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Introduction:
There are numerous kinds of stories. Some stories are worth
hearing and some are not. Some stories should be told once or
twice. Some stories should be told repeatedly. Some stories
entertain. Some stories teach. Some stories inspire. I want to
tell you a story. It is a familiar story, but it is the most
powerful story ever told. It is a story we should learn. It is a
story we should repeat. It is a story we should tell our children.
It is a story we should tell ourselves often. We must never forget
this story.
Discussion:
I.
The Passover and the
Lord’s Supper
A.
Our story begins on
a day of Memorial and celebration, nearly 2000 years ago. Many
Jews had gathered to Jerusalem for the Passover, the feast that
memorialized Israel’s deliverance from Egypt nearly 1500 years
earlier. They killed the Passover lamb reminding them of the lamb
whose shed blood covered the Israelite doorposts causing God to
spare their firstborn sons. As they ate, they recalled the great
power of God that delivered them from oppression and slavery. Many
would pray that God do so again, delivering them from Roman
oppression.
B.
On that very day,
Jesus and His disciples gathered for the Passover meal. But Jesus
did not pray for deliverance from Rome, He told of the coming
deliverance from sin by establishing a new memorial. Within the
Passover, He offered His disciples some of the unleavened bread
and said an amazing thing, “Take eat, this is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Matthew
26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 11:24). Then
He offered them the fruit of the vine, having already divided it
up among them (Luke
22:17) and said, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is
My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for
forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it in
remembrance of Me. But I say to you, I will not drink of this
fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new
with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew
26:27-28; Mark 14:24-25; Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25).
C.
Following this new
memorial, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, demonstrating the
great service His disciples should render to each other (John
13:1-20). Then He explained that one of his very own
disciples would betray Him. The men could not fathom this, they
discussed among themselves who it could be (Luke
22:23) and each asked, “Surely not I, Lord” (Matthew
26:22; Mark 14:19). Then Jesus signified that it would be
Judas Iscariot by dipping a morsel of bread in the herbs and
giving it to him. As He did so, Jesus said, “What you do, do
quickly.” Yet, the other disciples did not understood what Jesus
was doing (John
13:18-30). I wonder how Judas must have felt. He certainly
could see that Jesus knew what was in his heart.
D.
Following the
supper, Jesus taught His disciples of the Holy Spirit who would
come to them and of the life of true fruit bearing disciples (John
14-16). Finally, He prayed for His disciples that they
would be strengthened and united and that their word would draw
many to Him and those who believed on Him would be united (John
17). Then, after singing a hymn, Jesus and His disciples
walked to the Mount of Olives (Matthew
26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39; John 18:1).
II.
Betrayal and Jewish
Trials
A.
At the Mount of
Olives, Jesus turned to His disciples, shocking them further by
saying, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it
is written, ‘I will strike down the Shepherd, and the sheep of
the flock shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I
will go ahead of you to Galilee” (Matthew
26:31-32; Mark 14:27-28; Zechariah 13:7). The disciples
were incensed at this statement and unanimously declared they were
prepared to die with Jesus that very night if necessary. These men
were certain that Jesus was the Christ, the coming Messiah who
would rid them of Roman oppression. They were prepared to stand
and fight with Him, to deliver their people. Peter stood out and
declared that all others may fall away but he would never do so.
But Jesus warned him that not only would he desert Jesus, he would
verbally deny Him three times (Matthew
26:33-35; Mark 14:29-31).
B.
Jesus led His
disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane. He asked eight of His
disciples to sit for awhile as He led Peter, James and John
further into the Garden. There He directed them to pray that they
not enter temptation. As Jesus went even further into the Garden,
He prayed to His father, “Abba! Father! All things are possible
for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what
You will” (Matthew
26:39; Mark 14:36). When He came back to His inner circle
of disciples, He found them sleeping. He rebuked them and directed
them to pray that they would not enter temptation. Then He
returned to His own prayers twice more and after each time He
found the three disciples sleeping again. After His third prayer,
Judas Iscariot arrived in the Garden. However, he was not alone.
