The Incredibly Terrible Week and the Missing Messiah

A lot can change in a week's time, and it had. 

First, there'd been the triumphal entry, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. People shouted Hosannahs and threw palm branches on the ground before Him. It looked as if He would soon come into His kingdom.

The Jewish officials watched the crowd and knew it was true. Jesus would take over if they didn't do something. They'd pondered their options for a while, but they were finally sure. 

Jesus had to go.

Less than a week later, they got what they wanted. Jesus was crucified as a criminal. They were finally free of Him, or so they thought.

When the women went to the tomb early that Sunday morning, they saw the stone rolled away and ran back to get the men. "The Lord's body has been stolen," they cried.

Peter and John raced to see. We don't know what they thought, but surely someone in the group remembered what Jesus had said. 

"He said to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.'" Mark 9:31 niv

Peter, followed by John, looked into the tomb. They saw the grave clothes and the folded face cloth, and they believed. I can imagine Peter looking at John and John looking back, a little twinkle in their eyes. "Yep," they probably thought. "He's done what He said."

I'm a little surprised that they didn't stay to look for Jesus, but, really, where do you go to find a risen Savior? 

Peter and John left Mary, still crying in the garden, and went home. 

"Why are you crying?" Jesus asked Mary. She was caught up in her weeping, as women are prone to be, and didn't notice who had spoken.

It was Jesus. 

The Missing Messiah wasn't missing at all. He'd just been walking in the garden.

A stroll in the garden doesn't seem unusual until you remember that He had been beaten beyond recognition, whipped with a scourge until His back was ripped open and bleeding, hung on a cross, and crucified until He died. A crown of thorns had been jammed onto his forehead. A soldier had stuck a sword into his side so that blood and water had poured out. 

The last time she'd seen Jesus, He'd been dead. 

He'd spent the rest of His time since then defeating sin and death. We don't know all that happened while His body was in the tomb, but He emerged with fresh clothing and a fresh body. He was on the move. 

It's called Prevenient Grace, this ever-seeking grace of God that searches for us when we're far away and calls us back to Him. We shouldn't be surprised that the first action we see from our risen Savior is that of seeking out one of His own.

Peter and John could go home without anxiety because they understood one important fact. If Jesus was raised, He would come to them, because they were His.

No matter where we are, we're never too far for Jesus.

No matter what we've done, we're never too bad for Jesus.

No matter how long we've lived, we're never too old for Jesus.

He knows His own, and our Good Shepherd still seeks his wandering sheep. He's not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to Him. 

A lot can change in a week's time, including in us. 

If we're tired of our sin and its consequences, we have a Messiah who can change us, cleanse us, wash us white as snow, and fill us with His Spirit. He can (and will) replace fear with power, hate with love, sorrow with joy, doubt with faith, despair with hope. 

Our Jesus is able to forgive, to love, to change.

If you're ready, He is, too. 

___________

In case you missed this Holy Weekend's posts, here are the links:

When God Was Silent and No One Knew What to Do

Lingering With the Loss

The Missing Part of Maundy Thursday and the Greatest Prayer than Can be Prayed

Holy Week Day 6: The Silent Saturday

Less than a week before, Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on a colt while the crowds shouted Hosannahs and waved palm branches. For the disciples, it was probably one of the most exciting days of their lives. Dreams were coming true. Hopes were being fulfilled. Prayers were being answered.

And then...

Everything spiraled out of control.

Or so it seemed.

Before they could get past their shock and fear to decide how to respond, Jesus had been arrested, tried, and executed. They awakened that Saturday morning to their worst nightmare. Jesus was dead and buried. There was a Roman seal on the tomb. It was guarded.

Everything they had spent the last three years believing and working toward was over.

Or so it seemed.

I've felt that way before. Felt that God had given me clear instructions but, when I obeyed, nothing went the way I expected. It looked to me and those around me as if I had utterly failed. 

Or so it seemed.

I wondered if I had misunderstood what He said. I feared I had done the wrong thing. I couldn't understand. I felt ashamed and confused and afraid. Where was God in this mess that my obedience had made?

Maybe you've felt that, too.

It's where the disciples and the followers of Jesus were on that Silent Saturday. Jesus knew that, but He left them in their confusion. He left them in their fear. He left them in their uncertainty and their failing faith.

He left them in the silence because He knew Sunday was coming.  

He knew the stone would roll away and the tomb would be emptied. He knew the body would be gone and He would rise again. He knew He would soon walk with them and talk with them again.

God used my own worst disappointments to bring me to the end of myself and show me His own great glory. That's what He was doing for the disciples, too. They would soon be utterly amazed by the power of the God they served. By the Messiah they followed.

But they amazed weren't on Saturday.

On Saturday, they were devastated. Heartbroken. Afraid they could be the next to die.

On Silent Saturday, they didn't revel in the silence, but I do, because I know Sunday is coming. I know the glory and the splendor of my Risen King is just around the corner.

Silent Saturday reminds me that what looked like utter defeat on earth was simply a bigger battle in the heavenlies. It was simply a greater victory unfolding in a soon-empty tomb. Prayers that seemed forgotten were being answered in a way no one could imagine.

On Silent Saturday, it has become my tradition to be still before the Lord. To acknowledge all the confusion and uncertainty and unanswered prayers in my life and give them to Him, all over again. 

On this day, I recognize that what I see is not all there is and confess that, though my prayers may seem unanswered, there is a bigger battle in the heavenlies and victory may yet be won.

Today, join with me in being still before the Lord, offering Him our confusion, fear, and broken dreams and look toward the day when His glory will be revealed.

On that dark and terrible day, when all hope was gone, the Hope of the World was fighting a battle that only He could see, only He could win, and He won it. He defeated Sin and Death and set us free.

This day, let's remember that terrifying day, for tomorrow is coming. On day day, we'll celebrate the greatest miracle of all. Our Risen Savior.

"And so They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, 

as is the burial custom of the Jews. 

Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; 

and in that garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. 

Therefore on account of the Jewish day of preparation,

 because the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

 John 20:40-42 nasb

~~~~~~~

In case you missed any of this series, here are the links:

Holy Week Day 1: The Scandalous Act of Love

Holy Week Day 2: The Betrayer

Holy Week Day 3: Instant Obedience

Holy Week Day 4: Jesus' Last Week

Holy Week day 5: The Dark and Terrible Good Friday
#silentsaturday #easter #Jesus #linesfromleanna 

Holy Week Day 5: The Dark and Terrible Good Friday

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

The evening began in the Upper Room, where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover. Jesus knew "His hour had come". (John 13:1) His entire life had been spent preparing for the events that were about to unfold. The Sacrifice. The Death. The Atonement. The Victory. The Resurrection.

Before victory, however, there would be much heartache and sorrow. More physical pain than any one innocent man should bear. More spiritual warfare than anyone but Jesus could survive.

During his last few hours, Jesus poured truth into these men with whom He'd spent the last three years. He taught about their relationships with God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Himself. He taught about their relationships with one another and with the world. He warned them about the persecution to come and His death and resurrection. 

He knew everything that would happen to Him, yet He comforted His disciples. "Do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me. (John 14:1) "I go to prepare a place for you." 

Peter and John had gone to prepare a place for Jesus and the disciples to celebrate the Passover. When they heard those words, at some level, they must have wanted to believe Jesus would be back from this preparing in a few hours. 

It's clear they didn't understand, because the events of the next few hours shocked them to their core. 

Olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane

After dinner, Jesus did what He always did to prepare for ministry. He went to a solitary place to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. It's a beautiful place. Quiet. Serene. You can see the city from there if you want, or remove yourself completely among the trees, some of which were likely there that night. He prayed for strength and perseverance. He prayed with sweat-drops of blood and, finally, with surrender. 

Not My will, but Yours be done.

The disciples should have prayed, too. If they had, they'd have been prepared for what came next, but they didn't. They slept. When Jesus was arrested and tried, they scattered. They denied. They panicked.

Steps leading to Caiaphas' house

Jesus was arrested in the garden and taken to Annas, (Caiaphas' father-in-law) who bound Him like a common criminal and sent Him to the High Priest, Caiaphas. Those steps you see in the picture are the very steps up which Jesus was led by the soldiers. 

Steps and the courtyard at Caiaphas' where Peter denied Jesus

Caiaphas didn't want to miss the Passover feast, but he didn't want to let Jesus go, either. He was sick of the troublemaker, Jesus, and he saw his chance to be rid of Him. Caiaphas sent Him to Pilate at the Praetorium. 

The Lithostrotos where Jesus' trial was held and where he was mocked and scourged

Mocking and scourging Jesus were not enough to satisfy the blood lust of the Pharisees. They demanded His death. Pilate listened to the accusations against Him and, three separate times, declared Him innocent. He wanted to release Jesus, but feared the crowds. 

Feared a riot in the city. He caved to the pressure and allowed Jesus to be condemned to death by crucifixion.  

By the time He was led to Golgotha, Jesus had been beaten and scourged almost to the point of death. He started out with His cross on His back but collapsed under the load. When He finally finished the climb to the Place of a Skull, Golgotha, nails were pounded into his hands and feet to secure Him to the cross. It was raised into place and He was left to die.

His followers watched in horror. They expected an earthly kingdom. They expected a throne. Stately robes. Wealth. Power. The One on whom they had staked their hopes and future was hanging from nails on a cross. As His blood dripped from His wounds, their hope dripped away, and their faith with it.

He wasn't God after all? He didn't have the power we thought? Why can't He save Himself? He wasn't the Messiah? I believed a lie?

Questions roared through their minds. All they knew for sure was what they saw. What they had believed seemed to be nothing more than fantasy.

That's where the first Good Friday, that dark and terrible day ended for the disciples.

But Sunday was coming. The Resurrection would rock the world and change everything.

For today, we'll stop at the Sacrifice Jesus made for us, because it's vital that we understand these things happened. It's real. I've walked those steps and seen those sites. 

Sin always comes with a price, and it must be paid. Jesus died for us. For our Sin. 

He did it because giving us the Law hadn't helped. We wouldn't obey. Giving us prophecy hadn't helped. We wouldn't listen. Giving us discipline didn't help. We wouldn't change.

Finally, God did the only thing that would help. He gave Himself.

Even now, we don't want to obey. We don't want to listen. We don't want to change. 

On that terrible day so many years ago, Jesus did the only thing that could be done to save us. He gave Himself and left us with a choice. Will we follow Him or not?

~~~~~~~~~

In case you missed part of this series, here are the links:

Holy Week day 1: The Scandalous Act of Love 

Holy Week day 2: The Betrayer

Holy Week day 3: Instant Obedience

Holy Week day 4: Jesus' Last Week

#easter #goodfriday #Jesus #linesfromleanna #leannahollis

The Day that Rocked the World

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10 NIV)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Easter story looks entirely different to me today. I'm not sure how I've missed this all these years! 

For the first time, it appears that the earthquake that rolled the stone back occurred while Mary Magdalene and Mary were standing there at the tomb. It was not just a low level shaking. I have seen tombs in Israel and the stones that cover them. It would take more than a gentle shake to move those stones. They are enormous, solid rock. 

Here's how it happened. Mary Magdalene and Mary almost certainly remembered that Jesus said He would rise on the third day. Even the priests and Pharisees remembered that He'd said it, so surely his disciples did. Maybe the two women were just brokenhearted and wanted to grieve at the tomb, but maybe they wanted to see for themselves, just in case. I can see this in my mind's eye and it absolutely astounds me. 

