#133. A dead end?
Hey! Hey! Hey!
It’s advent and Christmas is coming. So why death? Well this is where we are in our reading plan. The Bible doesn’t hide away from the good, the bad or the ugly! Death is an ugly thing and we can’t run away from it. In our reading this morning we are told of the death of Jesus.
Mark 15:42-47
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
Jesus is buried. Though at one level this seems like a mundane fact of the narrative, it is a crucial part of the gospel and the salvation that is ours by grace. Jesus was not simply mocked or insulted or wounded on our behalf; He was killed. Jesus underwent the death that is unavoidable for every one of us since Adam’s fall. Though each of us must pass through the awful experience of death, Jesus’ own death, with His subsequent resurrection, means that our death, while awful, is no longer a dead end. It is a new beginning. Death for the follower of Christ is an entrance ramp, not an exit. *1
Most of this life is in the Saturday of the Easter story but as Christians we look forward to the Sunday (resurrection day). In the now and not yet of the time we are in, keep looking to the end of the story knowing that Jesus will get you through.
Much love
Tim
1. Bayer, H. F. (2013). Mark. In B. Chapell & D. Ortlund
#134. Risen
Today’s reading although often read at Easter time is a great reading at Christmas. Why? When we know what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection it makes the Christmas story that much more powerful.
Jesus the baby, grew and lived a perfect life, died a death like no other and certainly did the one thing that no one had or will ever be able do again. This morning we read of His resurrection.
Mark 16
_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. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” _
_4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. _
_6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ” _
_8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. _
This morning use this prayer of Scotty Smith to complete this devotion -
Exalted and resurrected Jesus, I offer a threefold “Indeed!” and a threefold “Hallelujah!”.
You have been raised from the dead! Preaching the gospel is not useless; it’s essential. Faith in you is not futile but fertile. We’re no longer encased in our sins; we’re fully wrapped in your righteousness. Those who have “gone to sleep” in you are not slumbering in the void; they are savoring your resurrection glory. We are less to be pitied than anybody and more to be grateful than everybody (1 Cor. 15:14–19).
Because you have been raised from the dead, everything changes, Jesus. You are the firstfruits and guarantee of a whole new order—the “new creation” dominion of redemption and restoration. The decay in our earthly bodies will give way to the delights of our resurrection bodies. The kingdom of this world has already become, and will be fully manifest as, the kingdom of our God and of you, his Christ. You are already reigning, and you will reign forever and ever. All evil dominions, wicked authorities, and malevolent powers have already been defeated by you and one day will be completely eradicated by you. Jesus, your death is the death of death, and your resurrection is the resurrection of all things. Oh, the wonder, the glory, the grace! In light of this great hope, because this gospel is true, free me and my friends from the pettiness and emptiness of living for ourselves. Because of your compelling love, show us how to live for you, for you died for us and have been raised again! Again I shout it, a threefold “Indeed!” and a threefold “Hallelujah!” I pray and shout, in your most glorious name! Amen.
Much love
Tim
Smith, Scotty. Everyday Prayers (p. 112). Baker Publishing Group.