by Laura Courtney

Easter is a real celebration for us, but it can’t come without Good Friday. Good Friday marks the day that Jesus, the Son of God, died for us so that we could be reunited with God the Father. We often take time to reflect on the suffering Christ endured and the sacrifice Jesus made out of love for us. But I want to reflect for a moment about another sacrifice that was made that day too (and hopefully this doesn’t sound too blasphemous or anything by the end… I’m no theologian here people).

I’ve been thinking recently about the sacrifice God the Father had to make that Good Friday. He had to watch and, in a sense I believe, give approval of His Son’s death. It was no surprise to either Him nor Jesus and it was not without their love for us that it happened. But it still had to happen.

Christ suffered tremendously and had to bear the weight of all our sin – the whole world’s sin – on the Cross. I cannot imagine having to go through that myself and obviously I never could have done it which was why Christ had to. But at the same time, I cannot imagine the part of the Trinity that is God the Father who had to watch His Son suffer. I think that is almost the harder thought for me. As parents we want to keep our children safe, protect them from harm, and surely would rather give our own life for our child(ren). If asked the question would we rather have to suffer excruciating pain ourselves or watch our child go through it, I think we all would volunteer as tribute without second thought.

But God is so much greater and stronger than we because He knew this was the only way to reconcile the entire world to Him again. And so He did. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)

We read a foreshadowing to this in Genesis 22 when God asks Abraham to do a similar act with Isaac. Abraham is willing yet God does not make Him go through with it. However, in the Gospels there is no other way. The sacrifice God asked Abraham to make He now has to make Himself. He watches His Son suffer a brutal and agonizing death; to then die and be officially and completely separated from Him.

 As a parent would I – could I – let my only child die knowing that I could stop it all instantly? And what’s more, let my child die for the worst of people? Maybe I could better rationalize it to myself if I knew my child was dying for “good people”. But Christ didn’t die just for those who were good and who would one day go to heaven…He died for all sinners, then and now; the most horrible, heartless, and evil of us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV)

I keep hearing the lyrics,  “How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure.” It is only because of God’s great love – His unconditional, everlasting, patient, perfect love for us – that He would do this. In my opinion, we never were and never could be worth that sacrifice of a Father letting His Son die. But because He is good and He is love, He believes that we are. Are you living your life in honor of the sacrifices (both of them) of Easter?

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:9-11 NIV)

Father your love is greater than we can ever know or comprehend. It is unfathomable to me at times how you could even love us. Yet I am so thankful you do. Thank you for the sacrifices of Easter that you endured so that we could be reconciled to you. May we live each day worthy of those sacrifices. Amen.

by Jacqui Forde, WOH Uganda

But God who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4 NIV)

It’s good for God to remind us of what we used to be.

His purposes for doing so are
(1) to help us to be humble
(2) to deepen our gratitude
(3) to understand that it is by His grace
(4) to glorify God, who alone is able to take nothing (what we were) and make something (what we are now) out of it.

The reading of the book of Ephesians helps us to see that we were spiritually dead because of our sins, walking in iniquity, in bad shape, following foolish fads and fashions, and influenced by the devil. We were disobedient, living in lust, rebellious, governed by the desires of the flesh and mind, condemned, children of wrath, and bound for hell.

What a background.

But God, who is rich in mercy, loved us when we were unlovable and sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. But we are reminded again of God’s grace, mercy and love. Thank God today for His mercy.

There’s a chorus we sing, a chorus of victory:

What the Lord has done for me I cannot tell it all
What the Lord has done for me I cannot tell it all
What the Lord has done for me I cannot tell it all
He saved me and washed me with His blood

So I can sing hallelujah
I can shout hallelujah
I can sing Praise the Lord
So I can sing hallelujah
I can shout hallelujah
I can sing Praise the Lord.

by Pastor Todd Witmer
             

by Joe Becker

Pennsylvania Preacher, A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) is quoted to have said, “One passage of Scripture is never enough to establish a doctrine.”

If that view is accurate, then we can hardly expect to establish a doctrine with just one verse of Scripture, much less by setting apart any one word of the Text. Yet a certain value may be attached to that principle when the occasion of a word is found only once in all of Scripture. Unfolding its context and definition does not lessen but endears and deepens the Holy Word and Spirit of God to our hearts.

