Good Friday Meditation 4/4: Jesus Reigns from the Grave

Jesus is the perfect Jew. He finishes his work before Sabbath rest begins and with enough time that people can bury him without compromising the law.

Where exactly the Spirit of Jesus went during his time away from the body isn't easy to tie down. Did he return to Heaven? (Lk.23:43) Did he go and preach to the spirits in prison? (1Pe.3:19). Did he pop an African visit down at Abraham's bosom? (Lk.16:22 newer translations boringly say "side")

Good Friday Meditation 3/4: Jesus Reigns at Golgotha

Jesus, the Lion from the tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5) crushes
the serpent, the accuser of God's people (Rev.12:10).

Under the Spirit's direction, Jesus is crucified (John 19:16-37).

Many think that Golgotha got its name because David buried the head of Goliath of Gath there (1Sam.17:54). Goliath was a picture of Satan, the great accuser of God's people (1Sam.17:10).

Back in Genesis 3:15 God promised that Messiah would crush the head of the serpent, Satan, the accuser. Here at Golgotha we see the fulfillment of that prophecy - Jesus is lifted up - King over Golgotha, over the skull, his foot crushing the head of Satan - the greater Goliath - winning victory over sin, death and the devil.

Good Friday Meditation 2/4: Jesus Reigns at Gabbatha

What do you think it would be like to stare into the face of the one who created everything - including you?

Good Friday Meditation 1/4: Jesus Reigns at Gethsemane

In Matthew's, Mark's and Luke's gospels, we see the vulnerability of Jesus up close and personal in the Passion narratives. They all record more clearly his anguish and pain - e.g. Mt.26:38-39, Mk.14:33, Lk.22:44 - a beautiful demonstration of Heb.5:7.

But John is different, Jesus never stops reigning and there is no hint of weakness or anguish. Jesus never leaves the driving seat, exercising total control over everything.

(N.B. This doesn't mean that the gospels are contradictory, they just highlight different faces of the beautiful diamond that is Christ. :-)

In John's account of Gethsemane (18:1-11), Jesus shows he is in total control by:

40+ Reasons for Lent

Peter Leithart lists 40+ reasons why Lent is good. The list is so good, it makes me feel like I have missed out on something! Some of my favourites include:

• To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor.
• Lent is the season of blood and guts and flesh. It is the supremely anti-Gnostic season.
• Lent is a pursuit of glory, because the Lord exalts those who humble themselves.
• To observe Lent rightly, we need to be confident that the power to obey God is a gift from God.
• For Christians, death is not end but beginning. Lent is an extended meditation on that good news.
• Lent is boot camp for spiritual warriors.
• We’re hungry for all the wrong things. We need Lent to develop a taste for the fruit of the tree of life – that is, the fruit of the cross.
• Lent gives the only answer there is to the problem of evil: A cross that triumphs over evil, a death that tramples death.
• Some demons come out only by prayer and fasting. Seems a good reason to fast and pray.
• The Christian year has a rhythm, each season its own tonality and coloration. Without Lent, the year is bland.
• Lent tells us what time it is – the time between resurrection and resurrection.
• Lent reminds us that Jesus didn’t go to the cross so we can escape the cross; He went to the cross to enable us to bear it after Him.
• Lent inoculates against sentimentalism.
• Lent tunes us to the broken beauty of the world.
• Lent is not for doing things we never do otherwise. Like Sunday, Lent is for intensifying things we do all the time.

Read in full here.

Good Friday Meditation: 12pm-2pm @ RFC Offices

From 12pm-2pm, we have created a space at the church offices to mark Good Friday and marvel together on the greatest sacrifice in history.

We will sing songs, pray, share thoughts and ponder silently. There will be four half hour slots finishing with communion. Come and join us for one, two, three or all four of them.

Each half hour slot will stand on its own as a distinct meditation, but for those who stay for more than one, there is clearly a progression through the events of the story.

We'll be following Jesus' sacrifice through the eyes of John, moving from:

• Gethsemane (12pm) 
• to Gabbatha (12:30pm)
• to Golgotha (1pm)
• to the Grave (1:30pm)

...and seeing how Jesus, far from being the victim of circumstance, is the LORD who remains in total authority over everything even his killers - giving himself up for the sake of those who hate him.

There is not a god like him!

Typology

A video discussing typology, which should not be viewed as an interesting literary quirk, but the fundamental heartbeat of the whole Bible, and indeed the whole creation: