Were You There?

God Sees Me-Peter

 

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                ” You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”  He denied it saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants. . . challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” Again, Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.  John 18:17-18, 25-27 (NIV)

 

               

Peter was scared. He had followed Jesus for three years. He had not understood what the Master had meant when He had told them of His suffering and death.

               

Earlier Peter has vowed that he would follow Jesus until the end. However, Jesus knew human nature and told Peter that Peter would deny Him three times.

               

In one version of that event, Luke’s telling of Peter’s denial, (Luke 22: 60-62, NIV) Jesus looked straight at Peter, and Peter wept. We have recorded here that Jesus did see Peter after he disowned Him. Have you ever wondered what was going through Jesus’ mind at that moment?

 

Did He think: “Peter, I thought you were my friend?” Or “Why would you do this to me?”

Or “Peter, in spite of what you have said I love you.”

 

What do you think would be the thought that Jesus would have in the event that we, his present-day followers, would deny Him.?

God Sees Me- Isaiah

 

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In the year King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord seated on a throne,

High and exalted, and the train of

his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:1 (NIV)

 

I always love the word picture Isaiah gives us of seeing the LORD in the temple. As we read further into this chapter, we see that Isaiah is overwhelmed by the scene of the seraphs and the temple filling up with smoke. He confesses that he is a sinner and is not worthy of being able to see the LORD.

This scene is written from Isaiah’s view. God is also present, along with the seraphs.

King Uzziah had died. Isaiah was probably in mourning over this loss to the nation. He grieved for the nation. God could have seen Isaiah in his saddened state and chose to reveal Himself to Isaiah.

 

God commissions Isaiah to represent Him to those in the nation Judah. Does God ever give us His blessing to perform an act for Him? Yes, He does. Any time we are led by God to pray for someone, that is His commission from Him to pray for that person or that need.

 

God Sees Me- Moses -2

 

                                           

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                So, now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out if Egypt.                                                                                    Exodus 3:10 (NIV)

 

Moses was in a field in Midian, tending the flock of his father-in-law. He sees something that catches his attention. A bush had caught fire but was not burn up. As he approaches this bush, he hears a voice calling from within the bush.

 

The voice is God’s voice. God tells Moses that He has seen the suffering of His people in Egypt and that it is time for Him to rescue the Hebrew people and He tasks Moses with convincing Pharaoh to allow the people to leave.

 

God continues to speak of the fact that Pharaoh will not let them go. He tells Moses that He will perform “wonders” that will get Pharaoh’s attention.

 

God saw the plight of the Hebrew people, His people, as they slaved for the Egyptians.

 

Does He not see us as we endure certain hardships? I believe He does.

 

God Sees Me-Moses-1

 

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But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it among the reeds. Exodus 2:3 (NIV)

 

The Hebrew people were in bondage to the Egyptians. Pharaoh had decreed that all male babies born to Hebrew women were to be killed.

               

Jochebed, Moses’ biological mother, saw that he was a fine child (ex.2:2) chose to keep him hidden away for three months. I cannot imagine successfully keeping an infant hidden for that long.

 

When Moses was three months old, his mother, Jochebed, found a basket, waterproofed it, and placed him in it. She placed the basket with its precious cargo in the river. She had Miriam, Moses’ sister watch from a safe distance. 

 

This chapter of Moses’ life has a happy ending. Pharaoh’s daughter, along with her attendants were walking along the Nile River. One of them spotted the basket and retrieved it.

 

Miriam came forward and asked if the princess would like to have one of the Hebrew women care for the baby. After a while, Pharaoh’s daughter took the baby into the palace and raised Moses as her own.

 

God gave Jochebed guidance to protect Moses. He allowed Miriam to help watch over him as he lay in that basket in the river. He allowed the princess of Egypt to go to the river with her handmaids. God saw each of them as they cared for the baby boy who will be used by Him in a mighty way.

 

Do we believe God sees us as He saw the baby, Moses?      

 

 

God Sees Me-Hagar

 

 

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She gave the name to the LORD who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, Ï have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 (NIV)

 

Abram had been promised by God to become the father of nations. However, he and Sarai had no children. Sarai grew impatient and hatched a plan.

 

She had a servant, named Hagar, who she would give to Abram in order that she, Sarai, could have a child through Hagar.

