Lk. 24:1-12 - "Why look for the living among the dead?"

      As we saw earlier, the women among Jesus' followers had gone with Nicodemus and Joseph when they mournfully carried Jesus' body to Joseph's new tomb for temporary burial. It was Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath was nearing, so the ladies went home to prepare the spices for Jesus' final entombment. They had hoped to complete their sad, loving task of preparing Jesus' body, but as the Sabbath neared, they realized they could not finish. It would have to wait until Sunday morning.
     Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath as the Fourth Commandment taught. Jesus had always practiced this, and they followed His example. Jesus ignored the human, man-made traditions about the Sabbath, even flaunting them at times; but He followed God's commandments in letter and spirit. After all, He had created the Sabbath for humanity (Mk. 2:27-28; Gen. 2:1-2), and His purpose for it had not changed. In the New Covenant God's Law is not changed; it is written on the heart (Heb. 10:16), which was always His plan.
     Now it is early Sunday morning, and Luke tells us they are up early to complete their plan. "Very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb" (v.1).
     Of course they found the stone rolled away and Jesus' body gone, which greatly frightened and bewildered them. "While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them" (v. 4). Another Gospel simply said there were two men in white garments, but Luke has investigated the story carefully and interviewed the witnesses. He tells us their clothes "gleamed like lightning." They were angels!
     "In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground. . ." (v. 5) Then the angels speak to them, and the message they give is more detailed and significant than the other Gospels: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"
     These words have become the Christian proclamation exclaimed at every Easter, and they contain the validating fact of our faith. Jesus not only died, but He rose from the dead!
     It is wonderful that Jesus died for our sins, but if He had remained in the grave, it would have proved Him a liar and faker. His resurrection confirms His identity as Son of God and Savior and substantiates His predictions that He would lay down His life for us and take it up again by His own power (see Jn. 10:14-18).
     That is what Paul means when he writes, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:17-20).
     I love how the angels announce Jesus' resurrection to the women. In essence they say, "Why are you coming to a graveyard to look for someone who is living? Nobody goes to the cemetery to look for a walking, breathing human being. Jesus isn't dead; He is fully alive, filled with His energetic purpose and plans. Death didn't stop Him. The grave can't hold Him. He is alive!
     Then they begin the word of "re-membering," reminding them of Jesus’ words:
     "Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'" (vs. 6-7). Remember? He told you so many times, but you didn't want to believe it. Your concepts of an earthly Messiah didn't let you believe it. But "remember" because what Jesus said was true. "Then," Luke says, "they remembered His words" (v. 8)
     They remembered, but in their surprise and shock, they still didn't fully get it. It would take many hours to fully grasp and believe He was truly alive, and many days to re-learn everything Jesus had tried to teach them about what the prophecies said.
     The women rushed back to tell the Eleven, but they didn't believe it either. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb" (v. 12).  I love Peter's enthusiasm; He is always first to jump--into the water, into conversation, even into trouble. I think that's partly why Jesus chose him. He saw a curiosity, an eagerness, a warm-heartedness, and an impulsiveness that would help Peter do great things for the Kingdom someday, when truly surrendered to Jesus.
     "Bending over, he (Peter) saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what happened" (v. 12). If someone stole the body, it is likely they would have taken it still wrapped in the linen wrappings. But why were they still there, Peter wonders.
     To jump ahead, John describes the arrangement of the burial cloths in more detail in his Gospel. He writes that Peter "saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen" (Jn. 20:6, 7). That explains Peter's curious puzzlement even better. What grave robber would stop to fold up the face cloth? Oh, thinks Peter, that would be so like Jesus to do! He was so neat and orderly in everything He did. Could He really be alive, he wonders?

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Luke 24:1-12 - Investigative Report of the Resurrection

