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Bible Commentary: “The Stone Was Rolled Away” The Days Of Lent

“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.” (Mark 16:4 NIV)                                                     “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Luke 24:2 NIV)                                                           “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance”. (John 20:1 NIV)

Jesus had died, voluntarily giving His life on the cross as a living sacrifice for our sins. To verify that Jesus was really dead a soldier stabbed Him with a spear and blood and water flowed from the wound.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead and gave permission to Joseph of Arimathea to take the body and bury it. “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea,  named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away” (Matthew 27:57-60 NIV).

The Pharisees were concerned that someone would steal the body and claim that Jesus had risen so they asked Pilate that the tomb should be sealed and guarded, “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, `After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the
guard” (Matthew 27:62-66 NIV).

So here is the situation, in a small manmade cave cut out of the side of a hill the body of Jesus is buried. There is only one way in and out of this tomb and a large, heavy stone is laid across this opening. Roman guards are posted outside the tomb and a seal is placed over the stone, similar to what the police do today at crime scenes. It is impossible to get in, even more impossible to get out. They bury Him on Friday, On Sunday 3 women come to anoint Him for burial and wonder how they will get past the stone. When they arrive they find it rolled away and the tomb is empty. “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:4-6 NIV).

Child of God – what is the purpose of a tomb or grave? It is a place to put the dead. Two angels appeared to the women and asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead” (Luke 24:5 NIV)? Jesus is alive!  Why would a live person be found in a tomb? Matthew tells us that the
angel is the one who moved the stone, “for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it” (Matthew 28:2 NIV). This was not done to let  Jesus out for He had left a long time before; the angel moved the stone to let the visitors see that Jesus had been there but He was no longer there.  Jesus had been dead, but now He was risen, alive again. “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay” (Matthew 28:6 NIV). Many times we ask the question just like the women, and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb” (Mark 16:3 NIV)? We do not need to have the stone rolled away because whatever is on the other side of that stone is dead and we are alive. Jesus came to give us life and that more abundantly.  We need to believe and live. “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31 NIV).

Our prayer:
Lord, thank you for giving me a new life in you. I’m a new creature and all things have been made new because I’m in Christ, according to your Word. Help me not to look at the old creature I used to be. Help me to remember my new nature, coming from you and live accordingly. Amen.

If you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior pray: “Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that out of love for me you willingly sacrificed your life so that I may live. I repent of all my sins and open my heart to you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Bible Commentary: “Easter Saturday” The Days Of Lent

“So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb”(Mark 15:46 NIV

When Jesus got up Thursday morning, probably early for that was His custom, and yawned and stretched do you think He wanted another 10 more minutes of sleep knowing that this was the last sleep He was ever getting in life? All day Thursday He was busy, teaching and healing in the temple, then celebrating Passover with His friends, going to Gethsemane, the betrayal then Pilate. Friday was exhausting, whipped and beaten and then crucified by 9am. By 3pm Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb all before sundown; that counts as 1 day buried. Saturday began at sundown to sundown; that counts as 2 days buried. Saturday, The Sabbath, the day of rest, do you think that Jesus said I have been up for almost 48 hours doing things that no man has ever or will ever do and I am tired, I’m sleeping in today, wake me when it’s Sunday?

In Exodus God spoke to Moses concerning The Sabbath Day, “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11 NIV). So a person would
think that Jesus took the day off because it was the Sabbath? No, in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke we read of Jesus healing or the disciples picking grain to eat on the Sabbath and the Pharisees complaining that it was unlawful. Jesus told them, “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12 NIV). All three Gospel writers say the same words of Jesus, “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord
even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:22-28 NIV), “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8 NIV), “Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5 NIV). Therefore The Lord worked on the Sabbath.

What did He do?

Jesus tells us, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18 NIV), “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7 NIV). On the Saturday after His death while His friends mourned and there was rest Jesus went to Death and the devil and took the keys from them.

Child of God – Jesus doesn’t rest, “He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3-4 NIV). Jesus has the keys and they will never be taken away from Him, “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death” (Revelation 20:14 NIV). The One who watches over you and never sleeps will open and close all the doors in your life to fulfill all the plans that He has for your life. We just need to trust Him.

Our prayer:
Lord, thank you that even when I don’t see anything, I know that you are still working things out in my life. I trust in your care, wisdom and power to take care of me. Help me to remember that you are in control and that you didn’t go to sleep when the storms are blowing around me, but you are just working to stop the storm. Amen.

If you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior pray: “Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that out of love for me you willingly sacrificed your life so that I may live. I repent of all my sins and open my heart to you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Bible Commentary: “Good Friday” The Days Of Lent

“They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)” (Matthew 27:33 NIV)
“They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)” (Mark 15:22 NIV)
“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle”  (John 19:17-18 NIV)

In Genesis we read of the testing of Abraham regarding his firstborn son, Isaac, Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.   When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.   “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided” (Genesis 22:1-14 NIV).

Solomon built the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1 NIV) the same mountain that Abraham was tested on. Somewhere on this mountain was the altar that Abraham used for Isaac, quite possible the same place that the Romans used to sacrifice Jesus, Golgotha, the place of the skull.

Child of God – Abraham told Isaac that God would provide Himself a lamb and that day He provided a male for the sacrifice. God told the world that He would provide, Himself a Lamb, to be the sacrificial offering for all the world and that day He did. On the mountain of the Lord it is provided even to this day. Jesus died in place of us on that cross. It was a Holy moment that split time forever. We must always look upon that sacrifice with reverence and thanksgiving for it should have been us that day.

Our prayer:
Father, thank you for providing the perfect sacrificial lamb, your Son Jesus, spotless and Holy so He could carry the punishment of our sins. Thank you that you were in the place of Abraham when he was going to sacrifice Isaac and you went all the way and gave your own and only Son. Impress in my heart the true meaning of the sacrifice, the one that you did as a Father giving for us your best and the one that Jesus did giving His own life on the cross. So that I can also be as giving and
open to love others. Amen.

If you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior pray: “Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that out of love for me you willingly sacrificed your life so that I may live. I repent of all my sins and open my heart to you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time or if you have any questions please contact us. We would love to hear from you.