 

Hagar did conceive. She grew to despise Sarai. Sarai told Abram how Hagar had become mean to her. Abram shrugged off his responsibility and said, ”Do whatever you think is best.” Sarai mistreated her servant Hagar. Hagar ran away.

 

The angel of the LORD approached Hagar close to a spring in the desert. He asked her where had been and where she was going.

 

I find it interesting that Hagar only answered part of his question. Ï am running away from my mistress Sarai.” It does not look as if Hagar had any plans beyond getting away from Sarai.

 

The angel of God tells her to return to Sarai and then gives her a promise. Her son will be made into a nation. He will be a “wild donkey.” He will not be liked by many people.  

 

Hagar named the angel of God. She called him “You are the God who sees me, for she said, Ï have now seen the One who sees me.”

 

As we enter the Lenten season, we must look for personal signs that God sees us and allows us to see Him.

 

 

               

                 

 

Come to Me

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest

Matt. 11:28 (NIV)

Come

Jesus invites a certain group of people to spend time with Him.

 All

Our Savior makes no distinction of who can enter His presence. He invites each of His children to converse with Him, to “hang out with Him.”

 who are weary and burdened.

Jesus extends his invitation, not to those who “have it altogether,” but to those who are bone-tired and are consumed by fears and the weight of their world.

Each of us, have had times when we did not believe we could get through a certain condition we found ourselves in. We find ourselves crying out to the LORD for help.

We have scriptural evidence that Jesus wants us to bring those sorrows, those pains, and those discomforts to Him and allow Him to work out those issues for us.

And I will give you rest.

Jesus’ desire for us, His children, is that we are not encumbered by cares or fears. He knows what these emotions can do to us. They can impair our work, our health, and our well-being.

He always welcomes us into his presence, no matter our need or what we have done that may have displeased Him.

As we are in the latter half of the Lenten season, we are in special circumstances with our lives. The Coronavirus protection measures have limited life as we know it. Certain items have become scarce. People with underlying health issues are strongly encouraged to stay inside and away from other people. Houses of worship have been closed for at least two weeks. Grocery stores have begun placing limits on quantities of certain products.

What we all need to remember is this: GOD IS IN CONTROL.

Jesus Relinquished His Will

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Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.

Take this cup from me.

Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Mark 14:36 (NIV)

Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. He separated Himself from the disciples. He chose to humble Himself and seek His Father’s will.

Jesus did not think of Himself. He turned to God and relinquished His control over the events that lay before Him. He did that for you and me, so we could be in heaven with Him when He calls us home.

In our lives, we must remember that we are not the ones in control of our lives. Yes, there are certain things we may have a say in, where we live, who we marry, what kind of car we may drive, and where we worship God. There are other areas of our lives that only God knows about when we are born, when we die, the color of our eyes, our gender.

When we allow God’s will to control our lives, we are at peace with Him, with ourselves and with one another. We experience Jesus’s peace. He gives us a peace that is different from what the world offers.       

For us to find Jesus’ peace for our hearts, we have to ask His forgiveness for sin- the world’s offenses, our nation’s transgressions, and our personal ‘missing the mark.’

During Lent, we find ourselves focusing on our relationship with Jesus, on the fact that we are sinners, on His grace, and what He did for us—He gave his life that we may be deemed worthy to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Easter Music for Your Enjoyment

And Can It Be

Up From the Grave He Arose

Hallelujah, What a Savior

He's Alive

Because He Lives

These hymns and gospel songs are special to me. Over time, several years ago, I sang in choirs in two different churches to which I belonged.  These are some of the songs I think of when I think of Easter.

Due to some stresses in my life, I felt the need to share these with those who may be going through times of uncertainty and stress.  I was led to list these in this order.  Now, I know that God wanted me to list Because He Lives as the culmination. 

I will be taking a blog break until April 30th. I will begin to do some things I couldn't get done while I was fighting respiratory illnesses last month. 

PEACE AND BLESSINGS TO EACH OF YOU!

A Man of Sorrows

I am rerunning a post from 2018. This caught my eye as I was searching for something to share with you as a part of Lent.

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He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hid their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)

This verse speaks of Jesus Christ and what he endured at the end of His time here on earth.

The rulers and teachers loathed him and plotted to rid their world of Him. These ‘holy’ men shunned Him and brought trumped-up charges against our LORD.