Mary Magdalene and Mary rushed up to the tomb, and the stone was still there. Their hearts probably sank for a minute. As is obvious from history, God loves the dramatic, and He threw in a little flare for the first believers on the scene. As the two women are standing there, God sends an "earthquake" that is a real "stone roller" and is really an angel rolling back the stone. The angel becomes visible and sits on the stone. 

The guards are there, as are the women. The guards see that stone rolling and are shocked, but when they look up and see the angel on the stone, they are so frightened that they faint dead away. Remember, the guards are there to prevent this very thing from happening. These are not wimp guards. These are tough Roman soldiers, unconscious on the ground.

The women were probably afraid, because the angel said what angels always say. "Fear not." I know that this is serious business, but this next part always strikes me as funny. The angel looked at the women and said, (this is the Leanna paraphrase, but check its accuracy above) "Jesus is already up and gone. Do you want to take a peek and see?" Women being women, of course they had to take a peek.

Here's what's amazing to me. If I had arrived on the scene and found the stone gone and the tomb empty, I would not have known what to believe. There would have been several explanations that could have fit the scene. Only one explanation fits what these women saw. The stone was there. The guards were there. The tomb was just like it had been when they last saw it, or so it seemed. As they watched, the stone rolled away, and the angel appeared. This was not a Lazarus moment. Jesus was already walking around in the garden. These women had no doubt that Jesus was risen because He was already gone when the stone moved.

When the angel told them Jesus was already on the way to Galilee, they were off like a rocket, heading to find the disciples and let them know. In their fear, and their joy, and their bolstered faith, (and their obedience to what the angel had said) they ran headlong into Jesus. 

Only rolling the stone away with witnesses present would have been enough to convince His disciples that Jesus' body had not been stolen. They had to be sure, and because of the way God orchestrated the events that early Resurrection morning, they were. 

God didn't sacrifice Himself to save us, only to complete the job in such a way that no one could be sure. He did even the last little bit of the job in such a way as to enhance our faith, to confirm our faith. He's in the details, and He made sure of every one.

We have a risen Savior, and we don't have to wonder or doubt. He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! 

Silent Saturday

And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave. 

Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I am to rise again.' Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone. (Matthew 27:59-66 NASB)

Despite all Jesus had told them ahead of time, His followers were shocked and heart-broken when He was crucified. They were devastated when they realized that He wasn't going to do a miracle and get Himself off that cross. He was dead and their world was shattered. The two women followed the body to the tomb, saw Him laid in the grave, saw the stone rolled over the entrance. 

He was gone. All hope of the Messiah, the new Kingdom was over. It was the end.

It was also the beginning, but no one knew that yet. 

It was the chief priests and Pharisees who expected something to happen, not his followers. The unbelievers remembered that Jesus had said He would rise after three days and they knew He did what He said He would. There was something in those unbelievers that believed He might rise, but there was also something more that believed a grand deception might be under way. They were taking no chances. The stone was already there, but they secured a seal on the stone and put guards before the stone. Jesus wasn't getting out of the grave if they could help it.

For the disciples, it was a terrible time. God was silent. They didn't know what to think, what to believe, much less what to do. They grieved. They wailed. They gnashed their teeth. They wept. Everything they had staked their lives for on the last few years was gone.

Most believers commemorate Good Friday and celebrate Easter, but we don't always take note of Silent Saturday. It is a deeply profound moment in time, however, because we so often experience those frightening days when our hope is shattered and God is silent. It is in those silent times that we are easily overwhelmed with desperation, thinking God has abandoned us, terrified that we will not survive our trial. 

It is in the silence, however, that God does some of His best work. It is in the silence that we learn to walk by faith and not by sight, that we learn the value of hope, the importance of perseverance. It is in the silent times that we stake our claim and learn to hold firm. It is in persevering through the silence that we learn to "own our faith" and become rock solid. We change from a Simon to a Peter.