He had brought a crowd with swords and clubs. He had brought
representatives from the Priests and the Jewish council. He even
brought Roman soldiers. He had told them that Jesus would be the
one he greeted with a kiss. Can you hear the sadness in Jesus’
voice as He said, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with
a kiss?” (Matthew
26:47-50; Mark 14:43-46; Luke 22:47-48; John 18:1-9)?
C.
Peter, having
earlier sworn that he would die with Christ was ready to make good
on his promise. Surely this was the moment when the Messiah would
reveal Himself and begin to conquer the Romans. In a flash, Peter
brandished his sword and attacked, cutting off the ear of Malchus,
the servant of the high priest. But Jesus rebuked Peter, telling
him to put up his sword. Those who live by the sword will die by
the sword. Further, did Peter not realize that if Jesus wanted to
fight, He did not need swords? He could call legions of angels to
wipe out His enemies. Yet they must allow all of this to happen in
order to fulfill the scriptures. Then, with amazing mercy, Jesus
healed Malchus’s ear (Matthew
26:51-56; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:51; John 18:10-11). Jesus
rebuked the cowardice of this crowd for coming under the cover of
darkness instead of arresting Him while He taught in the city
every day.
D.
The mob seized Jesus
and carried him off to Annas, the father-in-law of the high
priest. Annas had been high priest until removed by the Romans.
His son-in-law, Caiaphas, was now recognized as the high priest by
the Roman authorities and yet the Jews still recognized Annas as
the power behind the priesthood. Annas questioned Jesus and when
Jesus told him he ought to question those whom Jesus had taught,
His beatings began. An officer nearby struck Jesus and rebuked Him
for speaking to the High Priest in that manner. Jesus questioned
the wrong He had done and then questioned why He had been struck.
Following this Annas sent Jesus to the legal High Priest and the
Jewish Council (John
18:12-24).
E.
In His trial before
the Council, false witnesses whose stories could not be
corroborated were brought forth. Finally, the high priest placed
Jesus under oath saying, “I adjure you by the living God, that
You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Having
been placed under oath, Jesus broke His silence in accord with the
Old Law (Leviticus
5:1) and said, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless
I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew
26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:67-71). At these words
the high priest and the council accused Jesus of blasphemy and
sentenced Him to death. It would indeed have been blasphemy,
accept that it was true. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Having found a reason to condemn Him, the Jews then began to beat
Him. They mocked Him, spit on Him, blindfolded Him and then began
to slap and hit him. During this beating they had blindfolded Him
and some would mock Him saying, “Prophesy to us who hit you” (Matthew
26:67-68; Mark 14:65). While all of this was occurring,
Peter, who had claimed he was ready to die with Jesus, was
questioned three times if he was one of Jesus’ companions. Three
times he denied any relationship with Jesus. How heartrending it
must have been for Peter when Jesus turned in His direction (Matthew
26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:25-27). How heartrending
it must have been for Jesus that one of His closest friends
abandoned Him. Then
they took Jesus to Pilate and the Roman trials began.
III.
The Roman Trials
A.
Jesus was not before
Pilate long before he learned Jesus was from Galilee. Not wanting
to deal with these Jews and their internal affairs, Pilate blew
them off and sent them to Herod whose jurisdiction included
Galilee (Luke
23:6-12). Herod had wanted to see Jesus for some time,
having been afraid that He was John the Baptist, whom he had
killed, risen from the dead (Matthew
14:1-2; Luke 9:7-9). Herod’s greatest hope was that
Jesus would perform a miracle. Jesus simply remained silent,
neither answering questions nor fulfilling requests for miracles.
Herod, along with his soldiers, began to mock Jesus. As part of
their mocking, they dressed the prisoner in a gorgeous robe and
sent Him back to Pilate.