The truth is, Jesus let himself be dealt with like this because he knew it was His Father’s plan. Yes, He was to take the sorrows of each of us upon Himself. He also took on our regrets and our grief. No one else will ever do this for us.

The Pharisees stirred up the people present in Jerusalem to become a mob bent on ridding their people of this ‘infidel.’ 

At the end of His life on earth, people treated Jesus as if he was a pariah, a persona non- grata.

The last phrase and we esteemed him not, almost breaks my heart. The people of that time did not value Him. I wonder, do we value Jesus today, as we should? Do we value him when we use language that demeans Him? Do we honor Him when we speak unkindly about someone else? Are we honoring Jesus when we carry a tale and maybe embellish it? What about when we have bad thoughts? One day we will hear from God whether we have been disrespectful to God and to His Son.

An Interview with Jesus’ Mother

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Quiet Spirit: Hello. Today we have with us Jesus’ mother, Mary. She has quite a story to share with us. Welcome, Mary. Thank you for coming to Following My King. Would you please share some of these tender memories with our readers?

Mary: I would be glad to. What would you like me to share?

Q. S.: Anything you feel led to.

M.: As I stood and watched my son and Savior as He struggled to carry his cross, that instrument of torture, along the road, I revisited the scenes of His life.

Q. S.: Can you please give us some background about the marriage customs among the Hebrew people at the time of your betrothal?

M.: As a young girl from a poor family, I was pledged to Joseph, a local carpenter. He was learning his trade from his father, as he would teach our future sons if God would bless us in that way. There were three steps to marriage for Hebrew young couples. First, the parents met and discussed the possibility of a union. Then the couple became “pledged”, the only way a pledging could end was through the death of one of the couple or through a divorce. The final step was the marriage ceremony.

Q.S.: You received a very special visit from the angel Gabriel? How did that make you feel? How did you react?

M.: An angel brought me a message that changed all our plans. It brought pain, ridicule, and rejection by my peers, I might have lost my beloved Joseph. I wasn’t certain that I could follow God and do that. However, I chose to obey God. Do you understand that? I chose to obey God.

Q.S.: How did Joseph react to this news.

M.: At first, Joseph was bewildered by what I told him. When word got around to the community, we lost friends and he lost some business. But the angel went to him and told him that what I had told him was true. My baby was conceived by God. He took me into his home as his wife and assisted me as he could.

Q.S.: What happened after your son was born?

M.: Some shepherds came to the stable where we stayed. I sat quietly and listened to them jubilantly tell the story of how they heard of the birth of my son. They told me of the angel and then the angel host and their message. One of those angels must have been the one who carried the message to me and told Joseph that he was to continue with our pledging. These lowly workers were thrilled to know that they saw angels from God. All I could do was sit, listen, ponder their words, and record them in my heart.

Q.S.: When Joseph took you and your baby to the temple, what happened?

M.: When Joseph took me and baby Jesus for the purification rite, Simeon, a man devoted to God, met us in the Temple When Simeon asked to hold the baby, he praised God. He told God he was ready to go to heaven in peace because he had been allowed to see our babe. Simeon called our baby Jesus God’s salvation for His people.

As we departed the Temple with Jesus, Simeon gave us a blessing and said; “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” Could this be what he meant?

Q.S.: Do you have anything else you would like to share with our readers?

M.: As I stood there at the foot of the cross, watching my son as He breathed his last breaths, He entrusted my care to John, the only one of His followers who was loyal to Him through His ministry and through the trial and tribulation my son suffered. I have always remembered this wonderful act of love my son did for me.

Q.S.: Thank you, Mary, for stopping in and sharing these personal thoughts with us.

M.: You are welcome. Thank you for inviting me.

Interview with a Roman Soldier

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Quiet Spirit: Today, we have with us Servius Antonius Balduinus, a Roman soldier who was garrisoned at Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover when the Jews confronted Pontius Pilate that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Thank you for consenting to visit Following My King.

Servius Antonius Balduinus Thank you for inviting me. As you said I was garrisoned at Jerusalem when the Jews confronted Pontius Pilate about this man called Jesus. Rome anticipated trouble and supplied us with additional troops to contain any uprising that might occur from the Jews.

