The Pursuit Life
Showing posts with label Good Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Good Friday. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Passover and the events of Good Friday - Partial
Many people are confused by the events of the Last Supper and the night that Jesus was arrested.
What cups are they talking about and what do they mean?
Why is Jesus so hard on His disciples who are tired?
Why did they come to arrest Him at night?
How did the leaders get so many people together for a rowdy crowd during the trials?
Why would they conduct a trial at night and violate normal judicial procedure?
Much of these can be understood if you take into account the practices during the Jewish Passover.
The Jewish days start at 6 PM, so the day the Passover meal is eaten continues through the night until 6 PM the following day. All of the events of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion happen on the same “day” in the Jewish mind.
I’ve always wondered about these questions until my wife and I found something to explain the custom of the Jewish people on the day of Passover. It stems from Exodus 12:42—“If was a night of vigil in honor of the LORD, because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the LORD, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.”
After the Passover meal, they were supposed to stay awake all night. So when Jesus comes back from prayer and finds the disciples sleeping, they are supposed to be awake, not just because He had asked them to, but because of the Passover. Incidentally, Peter and John were the ones sent ahead to prepare the Passover meal so they had been working through the day to get it ready—I’m sure they were wiped out.
The fact that they were supposed to be awake explains in part why the guards were there to arrest Jesus and they expected to find him awake. It explains how the Jewish leaders were able to rouse a sympathetic crowd at such unusual hours since they were supposed to eat the meal, not in their pajamas, not ready for bed but with their clothes on, their belt tightened, their shoes on. They were symbolically ready to move out and leave, but it also meant they could go and be anywhere at a moment’s notice.
It explains why the leadership would be able to hold a trial at night—all of the people necessary would be awake and available. Normally, it would not be proper to conduct such a trial at night, many people unavailable, many others still sleepy and not ready for the day, but this was not an ordinary night. Enough people were awake and present to conduct these events—the normal routine beginning at dawn—all giving enough time to have Jesus up on the Cross by 9 am. He was taken down off the Cross not long after the 9th hour (according to Mark) which is 3 pm. That makes all these events of Messiah occurring on the same day as the Passover (by Jewish reckoning).
The Jewish Passover ceremony with it’s four cups is also why Jesus was praying about “cups” in the Garden of Gethsemane. The cup of Sin & Judgment and Wrath was the cup that was about to be poured out on Him. It was this cup that makes the next cup of the feast, the Cup of Redemption possible. Jesus’ blood was poured out to cover over, to atone for our sin. The wrath passes over us when the Blood is seen.
There are several other points that I may make about the Passover at in a later post
What cups are they talking about and what do they mean?
Why is Jesus so hard on His disciples who are tired?
Why did they come to arrest Him at night?
How did the leaders get so many people together for a rowdy crowd during the trials?
Why would they conduct a trial at night and violate normal judicial procedure?
Much of these can be understood if you take into account the practices during the Jewish Passover.
The Jewish days start at 6 PM, so the day the Passover meal is eaten continues through the night until 6 PM the following day. All of the events of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion happen on the same “day” in the Jewish mind.
I’ve always wondered about these questions until my wife and I found something to explain the custom of the Jewish people on the day of Passover. It stems from Exodus 12:42—“If was a night of vigil in honor of the LORD, because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the LORD, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.”
After the Passover meal, they were supposed to stay awake all night. So when Jesus comes back from prayer and finds the disciples sleeping, they are supposed to be awake, not just because He had asked them to, but because of the Passover. Incidentally, Peter and John were the ones sent ahead to prepare the Passover meal so they had been working through the day to get it ready—I’m sure they were wiped out.
The fact that they were supposed to be awake explains in part why the guards were there to arrest Jesus and they expected to find him awake. It explains how the Jewish leaders were able to rouse a sympathetic crowd at such unusual hours since they were supposed to eat the meal, not in their pajamas, not ready for bed but with their clothes on, their belt tightened, their shoes on. They were symbolically ready to move out and leave, but it also meant they could go and be anywhere at a moment’s notice.
It explains why the leadership would be able to hold a trial at night—all of the people necessary would be awake and available. Normally, it would not be proper to conduct such a trial at night, many people unavailable, many others still sleepy and not ready for the day, but this was not an ordinary night. Enough people were awake and present to conduct these events—the normal routine beginning at dawn—all giving enough time to have Jesus up on the Cross by 9 am. He was taken down off the Cross not long after the 9th hour (according to Mark) which is 3 pm. That makes all these events of Messiah occurring on the same day as the Passover (by Jewish reckoning).
