Afterwords -- the cross and the tomb
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:3-10a)
March 28, 2024
Dear friends,
Tomorrow is Good Friday, being called "good" because of what God has brought forth through the death of his Son. Easter Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus, is the third day afterwards. (Every Sunday, however, is called the Lord's Day because it is the day Christ arose.) The verse above (1 Cor 15:3-10) reminds us that what we celebrate annually is not the arrival of spring, or bunnies, or eggs, but rather the once-in-history, real-time event two thousand years ago, an Event which changed everything.
Jesus' death and resurrection is the turning point of the ages. Everything in the Old Testament looks forward to Christ's coming, and everything in the New Testament looks back on (and ahead to!) the glorious outcome of the work of Christ upon the cross, confirmed by the empty tomb. This is where we place our faith, in Jesus Christ crucified and risen. The Bible tells us that our faith is not "in vain", and that we are granted righteousness, which is "...counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:24-25)
This is the good news the world so desperately needs to hear. The Apostle Paul wrote, "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
May you and your loved ones enjoy special refreshment from the Lord this weekend as you celebrate his resurrection!
Meanwhile, we have just returned from visiting our two newest grandchildren (and their families) in northern VA and Washington DC, respectively. We give thanks to the Lord for the healthy arrival of these two new granddaughters, and we continuously marvel at their parents' energy and devotion in raising these children!
RELATED READING.
-- "The world we find ourselves in has blood at the center of it. You can scrub away at it all your life and it will not come up. Holy Week is about blood calling out to blood. His blood exchanged for mine. The blood of a violent, sinful, dying world transfused for the blood that spoke the stars into existence and washes whiter than snow. A bloody world must receive a bloody Savior. That’s why I’m a Christian." (Samuel D. James, "The Universe Demands a Cross")
-- What is meant by the term, "propitiation"? Read J. I. Packer's chapter on "The Heart of the Gospel" from Knowing God here (PDF).
-- Enjoy this wonderful Easter prayer from Paul Ribbe (a founding elder of BCF) some years ago.
-- "The New Testament authors wrote within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses who could confirm or deny two central claims: the empty tomb and the appearances of the risen Christ." (Steve Bateman, on four practices historians use to discover the truth about the past.)
-- "Come and have breakfast." Such simple, ordinary words from this creation, spoken by the risen Lord of the new creation.
-- During our trip to Washington D.C. this weekend we visited the National Building Museum (see photo below of the great room). It's recommended and has a large area for children to run around in, as well as a room dedicated to Lego buildings. Another favorite place for us is the National Portrait Gallery, which also has a large, beautiful atrium just right for energetic little legs.
FINAL QUOTE.
"Christianity knows nothing of hopeless cases. It professes its ability to take the most crooked stick and bring it straight, to flash a new power into the blackest carbon, which will turn it into a diamond." (Alexander Maclaren)
That's it for this (holy) week!
Sandy
Image credit: photo above is of the Garden Tomb near old Jerusalem by Jonny Gios on Unsplash. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