Q. S.: Was this something new to you? Or had you seen other such actions?

S. A. B.: While I was there, I participated in several crucifixions. I thought the previous ones were all the same. However, the one with this man Jesus was . . . different. In the other ones, the criminals on the crosses shouted down curses onto us and the onlookers. This man Jesus asked His Father to forgive us. Forgive us? We caused Him to die and, yet, He sought God’s forgiveness for us.

Q. S.: Did you have any doubts about this one?

S. A. B.: “Why,” I asked myself “are we taking His very life?” Pilate told the Jews he found no guilt in this man and, yet, he turned Him over to the crowd. Yes, I joined in when my fellow soldiers divided up his garments, to the point of drawing lots when they decided to gamble for his undergarment As I look back, I realize it was so wrong to do. We justified it because there were four of us and he had five items of clothes. The undergarment was seamless, and we didn't want to cut it.

Q. S.: Did any people stand out to you? Did any of them act differently from the rest?

S. A. B.: While this horrific event was unfolding, I noticed a small group of four women and one young man watching. Later, I learned that one of the women was His mother. How terrible this must have been for her to watch: people brutalizing her own flesh and blood. I remember this Jesus calling down to her, “Woman, behold, your son!” And to the man, “Behold, your mother!”

Q. S.: How did this event affect you?

S. A. B.: Then my superior officer appointed me to puncture each of the three men in their side with my spear. After that, in case that process had not rendered them dead, I had to break their legs. When I approached the other two, they were still alive. I will always remember their screams of agony.

But this Jesus was already dead. I thought about all that I had seen and heard from this man Jesus, then I realized. “This man was truly the Son of God.” I Have not forgotten Jesus and what He did for each of us. My life has not been the same.

Q. S.: Thank you Servius Antonius Balduinus, for being here with us.

Interview with a Servant Girl

Denial of St. Peter, Gerret van Honthort

Quiet Spirit: Hello. Today we have with us one who can tell us a bit about one of the events at the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Welcome! Would you like to give us your name and tell us a little bit about yourself?

Servant Girl: Thank you for asking me to visit your blog today. It is an honor to be here. My name is not important; it is long forgotten in history. I was a servant girl in the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest. His family chose me to be in their service when Caiaphas received his appointment from a Roman official. When I had been in service for 15 years, the Feast of Passover brought tensions to Jerusalem. The religious leaders brought that rabbi, Jesus, to Caiaphas to go on trial.

Q. S.: Did you have knowledge of who Jesus was? Had you ever heard Him teach?

S. G.: A few days before the night in question, I was returning from purchasing supplies for the household in preparation for the Seder meal. I came upon a large group of people as they listened to the Rabbi preach. I asked a woman in the crowd who that Rabbi was. She told me he was Jesus. Another man stood close to this Jesus. I asked who that man was. She told me the second man was Cephas, who also was called Peter.

Q. S.: What happened on that night?

S. G.: Some of the others who were in service built a fire in the yard. A lot of people who were in town for the feast began to arrive at the gate. Soldiers brought in this Jesus for Caiaphas to interview. When the crowd brought that man Jesus into the courtyard, one of his followers came with him. Later, I recognized someone among the people who had been allowed to come into the yard. My friend told me this man hesitated outside the gate, talking to another man. That first man entered the yard and said something to one of the senior servants who went to Caiaphas’ son-in-law, Annas, conversed with him and returned to that first man. The senior servant accompanied him to the gate and spoke to the one waiting on the other side. The second man entered the yard and headed to the fire to get warm. I stood right by him and realized he had been with the Galilean. I told him that he had been with the Nazarene, but he responded with anger as he denied it. Suddenly, a rooster crowed and this man standing by the fire broke down and started sobbing. He then bolted from the fire and into the crowd.

Q. S.: Is there anything else you remember happening that night?

S. G.: Later, those in service talked about the events of the evening. Two others had confronted this man with the fact that he had been with this rabbi. Each time, he became agitated and, when I spoke with him, he seemed to not be able to contain himself any longer.

Q. S.: Servant Girl, you have given us new insight into the events of that event at the high priest’s home. Thank you for stopping by.

S. G.: Thank you for inviting me.

Interview with Malchus

http://www.germanicmythology.com

Q.S.: Hello, thanks for dropping in. Today we have with us Malchus, one of the male servants in Caiaphas’ household.

Malchus: Good day, thank you for inviting me here.

Q.S.: Could you tell us about your life of service?

