Now that Easter has come and gone the message remains…He came, He lived, He died and lives again..to give us all a new beginning. The week that was is a story of hope.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)
Tag Archives: scripture
The Week that Was – The Resurrection
The good news is not that Jesus lived and died, but that He died and lives. Happy Easter.John 20:10J-29New International Version (NIV)10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to His Disciples19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus Appears to Thomas24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side,I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
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The Week that Was – The Burial
The deed was done. Jesus was dead. No one knew what was to come.
Luke 23:50-56 New International Version (NIV)
The Burial of Jesus
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
The Week that Was – The Crucifixion
Mary watched as her beloved son died on the cross…a mother’s worst nightmare…the death of her child.Luke 23:26, 32-49 New International Version (NIV)The Crucifixion of Jesus26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene,who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[b] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[c]” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The Death of Jesus44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[d] When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
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The Week that Was – The Last Supper
Before Jesus was betrayed by Judas, He gathered his disciples together for one last time before his death.
Luke 22:14-23 New International Version (NIV)
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
The Week that Was -The Betrayal
For thirty pieces of silver Judas Iscariot helped send Jesus to the cross, and then hung himself for this dastardly deed.
Luke 22New International Version (NIV)
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
The Week that Was – Parable of the Tenants
With a few days left to live Jesus continues to preach and teach.
Luke 20:9-16 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Tenants
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
The Week that Was – Jesus at the Temple
Following Palm Sunday, Jesus went to the temple and found it being used as a marketplace. At this point he had less than a week to live.
Jesus at the Temple
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’[c]; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d]”
47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
Hearing is Even Better
Only Listen. That was the title of my blog on March 22nd. This morning I read a post by Faith Unblocked, “Lydia” where the author quoted Acts 16:14, One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
My grandmother’s name was Lydia, although she didn’t deal in purple cloth that I can remember. I mentioned her in my book, My Precious Life, which was part of Sunday’s blog.
The fact is this…a quote from Pinterest came my way on Sunday. God says, “Prepare yourself, I’m about to take you to a new level in your life.”
Now, I’m a listener, and when I read that quote I got excited, and am still excited to see what the next step in my spiritual life will be. I have no doubt that there will be a next step.
Listening is really good…hearing is even better.
Only Listen
I read Revelation 1:17 this morning and it reminded me of a dream I had in 1991. Here it is in an excerpt from my book, My Precious Life.
The next time God spoke to me in a dream was 1991. I dreamed my family was gathered in an old farm house which had seen better days. As we exited the house, the overhang of the verandah collapsed, knocking all of us to the floor. I stood up and watched as everyone got to their feet except my eldest daughter and youngest son. As I gazed down at them lying there, still as statues, the thought came to me: My first and my last…why my first and my last? Once again I woke up with a tingly feeling, with the words, first and last, repeating in my mind. I felt no fear or foreboding, but that dream stayed with me for weeks until I came across Revelation 1:17 where Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last”, confirming that he is truly in my life, and is always by my side, waking or sleeping. To this day though, Debbie and Kelly, my eldest daughter and youngest son, refuse to be on any covered verandah together.
I might add here that in verse 19, Jesus goes on to say, “Write, therefore, what you have seen…” which was one of the scriptures that prompted me to write the book.
I’m not sure why Revelation 1:17 came to me this morning, but I always love to be reminded of the many ways God speaks to us if we only listen.
My Precious Life 