What Now?

"John, what should we do now? Jesus is dead!"

"Well, we should pray. Isn't that would HE would do?"

"Yes, but He's gone! I mean, he was supposed to be the Messiah. The chosen one! And now he's dead . . . and buried! I just don't know."

"We all felt it. We all saw his miracles. How he made the lame walk and the blind to see. How could this happen? He said he was God for cryin' out loud. And now he's dead. Can God die?"

"I know. I know. But he's not with us right now. What would he want us to do? Just go back to fishing? There has to be more. What shall we do?"

* * * * *

That was a hypothetical conversation amongst the disciples on Saturday, the day after Jesus' death. The doubts, the questions. They must have been questioning everything that went on in their lives for the past three years.

Their probable questions are still alive and active today. Only today, we know what happened Sunday morning two thousand years ago.

Today we can reflect on ALL the events of that weekend. That's why Good Friday is called 'good.' It's because we know what happened on the following Sunday. Without the events of Sunday, that Friday would not be referred to as 'good.' At all.

So what should WE do?

Share the good news of Jesus' resurrection! We know the story. The WHOLE story. This is the perfect time to share the Gospel. Who will hear without someone telling.

"¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." - Romans 10:14-17

Good Thursday?

Our pastor said something on Sunday that got my attention. He said that he believed that Jesus was actually crucified on a Thursday and NOT on a Friday. Really? Could it be true?

When someone tells us something like that, we should be "good Bereans" and do our research in God's Word.

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." - Acts 17:11

GotQuestions.org, my usual go-to place for Bible questions, actually said there are three beliefs for days of the crucifixion - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Going into this examination my default belief was Friday. It's Good Friday, not Good Thursday or Wednesday, right?

The GotQuestions.org answer (link below) provided scripture for each position. One verse got my attention, however. Matthew 28:1. Most Bible translations read similar to this:

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb." - Matthew 28:1

But some other translations, like the Berean Literal Translation for example, had the same verse translated this way:

"And after the Sabbaths, it being dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb." - Matthew 28:1

'Sabbaths' is plural!?! So, I kept digging and found an article called The Case for A Thursday Crucifixion (link below). Interesting read.

The picture above is from a Greek/English Interlinear On-Line Bible. Note the word "Sabbaths" that I underlined. It's plural, meaning more than one sabbath.

The key to all of this is knowing that there are TWO kinds of Sabbath days. There is a weekly day Sabbath, which occurs every Saturday, and then there is a HIGH day or special holy day, like Passover, which occurs on different days of the week but always on Nissan 10 according to scripture.

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month (Nisan) of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household." - Exodus 12:1-3

Jesus came into town riding on a donkey. On Palm Sunday. The Passover.

Read the article. Perhaps your Good Friday will turn into a Good THURSDAY as a result.

On What Day Was Jesus Crucified?

The Case for A Thursday Crucifixion

We Gather Alone

Well, that was weird. A Good Friday spent without my church family is like a day without sunshine. It still happened, but it was just not the same.

I find myself being somewhat grateful for the Internet so at least we can hear and see our pastor's teaching remotely. However, our gratefulness for technology only shows just how desperately we Christians also needs fellowship. There is something special about gathering together that makes Good Friday more reflective and penitent.

When worshiping with my brothers and sisters I have the opportunity to look around and see the pain and suffering on their faces when they hear the story of the crucifixion. They clearly feel the same as I do - sad, remorseful, alone.

That's how I imagine the disciples felt the night Jesus died. Alone. Jesus felt alone as well when His loyal followers all took off and left Him hanging there. Literally.

Times of sorrow, like someone's death, are times when we need family and friends. They mourn with us. They comfort us. And that's what I think was missing this past Friday. The togetherness of family.

Look at the persecuted church in the Book of Acts. They still met. The present-day church in China is another example. Despite a government crack down on religion, they still meet anyway. Why? Because it is part of who we are as Christians - that gathering together of the outcast underdogs.

One day this virus will have run its course and we can all attend worship together again. It is likely that things will return to normal but I kind of hope it doesn't. We are blessed to be able to worship together and I hope none of us takes that freedom for granted again. It is truly priceless.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." - Hebrews 10:23-25

We Gather Together Hymn

Do The Work

Sometimes things don't go exactly like we think they will. Something unexpected comes up, new obstacles appear in our way. Seemingly overnight, relationships can change right before our eyes. Sometimes our lives get filled with so many distractions that we lose focus on the very thing we were trying to get accomplished in the first place.

A lot of behind the scenes stuff has been happening with my Tiny Home. Ordering materials, paperwork, forming an L.L.C., should we become a non-profit organization? Lots of questions. Answers are slow in coming.

After one frustrating day at work and then, coming home, and not being able to work on the Tiny House . .  again . . . I was getting frustrated. When I get frustrated, which isn't very often, I usually pick up my Bible and I read. Once again, God removed my frustrations as He spoke to me though His Word. Wow!

I was reading in 1st Chronicles. Not the most exciting book in the Bible. But this is what I read - David speaking to his son Solomon. Was God speaking to me as well this week when I read these words? I say YES!

^"9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” - 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

I am building a home. A Tiny House. It is going to be used as "a sanctuary" for displaced teens, homeless, and people who just need a place to stay.

"Be strong and do the work." I think God wants me to forget all the extraneous stuff and just focus on building the house. He'll take care of the rest.

Yesterday was Good Friday - the day we remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Jesus did what HIS Father told Him. Jesus completed the work. And when He was done, hanging there on the cross, He said THIS to His Father.

^"30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." - John 19:30

Jesus obeyed His Father. He finished the work His Father had given Him to do. Can we say the same thing? Have we completed the work that God wanted us to do?