The Jewish Passover ceremony with it’s four cups is also why Jesus was praying about “cups” in the Garden of Gethsemane. The cup of Sin & Judgment and Wrath was the cup that was about to be poured out on Him. It was this cup that makes the next cup of the feast, the Cup of Redemption possible. Jesus’ blood was poured out to cover over, to atone for our sin. The wrath passes over us when the Blood is seen.
There are several other points that I may make about the Passover at in a later post
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Friday, March 21, 2008
Good Friday-- Day of Tragedy, Promise of Hope
Day of Tragedy, Promise of Hope
There are days in the history of nations that are forever ingrained into the peoples' memory. Days of great Victory and days of tremendous tragedy. Sometimes I believe we better mark the Tragic days than the Victorious days. For the Jewish people in the Old & New Testaments, 3 moments of tragedy stand out
Isaiah 6--the great vision of God on his sovereign throne, surrounded by the Seraphim all occurs within the context of "In the Year that King Uzziah died"
In the midst of this terrible moment--God was still sovereign and on His throne and the vision was a vision that there is a mission that comes even in those moments.
In 586 BC, another tragedy struck--Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed by an invading army. The future was in doubt. How could they approach and worship God without the Temple?
70 years later, the generation carried off, upon their return, upon seeing the foundation of the new temple—were moved to tears. They remembered how it used to be--they remembered where they were when their world was shattered.
And yet there was hope. For this Temple survived and was expanded and became the Temple standing during the life of Jesus in which He was dedicated, in which He taught, in which He drove out the money changers.
All the renovations that Herod the Great started were finished in 66 AD, but just 4 years later, tragedy struck again and the Temple was destroyed by the Romans--and Judaism lives in this tragedy to this day. In many ways, their world was shattered--2000 years later, the Jewish people are still trying to make sense of it. They still hope for restoration, many still hope for a return to the Temple and for the coming of the Messiah.
The days following these events would have been hard--the stories lingering and being passed on for generations--"where were you when you heard about King Uzziah dying?" "Where were you when Jerusalem was destroyed?" "Where were you when the Romans destroyed the Temple."
Our own nation has experienced similar tragedies. I'm going to guess and say no one remembers where they were when Lincoln was assassinated. Maybe some will remember where you were on December 7th, 1941 when you heard news of Pearl Harbor. Maybe more will remember where you were when news came of Kennedy's assassination, November 22, 1963. For many, even the emotions of the days and following linger from September 11th--even our world was shattered and for many families, they have not recovered. The pain and loss is still too great. For those in New York, whether they walk, drive, or ride in the city--the skyline will remind them of what is missing.
Now you may be wondering, "I thought this was a Good Friday service?" It is... I say all this to perhaps give you and me a sense of the loss of this day and perhaps a sense of what the disciples would have been thinking and feeling.
For the Disciples and all those following Jesus--their world was destroyed and upended--their world was tragically altered. In just a few hours, some had gone from arguing about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, to denying they even know Jesus, to hiding out in homes wondering if they would be next--preparing to say their last respects to the One they had devoted, some, the last 3 years of their life to.
Do you think they remembered where they were on that day? Do you there was a part of them that could not stop watching? Just as our own eyes in times of tragedy were glued to the reports, so were theirs.
Luke 23:27--a large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him."
Some stayed to the end and watched from a distance—but close enough so that Jesus still saw to the future of His mother.
Some were so affected and so afraid that they couldn't bear to watch, so ashamed, so fearful that they couldn't get close, but hid themselves.
If this was the end of the story—the crucifixion of an innocent man—then none of us would dare call this moment—Good Friday. If the crucifixion were the end of the story—then perhaps for a few people, perhaps for a generation, they would tell their children—“I remember that day”, “I was there”
We talk about Good Friday 2000 years later, because 3 days later, that all changed. Something happened to them--their world was restored and they were given a greater power, a greater hope and reason for living.
To imagine how monumental this reality is. Imagine for a moment, how your life would have been affected if you woke up on December 10th, 1941, opened up the newspaper and read how miraculously, Pearl Harbor was restored, all the ships were back in their moorings, all the lives lost were restored
Imagine how you would feel if woke up 3 days later on November 25th, to read that Kennedy had come back to life.
Imagine if on September 14th, you woke up to see the World Trade Center Towers back in their place and all those who died were back.
What kind of emotions would you have?
It's hard to imagine isn't it? And yet, that is the life, the experience the followers of Jesus lived. 3 days later, their life was restored--their hope was restored, their faith in God was restored. Is it any wonder that they changed the world? Any wonder that they gave their lives for their Savior? What kind of confidence would you have to face the future?
For the world, the moments of tragedy linger, but for the believer, there is the Promise of Hope. This is where our Hope comes from, this is where our Power, our Joy, our Expectation comes from.