Malchus: I started in service as a young boy, about eight or nine. My duties at that time were working with the animals. You know feeding them, cleaning the stalls, and replacing the hay in their stalls. As I got older, those duties changed.

Q.S.: How did you meet Jesus?

Malchus: The year I was 20, on the night of Passover, I found myself going in a group of about 200 men, some were assigned to Caiaphas, others were Priests and there also were Roman soldiers with us. It was dark; we carried torches to illumine our way through Jerusalem, up the Mount of Olives, and into the garden Gethsemane.

As we approached this man Jesus, the one we followed there gave the sign to identify him. He kissed this Jesus person.

Jesus asked who we were looking for. The priest answered. Jesus asked another question and again the priest answered. One of the men with Jesus asked yet another question and suddenly I felt something hit the side of my head. I reached up with my free hand and felt something warm on my skin. Someone near me held his torch closer to me and shouted, “This man is bleeding; his ear has been cut off.”

 Jesus chided one who was with him “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” He took my severed ear in his hand, placed it against the side of my head; said a few words, and removed his hand. This itinerant preacher, whom everyone wanted to die, healed me!

 My fellow servants told me which one of the men with Jesus did this to me. Later, after they brought Jesus to my master’s house, I recognized that man. I approached him and asked if he was with the Galilean. (Pause) Of course, he denied it.

Q.S.: How has your encounter with Jesus affected your life?

Malchus: All I knew about Jesus was what I overheard from Caiaphas, Annas, and the other priests. I really didn’t care for him. That’s why I didn’t mind going in that group to find him that night. However, after he healed me, I thought about how he showed compassion to me by taking the time to heal me, someone unworthy. If Jesus had not healed me, I don’t know what my life would have been like. I could have been reduced to a life of begging. He will always have my thanks.

Q. S.: Thank you, Malchus.

Light

Godsongs.net

Again, Jesus spoke, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NRSV)

In our lives, due to our humanity, we, as well as others, have times of experiencing darkness. Uncertain times can bring times of fear. Financial difficulties, health crises, unemployment and marital problems all have caused people to begin to doubt themselves.

Some of these issues can cause people to sink into depression. However, there are remedies to looking at things cheerily while others might have a bleak attitude.  I just got off the phone from talking to my Sunday school teacher’s wife. She works in our church office. We go to talking about the weather. She told me our pastor came in today wearing his snowman tie and then went into the kitchen and found his snowman mug for his coffee. His answer to all this is, “You just have to embrace the weather.”

When one is faced with seemingly insurmountable issues in his or her life, we can turn them over to Jesus and let Him smooth out the problems.

I remember in some old movies when a family was facing hard financial times their neighbors would have a ‘rent party.’ At a church we were in, the congregation would hold a ‘pound party’ where the people would each bring a pound of some food item and give the items to the new preacher or do one for pastor appreciation month. Some places call it ‘pounding the preacher.’

Once, when I was a child, we went up to see my great-uncle while my dad was laid-off from his job. As we were getting ready to leave, here came Uncle Charlie carrying an armload of fresh vegetables for us. I didn’t understand why he did this until I was older. He wanted to help us out.

When I was in college, a fraternity house caught fire. That fire was a total loss of the house and all its contents. All the women in my residence hall started donating things-blankets, pillows shampoo, toothpaste, soap, anything that they thought could help those displaced men.

Sometimes, we get to extend Jesus’ light to others. A get-well card, a condolence card, a phone call, or a cheery note just to tell a person we are praying for them will take away the feelings of gloom and sadness. We have times where someone needs to hear a special compliment from us. That thought might lighten their load and brighten their day.

Jesus calls Himself the light of the world because His Father sent Him to cast light into our world and to lead us out of the dark places into which it can lead us.

Praise the LORD for the light Jesus brings to us.

______________

If this looks and sound familiar to you, it's my mistake. I was trying something different and wasn't sure if it would work and I deleted this entry instead of the one I was working on. Please for give me for this error.

World

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For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. John 3:16a (NRSV)

We learned this verse when we were very young. Have we ever fully understood the ramifications of the message the Apostle John gave us?

What constitutes ‘the world’ for us? For some of us who spend our days at home, the world begins just outside our front doors.  Having recently been ill for right at three weeks, the first day I exited our enclosed front porch the world seemed bright with sunshine.