When I get to the end of my life I want to have completed what God wanted me to do here. If God wants me to build a house for Him to use, I'm going to build Him a house. I want to be able to say, "It is finished" just like Jesus did after He finished the job His Father had for HIM.

May each of us be able to say . . .

"Tetelestai!"

It is finished.
 
It Is Finished - An Animation feat. song by Caitelen Schneeberger

What's So Good About It?

It's the day after they crucified my Lord. A mix of emotions runs through my heart. Of course, I am terribly saddened by His death - grieved to the point where my heart aches terribly for His loss.  Saddened even more by the knowledge that it had to occur. Even more so knowing that it was MY sins that placed Him on that cross. Yet, even in His death I feel hope. And that is why my heart keeps beating. Hope.

While Jesus was still with us He told us that "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." And he also gave us this promise . . .

"Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die."

When I consider the promise He made I am not really interested in living forever. That is not even a thought in my head. I am not interested in streets of gold or any kind of "reward." What gives me the strength to carry on after all of the struggles I have been through in this live, is the hope of seeing Jesus face-to-face. That's what I long for. That is what fascinates me. That I might have the opportunity to thank Jesus personally . . . if I can even speak in the presence of my King.

The Friday before Easter is called "Good" Friday. For the life of me I cannot think of a single GOOD thing about it. Just that it HAD to happen. It had to happen so the resurrection could happen. Jesus died so that we might live. He died for our sins. He died to give us hope.

These days we Christians find ourselves being persecuted for our beliefs. Brothers and sisters are dying overseas rather than deny their faith. We here in America are having our rights taken away in favor of political correctness. We are seeing God removed from our schools and from our government whose principals and laws were based on His. It is a dark time. But nowhere near as dark as when Jesus died nearly 2,000 years ago.

Each Good Friday I come home from work and watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ and each time I watch it I am saddened by humanity's sinful nature. But each time I watch the movie I also see hope. In the centurion . . . at the foot of the cross.

  

 "54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” - Matthew 27:54

There is tremendous hope in that. "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." - John 11:25

Were You There - Largest Ever World Male Voice Choir

Nic

My real world job is that of an architectural draftsman. I draw plans for buildings so other people can get an idea of how to build them. One of the phrases I use when I label things is N.I.C. which stands for Not In Contract. That way when people see things on the plans I create they will know that that particular object is not included in the job they are about to perform. They know what it is but they don't have to do anything with it. That's one example of NIC.

Nic is also a name. I have a few people in my life named Nic. One hiked the Appalachian Trail last year. The other is going to be marrying one of the coolest young ladies I know this summer. Her name is Meghan . . . and you spell his "Nic" with a 'K' at the end of it. There is Saint Nick, Nicholas Cage, Nick Nolte, Nicholas Sparks, Tsar Nicholas . . . both the First (I) and the Second (II). There are lots of Nic's in this world . . . whether they are included in the contract or not. But today I'd like to write about and another Nic - Nic O. Demus - and the topic of false converts.

First of all, false converts are those people who consider themselves "religious." They go to church, they put money in the offering plate . . . or not. They SAY they know God or Jesus but they really don't. It's like they know OF Him but their lives do not reflect a true belief.

I'd like to show you an example of a false convert in the Bible, Nicodemus, and how an encounter with Jesus changed his life and change his false beliefs for the truth.

Nicodemus was one of the religious chief priests, scribes and religious rulers; the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin as they were called. He was very much about following the law of Moses, sticking to the rules. In other words, he went to church, he knew about God, he did everything right in terms of what he believed. But then he heard about this man Jesus and his teachings so he went to investigate for himself.

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony." - John 3:1-11

At this point, "Nic" had heard about Jesus but was still living in a religion he had believed all of his life. "I've always had faith in my life," he might have said. But now Nic was asking questions. He went right to the source and asked Jesus about what He (Jesus) was saying. And Jesus delivered The Gospel. This third chapter of John is where we hear John 3:16, the most famous verse ever spoken, the "Bible in a single verse."

“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

At this point Nicodemus is without excuse. He has heard the Gospel message right from the source! Now he must wrestle - this new message vs. his current lifestyle and belief system. What will he do? Later on in scripture we get a hint. He's still playing it safe, but he's beginning to come around.

"45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” - John 7:45-52

Nicodemus "kind of" came to Jesus' defense but still clung to his position as a religious leader. All that was about to change. After the crucifixion, the body of Jesus had to be removed from the cross. Who did it? Most people remember Joseph of Arimathea. But Joesph was not alone that day.

"38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” – John 19

Let me ask you a question. Do you think that Nicodemus was born again? Verse 38 said that Joseph was secretly a disciple of Jesus. It also said that his status was "secret" because he feared the Jewish leaders. Well, if he feared the Jewish leaders so much, what was he doing there with Nicodemus - one of the Jewish leaders!?!? It HAD to have been because Joseph trusted Nicodemus not to betray him and his faith in Christ. That trust could only have existed because Nicodemus was also a disciple. A brother, in Christ.

This Nic, a religious leader of his day, was a false convert who placed his entire faith in the law. But then he became born again and lives a life devoted to Christ. I look forward one day to hearing the testimony of Nic and how specifically things happened. I wonder how many self-professing Christians of today are like Nicodemus was. Trying to live a life under the law, trying to do their best, going to church . . . religiously. Doing this, doing that. That's all worked based. The faith of a Christian is NOT ABOUT WORKS! It's a about grace through faith.

As we remember the death of our King on the cross - a death required because of OUR sin - let us offer our lives back to Jesus for the price he paid. Joseph of Arimathea did, so did Nicodemus. They both faced potential persecution, even death, for their beliefs and faith. Still, they both made the conscious decision to follow Christ . . no matter what. The question of the day is . . . have you?

Were you there?