The Bible does not specifically state which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both the Friday and Wednesday arguments, accept Thursday as the day.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Those who argue for a Friday crucifixion say that there is still a valid way in which He could have been considered in the grave for three days. In the Jewish mind of the First Century, a part of day was considered as a full day. Since Jesus was in the grave for part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday—He could be considered to have been in the grave for three days. One of the principal arguments for Friday is found in Mark 15:42 that notes that Jesus was crucified "the day before the Sabbath." If that was the weekly Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, then that fact leads to a Friday crucifixion. Another argument for Friday says that verses such as Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22 teach that Jesus would rise on the third day; therefore, He wouldn't need to be in the grave a full three days and nights. But while some translations use "on the third day" for these verses, not all do and not everyone agrees that that is the best way to translate these verses. Furthermore, Mark 8:31 says that Jesus will be raised "after" three days.
The Thursday argument expands on the Friday view and argues mainly that there are too many events (some count as many as twenty) happening between Christ's burial and Sunday morning to occur from Friday evening to Sunday morning. They point out that this is especially a problem when the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two eliminates that problem. The Thursday advocates could reason: Suppose you haven't seen a friend since Monday evening. The next time you see him it is Thursday morning and you say, “I haven’t seen you in three days” even though it had technically only been 60 hours (2.5 days). If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, this example shows how it could be considered three days.
The Wednesday opinion states that there were two Sabbaths that week. After the first one (the one that occurred on the evening of the crucifixion, Mark 15:42; Luke 23:52-54), the women purchased spices--note that they made their purchase after the Sabbath (Mark 16:1). The Wednesday view holds that this "Sabbath" was the Passover (see Lev 16:29-31; 23:24-32, 39 where high holy days that are not necessarily the seventh day of the week are referred to as the Sabbath). The second Sabbath that week was the normal weekly Saturday. Note that in Luke 23:56, the women who had purchased spices after the first Sabbath, returned and prepared the spices then "rested on the Sabbath" (Luke 23:56). The argument states that they could not purchase the spices after the Sabbath, yet prepare those spices before the Sabbath—unless there were two Sabbaths. With the two-Sabbath view, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then the high holy Sabbath (the Passover) would have begun Thursday at sundown and ended at Friday sundown—at the beginning of the weekly Sabbath or Saturday. Purchasing the spices after the first Sabbath (Passover) would have meant they purchased them on Saturday and were breaking the Sabbath.
Therefore, this view states, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the same day, they rested on Saturday which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. He was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night (night three), Saturday day (day three). We don't know exactly when He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday (John 20:1, Mary Magdalene came "while it was still dark" and the stone was rolled away and she found Peter and told him that "they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb"), so He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews.
A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on "the same day" of His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus' crucifixion (24:21) and say that "today is the third day since these things happened" (24:22). Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ's burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as three days.
In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were very important, then God's Word would have clearly communicated the day. What is important is that He did die, and that He physically, bodily rose from the dead. What is equally important is the reason He died—to take the punishment that all sinners deserve. John 3:16 and 3:36 both proclaim that believing, or putting your trust, in Him results in eternal life!
Taken from GotQuestions.org
Friday, April 10, 2009
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Brother where art thou?
As I write this, government has spent over $29 billion dollars fighting the war on drugs. Those same dollars in the hands of Christ-centered programs would literally reshape society, as we know it. A newspaper reporter once asked me, “Do you have any clinical professionals on staff at your recovery center?” My question for her was “Why would I want any?” Conventional wisdom would say that you need clinical professionals to treat substance abuse. Yet the hospitals and clinics that employ these high paid professionals have a 90% failure rate among patients. Now before we get to sidetracked here and start blaming the government, we should consider one thing. It has only been the past few decades since the church has stepped up and began reaching out to the addicted. Even still it is mostly Para-church organizations doing the work. So this is only one area that the tables have been turned. Government still has the church beat in most other forms of outreach. The difference is they call it “Human Resources”.