     It has been a few days since I last wrote. My intention was to write daily, but the press of pastoral ministry doesn't always make that possible. So I have decided to write as I am able.
     Today we begin looking at Luke's account of the Resurrection. Yes, we are well past Easter now, but the Gospel records are so rich, I am going to continue to explore them with you. After all, the death and resurrection of Jesus are the greatest events in earth's history so far, followed certainly by the beginning of Earth's Judgment and the Second Coming of Jesus. Confining our thinking about Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection to a time of year isn't necessarily good anyway. We can and should think of the Cross and the Resurrection all year long, because that is where our hope lies.
     I love Luke's account of the Resurrection because it is a carefully investigated account. Luke was not part of the Twelve and therefore did not have the privilege of seeing Jesus' ministry and Passion personally. He became a disciple later, probably. So, before he wrote his Gospel, he had to research everything carefully. He interviewed eye witnesses one by one, and as a physician with highly trained skills of observation and analysis, he wrote his investigative report.
     He tells us how he researched his Gospel before writing it, in Luke 1:1-4:  "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught" (Emphasis mine).
     Luke investigated everything about the story of Jesus very carefully from beginning to end, and only then wrote out his Gospel account. This means that when we read Luke's story of the Resurrection and the events surrounding it, we can have a high degree of certainty that he paid attention to the details and made sure that his report was orderly and certain.
     This does not mean the other Gospel accounts are less inspired; not at all. It also does not mean they are less trustworthy. Each writer emphasizes the things the Spirit impressed on their heart at the time of writing. It just means that Luke's report was constructed especially with an interest in completeness and order, because that was the purpose of his written account to Theophilus, who, though unknown outside the Biblical account, was probably an important Roman official.
     It is with that assurance that we will begin our study of Luke's Ressurection account in our next writing.

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Mk. 16:9-14 - Struggling with Doubt

     "When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
     "Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them (disciples) while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either" (Mk. 16:9-13).
     Mark's point in these first two appearances by Jesus is the struggle with doubt and unbelief His disciples had. At first, we might not want to blame them. After all they had been through; after seeing Jesus killed the way He was, we sympathize with their struggle to believe He was really alive. But Mark's point is that we must not excuse them, and we must learn from their failure.
     When Jesus finally appeared to the eleven that afternoon as they were eating, "He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen" (Mk. 16:14).
     Why did they doubt and stubbornly refuse to believe? Because they failed to stay focused on Jesus' teachings and on God's word; because they failed to pray and gave into sleep in the Garden; because they let the trauma of the weekend overwhelm their faith; because they had forgotten all Jesus had taught them during His ministry--every evidence for faith He had given.
     Faith is a gift, but at some point it is also a choice. We have to take the evidence and assurances of faith God gives us and anchor them in our hearts. This will keep us through life's storms.
     On Resurrection morning, Jesus sent two three messengers to His disciples with the good news He was alive. The first was Mary Magdalene. Broken, sinful, cleansed Mary. The Mary delivered from the demons of immorality that had controlled her life.
     How did the disciples view her? Perhaps as an emotional, broken woman. Remember her anointing Jesus' feet and weeping at Simon's house?
     How did Jesus see her? As a precious, redeemed daughter; a child of God; a woman reclaimed from the land of the enemy and restored to sanity, purity, and nobility.
     In her great gratitude and love, she stayed by the tomb on Resurrection morning. She couldn't bear being separated from her Savior. And so she had the privilege of being the first to herald the Resurrection.
     Jesus appeared first to Mary because Mary needed Him most. This was so like Jesus. Isaiah said His mission would be to restore the broken and needy. Why wouldn't Jesus appear to Mary first? Were the eleven men offended because a woman, a woman like Mary, brought the message?
     Jesus appeared next to two lesser disciples. We know the name of only one, Cleopas. We'll tell their story another day, but were the disciples offended again because lesser disciples then they (or so they may have thought) brought the news?
     If they had remembered Jesus' teachings, if they had remembered God's word, they would have received the good news no matter who brought it.
     God doesn't always work in the way we expect or through the instruments we think He should. I read recently of two Adventist women pastors in China, Godly, humble women who pastor churches in the tens of thousands. We should celebrate that God chooses His own instruments to do amazing things through.
     Jesus' Gospel Commission in Mark (16:15-18) is given against the backdrop of the disciples' unbelief. I believe this is for two reasons. Mark wants us to see that the Resurrection story is not made up. Jesus own followers didn't believe it at first. Secondly, we all struggle with faith at one time or another. The remedy is to remember the teachings of God's word and anchor our faith there.

Pastor Michael Brownfield


   