We have more than the Promise of Victory—we have its Demonstration. We have more than the promise of Restoration—we have its Fulfillment.
That Power, at work in raising Christ from the dead is available to you. All of that is available to you because we, you and I live in that victory.
Ephesians 1:18-23--I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
There are days in the history of nations that are forever ingrained into the peoples' memory. Days of great Victory and days of tremendous tragedy. Sometimes I believe we better mark the Tragic days than the Victorious days. For the Jewish people in the Old & New Testaments, 3 moments of tragedy stand out
Isaiah 6--the great vision of God on his sovereign throne, surrounded by the Seraphim all occurs within the context of "In the Year that King Uzziah died"
In the midst of this terrible moment--God was still sovereign and on His throne and the vision was a vision that there is a mission that comes even in those moments.
In 586 BC, another tragedy struck--Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed by an invading army. The future was in doubt. How could they approach and worship God without the Temple?
70 years later, the generation carried off, upon their return, upon seeing the foundation of the new temple—were moved to tears. They remembered how it used to be--they remembered where they were when their world was shattered.
And yet there was hope. For this Temple survived and was expanded and became the Temple standing during the life of Jesus in which He was dedicated, in which He taught, in which He drove out the money changers.
All the renovations that Herod the Great started were finished in 66 AD, but just 4 years later, tragedy struck again and the Temple was destroyed by the Romans--and Judaism lives in this tragedy to this day. In many ways, their world was shattered--2000 years later, the Jewish people are still trying to make sense of it. They still hope for restoration, many still hope for a return to the Temple and for the coming of the Messiah.
The days following these events would have been hard--the stories lingering and being passed on for generations--"where were you when you heard about King Uzziah dying?" "Where were you when Jerusalem was destroyed?" "Where were you when the Romans destroyed the Temple."
Our own nation has experienced similar tragedies. I'm going to guess and say no one remembers where they were when Lincoln was assassinated. Maybe some will remember where you were on December 7th, 1941 when you heard news of Pearl Harbor. Maybe more will remember where you were when news came of Kennedy's assassination, November 22, 1963. For many, even the emotions of the days and following linger from September 11th--even our world was shattered and for many families, they have not recovered. The pain and loss is still too great. For those in New York, whether they walk, drive, or ride in the city--the skyline will remind them of what is missing.
Now you may be wondering, "I thought this was a Good Friday service?" It is... I say all this to perhaps give you and me a sense of the loss of this day and perhaps a sense of what the disciples would have been thinking and feeling.
For the Disciples and all those following Jesus--their world was destroyed and upended--their world was tragically altered. In just a few hours, some had gone from arguing about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, to denying they even know Jesus, to hiding out in homes wondering if they would be next--preparing to say their last respects to the One they had devoted, some, the last 3 years of their life to.
Do you think they remembered where they were on that day? Do you there was a part of them that could not stop watching? Just as our own eyes in times of tragedy were glued to the reports, so were theirs.
Luke 23:27--a large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him."
Some stayed to the end and watched from a distance—but close enough so that Jesus still saw to the future of His mother.
Some were so affected and so afraid that they couldn't bear to watch, so ashamed, so fearful that they couldn't get close, but hid themselves.
If this was the end of the story—the crucifixion of an innocent man—then none of us would dare call this moment—Good Friday. If the crucifixion were the end of the story—then perhaps for a few people, perhaps for a generation, they would tell their children—“I remember that day”, “I was there”
We talk about Good Friday 2000 years later, because 3 days later, that all changed. Something happened to them--their world was restored and they were given a greater power, a greater hope and reason for living.
To imagine how monumental this reality is. Imagine for a moment, how your life would have been affected if you woke up on December 10th, 1941, opened up the newspaper and read how miraculously, Pearl Harbor was restored, all the ships were back in their moorings, all the lives lost were restored
Imagine how you would feel if woke up 3 days later on November 25th, to read that Kennedy had come back to life.
Imagine if on September 14th, you woke up to see the World Trade Center Towers back in their place and all those who died were back.
What kind of emotions would you have?
It's hard to imagine isn't it? And yet, that is the life, the experience the followers of Jesus lived. 3 days later, their life was restored--their hope was restored, their faith in God was restored. Is it any wonder that they changed the world? Any wonder that they gave their lives for their Savior? What kind of confidence would you have to face the future?
For the world, the moments of tragedy linger, but for the believer, there is the Promise of Hope. This is where our Hope comes from, this is where our Power, our Joy, our Expectation comes from.
We have more than the Promise of Victory—we have its Demonstration. We have more than the promise of Restoration—we have its Fulfillment.
That Power, at work in raising Christ from the dead is available to you. All of that is available to you because we, you and I live in that victory.
Ephesians 1:18-23--I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)