B.
Pilate questioned
Jesus further (Matthew
27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:33-36). He could find
nothing seditious in Jesus’ responses. Repeatedly he asked the
Jews what evil Jesus had done. Finally, they said Jesus was trying
to be the king of the Jews. When Pilate questioned Jesus regarding
this, Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so
that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My
kingdom is not of this realm” (John
18:36). Thus Jesus indicated that Pilate and Caesar had
nothing to fear from Him regarding their political places and
earthly reigns. Again, Pilate rebuked the Jews for accusing Jesus
of evildoing (Luke
23:13-16). He offered to simply punish Jesus and then
release Him since He had done nothing worthy of death. But the
Jews would not hear of that. In addition to seeing Jesus’
innocence, Pilate did not want to harm Jesus because his wife had
warned him not to have anything to do with Jesus; she had suffered
in a dream because of Him (Matthew
27:19). Therefore, Pilate
tried another approach. Offering the people a choice, who would
they rather be released, Barabbas, a robber, convicted
insurrectionist and murderer, or Jesus, the peaceful and perfect
teacher of God’s will? Pilate was certain that given this choice
the masses would cry out for Jesus’ release and Barabbas’s
execution. However, he had underestimated the envy which drove the
Jewish leaders. They stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas (Matthew
27:15-23; Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:18-23; John 18:39-40).
Repeatedly the Jews asked for the release of Barabbas. “What
should be done with Jesus?” Pilate cried. “Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!” was the Jews repeated response. Pilate allowed the
Jews what they wanted, he delivered Jesus to be scourged and then
crucified (Matthew
27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24-25; John 19:1).
C.
When Pilate saw he
would not be able to resist the people’s plea without causing a
riot. He washed his hands ceremoniously before the people and
declared that he was not responsible for Jesus’ blood but was
innocent and simply granting the Jews their request. The Jews
cried out, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (Matthew
27:24-25). Then
Pilate sent Jesus to be scourged (Matthew
27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1). A scourge was a dreadful
sort of whip. It had a short handle with several heavy strips of
leather attached. At the ends of the leather strips were solid
balls that would batter the muscles, bruise on top of bruise.
Along the strips of leather were sharp rocks, pieces of glass
and/or shards of pottery. Jesus’ hands were bound together above
His head. Then His bound hands were put on a hook just high enough
that His feet would barely touch the ground. This made sure His
skin was taught. As the scourge hit His back and wrapped around,
the glass, rocks and pottery were sure to rip the tight skin from
His body. Many died from the loss of blood such a flailing would
cause. But Jesus endured as the Roman soldiers struck again and
again and again and again. Finally, as Jesus body appeared to be
nothing more than raw, ripped muscles with ribbons of flesh
hanging down, the Romans let Him down. They were not finished
however. The soldiers, mocking Jesus even more, fashioned a mock
crown out of thorns and shoved it onto His head. They gave Him a
reed as a scepter and draped a purple robe about Him. As they
mockingly bowed before Him, they cried out, “Hail, king of the
Jews.” Then they spit on Him, slapped Him and beat Him with the
reed (Matthew
27:27-30; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:2-3).
D.
Following this
scourging, Pilate tried one last time to salve his conscience and
let Jesus go. He presented Jesus before the crowd in order to
repeat that he found no guilt in Him. The Jews responded, “We
have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made
Himself out to be the Son of God” (John
19:7). Pilate, being a superstitious Roman, was frightened
by this statement and began to question Jesus further about where
He was from. Was He really from heaven? He made greater efforts to
get the Jews to allow him to release Jesus without trouble. But
they responded, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of
Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes
Caesar” (John
19:12).
E.
Hearing this Pilate
brought Jesus out before the Jews again and said, “Behold, your
King!” But the people cried out, “Away with Him, away with
Him! Crucify Him.” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate
asked. “We have no king but Caesar” (John
19:13-15). Finally, the robe, which was by now matted to
Jesus’ bloody flesh, was pulled away, reopening the wounds that
had started to congeal and they led Him off to be crucified (Matthew
27:31; Mark 15:20; John 19:16).