Pastor Herbert is a friend of mine who pastors a church in the slums of Uganda, Africa. He regularly experiences power outings during his church services and its not uncommon for his chairs to be stolen since his building has no walls. When his brother died of AIDS he left behind eight children. Pastor Herbert didn’t even think twice about taking them in along with his own four children. He paid their way through school since there is no free public education. There was no child protective services or caseworker to consult. Just real Christians who needed to act like real Christians. The fact that we have such great government resources has crippled the modern church of America. When someone is hungry and has no food, we tell them to go get food stamps. When someone needs a ride, we point him or her to the nearest bus stop. When they are sick and have no insurance we take them to a county hospital. When they are behaving badly we lock them in jails and prisons. We live in a society whose regular practice of putting away misfits has influenced the church. Perhaps it’s out of sight, out of mind. The day is coming when the church of Jesus Christ will no longer be able to lean on government to do it’s work. We need Christians who will accept responsibility to be Jesus to a hurting and dying world. Thank God for organizations and churches like Victory Family who feed the poor and help the addicted. Please consider becoming a partner with us. Let’s be Jesus to a hurting and dying world.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27
Pastor Herbert is a friend of mine who pastors a church in the slums of Uganda, Africa. He regularly experiences power outings during his church services and its not uncommon for his chairs to be stolen since his building has no walls. When his brother died of AIDS he left behind eight children. Pastor Herbert didn’t even think twice about taking them in along with his own four children. He paid their way through school since there is no free public education. There was no child protective services or caseworker to consult. Just real Christians who needed to act like real Christians. The fact that we have such great government resources has crippled the modern church of America. When someone is hungry and has no food, we tell them to go get food stamps. When someone needs a ride, we point him or her to the nearest bus stop. When they are sick and have no insurance we take them to a county hospital. When they are behaving badly we lock them in jails and prisons. We live in a society whose regular practice of putting away misfits has influenced the church. Perhaps it’s out of sight, out of mind. The day is coming when the church of Jesus Christ will no longer be able to lean on government to do it’s work. We need Christians who will accept responsibility to be Jesus to a hurting and dying world. Thank God for organizations and churches like Victory Family who feed the poor and help the addicted. Please consider becoming a partner with us. Let’s be Jesus to a hurting and dying world.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27
Thursday, May 29, 2008
MEET FRANK
Waiting in front of a dope house on a hot Houston afternoon, Frank Medders had been gone for twenty-five days now. Leaving his two sons with their grandmother, as he continued down a path that had become very familiar during his 15-year addiction to crack-cocaine. While waiting to score, he raised his head to examine the surroundings. He could see a school across the street. Not just any school, but the school where his oldest son attended. Other parents were lining up to pick up their children but Frank was waiting outside of his connection buying dope. His son had stopped expecting to see his dad picking him up long ago.
The school bell rang and soon children poured into the schoolyard. The potent reality of the moment set off a whirlwind of emotions that could no longer be ignored. The driver door flung open and Frank bolted out of his vehicle into the street and ran. A sprinting, six-foot, four-inch white man with quite a stride is an unusual sight for a quiet neighborhood street. He wasn’t even sure why he was running or what he was running from but he just ran. Maybe he was ashamed at the man he had become, a deadbeat dad, a thief, and a crack head. Maybe he hoped to out run the misery and despair that had become his life. He ran with the desperation of one fleeing danger until he could run no longer. Collapsing under a tree in the middle of a sprawling urban district sat a man who had been defeated by crack-cocaine. Like Elijah fleeing the wrath of Jezebel under the disappearing shade of the juniper tree, Frank was running from a different spirit. Broken, ashamed and defeated Frank wept. He wept bitterly and painfully over his condition. He needs to change and he wants to change but doesn’t know how.
Fortunately for Frank, his story has a happy ending. He was later picked up by the police and taken to Harris County Jail. In jail he came across a Christian book with the words, “If you’re hooked and need help call Victory Family”. Within days, by the grace of God Frank was released and standing on the front steps of the Victory Family Recovery Center. Many years have passed since that eerie afternoon. Today Frank is happily married, his sons have forgiven their dad and are off working and in college, and he is living a drug-free life and is now director of the Victory Family Men’s Recovery Program. Frank is an example of the amazing, life changing power of Jesus Christ.
The sad reality is that not every story has a happy ending. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Americans dying from the abuse of illegal drugs has leaped by 400 percent in the last two decades, reaching a record 28,000 in 2004. The F.B.I. reported that drug arrests reached an all-time high of 1.8 million in 2005. “ Every year in America over 28,000 people die of illegal drug overdose and almost 2 million people are arrested for drugs. It would be impossible to determine the millions upon millions of people whose lives are affected by drugs in this country alone.
Right now there is someone still running from addiction. Maybe they are ashamed of what they have become or maybe they are trying to out run the misery and despair that has become their life. You don’t have to run anymore. There is hope for the addict. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29
You can find rest from the uncontrollable urges and cravings. You can find rest from the cycle of failure, depression and anguish. Rest once and for all from addiction. Everyday men and women like Frank are leaving their past behind and embracing a newness of life.