Some of my friends are employed and their days are spent serving others. One young man is employed at the grocery store where we trade. I sometimes see him there.  Another friend is a certified nursing assistant at a local healthcare facility. She devotes her working hours caring for infirm people. A grandmother I know works as an office worker for a heating and cooling company. All three of these friends have the ability to show God’s love to those whom they serve.

John didn’t say, “For God so loved the rich. . .”

Or, “For God so loved those who are talented. . .” He didn’t say, “For God so loved those who are law-abiding. . .”

John said For God loved (everyone in) the world. . .” That means He loves those in jail or prison, those who are marginally employed, those who are unemployed, those who are homeless, those who are hungry.

I feel the need to expand my world. I also need to listen more to discover what God wants from me.

Prepare

http://feedmysheepjerusalem.com/node/485

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make his paths straight.” Matthew 3:1-3 (ESV)

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time of preparation to celebrate our LORD’s resurrection. During the 40 days of this season, we focus on our relationship with Jesus and how we can improve it. Basically, we look at our lives and strive to weed out the things that we believe are a hindrance to our living for Him.

We practice a fast, or ‘giving up’ of something in our lives that we think might take the place of time we could devote to knowing more about God. I spend a lot of time playing scrabble and a related game on my tablet.  I believe I am doing this too much. As of this morning, I have put it away until Easter Sunday.

For the past two years, I have used a certain Lenten devotional book. Last year, I kept a journal of my thoughts during each day. As I initially write this entry, I am unsure of my plan for devotions. 

Sometimes God leads us also to perform one positive thing each day. This year, I plan on praying more for our nation. With all the upheaval we see, I feel the need to truly take these issues before the LORD and ask Him to take care of them.

Does your faith tradition observe the season of Lent? What are some ways you have participated in the observance?

“I Have Seen the Lord.”

William Brassey Hole via Suzanne Woods Fisher.comAdd caption

Thoughts of Mary Magdalene:

            I returned to the tomb. I couldn’t keep from crying. I wanted to know what the soldiers, or whoever took my Master’s body, did with it.

            After Peter and John departed, I sat at the entrance and sobbed all the harder. Then, I heard a voice ask me why I was crying and who I was looking for.

            I thought it was the gardener. I inquired about the Master’s body—where had they taken it? Then, I heard my name. I looked up and saw Jesus. No one knows the relief I felt. All I could do was call out his name, the name I thought of his as. “Rabboni!”

            He talked to me. He asked me to deliver a message to the disciples. I departed to find the disciples to share the wondrous news, "I have seen the Lord!”

            Mary went from somber sadness to ecstatic joy. Can we identify with her as we enter into the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection?

I've Just Seen Jesus

          

       I will be taking a short break from blogging. I will be back on April 24. Hubby and I are going to do something special while I am unplugged. In the meantime, I wish each of you a very Happy Easter.

 

Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene

http://aviewfromtheright.com

            John and I saw Mary Magdalene as she ran toward us. I wondered why she hurried so.

            “They have moved the Master’s body and I don’t know what they did with him.”

            John and I took off running toward the tomb. John outran me and arrived there first. Later, he told me, he hesitated at the door. He didn’t want to enter such a personal place.

            I came to the tomb a moment later. I had to see for myself. I brushed past John and entered the tomb. Mary was right. I saw the linen strips lying there. The burial cloth for His head was folded neatly and lying separately from the other pieces. Then John came in. He looked around, as he looked around the tomb, his expression changed.  He told me as we headed back to the city that, when he saw the clothes, he believed what Jesus had told us was true.

Joseph of Arimethea

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            I watched as the Roman soldiers took down His body from the cross. The Sabbath drew closer. I sought permission to receive his body. They were going to lay Him on a pile of decaying bones, the remains of others who went through crucifixions. I had to save Him from that despicable end.

            Recently, I, in preparation for my own departure from this world, I had my tomb dug. It only seemed right that Jesus be laid to rest in a tomb rather than on top of a pile of rotting bones. So, I asked for Jesus ’body and placed Him in my tomb.

            Nicodemus, a colleague of mine, purchased a huge quantity of burial spices, 75 pounds in all. He prepared Jesus’ body until the Sabbath began.

             Both Nicodemus and I had been convinced of who Jesus was, however, because we were both members of the Sanhedrin, we had to refrain from saying anything about how we felt about Him. Watching the travesties done to Him pierced my heart until I had to speak for the Master.