Mk. 16:1-8 - Resurrection 2, Mark's Story

     "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body" (Mk. 16:1).
     They have not slept much again, this second night after Jesus' death.
     When you are grieving deeply, you hardly sleep. Your heart and mind won't let you. If you are with others, you talk and weep. When you finally go to bed, you toss and turn and your mind won't shut down. Finally, sometime in the wee hours you fall into a fitful doze, but your heart wakes you again too soon.
     Your first thought might be, "Why do I feel so terrible?" Then the reality hits again, like a bad dream--only this dream is real.
     These women had not just lost a dear friend, one who had always been there for them, especially in their deepest need; they had seen Him beaten repeatedly. They had heard their trusted religious leaders cry out with the mob for His crucifixion (How could they?). They had watched in agony as Jesus allowed Himself to be flogged and then crucified, writhing in pain on the cross.
     They were not just suffering loss; they had been traumatized to the depths of their souls. Hardly having slept, they were up early to do their last and loving service for their Friend--these women who had cared for His needs: washed His clothes, prepared His meals, whatever He needed (God bless all serving women--wives, mothers, church leaders and helpers).
     Yes, they would care now for His needs one last time, by preparing His body for burial. What a sad, heart breaking chore.
     Mark's list of the women is a little different from Matthew's--and Luke’s, "who investigated everything carefully" (Lk. 1:3). John only tells us about Mary Magdalene's experience. Who can blame these men for not remembering everything exactly, or the women either?
     Interview witnesses of a traumatic crime or accident, and they will tell you their recollection; but each story may be different. The human mind under duress can't remember everything. The Bible is inspired, but inspiration is not dictation by God. Inspiring a writing, the Holy Spirit brings out a message. The details may be different, but God guides the message and the main points.
     The main points of this story are the surprise, bewilderment, and fear of the women and disciples, contrasted with the truth of the Resurrection. Real, honest, gut-level story telling. The ring of truth.
     The characters report their questions, their hesitation, their fears, and their joy. The ladies ask, "Who will roll the stone away?" It is very large and placed in a groove that slopes downward to prevent easy opening, even by strong men.
     But the stone has been rolled away! And they see a young man dressed in white sitting on the right. They were alarmed, Mark reports. You go into an open tomb where there is supposed to be a deceased loved one and instead see a young man in white clothes. A tomb is a place of death, not life. Crashing thoughts! Violated expectations!
     If I think my wife is one place in the house and she appears in another suddenly, I jump. She does too! A couple of weeks ago, I left the master bedroom for an adjoining room and returned momentarily. In that minute, my wife had come from another part of the house and entered the master bath which was dark. When I returned to the bedroom a minute later, "Someone" was moving in the dark master bath! My heart jumped, if not my body.
     In our story, the angel is attuned to the women's emotions and soothes their fears, speaking words that orient and focus them: "You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here" (Mk.16:6).
     Can you imagine their thoughts? Their bright hopes that Jesus was their Messiah had been crushed forever, one unjust sentence, one blow, one whip lash, one mocking scoff, one crucifixion nail, one agonizing breath at a time. And then, "My God, My God! Why have you forsaken Me?" And death.
     They saw the spear thrust into Jesus' side and blood and plasma flow out. They were there, these women, when Joseph from Arimathea and Nicodemus took His mangled, bloody, limp body down. They had followed them to the tomb to see where He was laid and watched as the stone grated and ground down its channel to a thudding close. Yes, Jesus was dead. They would not see Him alive again--not in this lifetime. They would make many sad trips to His tomb, but see Him alive? It didn't even cross their minds.
     "He has risen!" He has risen? How could that be? He was very dead, killed by certain means.
     "Risen?"--Oh that would be wonderful! But He was so dead just last night!
     "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." (Mk. 16:8)
     Do you ever wonder if Jesus really rose from the dead? This report does not sound like a lie. It has the emotional ring of truth, doesn't it? You live the story as you read it, it is so real.
     "He has risen!" This is the joyful keynote of the Christian message. Three words that say so much:
     Jesus is alive, no longer dead! The One whose life and deeds and words blessed so many. Death stopped His living, but He is alive. Now His love, His deeds may continue.
     He is living! Death steals our loved ones from us. We were made to love and live, but death interrupts our relationships. Now, if they could only find Him, they could resume their precious friendship.
     He is alive! If He is, everything He said must be true! It must be true!
     He is alive! He is Who He said He was, then: Son of God, Savior, King of all!

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Mt. 28:1-15 - Resurrection 1, Matthew's Story