“If you or anyone you know is hooked and needs help call Victory Family”
The school bell rang and soon children poured into the schoolyard. The potent reality of the moment set off a whirlwind of emotions that could no longer be ignored. The driver door flung open and Frank bolted out of his vehicle into the street and ran. A sprinting, six-foot, four-inch white man with quite a stride is an unusual sight for a quiet neighborhood street. He wasn’t even sure why he was running or what he was running from but he just ran. Maybe he was ashamed at the man he had become, a deadbeat dad, a thief, and a crack head. Maybe he hoped to out run the misery and despair that had become his life. He ran with the desperation of one fleeing danger until he could run no longer. Collapsing under a tree in the middle of a sprawling urban district sat a man who had been defeated by crack-cocaine. Like Elijah fleeing the wrath of Jezebel under the disappearing shade of the juniper tree, Frank was running from a different spirit. Broken, ashamed and defeated Frank wept. He wept bitterly and painfully over his condition. He needs to change and he wants to change but doesn’t know how.
Fortunately for Frank, his story has a happy ending. He was later picked up by the police and taken to Harris County Jail. In jail he came across a Christian book with the words, “If you’re hooked and need help call Victory Family”. Within days, by the grace of God Frank was released and standing on the front steps of the Victory Family Recovery Center. Many years have passed since that eerie afternoon. Today Frank is happily married, his sons have forgiven their dad and are off working and in college, and he is living a drug-free life and is now director of the Victory Family Men’s Recovery Program. Frank is an example of the amazing, life changing power of Jesus Christ.
The sad reality is that not every story has a happy ending. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Americans dying from the abuse of illegal drugs has leaped by 400 percent in the last two decades, reaching a record 28,000 in 2004. The F.B.I. reported that drug arrests reached an all-time high of 1.8 million in 2005. “ Every year in America over 28,000 people die of illegal drug overdose and almost 2 million people are arrested for drugs. It would be impossible to determine the millions upon millions of people whose lives are affected by drugs in this country alone.
Right now there is someone still running from addiction. Maybe they are ashamed of what they have become or maybe they are trying to out run the misery and despair that has become their life. You don’t have to run anymore. There is hope for the addict. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29
You can find rest from the uncontrollable urges and cravings. You can find rest from the cycle of failure, depression and anguish. Rest once and for all from addiction. Everyday men and women like Frank are leaving their past behind and embracing a newness of life.
“If you or anyone you know is hooked and needs help call Victory Family”
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Summary of Joseph
There is nothing negative recorded about Joseph in the Bible. He was the first child Jacob had by Rachel.
Material taken from Evangelbabtist.org
Early in his life, his father evidently treated him with favoritism. He also had a dream in which sheeves representing his brothers bowed down to him. His brothers thought that Joseph had too high of an opinion for himself.
Even though God had shown Joseph that he was special in some way, he didn't know in what way. When things began to go against him, he must have wondered if he had misinterpreted God's plans for him. His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. His master's wife falsely accused him of trying to rape her, and, as a result, Joseph was thrown into prison.
Even though it didn't look like God was opening doors of opportunity for him, Joseph kept doing his best, and he always rose to the top in every environment he found himself. He rose to the top in Potiphar's (his master) household; he rose to the top in prison, and the jailor gave him special responsibilities. In the New Testament, Jesus said that whoever can be trusted with little things can also be trusted with greater things, but those that can't be trusted with little things won't be given larger responsibilities.
Finally, God began to change his conditions. Because he had interpreted dreams for Paraoh's servants in prison, he was called on to interpret Paraoh's dreams, and he prophesied that a famine would come in seven years. Maybe God needed Joseph in Egypt and in prison to get him into Pharaoh's presence.
When Paraoh saw that Joseph had unusual wisdom, he put him in charge of all Egypt in preparation for the famine he had prophesied.
Years later, when the famine had spread over the earth, Joseph had built up large stores of grain in Egypt. Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, so he sent his sons, Joseph's brothers, to Egypt to buy grain. They bought grain from Joseph, but they didn't recognize him, and he didn't tell them who he was during their first two visits.
When he finally did reveal himself to his brothers, he told them to go back to Canaan and get their families and their father. He explained to them that, even though they had sold him into slavery out of bad motives, God had planned it for good. He could look back on his life and see that God had been working toward this end the whole time.
