“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5) He’s alive! Yet, all too many times, we insist on looking for the Resurrected Christ among the dead. We go to the tomb. We look at the burial cloth. We weep in the darkness. On this Sabbath […]
The Resurrected Christ Scripture Reading: John 19:38–20:18 Meditation When Jesus dies, secret love goes public. Joseph of Arimethea, a wealthy yet discreet disciple, provided the tomb. Nicodemus, one of the Sanhedrin members who had earlier visited Jesus by night, brought the spices. Fear of the Jews had kept these two high profile men from revealing […]
The Dying Christ Scripture Reading: Matthew 27:45-56 Meditation It’s the sixth hour and the heavenly Father has just dropped his One and Only Son on the Devil’s doorstep. He has given him up, abandoned him, and forsaken him. The Son of God has become an orphan. And when the bell rings at the ninth hour, […]
The Crucified Christ Scripture Reading: Matthew 27:27-44 Meditation Rome reserved the cross for only the worst of criminals. It was a slow, painful, and degrading way to die. When Jesus reached Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, the Governor’s soldiers stripped him of his clothes. They threw him to the ground, spread his arms, and […]
The Sentenced Christ Scripture Reading: John 18:28–19:16 Meditation The Sanhedrin is the highest Jewish court in Jerusalem. It’s composed of the three groups of people that Jesus had said would deliver him unto death: the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he […]
The Betrayed Christ Scripture Reading: John 18:1-27 Meditation For Jesus, the Garden of Gethsemane is a familiar place. He and his disciples have gathered there many times. It’s quiet, still, and intimate. It’s also his favorite place: a place of peace and prayer, love and laughter, comfort and companionship. The Garden is one of those […]
The Pleading Christ Scripture Reading: Mark 14:12-42 Meditation It’s a night of sacrifice. The City of David is filled with the cry of lambs led to the slaughter. Jesus also cries but all he hears is silence from the Father. As the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins, the Passover lambs are chosen, led out, and […]
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) We live most of our lives with our hands closed. They wrap, […]
The Interceding Christ Scripture Reading: John 17:1-26 Meditation Prayer lifts hands and head toward heaven. And because the eyes are looking up, they can’t look around at the many worries that the world brings. They can’t look down in depression. They don’t close in despair. When one prays up, the head lifts, the heart opens […]
The Serving Christ Scripture Reading: John 13:1-38 Meditation Century after century, year after year, and month after month, the pages of the redemptive calendar have been turning. But now the long awaited day is almost here. The clock of Jesus’ crucifixion is about to strike fulfillment. The bell of his death is about to toll. […]
The Triumphant Christ Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:1-11 Meditation No two issues are more volatile than politics and religion. On the day Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the hammer of nationalism hits the flint of messianic expectation and sparks begin to fly. Ever since the glory days of King David and the golden days of King Solomon, […]
The Anointed Christ Scripture Reading: Mark 14:1-11 Meditation The foul odor of foul play is in the air and the stench is coming from the chief priests and teachers of the law. They’re saturated with anger. They reek of hypocrisy, deceit, and decaying spirituality. They’re salivating at the thought of Jesus’ death. All they’re waiting […]
The Commanding Christ Scripture Reading: John 15:1-27 Meditation As Jesus moves closer to his death, he moves closer to his disciples. The final moments that he shares with them are sacred treasures. He wants to bury these treasures deep into their hearts, safe from thieves, secure from robbers, and protected from the approaching pirate of […]
The Promising Christ Scripture Reading: John 13:31–14:31 Meditation On the eve of his betrayal, Jesus knew that everything was about to change. In a matter of hours, one disciple—Judas—would betray him. Another—Peter—would deny him. All the others would scatter, flee, and disown him. Soon, the only words he would hear would be those of accusing […]
“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 63:6-7) A Sabbath day of reflection entails both a look into the mirror of our humanity and a stare into the majesty of his divinity. […]
