Author Archives: Clark Bunch

Holy Saturday

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Holy Saturday is the last day of Lent, and commemorates the day Jesus spent in the grave.  Jesus body was taken off the cross and placed in the tomb with haste as the Sabbath approached.  The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday at 6 p.m.  Early on the first day of the week (Sunday) the women came to the tomb to anoint the body and found that Jesus was not there.

To do justice to Good Friday, we must celebrate the crucifixion without giving away the resurrection.  Holy Saturday is a solemn occasion.  Catholic churches observe very limited sacraments, and the church remains stripped bare (since Mass on Thursday).  The Catholic altar remains stripped, while Orthodox churches may have the altar draped in black.  Protestants?   Protestant churches, in America any way, do little with Good Friday and nothing on Saturday that I’m aware of.  A growing trend on Good Friday seems to be cross carrying events, a parade of sorts with participants taking turns bearing an actual wooden cross, reenacting Jesus’ march to Calvary.

Again, if your Good Friday service keeps alluding to the resurrection the tone is wrong for the whole weekend.  Friday ends with Jesus in the tomb and his followers scattered and frightened.  Holy Saturday is practically a time of mourning.  Then Easter, like Christmas, means more after the waiting.

It’s Friday; Sunday’s Coming

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Vocals by S.M. Lockridge, images from The Passion of the Christ

To see animation instead of the movie scenes, watch here.

He Cannot Save Himself; a poem for Good Friday

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He Cannot Save Himself

Many questions were asked of him,
though no answer was heard.
Pilate pressed him to respond,
but Jesus spoke not a word.

As prophesied by Isaiah,
like a lamb he was silent.
Which angered the crowd even more,
and they began to riot.

Governor Pilate faced the Jews,
and in order to honor custom,
told them that at their choosing,
he would release one prisoner among them.

He knew that Jesus was delivered
out of envy, malice and vice.
But the crowd choose Barabbas,
shouting “Crucify Jesus Christ.”

Pilate washed his hands before them,
saying “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”
The crowd said “Let his blood be upon us,
and upon our sons.”

They stripped off his own garments,
placed on him a robe and crown.
And then pretended to worship,
before him kneeling down.

They placed on his head
a crown made of thorns.
Then they spat, hit and slapped him,
and mocked him to scorn.

They compelled the man Simon
to carry his cross.
And divided his garments,
by casting lots.

They made for him a sign,
placed over his head.
“This is Jesus, King of the
Jews” the words read.

Thieves were crucified with him,
on his left and his right.
One was loud and boastful,
the other more humble, contrite.

“We are guilty of our crimes,
and deserve to die this way.”
And when Jesus saw his faith,
promised paradise that day.

“He cannot save himself” they mocked,
as his blood fell to the ground.
But they were crucifying an innocent,
in whom no guilt was found.

This was God’s plan of salvation,
established before there was time.
Each event had been prophesied,
and now fell perfectly in line.

The trial, the false witness,
his hanging on a tree;
It was all prophesied clearly
in Isaiah fifty-three.

So the words of their mocking
are actually true, you see.
He could not save himself, for
on the cross… he saved me.

…

Clark J. Bunch
re-posted from 2/17/2009

The Read and Share File

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April 5th marks the second anniversary of the passing of Michael Spencer.  The house that Michael built, Internet Monk, paid homage to his legacy.  My tribute to Michael is here; I was privileged to know him in real life before ever learning about Internet Monk.  I didn’t even know what blogging was. 

I received an email about Christian Youth Initiative Worldwide.  I’m still in the process of finding out more myself, but they seem to be on the up and up.  There is a blog, but also Grok Radio – whatever that is.  It’s worth a look.

Remember What Would Jesus Do?  Michael Kelly asks the question “What would you do it you knew you were going to die on Friday?”  Then he lists several things Jesus did.  Interesting thought.

