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www.truthworks.com 13 April 06 devotion archive |
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Walk With Jesus - Day 4 I tell you the Truth, Today we will walk in darkness on Crucifixion Thursday. [Thursday] Feast of Unleavened Bread, 15th of Nisan. [Matthew 26:47-27:28, Mark 14:53-15:47] In the next few hours Jesus will undergo six trials. All of them will be a mockery of justice. Jesus will come out of His third trial just in time to hear Peter deny being a follower Jesus for the third time. A rooster crows, marking the dawn to the sunrise of a new day. This is the day in which Jesus of Nazareth, the true and living Son of God, will be despised, rejected of man and crucified on a wooden cross. This day is the third feast day, the "Feast of Unleavened Bread". Jesus will be despised, rejected and beaten. All of this because of the love that God has for His own creation and of an ultimate desire to reunite the people that are rejecting Him back to Him self. The horrific beating [Isaiah 52:13-53:12] that Jesus will endure for us will be a savage fit of rage, the rage of mankind and a fit of Satanic rage all wrapped into one. No person has ever been as savagely beaten as Jesus was that day. It is the kind of abuse that all evil has against all innocence. Peter will have gone out and wept bitterly for his part in denying Jesus. Peter will not look to himself but will again look to God and experience the total love and forgiveness that God Has for mankind. Judas, who also betrayed God, will not look to God, but instead Judas will look to himself and will find no hope but only despair and in despair Judas will go out and commit suicide. Jesus is now led to a hill and crucified. It is the same hill that the Jewish forefather Abraham brought his son Isaac to 4,000 years earlier [Genesis 22:1-19], to enact out a loving father offering his only beloved son, a parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus is offered wine mixed with bitter gall to drink but He rejects the bitter wine because He has promised that the next wine He drinks will be with us in Heaven and it will be a sweet cup of Heavenly rejoicing not the bitter cup of this world. Jesus' first words on the cross [Luke 23:34] are, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Even as He is rejected, Jesus forgives. We stand amazed as the two thieves being crucified along with Jesus, mock Him. Then one of the thieves turns and says, "We are getting our just rewards; but Jesus is innocent". Then one of the thieves says a most remarkable thing. He says, "Jesus, remember me when you enter into your kingdom" [Luke 23:42]. Jesus will remain alive on the cross for six hours, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. At noon, the sky will grow dark [Amos 8:9, Matthew 27:45]. Jesus will cry out from the cross "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken Me?" [Psalm 22:1-31, Matthew 27:46.] At 3:00, Jesus will give a victory cry and proclaim "It is finished" [John 19:30]. He will then commend His Spirit to His Father. It is now near the evening of the third feast day, the "Feast of Unleavened Bread." This feast, according to Leviticus chapter 23, is a Sabbath – Rest feast and in order to properly keep this feast the followers need to be at home before sundown and are unable to engage in any work. The legs of the two thieves on the other two crosses are broken to hasten their deaths and to proceed with their burials before sundown. The body of Jesus is pierced in His side, as blood and water flow. His legs remain unbroken. Jesus' lifeless body is taken down from the cross and placed into a new nearby tomb, which is really a cavern carved out of solid rock and has been provided by Joseph of Armethia. Jesus will be laid in the new tomb. His body, including His face, will be wrapped with fresh linen cloth and soaked with 75 lbs. of anointing oils [John 19:39]. Those taking part in the burial of Jesus will quickly depart to get home before the Sabbath curfew of sundown. That evening we will return with the disciples back to the upper room where the Lord's Passover feast was held the night before. The door will be shut and locked as everyone will cower in the dark and in silence for fear that Romans will knock down the door to seize more of the disciples and drag them off to be horribly crucified. It is the first night without the presence of Jesus. It is a dark and bitter night. Jesus reached out to us - all the way and without compromise. He didn't compromise as He took on the appearance of a human and entered into our physical realm so that He could interact with us on our level. He entered into our physical level because we are separated from the Holy God on His Spiritual level. We are separated from Him by our sins and it is impossible for God to bring us and the sin that accompanies us into His direct presence, so God in Jesus, came to us in our existence. In reaching out to us Jesus didn't compromise. He reached out with both arms open and fully extended all the way, even to the cross. Mankind in return didn't compromise as mankind rejected God. Mankind then reaching back with a hammer, nailed both of His open and extended arms onto a wooden cross. Today we mourn. But, thank God our walk is not over. In the next days we will encounter the key to all eternity. Death will be swallowed up in sweet victory.
Hebrews 11:6
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Prayer Requests (and Praises!) If you have a prayer request and would like to see it here, please drop me an email so we can share with others. “Please be praying for my oldest son, Matthew and his wife, Robin, and their little girl, Reagan. When Robin had an ultrasound done today, the doctor pronounced her 3-month fetus dead. He said it looked like the baby may have died about a week ago. They will be removing it surgically tomorrow. Matthew & Robin are having a very difficult time right now (we all are). Please pray for Matthew & Robin that they will lean on the Lord during this time for strength. They have been trying to have a baby for some time now and this is devastating to them. Blessings double to you
for praying, Please reply if you have prayer requests, comments or simply need an open ear. I always enjoy hearing from you. <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< Copyright © 2006 Truth Works Publishing. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise specified, all scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV.
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