Silence is a precious rarity but is a good way to acknowledge that God is still in charge, even when He is silent. He is still working out His plan, even when we can't see His hand. He is still on His throne, even when we feel He is gone. 

Today, spend some time in absolute silence. Let the phone ring unanswered. Let the emails wait. Take some time to be completely alone, totally silent, and meditate on the One who bring joy and light on the other side of the dark and the quiet. 

Be still and know that He is God.

Sunday is coming, with all the joy it brings, but don't forget to acknowledge Saturday. It's the beginning that makes Sunday so much sweeter.

Teach us to pray, part 40: The Price of Forgiveness

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

There is no better topic for Good Friday than the issue of "forgive us our sins" and the price that was paid for that forgiveness. Understanding the price paid for forgiveness requires that we understand the need for forgiveness. On this early morning, the birds are filling the air with song, light is just beginning to fill the sky, and peace reigns, or so it appears. The stain of sin seems far removed, but the vision from which I shrink is the dark blot of sin in me. 

My preference is to think of myself as the daughter of the King of heaven, but that relationship was made possible only by the unbounded mercy that covered my sin. When God created this world and placed man (and woman) in it, He pronounced it good. There was nothing evil or wrong or bad in it. No sin. 

This is hard for me to comprehend, but there was no sin in Adam or Eve, either. There was choice, though, and it was that choice that ushered sin right in the door to its happy home in the hearts of humankind. It wasn't the serpent that brought sin into the world. He wrapped it in an attractive package, but it was mankind who unwrapped that package and embraced sin with open arms.

In their defense, Adam and Eve did not believe the consequences of sin would be so great, so far reaching. When Eve reached out for the fruit that would, she believed, make her wise, she was not yet a mother. She never once considered that her decision would result in one of her sons murdering the other, nor that the murdering son would be lost to her, as well. Would she or Adam have done something that would result in the loss of their two sons? Maybe not, if they had realized the price. 

That's one of the problems with sin. All we see is the enticing option. We never see the long-term cost. If we did, it might stop us in our tracks. It is the nature of sin, however, that the price is great and the payday is, many times, long in coming. If I am honest about my own sin, I have to admit that my bad choices, my sin, though long repented and forgiven, still reap a price years later. Sin is far more attractive than it should be. 

If we only knew the price, I think, and then I remember. We do know the price. God gave us the law, and we kept right on sinning. He allowed discipline and we responded by cleaning up our acts for a time, then, like a dog returning to its vomit, we went right back to the sin we loved. 

I had a horse that could not be broken once. I tried everything to gentle him, without success, then finally, reluctantly sold him. He did not have a good end, but, by the time of our parting, I had endured enough of him. He was welcome to whatever came his way. God, however, did not respond to our sin by giving up on us. He did not abandon us to our own wickedness. God, in His infinite mercy, said, "There is a price that must be paid for all of Leanna's sin, for all mankind's sin, and it is so high that I will have to pay it Myself." And He did. 

Scripture tells us about the cross. We know with our mind what it cost Christ to pay our debt, but our hearts cannot take it in. He endured terror and pain, death and shame, and He did it for me. For you.  

It is customary to spend some time considering the cross on Good Friday, but our time might be well spent in considering our compulsion to sin that made the cross necessary. For today, I'm asking God to show me my sin the way He sees it, to show me the ways in which my sin made the cross necessary. I know my sin. What I need to see, all over again, is how God sees my sin, for it is only when I see myself as I am that I can truly understand the enormity of what Jesus did for me, the horrific price He paid. We aren't meant to stay in this difficult place, but it is important to visit it long enough to appreciate the light that Christ bought for us. Join me today on this journey of self-enlightenment, this journey of darkness, as we see ourselves in the light of God and recognize our own unworthiness.