I may not have linked him before, but Mike Ratliff writes some good stuff at Possessing the Treasure.  The Son of Man is the Good Shepherd is a great example.  Go back and read all of Mike’s posts for this week.

Remember Ed Young, of Sexperiment fame?  Out of Ur shares with us his latest stunt: baptizing with sharks.

From Desiring God Ministries, Race and the Christian is available for download.  Originally live-streamed, you can watched John Piper, Tim Keller and Anthony Bradley or download the video.  There is also a Q&A session at the same link.

Aida Spencer (Christian Post blogs) shares a personal story of discovery in What Does Easter Mean?    *please note: Aida and William Spencer are both ordained Presbyterian ministers.  I’m not asking you to join her church, just read the blog post.

Finally tonight, please pray for Chuck Colson. He is recovering from brain surgery but still in critical condition.  Known for founding Prison Fellowship (and for his role in Watergate) the 80-year-old Colson was speaking last Friday when he fell ill, and had surgery on Saturday morning.

Special Effects of Biblical Proportion

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We live about an hour away from a big church that puts on a very good passion play each year.  We took a group of students to see it earlier this week.  I have some experience with drama, mostly on the technical side (sound, lights, set construction).  There are some special effects that work well even in amateur theater  to help the audience suspend their disbelief.  This particular passion play uses a silk screen and shadows to show Jesus being scourged; a little bit of technical effect combined with good acting really sell the scene.

Movies have a whole other dimension of effects available, and today it is hard to tell what is real and what isn’t.  Watching a play or film during Holy Week adds to our understanding by providing visual stimulation.  We can read the story, discuss it, and even share it with others, but seeing and hearing the dramatization can still add to our experience.  There are times when the Bible itself seems to have a flair for the dramatic and God uses some special effects of his own to drive the point home.  After displaying his power and wonders in Egypt, the Hebrews cross the Red Sea on dry land and see Pharaoh’s army crushed by the same water.  Mount Sinai shook and smoldered when God descended onto it.  No other biblical display was greater than on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.  Continue reading →

The Read and Share File

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Another busy week for me, resulting in a rather thin Read & Share File.

Have you ever thought about what we can learn from Barabbas?  Michael McKinley has: The Gospel of Barabbas at 9Marks.

Never allow the extraordinary to be thought of as ordinary, Bill Crowder reminds us at Our Daily Bread.

Jesus Is Not Our Boyfriend, an observation made by James Pruch while listening to Contemporary Christian Music.

Tall Skinny Kiwi is back to blogging, recently returning from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany.  Catch up and see what’s he’s doing next.

Just a reminder: what used to be My Other Blog is now SMILE :- D God Loves You. It might be just what you need to make it through the day; like 5 Hour Energy without the annoying $4 price tag.

The graphic below and many others available from Tim Challies.  see http://www.challies.com/resources/visual-theology-to-the-glory-of-god for more.

Holy Week: Three Prayers of Jesus

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When Jesus taught his followers how to pray, he gave them a simple formula (such as in Matthew 6).  We often called this the Lord’s Prayer, but Model Prayer or even Disciples’ Prayer would be more descriptive.  Here are three prayers Jesus himself prayed during Holy Week.

The High Priestly Prayer (John 17) This entire chapter is a prayer spoken by Jesus that we call the High Priestly Prayer.  The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to detail the ways Jesus acts as our high priest, continuously going into God’s presence and making intercession on our behalf.  His prayer in John 17 casts Jesus in the role of High Priest, bridging the gap between man and God, between the unholy and Most Holy.  Jesus has only a few days left on earth at this point in the story, and is about to take his place at God’s right hand.  Jesus prayed for his followers of that day and all that would ever believe and follow in the future.  Jesus literally prayed to God for us. Continue reading →

The Appearance of Victory

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It looked like Jesus’ finest hour when he entered Jerusalem.  Our Palm Sunday service, also called Passion Sunday by some, is a celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry.  The crowd shouted “Hosanna” and also “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”  Hosanna means either save us now or more simply save now.  They waved palm branches, a symbol of victory, and spread coats on his path.  Many expected Jesus to claim the throne, and some had even tried to take him by force and place him there.  The Jewish leaders didn’t like it, but they feared the crowd more than God.  Jesus certainly looked victorious on that day.

