HE IS RISEN

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Matt. 28:6 NKJV).

Here in our verse all the blessed news is at once announced as the fact of the Resurrection was revealed to the women. Clearly, it was the Lord Jesus who had risen from the dead. And, the fact Christ had been in the tomb made three things public: sin’s climax, love’s giving, and Christ’s accomplishment.

Sin’s Climax – “He was buried” (1 Cor.15:4). Without the fact of sin’s presence and penalty, Christ’s death has no meaning. And so Paul includes Christ’s death as an important part of the gospel message. At the Cross sin abounded to its climax, but grace did much more abound. The cross demonstrated the worst that was in the heart of man, and the best in the heart of God.

Love’s Giving – In Mark 10:45 we read, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The Lord Jesus deliberately gave up His life for us. Jesus’ mission was to serve - ultimately by giving His life in order to save sinful humanity. His life was not taken; He “gave” it, offered it up as a sacrifice for sins of mankind.

Work Accomplished – The Lord Jesus not only died, but He accomplished what no other man could do in dying. Death did not come to Him in the fulfilment of His mission; death was the fulfilment of His mission. His death was no accident. When the Lord cried out “It is finished” (John 19:30), it was a cry of purpose, a shout of triumph. He was dying for a specific purpose and that purpose was now fulfilled.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection!”

Watchman Nee (1903-1972)

Chinese Church Leader and Christian Teacher

Word Study

Golgotha

In Matt. 27:33 we read, “And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull!" (NKJV).

Golgotha (Γολγοθᾶ) was a rocky and hilly area outside of the Jerusalem of that day. The word “Golgotha” is Aramaic and means skull. It was also known as “Calvary” (Luke 23:33). “Calvary” is translated from the Greek word “kranion” (κρανίον = kran-ee'-on) from which we get our English word ‘cranium.’ It denotes a skull, the bony structure of the head, particularly the upper portion of the head. It is used of men, horses, trees, etc. In the New Testament it is only used as a reference to the name of the hill where Christ was crucified.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – On the cross Messiah would cry “I thirst” (Psalm 22:15; 69:3)

New Testament Fulfillment – John 19:28

Did You Know…

Crucifixion was a cruel tortuous method of execution. In New Testament Bible times, the Romans used this method of execution as a means of exerting authority and control over the population. If the Jews had punished Jesus, He would have been stoned. Therefore, the sovereignty of God and the fulfillment of Scripture were perfectly accomplished at the “Calvary.” In honor of Christ’s death, the practice of crucifixion was abolished by Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor, in 337 A.D.

Bible Quiz

What “prominent council member,” who himself was a disciple asked Pilate for Jesus’ body?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Who said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham (Gen. 22:8NKJV).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Kiss of death”

“Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him” (Matt. 26:48 NKJV).

“Kiss of death” - The expression “kiss of death” carries the idea of a coup de grace (a blow of mercy or a final blow). A kiss was a sign of special affection among family members and close friends. It was even a sign of affection of a disciple’s honor and affection for his teacher. Judas’s kiss is thus a special act of hypocrisy. It showed him to be the ultimate traitor. This act of betrayal by Judas has caused all later generations to recoil with horror at the mere mention of his name.

Did You Know – Christian History

The place where Jesus was crucified was a hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem called Golgotha. It was made up of rock shaped like a man’s skull and both the Romans and the Jews knew this place by the same name. There were several reasons for Jesus’ crucifixion at Golgotha.

First, for the Romans, this spot outside the gates of the city was a place where they crucified criminals as a sign to those who would visit the city that they did not tolerate criminality. In other words, capital punishment was used as a deterrent for crime. It was usual practice for those crucified to be left on the cross for days, often became rotting corpses that were food for the carrion eaters. Only those criminals who were Jewish or had someone to claim the body were taken down and placed in graves. Jesus’ body was buried in the grave belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57-60). Others were sometimes left to rot on the cross and then their bones were cast into a potter’s field.

Another reason that the crucifixions took place outside of the city was because of the strict Jewish laws regarding the proximity of dead bodies to the living. Coming into contact with a dead body meant a period of ritual cleansing for uncleanness (Num. 19:11-22). The Pharisees took this very seriously and all tombs in the city were white washed so that no one could accidentally come into contact with them and be ceremonially unclean. In addition, there was the fact that anyone who “hung on a tree” was cursed. Gal. 3:13 states “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” This is a quote from Deut. 21:23.

Therefore, the body of any Jew that was hanged or crucified had to be taken down before the beginning of a new day or there was defilement. This practice was accepted by the Roman government as a way to keep the peace with the Jews.

A Little Humor

A singing group called “The Resurrection” was scheduled to sing at a church. When a big snowstorm postponed the performance, the pastor fixed the outside sign to read, “The Resurrection is postponed.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Death cannot sever what the cross unites!”