EASTER SUNDAY

Journey to the Cross: Day 45

GOOD FRIDAY

It's been 45 days since we began this journey.
We've journeyed to a better country;
a place where we can stand before a blood-soaked cross.
It's a monument that explains our guilt.
And a promise of our righteousness in Christ.
Today, we worship and think on the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us.


WATCH




It's Friday from Wooster Grace Students on Vimeo.



Who Is Jesus? from Granger Community on Vimeo.




READ

Entermission Blog

O Sacred Head Now Wounded


LISTEN

Vintage Jesus: What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?

The Burial of Jesus: Luke 23:50-56

Journey to the Cross: Day 44

Happy Maundy Thursday! Say what? Yeah - the day before Jesus' death is called "Maundy Thursday." Here's an explanation before we begin...

"Maundy Thursday honors the memory of the final Passover Jesus celebrated as His Last Supper with His disciples. Maundy Thursday gets its name from a Latin church anthem, the first line of which reads, “Mandatum novum do vobis,” or “a new commandment I give to you” (John 13:34)." expert taken from "The Reformed Evangelist"

By that night, Jesus had spent every day of his life for the last three years with his disciples. They ate together, lodged together, experienced life together. And with the weight of his death looming over him, Jesus understands the power of this night - his last one before his death.

So scripture records he did something special for His disciples. John 13:1 says, "It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love."

What Jesus did was wash His disciples feet, a true act of humility. And that's who Jesus was. He wasn't a criminal. He wasn't an insurrectionist. He didn't have a political ax to grind.

"He was in the world, and through the world was made through him, the world did not recgonize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." ~ John 1:10, 11

"...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ~ Matthew 20:28

"And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" ~ Philippians 2:8

Maundy Thursday from Wooster Grace Students on Vimeo.

Journey to the Cross: Day 43

The 12 disciples weren't the only people to follow Jesus in his ministry. There were also key women who stuck by him and learned from him as he did his ministry. Today, since she has a role in Passion week, we will look briefly at Mary of Bethany. Who is she and why is she significant?

Mary of Bethany

Mary of Bethany was sister to Martha and was known for sitting at Jesus' feet to listen to his teaching (while her poor sister did all the work). The truth is that Mary knew which was better. While doing stuff for Christ is great, stopping to spend time with Jesus is even better. How have you stopped "doing" for Jesus this week and just spent time with him? If you haven't, we suggest you stop reading now and spend time with Jesus. Go on a walk with Him and talk with God. That's what Mary of Bethany would have done.

Mary also had a key role the week of Jesus' death. While Jesus was relaxing at a friends house with his disciples, Mary burst into the room. She had a mission and regardless of what others thought, she had to do it. She took a bottle of expensive perfume (about a year's wages), poured the contents all over Jesus feet, and started drying His feet with her hair. Is that wasteful? Jesus didn't think so. He said:

"She has done a beautiful thing to me...She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." ~ Mark 14:6, 8, 9.

Wow, powerful words from Jesus. We're not sure how much Mary knew about Jesus' fate on the cross at that moment, but we do know this: She understood that life is too short not to worship God for all that He is.

So how about you? Have you failed to give God all of your worship? Take this challenge this today:

1) Read Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:1-11; and John 12:1-11

2) Go on a walk and talk with God about who He is and why you love Him.

Journey to the Cross: Day 42

The final week of Jesus' life wasn't just a bunch of events. The gospels also record Jesus teaching the disciples often throughout the final week. Since Jesus' time with them was short, he was giving them the final pieces of his heart as he approached his death.

On Tuesday of the week, Jesus was relaxing up on the Mount of Olives with a few of His disciples ( Peter, James, John, and Andrew) and the four of them asked him about the end of the temple. Jesus had made it clear earlier that it would be destroyed. Naturally that was a big claim, so any young jew would be curious for some clarification.

Why don't you read Mark 13:1-37.

Then when you're finished, listen to this.

Journey to the Cross: Day 41

"On Reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anoyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written:

'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?'

"But you have made it a 'den of robbers.'

"The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching." ~ Mark 11:15-18

Want to find out more about this event? Visit wikipedia's article on "Herod's Temple" to learn more about the setting where Jesus drove out the money changers. Be sure to look for the heading "Life in and around the temple" and also the sub-heading under that "The Court of the Gentiles."