By the end of the week, the same crowd was shouting “Crucify him.”   Followers of Jesus were hard to find by Friday afternoon.  Good Friday seemed to be Jesus’ ultimate demise, the polar opposite of just a few days earlier.  The chief priests and Pharisees must have thought the Jesus movement was over for sure as the few friends he had left put him in the tomb.  Of course we know that Easter (Resurrection Sunday) and the day of Pentecost are coming soon, but Palm Sunday appears to be a great day of victory while the cross looks like defeat.

Try to keep these things in mind.  The world often has their winning and losing backwards.  When missionaries are persecuted, when pastors are arrested for reading the Bible in public places, when states approve gay marriage, or abortion rights are expanded: don’t be too quick to accept defeat.  The same is true for events that we may perceive as victories.  Political leaders and court systems of the modern world have no more real power than they did in the first century.  The same Jesus that ascended in Acts 1 will return the same way.  He will not be a helpless baby at his second coming.  Despite appearances, the real victory was over death, hell and the grave.

“Sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”  Psalm 30:5

The Read and Share File

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Tim Challies shares truths supported by scripture on the topic of evangelism.

The title of the post – Is There a Holy Spirit? – may give the wrong impression.  Bobby Jamieson at 9Marks Blog is describing two ways to fill a church, and how you answer that question has a lot to do with how you proceed.

What is the best thing you can do for your pastor?  According to The Blazing Center it’s pray for him.

I actually took this picture myself, then added Luke 1:78.  That’s a genuine eastern Kentucky sunrise.

Boston.com, the online presence of the Boston Globe, shares 22 pictures of the Jewish festival of Purim.

On a whim, I searched for “sunrise service” on Google.  Enjoyed this short entry on Wikipedia.    Here’s an excerpt:

The first Easter Sunrise Service recorded took place in 1732 in the Moravian congregation at Herrnhut in the Upper Lusatian hills of Saxony. After an all-night prayer vigil, the Single Brethren, the unmarried men, of the community, went to the town graveyard, God’s Acre, on the Hill above the town, to sing hymns of praise to the Risen Saviour. The following year, the whole Congregation joined in the service. Thereafter the “Easter Morning” or “Sunrise Service” spread around the world with the Moravian missionaries. The procession to the graveyard is accompanied by the antiphonal playing of chorales by brass choirs.

And then I stumbled onto this:

Read more here: http://www.capitalchurch.net/ministries/easter-service/  There were 120 at the first service in 1979; on April 8 they expect 6,000!

Holy Week Review

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Palm Sunday is on April 1 this year, Easter will be April 8.  That final week of Lent is referred to as Holy Week, and should be a special time in the lives of believers.  Here are some Holy Week posts from years past; they may not be new, but are still good.

The “Triumphal” Entry is about Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week.  The same Jews shouting Hosanna at the beginning of the week will be shouting Crucify him by the end of the week.

Who Framed Jesus? was a documentary shown by Discovery 2 years ago, but the same thing happens on t.v. and magazine covers every year.  This post generated a frenzy of comments that are also a blast to read.

The Last Supper is about Jesus’ final Passover and the beginning of communion.  And on the same night he washed the disciples’ feet.

Is Jesus the Sheep, or the Shepherd?  This rather short post is one of the most read ever on The Master’s Table.

The Resurrection is the most celebrated event in Christianity, but here’s a thought: Jesus Died.  Jesus is God; have you ever thought that all the way through?

He Cannot Save Himself, the original post and He Cannot Save Himself, a poem for Good Friday.

It’s Friday, Sunday’s Coming  Sermon by S.M. Lockridge, with scenes from The Passion

And finally The Importance of the Resurrection.