Easter reflections

This Easter is standing out to me in a unique way.  It`s the first Easter since my trip to Israel with 33 LIFE listeners in November, and I'm finding that I'm thinking about it a lot differently than I ever have before.

It`s different reflecting on Easter when you've actually been to the places you're reading about.  They take on new meaning and significance.  Journey with me for a second, you may see things in a new light.

This is the Garden of Gethsemene, where Jesus spent His last night before He was crucified, praying to His Father and calling for His will, despite the pain that Jesus would suffer.  I pictured Jesus walking among the trees the same way that I did, but remembering how He created each tree in love, and looking at the temple a few hundred feet away...and crying that the people (that He loved so much more than the trees) did not understand His love and what He was trying to do.

I remember picturing Jesus being led from the garden and up these steps after he was arrested, escorted by an angry mob.

Those steps are right beside the house of Caiaphas, where Jesus spent his last night before He was crucified. Never once have I thought about what Jesus last night must have been like...until I visited the house of Caiaphas.  He spent it in a damp, dark, disgusting, 20 foot deep pit, where the only way in or out was by being lowered through a hole in the ceiling.  What a long night that must have been.  I bet He didn't sleep a wink.  He must have spent the whole night in prayer, praying for the souls of those about to crucify Him, and for the strength to go through with the pain and suffering He was about to endure.

In Nazareth we saw a replication of a cross from Jesus' day.  The crosses we have today in our churches and homes and around our necks are perfectly carved, ornate, and beautiful.  The cross we saw was a log for the crossbeam, mounted on another log, both jagged, both rough.  It also had a seat on it, which I never knew.  I knew that those being crucified would suffocate, then push up to get air, then go rest a bit, then push again, etc...horrible torture.  The seat prolonged that torture so that the person could sit for a few seconds, and then push up...awful.

It's believed Jesus was crucified here (can you see the skull in the mountain?  There's actually 2-3 of them)...

...and laid here (far left)...

...and the stone was rolled over the entrance...

As you reflect on Easter, remember the suffering Jesus went through.  The (perhaps) bittersweet feeling of walking through the Garden of Gethsemane, the long night in a dungeon, the beatings before the cross and the pain of the cross itself...  And it was GOD that went through that for US.  Doesn't make sense, should be the other way around.  Talk about leading by example - that's complete sacrifice..

Easter

When you've been a Christian a long time, it can be hard to make sure the major events - Easter and Christmas - are meaningful.  You've heard each story so many times, it's easy to let them pass by without really taking them in.

This Easter I'm thankful to my pastor for bringing up a couple of great points - one I've never really thought of before, and the other a much-needed refresher.

1) We know the end of the story

The past two weeks, my pastor has talked about the fact that we have the whole story in front of us - we know the beginning, the middle, and the end.  And because we know the end, we look at the disciples and all the people who lost their faith when Jesus died, and we think, "Come on people!  Where's your faith?  How could you be so fickle?  To welcome Jesus with palm branches, then a week later nail him to a tree...  And to lose heart when He died, thinking that that's the end of the story...where's the faith??"  But as my pastor pointed out, we're looking back with 20/20 vision.  We know that Jesus rises from the dead, but it's very possible that many people back then did not.  Even though he told the disciples before his death, they might not have understood.  Or they may not have believed it when Jesus actually died - it's one thing to say you believe, it's another thing to actually believe when you're in the middle of the tough situation.

It gave me a new perspective, being in their sandals and realizing that they didn't know what was going to happen.  Those must have been 3 really tough days for the disciples and everyone who believed in Jesus.  Seeing Him beaten, spit on, tortured, and brutally killed...and all your hopes for who He was 'supposed' to be are dashed...  A lack of faith, yes, but put yourself in that moment and you realize why that would have happened.


2)  Isaiah 53

My pastor took a look at Isaiah 53 and (re)opened my eyes to the prophesy about Jesus.  Isaiah 53 spells it all out.  You have to read the whole chapter, but here's an excerpt:

⁵ 5  But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

That's exactly what happened.  Seriously, read the whole chapter, it's a play-by-play of what happened to Jesus - and it was written 700 years before Jesus walked the earth.  So cool, and it adds so much credibility to the story.

So, what did you learn - or re-learn - this Easter?