Sunday is Coming.

It's Saturday. The day after Jesus was crucified. I can't imagine the questions surrounding everyone in Judea at this time. I'm sure the word has spread to Damascus by now. The supposed Son of Man is murdered? The man who came to Earth, who was worthy of every praise, who was worthy to be exalted, who was worthy to overtake all the kingdoms of the Earth, but instead came to love, to serve, and to humble himself to the point of death? The man who had been prophesied hundreds of years before is dead? He's gone? This can't be!

Last week at the high school ministry service at my church, our pastor challenged us to read the proceedings that had happened from the Triumphal Entry all the way until the Resurrection. I hadn't really thought about the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday all that much... but it still was a day. A day after Jesus had been crucified. Can you imagine? How sad it must have been, or how much of a victory it was (depends on who you were). Whenever I was reading in between the crucifixion and the resurrection, I put myself into the different shoes of the people back then. I just want to share with you what I imagined it could have been for specific groups of people that had been involved with his crucifixion.

Now, there isn't that much said in Scripture on what had happened on that day... I mean, it was the Sabbath, not much could have happened anyways. But I did find two different areas in the Gospels pertaining to today. The first one is in Matthew, and it relates to Pilate and the Pharisees.

"The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it secure as you can." So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard."
- Matthew 27:62-66

Obviously the Pharisees weren't done with Jesus. I don't know about you, but this passage makes me sick. The day after they kill him they still continue to call him an impostor? And then they call him a fraud? I'm sure the Pharisees couldn't have been happier with the death of Jesus. After they all party around the imagine of him of the cross, they go back to the temple, high five each other, and then leave to go find another person to judge. They say, "Man, now that the Jesus-dude is gone we can go back to being on top." They walk around town with their heads held high, thinking they saved their faith from being control, and have comfort knowing that they can control their lives without the criticism that comes with their hypocrisy. They have everything under control. They've killed Jesus, and now they can live their lives thinking that they could work their way into heaven.

But aren't we the Pharisees? We continually reject Jesus, and spit in his face, not even noticing the work he has done in our lives. We walk around with our self-righteous heads held high, while we wave around our good deeds just hoping someone will notice just how amazing we are. We roam the halls of our schools and see people who are living in sin, saying to ourselves, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not that guy," but aren't we just as guilty as they are? I couldn't trust the best 5 minutes of my life to get me into Heaven, but sometimes I walk around with this self-glorifying look on my face, knowing that I'm able to live a morally sound life, while I'm just as broken as the guy sitting next to me. We wait until the day that our good deeds overcome the amount of the bad ones, and when that day comes, we feel the right to go around and judge everyone and their faults. I'm guilty of this. It's a bad place to be, because it takes some serious conviction to get out of it. Don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good.

Get ready Pharisees, because Sunday is coming.

Another area where I found what happened on Saturday is in Luke. Instead of the Pharisees, this very small reference to Saturday pertains to the followers of Christ. It reads:

"On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." - Luke 23:56

That's pretty simple. What's there to imagine about that? Now, I'm not sure if this is right, but this is what I imagined what happened on the Sabbath. Whenever I'm resting, I think a lot. I think about the God moments that had occurred throughout the week. I think about the work that he is doing through me in my life. I think about other people, especially the ones closest to me. I think about how blessed I am to have them. I think about the amazing things that they are going to do with their lives. I think about the times I have had with them.

I think that's what the disciples did on Saturday. They thought.

They have to be in a world of doubt. Was Jesus really worth losing my entire life over? Did I just waste the past three years of my life? Is Jesus really the Messiah? Was he just a man who just knew how to live? Was he really God? Peter is probably in an entire universe of doubt. Peter, known for being one of the boldest disciples, had just denied of knowing Jesus three times. Peter fought for Jesus, until he saw death become a realistic thing. He drew his sword ready to fight for Jesus. He denied knowing Jesus and know he saw him upon the cross. The rest of the disciples did the same thing. I'm sure they remembered what the prophet Isaiah had said. They remembered about Zion's Coming Salvation, and the Future Glory of Israel, but they still doubted. Their thoughts consumed them, and they feared their lives for following this man. They feared death themselves, and I'm sure they were afraid that their death would be in vain. What if it didn't mean anything?

I can find myself relating to the disciples felt, and I'm sure a lot of other Christians could as well. Is giving our entire life away worth is? Is Jesus really who he says he is? Is hope all lost? Am I wasting my life away following just a man who was crazy? Is this really worth it? Is it true? I know it says in the Bible that I'm sealed into the Lamb's Book of Life, but is that really true? Does God really love me? Does he care about me? Are my sins too big enough for him to bear? Why did he do this for me? I'm really messed up bro, can he really forgive me? I've grown up in a Christian home, and I've been exposed to Jesus my entire life, but I'm afraid. Will God keep his promises?