IV.
The Crucifixion
A.
They led Jesus out
bearing His own cross (John
19:17). However, weakened as Jesus was from the flailing
He had received, He could not bear up under the heavy cross.
The Romans grabbed a man from the crowd, Simon of Cyrene,
and forced him to carry the cross (Matthew
27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). A large crowd followed
Jesus and Simon along the road. Among them were women who were
mourning and lamenting. Jesus turned to them and said,
“Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for
yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming
when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that
never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will
begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills,
‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the tree is
green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke
23:28-31). Thus Jesus again prophesied that Jerusalem
would be destroyed because it rejected Him.
B.
Alongside Jesus, in
fulfillment of prophecy, two criminals were also being led to
their deaths (Matthew
27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:32; John 19:18; Isaiah 53:12).
When they arrived at Golgotha, the soldiers, perhaps moved by a
slight pity, offered Him wine mixed with gall, a cocktail that
would dull the senses and lessen some of the extreme pain, but
Jesus refused it, choosing a clear head over dulled pain (Matthew
27:34; Mark 15:23). There they crucified Him, nailing His
hands and His feet to the cross. Lifting the cross and dropping it
into its place. The long slow process of death by cross began.
This occurred the third hour of the day by Jewish reckoning, that
is 9:00 AM by our reckoning (Mark
15:25).
C.
Just saying He was
crucified does no justice to what Jesus endured. One physician
describes what happened to Jesus during the crucifixion this way,
As
Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the
wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the
arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting
pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse
the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this
stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through
His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through
the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet. At this
point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great
waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep
relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability
to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arms, the pectoral muscles,
the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal
muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act.
Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus
fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath.[1]
D.
Pilate had placed an
inscription above Jesus’ head that read, “Jesus the Nazarene,
the King of the Jews.” The inscription was written in Hebrew,
Latin and Greek. The chief priests said, “Do not write, ‘The
King of the Jews’; but He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”
But Pilate responded, “What I have written I have written” (Matthew
27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19-22). The
soldiers who guarded these crosses had taken His outer garments
and divided them up among themselves by casting lots for them (Matthew
27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23; Psalm 22:18).
As Jesus hung there, His pain was not enough for the Jews at the
foot of His cross. They began to hurl abuse at Him. Saying things
like, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in
three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down
from the cross.” “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He
is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and
we will believe in Him.” “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him
now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of
God.’” (Matthew
27:39-43; Mark 15:29-32; Luke 23:35-36; Psalm 22:7-8).
Even the thieves that surrounded Jesus hurled abuse at Him.
However, in response to all of this abuse Jesus pushed through the
pain and lifted His body to gasp enough air to utter, “Father,
forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke
23:34).
E.
In the moments when
Jesus was able to draw on whatever strength He had to lift
Himself, He made six other brief statements. Seeing His mother and
the apostle John in the group of people watching the crucifixion.
He pushed Himself up and said to His mother, “Woman, behold your
son.” He pushed Himself up again and said, “Behold your
mother” (John
19:27). Thus signifying that John was to care for Mary.
F.
While the priests,
Romans and one thief hurled abuse at Jesus, one of the thieves was
able to see the truth of the situation. Jesus was not dying
because He sinned. He was dying innocently and unjustly. Then the
thief demonstrated himself to be the only person, other than
Jesus, who still believed Jesus was somehow going to be King and
establish His kingdom. He rebuked the other thief and begged of
Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
Jesus pushed Himself up again and gasped, “Truly I say to you,
today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke
23:39-43).
G.
When Jesus had hung
on the cross for three hours, at the sixth hour (12:00 noon) the
sun was darkened for three hours, until the ninth hour (3:00 PM).
