Jesus took the bread and the cup and gave them to His disciples, telling them to "do this in remembrance of Me." So, that each time we eat of the bread and drink of the wine, we will remember that His body was given and His blood was shed for our sins. The shedding of His blood sealed the new covenant - the forgiveness of our sins through faith in Jesus Christ; because no one was able to keep the old covenant based on the Law.
Jesus warned Simon Peter of the testing that would come; but also encouraged him that He has prayed that his faith would not fail and afterwards, he will use what he has learned to strengthen others. Jesus said "when" you have turned back to me, not "if" you turn back to me. This is assurance that He will overcome. Jesus also warned the disciples to be prepared for the coming challenges after He fulfills prophecy on the cross.
Then in agony, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane at the Mt of Olives, as the disciples slept when they should've also been praying. There, Judas led an armed group of chief priests, temple guards, and elders to Jesus. It must have been such a poignant moment when Jesus asked, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" It is now close to the final moments, the "hour, when darkness reigns."
13-Oct: We see how Peter learned from his trials and was able to "strengthen others" through his leadership in Acts and his writings in 1 & 2 Peter. While Satan may have thought that nothing would be left after the sifting, Jesus knew that through it, the "wheat would be separated from the chaff", and Peter would come out "refined" like through fire.
16-Oct: "When darkness reigns" summarizes what happens in the rest of the passage:
- Peter, one of Christ's closest disciples, fails the testing from Satan and denies Christ three times as predicted. While he wept bitterly in sorrow and repentance here, we must remember that Christ reinstates him during one of His post-resurrection appearances, and Peter later goes on to become a great leader of the Early Church and encourages others (e.g. through 1 & 2 Peter).
- Guards mock and beat Jesus - how painful to read this passage and see that Jesus, who is God and has all power, willingly suffered through this
- The Religious leaders in the Sanhedrin blinded to the Truth condemn Jesus of blasphemy, when He was only speaking the truth, for He is the Messiah and Son of God
23-Oct: Darkness continued to reign as Jesus was sent to the Roman Governor Pilate. The Jewish religious leaders brought false charges and kept insisting on the accusations despite both Pilate and Herod not finding any basis for the charges against Jesus. And even though Christ was innocent, He was subjected to unjust insults, mocking, and scourging. The religious leaders and the crowd even asked for the release of the rebel and murderer Barabbas instead of Jesus for the customary release of a prisoner during Passover. They asked that Jesus be crucified, the worst form of punishment for criminals; and Pilate "surrendered Jesus to their will."
Words are not adequate to describe the horrific injustice that Jesus willingly suffered for our sake. I have no words.....
25-Oct: Not only did the religious leaders, Pilate, and Herod bring about the worst injustice in human history, they also lost out on an amazing opportunity. They were face to face with the creator of the universe and could have asked Him anything in the world. Instead, they mocked and scourged Him and condemned Him to die on the cross. What a travesty....
30-Oct: As Jesus was suffering and facing excruciating death on the cross, He still showed His love and mercy to the women weeping, the criminal who believed, and even through asking forgiveness to all those who "do not know what they are doing." Of all the reactions we see from the women, the crowd, the soldiers, the rulers, Pilate, the centurion, His followers, I wonder what my reaction would've been had I been there at that time. Looking back, with what I know now, I would've wanted to be like Simon the Cyrene to help bear the cross or the centurion who glorified God. I am grateful that Christ bore my sins and opened up direct access to the Father through Him our High Priest.
A question did arise related to Christ's prayer "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing". What did this forgiveness entail? Were they/we no longer accountable for what was done? There are many angles to view this from:
- For one, there is the positional vs relational forgiveness aspect. That Jesus forgives what they/we did against Him and does not harbor bitter resentment, just as He taught His disciples. Yet, it says nothing about positional forgiveness that comes when we are saved by faith and receive full atonement and justification.
- Also, just because we don't know what we are doing does not make us unaccountable for the consequences nor does it take away the guilt. That only happens through confession and repentance and faith in Christ.
- Then, it is interesting that it was a somewhat "open-ended" prayer, in that he did not specify who "they" were nor what it is they had done. In that respect, it can apply also to us; for we were also responsible for Him having to die on the cross, for we have all sinned and deserve death. And, there are times when we did not fully understand or know when we did sin. So, in that respect, this is an example of Christ's intercession for us.
This passage shows us that remember His Word and observing the evidence can help us to see the Truth; and the Resurrection is a truth that is a foundational pillar of the Christian faith. Evidence from this passage counters many of the myths that were meant to discredit the validity of this event. It is seen that the women knew exactly where the tomb was (and would not have gone to the wrong one), that there were many different eyewitnesses at different times, that Christians began meeting on Sunday instead of the normal Sabbath, etc.
13-Nov: On the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another follower. The two men were initially downcast, had lost hope that Jesus was their Messiah and Redeemer, and were slow to believe the women's testimony and the prophecies. Yet, Jesus brought them to the realization that "the Messiah [had] to suffer these things and then enter His glory"; and then explained to them from Scripture. When their "eyes were opened", they then became excited and joyful witnesses of the Resurrection!
As Jesus was explaining Scripture to the two, they said their "hearts were burning". It makes me wonder what exactly it means to have our hearts burning.... From my own experiences, there are times when I am filled with so much joy that I'm ready to burst; and I think this may be similar; that their hearts were so on fire for God as Scripture was revealed to them. Also, Jesus didn't just reveal Himself to them right away. He had them go through the process leading to their understanding of the Truth; and as soon as they recognized Him, He disappeared. So, it shows that the Christ's main purpose in talking with them was to teach them through Scripture that He had to suffer and die; and then resurrect and ascend to glory.
And then, the specific mention of Jesus appearing to Peter shows the heart of Christ in the restoration of Peter after his failure in the denials. The details of what they discussed was not recorded in Scripture; and this was prior to the restoration described in John, because by that time the disciples had returned to Galilee. How special for Peter, that Christ made a point to appear to Him after the Resurrection.
12-Jan: As the Apostles and followers of Jesus are gathered discussing the post-resurrection appearances; Jesus appears in their midst. His greeting "Peace be with you" is significant in several ways - "Peace" or Shalom is a common Jewish greeting and there is also a Greek equivalent; but, also, they may have needed to have peace in the midst of their fear after the crucifixion; but most importantly, now that Jesus has died on the cross for the sins of the world and has resurrected in victory over sin and death, they can now truly have Peace with God. Jesus then provides evidence to them that He has truly resurrected, showing them the wounds in his hands and feet and even eating in their presence. Then, He pointed them back to Scripture and ensured they understood some essential points:
- He, the Messiah, was to suffer and die; and has resurrected
- They are to preach the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins, because it is for our sins He had to die; "in His Name" because it is through Christ that we are forgiven; "to all nations" showing that God's Plan has always been proclaiming the gospel to the world
- They are to be His Witnesses; but, they had to wait for the Holy Spirit; for we can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit
Jesus then Ascended, and the Ascension signified that the Holy Spirit can be sent to us (which it was 10 days later at Pentecost); that we too may rise and enter glory as Christ did; and that this was the end of His coming to earth when He emptied Himself, but now returned to glory sitting at the right hand of the throne of God and interceding for us.
In response, the disciples worshipped, were obedient (went back to Jerusalem), were filled with joy, and praised God (boldly in the temple).
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