Day 8 - Worst Saturday
April 11, 2020 • Kevin Zeller • Luke 24:1–8
It was the worst Saturday ever. . The sun had come up, and the birds were still singing just like any other day. But to Jesus’s disciples, the whole world had been destroyed. Jesus had died on a cross. . The disciples were alive, but their hope was gone. . Of course, their people had felt this sorrow before. Several hundred years earlier, a savage empire had invaded Jerusalem, sacking the city, taking the people captive, and destroying the temple. That day, too, was like the end of the world. . But the prophets had said there would be a restoration. They had said God had promised to save His people from sin and death and restore them to the land. The disciples had thought—had known—that Jesus was the promised King who would restore the kingdom. . All the signs were there. He had performed miracles, spoken and taught with authority, and even raised the dead. . Now He couldn’t do any of those things. What is more, they had lost a friend and the only One who would teach them. Had they misread the signs? Was God angry with them for having followed a false teacher? Or did God even remember His people and His promises? . They didn’t know that the next morning, the story wouldn’t just be continued, but ended. That Jesus would win so unexpectedly and decisively. That He would fulfill all the promises made to His people. That He would do what was literally impossible... and rise from the dead. • Kevin Zeller . • Have you ever felt like your whole world was destroyed? . • What sorts of resurrection promises can you find in the Old Testament of the Bible? . • Read John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Peter 1:3-5. Because of Jesus’s resurrection, what hope do we have as Christians? . For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man [Jesus] will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Matthew 12:40 (CSB)
Day 5 - The Other Criminal
April 10, 2020 • Mike Hurley • Luke 23:39–43
I’m a people watcher who loves hanging out at restaurants, observing the crowd around me. As people pass by, I wonder who they are and sometimes try to guess their story. I do the same with Bible characters—so many of their stories seem far too incomplete. . There were two criminals crucified at the same time as Jesus, and Luke records their brief interaction. The one who interests me isn’t the one who was promised paradise with Jesus; it’s the other guy. Luke reveals the man was yelling insults at Jesus, quoting the man saying, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39). . Those were bold words coming from a man on the cusp of death. Clearly, he had heard of Jesus and the rumor of Him being the Messiah. But why hurl insults? His angry comments were so offensive the criminal was rebuked not by Jesus... but by the other criminal. . There is so much we don’t know. The man’s name, crime, background, age, and family are all left unspoken. We assume both criminals died at some point, and most assume one criminal will see Jesus in paradise and the other won’t. . I hold out hope for the angry criminal—hope that he watched the man who received the promise of eternal life in Jesus and had a last-moment change of heart. It could have happened. Such is the nature of salvation. We are saved not by good works but by belief in the work of Christ on the cross. • Mike Hurley . • Is salvation really so simple as trusting in the work of Christ? (Check out our "Know Jesus" page for more information.) . • Why do you think Luke didn’t record any other details about the two criminals? . • Read Ephesians 2:8-9. Why is it important that salvation from sin and death isn’t based on what we do? . For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Blind Fury
November 15, 2019 • Carrie Cwynar • Luke 6:6–11, Ephesians 4:26–27, James 1:19
Do you ever feel great, unanticipated anger come upon you? And when you get past that moment, can you really pinpoint why you were angry? . It can be overwhelming and so confusing to have this happen, and people have always struggled with it, as you can see from today’s reading. Jesus healed a man miraculously on the Sabbath. But the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, had a surprising reaction to this wonderful event: they were furious. . Why? Because Jesus had “worked” on the Sabbath, a rest day in God’s law. While God does call His people to take times of rest, the Pharisees had made all sorts of extra rules about what you could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath. So, when Jesus healed the man that day, the Pharisees were upset because Jesus had lovingly revealed that they were wrong. . But they didn’t want to admit that; they were too proud. They had blind fury. They didn’t know why they were mad, and they didn’t care about who they were in relationship to Jesus. . But it doesn’t have to be that way for us. No matter what the reason for our anger, we find freedom from it when we are well-grounded in God’s Word, the Bible, which shows us who we are according to God. . The Bible does not say anger is a sin. However, it does instruct, “Be angry and do not sin... and don’t give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Whether we’re sinning in response to our feelings of anger or we’re sinning in other ways, Satan loves to seize opportunities to sway our view from who we are in Christ. . As a child of God in Christ, remember this: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19). When you’re angry, turn to Christ for the next steps and for reminders of who you are in Him. • Carrie Cwynar . • If you know Christ, who are you (John 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Timothy 1:7)? . • When you are angry and tempted to sin, how can reflecting on the truths of the good news of Jesus help (1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:14-16)? . My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. James 1:19 (CSB)