     The Resurrection of Jesus is one of the most glorious and meaningful events in all of Scripture, rivaled only by the Second Coming of Jesus and the final destruction of Satan and sin and securing of God’s Kingdom rule after the Millennium.
     While we look to the cross for assurance of sins forgiven and the re-assurance of God's love, the Resurrection uniquely establishes and validates what happened at Calvary.
     Over the next few days, we will look at the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. Our first goal will be to see what the disciples and other participants experienced. Later we will try to understand the meaning of this great event.
     Matthew's report of the Resurrection is interesting because it is difficult at first to sort the elements of his story out. Like a person who has just witnessed a traumatic event, the Matthew’s description is jumbled, making the logic hard difficult to follow.
     Did the women actually see Jesus raised and the guards fall like dead men from fear? It sounds like it at first. Reading more carefully one realizes the Resurrection must have happened as the women were on their way to the tomb, not at it.
     Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary," probably "Mary the mother of Joses," or John, (Mark 15:47) and James (Mark 16:1) are the first to arrive at the tomb after Jesus is raised.
     Mary Magdalene's devotion, so deep and loyal because of how much Jesus had done for her, will shine out throughout the Resurrection story. James and John's commitment to Jesus is reflected in the devotion of their mother who left all to help care for Jesus' needs and now comes first to the tomb with Mary of Magdala.
     I love Matthew's description of the moment of Resurrection. A violent earthquake. An angel who's "appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow." The powerful Roman guards, trained to be tough as nails and fearless in battle, shaking with terror and becoming "like dead men."
     No one can stand when God decides to act. The effort of the priestly leaders and Roman governor to make the tomb secure only serve to spotlight the weakness of human authority when confronted by the power of God.
     It is the same angel who calls Jesus from His tomb who is still present when the women arrive. He considerately calms their fears at finding an empty tomb and reminds them of Jesus' promise: "He is not here; he has risen, just as He said." Then he invites them to examine the evidence of the empty tomb and sends them on their way to announce the resurrection to the disciples.
     Matthew says the women "hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy (Mt. 28:8)." I can imagine their confused thoughts and emotions at that moment. They had seen Jesus tortured and killed, and had watched as His dead body was taken from the cross and placed in the tomb. Jesus was dead, and over the Sabbath, they had tried to come to terms with their dashed hopes and dreams. Now, in an instant, a stranger reverses all this and tells them Jesus is alive. (Mark says the angel looked like a "young man dressed in white," so he had significantly dimmed his brilliance out of respect for the women. Mk 16:5). Still, who can blame them for being afraid?
     Then Matthew reports, "Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings He said.' They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him." It is clear to them that Jesus is more than a man. He is God, and they worship Him.
     Throughout the Resurrection stories, Jesus appears to various people. It seems to me that He chooses who He goes to based on their level of need. Like a first responder at the scene of an accident, Jesus triages His grieving disciples and goes first to those who need Him most.
     So He appears first to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary because they are grieving so deeply; then to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. That is so like Jesus, isn't it, and it is reassuring to us. When we are in great need, He will come to us too. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Ps. 34:18). "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything" (Phil. 4:5, 6).
     The guards have finally recovered their senses, and trembling, they flee back to Jerusalem to report everything that had happened to the chief priests. I can imagine those priests’ faces turning white as they hear the guards' emotion-filled report. One more chance to repent, but instead they concoct a lie and promise to keep the guards out of trouble: Tell everyone that "His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep."
     Like most lies, this one didn't hold together. If the guards were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples who stole the body? And why weren't the guards disciplined, or even executed, as Roman military regulations required? How did the whole detachment fall asleep in the first place, knowing the penalties for doing so? It is highly unlikely that every last soldier would doze off. Matthew is clearly answering questions about the Resurrection that existed in his day when he reports, "And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day."

Pastor Michael Brownfield


       

