Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [Mark 2:5-7 (CSB)]
By forgiving people’s sins, Jesus was placing Himself in the role of God because only God can forgive sins. Had Jesus not been God, it would have been blasphemy. When He raised the dead, multiplied food, stilled storms, and healed incurable diseases, Jesus was doing other things that only God could do. His incredible claim that He could bring Himself back from the dead, something only God could do, was another way Jesus claimed His divinity. The undeniable proof of His claim came Easter morning when Jesus demonstrated power over both life and death. The tomb was empty and people saw the risen Christ—they heard Him speak, watched Him eat, saw His wounds, and touched Him. The forty days the resurrected Jesus remained on earth, however, is about more than proof of his claim to be God; it’s about proof of our relationship to God.
Let’s return to the disciples in that locked room Easter morning. The man they thought was going to redeem Israel was dead and His body was missing. Were they any less confused, disappointed, frightened, or troubled by those events than the two Christ followers returning to Emmaus that day? Not only were the disciples perplexed, they probably were guilt-ridden, as well. Peter, John, and James had failed to stay awake and pray with Jesus in Gethsemane and Mark tells us they all deserted Him that night. After promising he’d never deny Jesus, Peter did just that three times! Jesus’ closest companions were nowhere to be found the following day when the crowd shouted “Crucify Him!” and it was a stranger who carried His cross. The only disciple at the crucifixion was John. Rather than any of the disciples, it was Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who boldly risked their positions in the high council to see that Jesus got a proper burial.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples on Easter, thinking Him a ghost, they were startled and frightened. Once they knew it was the Lord, I’m not so sure they stopped being afraid of Him. But, instead of a reprimand for their doubt, Jesus simply showed them His hands and feet. Rather than shaming them for their cowardice, He spoke of forgiveness. While they may have anticipated a rebuke for their incomprehension and confusion, Jesus patiently explained the Scriptures’ prophecies and how He fulfilled them. When He appeared to Thomas, rather than scolding the doubter, Jesus told him to believe and offered proof. When Jesus appeared to the seven beside the Sea of Galilee, He didn’t admonish them for returning to their livelihood. Instead, He provided them with an enormous catch and made breakfast! Rather than confront Peter about his betrayal, Jesus restored their relationship and spoke to him of love. We know the Lord also spent time with his family but, rather than exacting retribution from the ones who thought him a religious fanatic, He forgave them; His half-brothers (two of which wrote epistles) joined His followers. Moreover, when Jesus finally ascended into Heaven, He didn’t leave His followers alone; He gave them His Holy Spirit!
The Resurrection tells us that Jesus defeated sin, Satan, and death and proves that He was God. The forty days the resurrected Christ spent on earth, however, tells us that the God who lived as a man for over thirty years was like the man who died and rose as God. It demonstrates that He was as gentle, patient, loving, and forgiving after the resurrection as He was before. He calmed the disciples’ fears, answered their questions, eased their doubts, knew their concerns, forgave their failures, and loved each one of them. A God of relationship, Jesus continues to know, see, hear, love, and forgive us today.
Found in almost every Roman Catholic church (and some Protestant and Orthodox ones), are the Stations of the Cross—a series of fourteen icons or carvings on the walls—each of which depict a moment in the Passion of Christ. Created to help people contemplate the events leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, they start with His death sentence from Pilate and end with His dead and battered body being laid in the tomb. Because Good Friday and Jesus’ death aren’t the end of the story, some churches have begun adding the resurrected Christ as a 15th station.
While touring an historic house, the elaborately set dinner table reminded me of the large formal dinner parties we had in our younger (and more energetic) days. I’d start preparing the table in advance by adding extra leaves to the table, gathering the extra chairs, and ironing out the creases in the damask tablecloth. From the cupboard in the basement, I’d haul up the crystal salad plates, my mother’s Lenox china, and the hand-painted Bavarian service plates and Czechoslovakian dessert plates that were my grandmother’s. I’d spend hours polishing the silverware and serving pieces. The service plates were set out, the silverware laid, the crystal wine and water goblets carefully placed at each setting, and the napkins artfully folded. I’d set out the silver candlesticks, put in fresh candles, get flowers from the florist, and create what I hoped would be the perfect Martha Stewart-worthy table setting. There was plenty more work to do in the kitchen. I’d spend days perusing recipes, planning the menu, making lists, purchasing food, and preparing it all. I loved doing it because I loved the people for whom I did it. Nevertheless, as nice as my guests were and as much as they enjoyed themselves, I’m not sure they truly appreciated how much effort went into everything that on that table.
In my last post, I pondered why Jesus chose the men he did as his apostles. As we enter Holy Week and the events leading to the Lord’s arrest and crucifixion, I wonder specifically about Judas Iscariot. We don’t know what Jesus saw in Judas when he was chosen as one of the twelve or even what was in Judas’ heart in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. We only know that discontent, ambition, and greed had entered his treacherous heart by the end.
We know Jesus prayed all night before choosing His Apostles. What made Him select those twelve men for His inner circle? Perhaps Andrew and John, having previously been disciples of John the Baptizer, were primed for the arrival of the Messiah but why did Jesus choose Andrew’s brother Simon/Peter and John’s brother James? Jesus called John and James the “Sons of Thunder,” implying they were bold, rash, and quick to anger. Why would Jesus choose them rather than men more even-tempered and less impetuous? For that matter, why four fishermen instead of students of the Torah? You don’t have to know how to cast a net to go fishing for people!
Jeremiah told the exiles to work and pray for their captors. He explained that it was the shalom (well-being, peace, health, success, safety, and welfare) of their captors that they would ensure Judah’s shalom. For a people who’d been torn from their homeland and Temple, I expect it was difficult to understand how seeking Babylon’s prosperity would help them; but, it did!
Devotions of the Heart 