His brothers went back to Canaan and brought their families and Jacob to Egypt. Jacob met Pharaoh, and Joseph provided a good land for them to live in. After Jacob died in Egypt, Joseph had his body prepared for burial and then they took it back to Canaan for the burial. Once their father was dead, his brothers were afraid that Joseph would take revenge on them, but he assured them that he really did believe God had let everything happen for a reason and that he wouldn't harm them. Just before he died, he told the Israelites that some day they would migrate back to Canaan, and he asked that they take his bones with them.
Joseph's life is like Jesus' life in at least three ways:
- there is no record of sin in his life just as Jesus was sinless
- he was rejected by his brothers just as Jesus was rejected by the Jews
- he went to another place (Egypt) to prepare a place for his family just as Jesus said he was going to heaven to prepare a place for us.
Material taken from Evangelbabtist.org
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Unique Addiction
Where is addiction? Is it hidden in the recesses of the mind? Does addiction flow through the blood streams, inherited from our genealogy like a generational curse? Is it a learned behavior that has become imbedded with our character because of years of practice? Is it a defense mechanism we’ve developed to medicate our emotional sicknesses? Addiction is not reserved for the under privileged, uneducated, or minority. It crosses all social-economic and cultural demographics. From the penitentiary to the penthouse, from nightclubs to rotary clubs, from poppy fields of the Middle East to football fields of Middle America, addiction is no respecter of persons. Lets consider the drug addict for a moment. This bruised and battered shell of a person who has been fighting a losing battle with addiction for the better part of their life. They tell themselves “Enough is enough, I will not give in to this demon again”. They experience a brief period of freedom but before they can give a sober sigh of relief they feel the rumble of temptation rising up within them again. The all to familiar battle takes formation. “Don’t do it,” they tell themselves. “Its not worth it”. They run through all the pre-rehearsed rebuttals that are supposed to rationalize them back into reality. But like a house of cards their efforts cave to a brief moment of ecstasy. “Why did I do this? I hate myself. Why am I this way?” Does this sound familiar? It might, because what I have just described is not only the internal war of a drug addict. I’ve also described someone who is viewing pornography, gambling, compulsive shopping, committing adultery, over-eating, cutting themselves or lying. The problem is not with the addictive nature of drugs. True, crack-cocaine is addictive, very addictive. But the real answer lies within the addictive nature of man. We humans are interesting creatures. We posses within us the fundamental flaw of addiction. The truth of the matter is that one addiction is not less sinful than another. There are some sins however, that are more socially acceptable than others (in man’s eyes). A drug addict has a unique addiction. Because of his sin, he has given extensive authority and power to his body. His mind becomes a slave of the passions lust and cravings of his addicted body. He is a prisoner of his cravings. This condition borders insanity. I have known drug addicts who risk failing their urine analysis test during a regularly schedules visit to their probation officer just because they felt like smoking a joint. Knowing full well, that drug use is a violation of their probation and a failed test would result in them returning to prison and yet they still use. Insanity! The nature of addiction craves more and is never satisfied. The addict can become so totally consumed with their desire to get high that they abandon responsibilities, hopes, dreams, relationships and even family. Society is quick to point their finger at the drug addict and with a voice resounding of self-righteousness say “They need help”. One day I was driving a man to my recovery center in Houston, TX. He sat next to me with his weather beaten clothes, shabby hair and torn shoes. He smelt the way any homeless man would sitting on the plush seats of a new car. He spoke in a low tone and with a very defeated voice he said, “I don’t know how I ever got this low, how did I come to such a place?” What I said to him next caught him completely by surprise. It made him lift his head, turn, and look me straight in the eye. I told him, “You have never been at a better place in life than you are right now.” I could tell from his gaze that he wanted an explanation and I had better give it to him quick. “Some people will never look up until they fall into a ditch,” I said. Your ditch may be addiction but if it causes you to look to Jesus then that is the best place that you can be. There is something special about a drug addict who has exhausted all his resources, burned all his bridges and has no where left to turn. You don’t have to convince him that he needs help. You don’t have to remind him of his sinfulness. You need only to love him with a Christ-like love and be willing to present the gospel to a ready heart. I am convinced that if Jesus were alive today walking the earth in the flesh, His ministry would be to the homeless and drug addicts. We would find Jesus under bridges, visiting prisons, and in drug and crime infested neighborhoods. How desperately we need Jesus walking among us today. If only there were a group of people that He could live His life through like a special class or race of men who had His very life within them. Christians posses the hope that every addict needs. This hope is not found in politics, government, education, or even religion. It is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)