Journey to the Cross: Day 40

Welcome to Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday before Easter and we call it Palm Sunday because the Sunday before Jesus rose from the dead, he rode through the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey and people proclaimed him king by waiving palm branches.

Palm Sunday is also the start of the Passion Week. Passion week is the last week of Jesus's life before he died. This final week of "Journey to the Cross," we will walking with Jesus through his last days. We're getting closer and closer to His death.

As we embark in the last stretch of our journey, why don't you take the time to watch this video about Jesus and his time here on earth. This will get us oriented and on the same track to experience Jesus for the rest of the week.

Journey to the Cross: Day 39

Let's take a look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified. Instead of putting the text on the blog, we want to challenge you to get out your Bible today and read it from the pages itself.

Read Luke 22:39-44.

What characteristics of Jesus' relationship with God the Father do you see? From what we can observe right away, we see that he is stressed, troubled, possibly terrified of what's to come --- he's a mess, and rightfully so. The text says "he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."

Maybe you were caught by Jesus' humility toward the father. Jesus clearly knows that it was the Father's plan for him to die. How would you feel if you were to die and you knew that God had planned it. Would you get angry?

The Bible shows Jesus not angry (though very troubled); Not hating the plans of God (though maybe terrified of what's to come).

Maybe Jesus could approach his future without anger because He was fully God. Or maybe it was an example for us. Is it okay to be angry with God? Does God welcome us to be angry at Him?

Find out the answer by reading this article.

Journey to the Cross: Day 38

1) Some people are convinced to follow Jesus Christ by watching YOU.

It's true now and it was true back in Jesus' day. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus became walking and living proof that Jesus was God in the flesh. John 12:9-11 says:

"Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that JEsus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him."


2) Telling what Jesus means to you personally sparks other people's curiosity about Him.

You don't need to know all the facts at first to get people thinking about following Jesus (though they do help). Just start telling them what Jesus has done in your personal life and experience, and they'll want to know more.

"Now the crowd that was with [Jesus] when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him." (vv. 17-18)


3) You never witness about Jesus Christ alone.

You're never alone, because God works behind the scenes while you talk with people who don't know Jesus. When Jesus spoke about himself, God the father was continually softening hearts (or hardening them) to his message. Be encouraged that it's not all up to you to bring people to know Jesus. God's got to work to make it actually happen.

"Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.' The crowd that was there heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said ' This voice was for your benefit, not mine.'"


4) Time is running out for people who don't know or follow Christ.

This should be a wake up call for a Christian. Your friends and family might die before they're challenged to follow Christ if we're not diligent in bringing it up. They are not promised tomorrow. Don't pass up opportunities to talk about Jesus if you're given them. If you're not a Christian, listen carefully to Jesus' words here:

"You are going to have the light just a little while longer...Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." (vv. 35-36)

Journey to the Cross: Day 37

Lord, when Your glory I shall see...
by Kurt J. Eggert

Lord, when Your glory I shall see
and taste Your Kingdom's pleasure
Your blood my royal robe shall be -
my joy beyond all measure!
When I appear before your throne,
Your rightousness will be my crown.
With these I need not hide me.
And there in garments richly wrought,
as your own bride I will be brought
to stand in joy before Thee.
Lord, when Your glory I shall see...

This poetry, written by a pastor in the 17th century, talks about the moment we arrive at Heaven and see Jesus for the first time. We want to give you our own "Journey to the Cross" paraphrase of what you just read:

Jesus, when I see you for the first time
and savor that very first moment in your heaven,
I'll look down and see that your blood covers my rags and cleans up my dirt.
Wow - all this for me?
And as I stand before you while you sit on your throne,
not only will I have a robe of blood but a crown that proves you've made me righteous.
If I didn't have these, I'd hide from you because you're a just and perfect God.
I don't need to hide anymore.
And all dressed up, I'll be united and brought closer to Jesus -
more than I've ever been - almost like a bride is united to her husband at her wedding.
And I'll stand. And I'll smile.
I won't know much what else I'll do, Jesus,
when I see you for the first time...

Journey to the Cross: Day 36

Hey, so we know it's not football season right now, but we've found a great article about an NFL coach who is changing lives because he's chosen to take the journey to the cross of Jesus. Read about him here.