Having hung on the cross for six hours and endured the darkness
for three, Jesus pushed Himself up and cried out with as much
strength as He could, “’Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani?’ that is,
‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew
27:46; Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1). Indicating the true
punishment of the cross. Jesus was not only enduring physical
torment, but spiritual torment as well. Jesus, God the Son, who
had enjoyed a fellowship with the Father that we can hardly fathom
was separated from His Father because He bore our sins in His body
on that cross (I
Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4, 6, 11-12; Habakkuk 1:13).
H.
While all of this
was taking place the crucifixion continued to take its toll on our
Lord’s body. Dr. Truman explains:
He
suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting,
joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and
searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His
movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then
another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the
pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with
serum and began to compress the heart…The end was rapidly
approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical
level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick,
sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making
a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly
dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. (cf. Psalm
22:14-15).
Jesus
pushed up again and struggled to say, “I am thirsty” (John
19:28). The soldiers brought some sour wine to Jesus.
I.
Knowing that all was
complete, Jesus lifted Himself and made two final cries, “It is
finished” (John
19:30), and “Father, into Your hands I commit My
spirit” (Luke
23:46; Psalm 31:5). Having said these things, He breathed
His last and gave up His spirit (Matthew
27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30). Jesus yielded
up His spirit. No one took it from Him. He gave it up of His own
initiative (John
10:15-18). In this moment, a great earthquake took place.
Tombs were opened and some of those who had been dead came to life
and entered the city (Matthew
27:52-53). The veil in the temple separating the Holy
Place from the Most Holy Place was ripped from top to bottom (Matthew
27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Jesus had entered into the
true Most Holy Place, made by God not men and made atonement for
our sins in the presence of God the Father (Hebrews
9:11-14). The earthly temple with its separated areas was
no longer necessary. A centurion at the foot of the cross, amazed
by what he had witnessed exclaimed, “Certainly this man was
innocent. Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew
27:54; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47).
J.
The following day
was a High Sabbath. That is, the beginning of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread and the weekly Sabbath were going to occur on the
same day. They asked a special favor of Pilate not to leave the
men hanging on the crosses through the Sabbath. Pilate acquiesced
to their request. He sent the soldiers to break the legs of the
three crucified men. With legs broken, they would no longer be
able to lift themselves up to catch their breath. They would
quickly suffocate. The soldiers broke the thieves’ legs, but
when they came to Jesus and found Him dead, they did not break
His. Instead, to be certain Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers
plunged a spear into Jesus’ side. Blood and water spilled forth.
The soldier had pierced the sac of fluid around the heart and the
heart itself. Jesus was dead (John
19:31-35).
V.
The burial
A.
Joseph of Arimathea,
a wealthy member of the Jewish council, had not consented to
Jesus’ execution. In fact, he had been a secret disciple.
Following Jesus’ death this secret disciple stepped up to the
plate and asked Pilate for a special favor. Usually the crucified
criminals would simply be thrown into a mass grave. Joseph asked
if he might have the body of Jesus and lay Him in his own family
tomb. Pilate consented (Matthew
27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Isaiah 53:9).
B.
Joseph and
Nicodemus, the Jewish council member who had questioned Jesus by
night early in Jesus’ ministry, took the body of Jesus. Wrapped
it in linen wrappings and perfumed it with spices. They laid the
body of Jesus in Joseph’s tomb. Several of the women who had
followed Jesus followed Joseph and Nicodemus and saw where the
body was laid. They made their own decision that following the
Sabbath they would more thoroughly prepare Jesus’ body for
burial (Matthew
27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:54-56).
C.
On the following
day, the Sabbath day, the chief priests and the Pharisees came to
Pilate. They understood that Jesus had said He would be
resurrected if He died. They did not really believe He would, but
they were afraid the disciples would capitalize on this teaching,
steal His body from the tomb and teach He was resurrected. That
would cause an even greater problem than if Jesus had simply been
allowed to live. They requested a guard to keep the tomb secure.
