The resurrection; Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and later to the 11 Apostles; the Great Commission.
This chapter finishes Matthew’s Gospel and we will jump back into the Old Testament and begin reading Leviticus tomorrow.
Matthew 28
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
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In the early hours of the morning,
after the Sabbath had ended,
a few women walked toward his grave
to finish matters left unattended.
They carried spices for anointing,
to honor custom and tradition.
For he had been quickly laid in the grave
on the day of Preparation.
Today is Holy Saturday also known as Black Saturday. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a legal and moral obligation for the Jews. Some Christians believe Jesus was other places doing other things during that period of time; I will not get into whether or not he literally descended into hell and preached to the condemned. Tomorrow is Resurrection Day, Easter Sunday to many although not everyone agrees on that title. If you are in the Calhoun, GA area the Gordon County Christian Ministerial Alliance is having a Sunrise Service at BB&T Park in downtown that begins at 7 AM. We will have prayer, two or three songs everybody knows and a 15 or 20 minute sermon. At 36 degrees I will remind our speaker the shorter the better. Hopefully 2020 taught us not to take so many things for granted, including worshiping together and visiting family.
Continue readingI recently saw a question online asking if Christians really believe Jesus came back from the dead. It was obvious that the question comes from the point of view that people don’t do that; come back to life that is. Jesus was a man, he died, and it seems unreasonable to think that he came back to life three days later. Maybe he was a wise teacher with many followers, maybe it is not crazy that we study his sermons and emulate his behavior but do we really believe he rose from the dead and appeared again alive to his disciples and others? Fasten your seatbelts.
Be sure to read Parts 1 and 2.
Details of the coming Messiah are given in Isaiah, including the family he would be from and unmistakable signs that could not be duplicated. The nature of his character and aspects of his ministry were written down, 800 years before he was born. Today we will look into the passages of Isaiah that describe the crucifixion and even consider if the resurrection was foretold. Continue reading
This song is apparently five years old but it’s only been in the past 12 -18 months that I became familiar with it. With Easter coming up in a few days, it’s one of my favorites right now.
This is a fan-made video for the song Hero as recorded by Abandon. I don’t know why it took so long for me to discover this song, but I particularly like this presentation.
“I serve a risen savior, he’s in the world today.” Those are the opening words to the hymn He Lives (Alfred Henry Ackley, 1933). Easter Sunday has come and gone, but Jesus is more than alive, he is risen! He was dead and became the firstborn of the resurrection. Jesus told Martha in John 11:25 that he is the resurrection. Death, hell and the grave have been defeated. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 Continue reading
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter). I have been blogging since 2008 and have posted many times on the events of Holy Week. On the one hand I don’t wish to keep writing and posted material that is already here. On the other hand there are constantly new friends discovering The Master’s Table and following that have not read those previous posts. And we are talking about the greatest story ever told; it is central to our identity as Christians and never gets old. Continue reading
Easter is coming up. The last Sunday in March (there are five this year) is Palm Sunday and the first Sunday in April is Easter. The dates are March 29th and April 5th. Those of you that observed Ash Wednesday and/or the season of Lent are aware of these dates already, as well as anyone planning church activities and worship services. And it is those individuals – pastors, preachers, minsters and directors of music, all worship leaders – that I wish to address.
I spent several years in a ministry that included a daily chapel service. Not only did we observe Palm Sunday and Easter but we had the opportunity to celebrate each day of Holy Week. We could talk about the Triumphal Entry on Sunday and focus on the different aspects of Jesus’ final teachings with the Apostles each day that week. We could give a full day to the Last Supper, another to the arrest and false trial, and spend Good Friday detailing the events of the crucifixion. With all of that said and done the focus of Easter Sunday was entirely on celebrating the resurrection. Continue reading
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