we could receive forgiveness for our sins. We worship You today. Amen.

The Loved Disciples

Posted on by korgrocker

“Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.”
John 19:25-27 NLT

We know four of the people standing by Jesus as He was crucified – three women, Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene, and John the writer of his Gospel and Revelation, and the man who was the disciple who Jesus loved. We know of course about Jesus’ mother, but little is known about Mary Clopas. Tradition has it that Clopas was a brother of Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, making his wife, Mary, a sister-in-law of Mary, Jesus’ mother. And then we have Mary Magdalene who is mentioned several times in the Gospels. She was one of the women who travelled with Jesus and helped support Him and His ministry from her resources, so she was probably a wealthy woman. We see her again at the first Easter morning. 

The poignant scene that day was Jesus dying slowly and extremely painfully on the cross but able to look around. He saw His mum standing there with the other women and at least one of His disciples. But what a tragedy for Mary and her Son. Mary had warning of a dark day ahead when she met a Spirit-filled man called Simeon in the Temple, baby Jesus in her arms. Simeon prophesised, “As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:35). Was the event now before Mary the culmination of that prophetic word thirty or so years before? But Jesus referred to His mother as “Dear woman” and went on to make arrangements for her after His death, by asking His friend, John, to take His mother in. A question to be asked was where were Jesus’ other brothers and sisters? Could they not have looked after Mary, their mum? But we read that from that day, John took Mary into his home. In other words he assumed the responsibility for looking after her. No Social Security or government safety net in those days. Mary was indeed blessed.

John was one of Jesus’ closest companions, and, although John is not named as “the disciple He loved”, theologians have eliminated anyone else who it could have been. John was effectively Jesus’ best friend, and throughout the ministry years John witnessed the miracles, the Transfiguration, and eventually in his twilight years, was given the visions that became the Book of Revelation. 

Are we disciples who are loved by Jesus? Of course we are, because that was why Jesus went through all that He did that day at the Place of the Skull. For God so loved the world … rings in our hearts as we consider our relationship with Jesus. But John had a special relationship with Jesus at a time when He walked on this earth as a human being. Our relationship with Jesus is spiritual, but that does not mean He cares any less for us. In fact, we know that He is now seated at God’s right hand, interceding for us. Just for a moment, write down all the things that Jesus has done for us. I can list all the big things that He has done in my life, but what about all the small things? They are countless because we probably don’t know half of what Jesus as done for us. He loves us and we love Him, with all that is within us. But we love Him as John wrote – 1 John 2:5, “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him“. 

There’s the challenge for us pilgrims. We love Jesus of course, but we show our love for Him by being obedient to His commands. How do we fit in doing all that we must do for Jesus with all the other things on our busy agendas? We work for a living. We have families and homes to look after. But Paul wrote, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17). That’s a good start – it was Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, who apparently had a sign over her kitchen sink that said, “Divine services held here three times daily”. We do what we do as to the Lord. Jesus knows how busy we are and He has the resources to help us when the going gets tough. There are those who are called to “full time ministry”, ministers or missionaries, but in a sense we are so called, whatever our vocation.

We are loved disciples. John might have been the first, but countless people through the generations since can claim the love of Jesus and how it has transformed their lives. From his perspective as being the one who Jesus loved, the old apostle John wrote, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). As we serve others we express our love for God.

Dear Father God. We love you and worship You today. Amen.

The Crucifixion

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.””
John 19:16-19 NLT

Time stopped still that day when Jesus, our Lord, was crucified. A clash of two kingdoms changed the relationship between God and His creation for ever. The devil was rubbing his spiritual hands with glee, thinking that he had finally dealt with his problem – Jesus of Nazareth. Nothing more could Jesus do now, once He was dead, or so the devil thought. The Pharisees were also feeling a great sense of relief because the thorn in their sides, Jesus, had been eliminated. They were back to being the top dogs again. No more threats to their authority. But in Heaven, God looked on, in sadness because of what was happening to His Son, but secure in the knowledge that His plan for the salvation of mankind was finally coming to its climax. There is, and has been, no other religion where people put their god to death. And yet, when that happened, Christianity was established, and it has become the biggest religion this world has ever seen. 

Crucifixion was the most brutal and painful death human beings have ever devised for another human being. But the cruelty displayed that day in the “Place of the Skull” is still present in people’s hearts today. It wasn’t just a phenomenon of the Roman occupation of Israel. We may not crucify people today but in people’s imaginations horrible things take place. But there is a warning out there for all people, believers in Jesus or not. Romans 2:16 (AMP), “on that day when, as my gospel proclaims, God will judge the secrets [all the hidden thoughts and concealed sins] of men through Christ Jesus”. Ecclesiastes 12:14, “God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad“. ‭‭

Anyone who uses social media apps will know the nasty things people say about each other, with public people, celebrities or politicians, receiving the most abuse. They may not physically crucify them but the anger and venom in their posts expose the blackness of the evil in their hearts. One day such people will face the Judge to give an account of their keyboard activities.

The writer to the Hebrews Epistle wrote about those who started on their Christian walk, believing in Jesus, and experiencing all the good things He had for them, but who fell away from the faith and returned to their old ways of life. In Hebrews 6:4-6 we read, “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame”. Heaven forbid that this would describe one of us pilgrims!

We pilgrims soberly reflect on what happened to Jesus. We mourn about what He went through, but we know what happened next. Our grief will turn to joy as we see the birth of the Way, the Christian faith.

Dear Lord Jesus. We read what happened to You and we recoil from the pain that You suffered. But we’re so grateful that You suffered and died for us. You took onto Yourself the sins of the world, and the punishment that we deserved. And somehow we look around and see our circumstances in a different light because of You and all You went through. Thank You Lord. Amen.