Each year during the Church’s observance of Lent, I recall the lone reference of the term: “Agony”, as it appears in Luke’s Gospel:

               “…and being in agony, (a struggle), He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44 KJB)

Note, this is the scribes’ only use of the word agony in the entire King James Version of the Bible. It amazes me how Luke would, -with this single word-, preserve the Lord’s Spiritual state and exact for us the very essence of Christ’s heart and mind, in the Garden setting. Being concerned not with His own interests but those of our Father in Heaven, “He prayed more earnestly” Luke22:42 (KJV)

Then it becomes a matter of intrigue to review Luke’s Text from the garden to the grave. Ironically, nowhere does the Physician expound on Jesus’ physical condition. Nowhere does he examine or record the wounds or stripes of the tortured Christ. There is no reference to the scourge from Luke’s account, but it is covered in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John. Similarly, there is no reference to the agony by Matthew, Mark, or John but it is wonderfully cared for by the Doctor/author, Luke.

In keeping with the record of the blood, let us remember without any inadvertence, that Jesus was known as the man of sorrows. Here the Hebrew word for sorrow is used of both physical and mental pain. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah53:3 KJV)

Most merciful Father,

Thank you for so many levels of your provision of love for us. May we say with Jesus, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” Thank you for the outcome of Your will, which is grace and mercy toward us. Thank you, AMEN.

by Michael Freeman

Each year, around Easter, I look forward to what has become a tradition in my home… preparing and sharing a Passover Seder with our family and friends. This is not something we did in my house growing up. Though my father was raised Jewish, and my grandmother and aunts and uncles all celebrated Passover together, our family did not participate. I’m sure my parents had their reasons. Maybe they thought that combining religious traditions would confuse us as kids. Maybe that week was already busy enough with Easter traditions… Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday service, searching for eggs and Easter baskets at my home and my grandparents’ house, the big family meal. I even remember doing a homemade Easter bonnet parade in elementary school. As a kid, that time was fun and busy… too busy to wonder why we never celebrated Easter with my Dad’s mom. As I got older though, I wanted to know more about my Jewish family and the customs and traditions that marked out their year. So, I started to look into it. It wasn’t until we had young children of our own that, with the support of Bethanie, we celebrated our first Passover Seder. We have continued the tradition every year since… adding chairs and additional tables to the meal to accommodate more and more guests.

Last year, during the height of the pandemic, I had the opportunity of welcoming my church family into my home (via video) to celebrate Passover together. This year, we are preparing to share a Seder at the church during Holy Week. This has become an important tradition in my family so I thought it might be a good opportunity to reflect on just some of the lessons that celebrating Passover has taught me.

• God is faithful to keep His promises. Passover is a time when we celebrate the miraculous Exodus story, where God brought His people out of bondage in Egypt. If He can keep a 400-year-old promise to Israel, we can trust His promises to us.

Do we trust Him? John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

• Sometimes, God needs to get our attention. During the telling of the Exodus story, there is special attention given to the plagues on Egypt. As a Christian, it is often hard to understand how Pharaoh didn’t just acknowledge the power of God and set the Israelites free.

How many ways does God try to capture our attention while we are busy going about our lives? Romans 1:18 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

• We have to share the story. The Passover Seder is a tradition that is meant to be shared with others. It is built around encouraging children to ask questions and to spend time answering those questions. People are also encouraged to open their homes and tables to others.

Do we open our lives to others? Are we ready to share the story of God’s faithfulness to any who would ask about it? Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek.”

• He’s coming back! Though the Passover Seder is a powerful tradition for the Jewish people, it has such a richer meaning for Christians. Whenever we participate in Communion, we are actually participating in a tiny part of the Passover Seder. Christ used this celebration to point to Himself. The plague of the Death of the Firstborn, opening the door to wait for the prophet Elijah to return, the symbols of rebirth throughout the celebration… there is so much here that points to God’s larger plan to not only bring His people out of bondage in Egypt but to also release them from the bondage of sin.

Do we live like we know He is coming back? Do we make room for Him at our tables and in our lives? Luke 22:15-16 – “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’”     

After my grandmother died, we were invited to celebrate Passover with my Jewish relatives for the first time. Sitting around their table, I had the excitement of a kid again on Easter morning, just waiting for the day to unfold. Surrounded by family, laughter, storytelling, and song, I discovered a new appreciation for my Christian faith. Participating in this ancient Jewish tradition, one that was so important to Christ Himself, I felt like I had an inside track on what this celebration was all about.

God has always had a plan for His people. He is faithful, loving, and can be trusted. For a reason that doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, He intends for us to have a role in that plan… to participate in reconciling the world to Him. Can we still see Him working that plan out in our lives? Are we in a season where He is trying desperately to get our attention? Are we willing to open our lives and our homes to others who are seeking? Do we live our lives with the expectancy that He is coming back at any moment? I pray that this season, as we prepare to celebrate His resurrection, some of these lessons from the Passover Seder might help to strengthen our faith and witness.    

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:1-11 NIV)