November 12

November 12

Jesus' Death & Burial -- Jesus' death on the cross & burial by Joseph of Arimathea.

Today's Readings:

Reading 1: Matthew 27:45-66

Reading 2: Luke 23:45-56

Reading 3: Hebrews 2:9-18

The apparent victory of satan in collusion with human authorities to eliminate the Messiah and reject God's presence on earth comes with the cry "My God, why have you abandoned me?" But Jesus is not crying out in fear or surprise. Instead, He is teaching us to the very end - God is turning away from the sin His Son has taken on. By dying as a perfect human being, He takes away the power satan has over death (as the writer to the Hebrews explains). Additionally, Jesus is quoting the first words of Psalm 22, likely intending His hearers to "hear" the whole Psalm through the brief quotation (in a similar fashion to what would go through an American mind at the words "O say, can you see?"). If you read the whole Psalm you will see there is much more there than the idea that God has abandoned Jesus.

So Jesus overcomes sin and satan - this defeat is thus a perfect victory.

And there are several other lessons to learn from those around the scene of Jesus' death:

You may have died without seeing what you longed for, but God can make you alive again (Matthew 27:52).

The power of God in action is enough to reveal Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 27:52).

You may not be able to influence the actions of others, but you can still do the right thing in failure (Luke 23:50-53).

It is always right to obey God's instructions, even if it seems inconvenient or troublesome (Luke 23:56).

Opponents of God will always seek to strengthen their own position at God's expense, but this only serves to highlight their defeat when God wins the victory (Matthew 27:62-66).

Have a great day!

Mark.