The life Jesus lived and the death He endured is one of the most well-known events in all of human history. Whether your faith is in Jesus or not, chances are, you know the story.
To over-simplify, He was born in the most humble manner, laying down His divinity to live as a human, ministered for 3 years impacting thousands, frustrating just as many, leading to His condemnation to die a criminal’s death on a cross bearing the weight of the sins of all humanity, only to resurrect days later and inspire a mass of people to spread His message of hope all across the earth!
Easter is that celebration. A time to focus on the harsh reality of what Jesus endured and receive the greatest expression of love, grace and forgiveness a human could give.
Each year I dive into Jesus’ story, especially the Gospels highlighting His life and ministry (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and each year, I allow myself to be feel the weight of His sacrifice and expression of love. Inevitably, leading me to extreme gratitude, worship and a renewed passion to live my life in a manner worthy of His sacrifice. Purposeful!
And it seems like each year, there are different aspects about His story that stick out and lead me to dive deeper into the meaning, the context and magnitude of His actions.
One year, I focused heavily on the 7 statements Jesus made from the cross. Profound and impactful phrases way beyond what we simply read.
Another year, I focused on the timeline of His final week, beginning with the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and ending with His victorious resurrection from the grave.
And again, I focused on who Jesus was with His final week, why He spent time with them and what they were doing throughout the timeline of His crucifixion, death and resurrection.
***I would encourage anyone who has faith in Jesus to read His story through these lenses and then do some further research, study and thought. Guaranteed, you will receive something meaningful.***
And this year, once again, something different stuck out to me in His story. Found in Matthew’s writing, I noticed 4 events (honestly crazy events) I have read multiple times over the years but never really stopped to contemplate.
I’m a firm believer in: if the writer took the time to include a specific detail, it most likely has a grander meaning.
So I stopped, I thought, I began to write, cross-reference and draw comparisons in Scripture. And sure enough, what I discovered was profound, and led me to deeper gratitude, thankfulness, worship and purpose.
Over the next few days we’ll write about each topic in further detail, allowing the power of the Scriptures to move us to: gratitude, thankfulness, worship and purpose.
”Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.“
”Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:45, 51-54
In these verses, four events are listed that, when stopped to truly consider, were monumental, difficult to comprehend, confusing and more than coincidental. They were profound and amplified the story of Jesus’ willing sacrifice.
- Darkness all over the land
- The veil is torn
- An earthquake and rocks splitting
- The dead raised
I don’t want you to think by focusing on these events they in any way take away from what Jesus did that day. It’s really the contrary, they only amplify the response of His actions. And we will see that as we dive deeper into each topic and discover how it all weaves together with the story of Jesus, as well as the entire story of God’s Word.
Join me, this Easter week as we dive into God’s Word, Jesus’ story and the ever present, and relevant, impact of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection, for everyone and for you individually!
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