Pilate granted their request. The guard was set and the tomb was
sealed (Matthew
27:62-66).
VI.
The Resurrection
A.
Early on the morning
following the Sabbath, the women who had seen where Jesus was
buried went to apply the perfumes and spices they had prepared in
order to properly embalm Jesus’ body for His burial. Their
greatest concern was how they would actually get to the body. The
stone would be too big for them. They wondered how they would be
able to move it (Matthew
28:1; Mark 16:1-3; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).
B.
However, while they
were on their way, a great earthquake occurred because an angel of
the Lord had descended and rolled back the stone from the tomb and
sat upon the tombstone. The soldiers were struck with fear and
became like dead men (Matthew
28:2-4). When the women arrived they simply found the
stone rolled away (Mark
16:4; Luke 24:2; John 20:1). Seeing the tomb opened, Mary
Magdalene feared the worst and ran back to the apostles and those
with them, reporting that the Lord’s body had been taken (John
20:2). Peter and John ran to see the tomb with Mary
trailing behind them (John
20:3). During this time, the other women had entered the
tomb. The angels appeared to them and told them Jesus was not
dead. His body had not been stolen. He had risen from the dead.
Then the angel directed the women to go report this to the
brethren and tell them to go to Galilee where they would be able
to see the risen Savior for themselves. The women departed,
speaking to no one and heading back to find the apostles and other
disciples (Matthew
28:5-8; Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:4-9).
C.
While the women were
on their way to find the disciples. Peter, John and Mary arrived
at the empty tomb. John arrived first, but only looked in from the
cave opening. Peter went inside and then John followed him. They
found the linen wrappings and the face cloth, but no body. What an
amazing thing. If someone had stolen the body of Jesus, they first
unwrapped it. The two men went on their way marveling and
wondering (Luke
24:12; John 20:4-10). Mary lingered behind, standing
outside the tomb weeping. She stooped to look into the tomb, where
she saw two angels. They asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She responded, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do
not know where they have laid Him.” When she said this, she
turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not
recognize Him. Jesus, like the angels asked, “Woman, why are you
weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Mary thought He was simply the
gardener and said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me
where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus
responded, “Mary!” Mary’s eyes were opened. She recognized
her Master and Lord. She turned to Him, grabbing hold of Him and
said, “Rabboni” which means “Teacher.” Thus Mary became
the first to see and worship the resurrected Savior, not one of
the apostles but a woman from whom seven demons had once been cast
out. Jesus sent Mary to gather and find the apostles to tell them
what she had seen (Mark
16:9-10; John 20:11-18). That same day the risen Savior
appeared also to the other women (Matthew
28:9-10), to two men on the road to Emmaus (Mark
16:12-13; Luke 24:13-31), to Simon Peter (Luke
24:34; I Corinthians 15:5) and to the remainder of the
apostles, except Thomas (Matthew
28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:36-53; John 20:19-23).
For the next 40 days, He appeared to the apostles (John
20:24-21:25; Acts 1:1-8; I Corinthians 15:15-17), to James
(I
Corinthians 15:7) and even to more than five hundred
brethren at one time (I
Corinthians 15:6). He taught them about His kingdom and
then He ascended to His throne at the right hand of God (Mark
16:19; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9). Where He is to this day.
That is why we are here to worship and remember Him.
Conclusion:
What
a profound story. We must
not let its familiarity cause us to forget how great a story it
really is. For all of the doctrines that we study and teach,
let us never forget that this is the basis for everything we do
and teach (I
Corinthians 15:1-11).
[1] Davis, Dr. C. Truman, “A
Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion,” originally published in
Arizona Medicine in
March, 1965, quoted here from http://www.bebaptized.org/Crucifixion.htm
. All quotes from physician’s standpoint come from this
document.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
Franklin
Church of Christ
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