Just as his followers rested on the Sabbath, so did Jesus in the grave. Jesus reflected on what he had done on the cross. He had just beared the weight of sin of the entire Earth onto his shoulders. He broke the veil between God and man. He made the way. That's amazing, and that's definitely something to reflect about.

Doubt is normal. That's what a lot of today is about. It's about doubt and silence. But let me assure you.

Rest your head disciples, because Sunday is coming. There will be no more tears, because Sunday is coming. All of our doubts will be erased, because Sunday is coming. We will know that our work was worth is, because Sunday is coming. Do not be afraid, because Sunday is coming.

The Beauty of the Cross.

So, today I was walking with my girlfriend, Hannah, around Islands of Adventure. We we're walking towards the Harry Potter World and we both notice a girl wearing a shirt with a cross on it, with multiple French words. I looked at her and I said, "I'm not so sure I would buy a cross shirt with words in a different language on it without knowing what they meant." She educated me on the first word that she saw (she took French in high school) and said that it meant "luxurious." She continued on to say that, "I'm not so sure why you could consider the cross luxurious. It's not. The cross is sad, and painful, but not luxurious." She's really smart by the way.

But isn't that so true? It got me thinking...

The cross wasn't meant to be easy. It was hard. Jesus has doubts about whether it really had to be done. You remember the whole, "If in any way possible, take this cup from me" thing? It wasn't convenient. Jesus died at a young age. He was only 33. His ministry only lasted 3 years! The cross wasn't easy for Jesus to accept. Yet, he was still willing to do it.

I've noticed in the recent weeks that we have made the cross into a fashion statement. All around the stores in our malls, we have shirts that have huge crosses on the front of them. We go to jewelry stores and get these extravagant golden crosses with real diamonds imbedded in the fronts of them. We decorate our houses with all different styles and patterns. Why? I think it is because the cross truly affects people whether they know it or not. I'm not trying to say that these things are bad. Anything that helps spread the name of the Lord cannot be bad. My mom loves to decorate our houses with crosses in the front, and I wear a cross necklace around my neck. I'm just trying to say that I think a lot of us, including me sometimes, forget what the cross means.
  
"Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever will save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"" - Matthew 16:24-26

If you've grown up in church, you've heard these verses over and over and over again. You probably have them memorized for the sake of repetition. But these verses have power! Jesus is telling his disciples to take up their cross. Remember, the cross was a torture device in Roman rule. It was used for execution. That's some crazy stuff! He's telling them that the cost of following him is to take up a device used for executions! To carry that on their sleeve? These men must have been radical! 2000 years later, this verses means the same to us. Let's put it in modern terms though. Think of, "take up your electric chair" or "take up your noose." That's some pretty intense stuff. I wonder if some of us are really willing to take up our electric chairs and nooses for the sake of following Jesus. Sometimes I do the same, I'm human just as you are.

But what does it mean to take up these things of execution? Does it literally mean to put crosses over our necks and on our t-shirts to let the entire world know that we're a pretty little goodie-two shoes Christian? I'm not so sure. I think taking up your cross means to go to the point of execution for the sake of following Jesus. Remember, Christianity isn't easy. The cross wasn't easy. The road is narrow and long, and few take it. Jesus promised persecution. It's real life! Not necessarily in our 21st century American society, but in countries all around the world, people are accepting that status of "martyr" for the name of Jesus. Except our persecution is a little different. It means being able to accept that sometimes your friends will talk junk about you. Maybe you won't be able to go to parties as much anymore. In rare cases, sometimes your parents won't respect you following Jesus. (This is not my case. I'm blessed to have awesome parents.)

Remember today that the cross is not comfortable, first-class, opulent, or luxurious. The cross is bloody. Our Savior was murdered on the cross. The cross is agonizing, excruciating, and miserable. The cross was a struggle. But hope is not lost. The cross is the reason for our salvation. Like Lecrae says, "If Jesus wasn't executed, then there's no celebration." Celebrate the cross, not because it's luxurious, or comfortable, but because of the beauty in the ugliness of it. The beauty is like a father working extra hours to supply for his family, a mom quitting her job to take care of the child at home, or a person willing to tithe even when the finances are tight. Sacrifice is of the highest beauty, and Jesus sacrificed the highest price, his life.

Get off the cruise ship, and let's get on the battleship!