Mt. 28:1 - Crucifixion Sabbath

     "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb" (Mt. 28:1).
     Luke tells us why they went--to finish preparing Jesus' body for burial (Lk. 24:1). Friday afternoon, after Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus removed His body from the cross and carried it to Joseph's new tomb, the ladies had just enough time to see where Jesus was placed and perhaps spend a few minutes grieving and weeping together. Then "they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Lk. 24:56).
     The people who loved and followed Jesus kept the Bible Sabbath, the seventh day of the calendar week. Jesus had created the Sabbath (Gen. 2:1-2; Jn. 1:1-3) and wrote it into the Law which He and the Father gave on Mt. Sinai.
     When He came to this world, Jesus also kept the Sabbath (Lk. 4:16) and did His best to restore it to its original purpose by protesting the man-made restrictions that kept His people from enjoying God's plan for this special day (Mk. 2:21-3:6).
     Luke tells us the women "rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Lk. 24:56). Nothing in Jesus' teaching or practice led His followers to think He was changing or abolishing the Sabbath. They followed His perfect example and kept the Sabbath in the same spirit He did, avoiding legalism, but keeping it according to the commandment (the fourth of the Ten Commandments given on Mt. Sinai: Ex. 20:8-11). This included not doing any ordinary work. That was the reason they prepared the spices for embalming, but didn't have time to do the work until Sunday morning.
     What a sad, sad Sabbath that must have been for Jesus' followers. It was a day spent in grieving and asking "Why?" I'm sure none of them slept much Friday or Saturday nights. It was not just their hoped-for Messiah who had been crucified, but their dear Friend who had helped them each so much. For them it was a Sabbath of crushed hopes, grief-stricken loss, and wondering what the future held now.
     But for heaven it was a Sabbath of tremendous rejoicing. They knew the end of the story. They had not forgotten Jesus' predictions that He would rise again. In fact, they were making preparations for it! When Jesus died, His followers grieve, but heaven exploded with cheering.
     I'll bet the Resurrection angel was waiting like a champion runner at the start line to dash to earth at God's command. His accompanying angels who were going with him to push back Satan and His angels must have been so eager for their assignment to begin.
     Heaven was also rejoicing because they knew Jesus' death had conquered Satan. Jesus' cry of victory and last breath were Satan's death knell. Christ had conquered God's foe (Col. 2:15), and now it was only a matter of time until Satan could be destroyed (Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:10).
     While heaven celebrated in joyful praise and worship, Jesus spent the Sabbath sleeping the sleep of death in Joseph's tomb. I believe it was in God's eternal plan that Jesus died on a Friday and rested in the tomb over Sabbath. By God's arrangement Redemption was repeating the cycle of Creation.
     In Creation week, Jesus presided over bringing God's new masterpiece into existence (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). When He finished (Gen. 2:2), He ceased His work by resting on the seventh day and spending a day of blissful fellowship with His new children, Adam and Eve. Then He "Blessed" the Seventh Day and "made it holy," designating it a sacred day (Gen. 2:1-3).
     In Redemption week, Jesus moved through the week very deliberately, calling attention to His forthcoming work on Calvary. Then, just before He died, He shouted "It is finished!" and breathed His last.
     The epic plan was now complete, to come to this world, reveal the Father's character, defeat the devil, and pay for humanity's sin. Now our Creator-Redeemer rested again on the same day He rested on in Creation. In saving us, He honored the Sabbath He created and set apart at Creation week, by again resting on it.
     On the First Day, He would take up His work of ministry again. But for now, He slept the restful sleep of death, waiting for His Father and glorious angels to call Him to life.

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Mt. 27:57-61 - Two Rich Leaders Bury Jesus

     Matthew tells us, "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him" (vs. 57-58).
     John adds that "He (Joseph) was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night (Jn. 3). It is interesting how the four Gospel writers add different pieces of information, which fills out the story for us. In some cases it is difficult to reconcile their facts, but our confidence in Biblical inspiration does not rest on the authors' perfection of memory or reported detail. It is the message that is important, and differences in reporting or even occasional discrepancies of fact need not trouble us at all.
     The Bible was given in the language of men. God did not dictate the Scriptures, He moved on the hearts of the men who wrote each book, and they communicated His message in their own words, language, style, and literary mode. The Bible was written by inspired men, but everything human is imperfect. It is not God as a writer that is portrayed in Scripture, but human beings who are telling us about God. If a writer forgets, or misreports a detail or story, it does not detract from God or His message at all. God hasn't placed Himself on trial in the Bible--in its words, logic, or rhetoric. The writers were His penmen, not His pen. (See Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 20-21)
     Joseph and Nicodemus were both wealthy, influential men, who had secretly come to believe in Jesus. John says Joseph "was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because He feared the Jews" (Jn. 19:38). Nicodemus had believed in Jesus ever since his secret night visit recorded in John 3. From then on, he watched and followed Christ from a distance.
     Each man belonged to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Mark tells us that Joseph was a "prominent" member of the Council, who was waiting for the kingdom of God" (15:43). Both had used their influence to protect Jesus (Jn. 7:50-52)--until finally the Council simply went around them to get rid of Him. Joseph "had not consented to their decision and action," Luke tells us (23:51).
     Over time, the conviction had grown in each man's heart that Jesus was the Messiah. Imagine the consternation and grief they felt as they saw their leaders rejecting Jesus and plotting His death.
     What was it like for them when Jesus was crucified? Did Nicodemus remember Jesus' prediction that "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life?" (Jn. 3:14-15). As he helped to remove Jesus body from the cross, did He believe on Him as His Savior, the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sin of the world? Or as with the disciples, did it take a while for that truth to register in His mind and heart?
     Despite appearances, God is at work in human hearts, in all classes of society. These two rich and influential men came forward at the death of Jesus and did what the poor, infant church could not do. They secured Jesus' body from the governor, purchased burial spices, and laid Jesus in one of their own tombs. God always had means of providing for His church. If a church group is poor and struggling, but is following Jesus faithfully, He will provide for them when it is needed. After all, the Kingdom and the power and the glory all belong to Him.

Pastor Michael Brownfield