Good Friday (yesterdays post)

Jesus had eaten his last meal before Roman soldiers would be coming to take Him away to crucify Him.

 His disciples would abandon him before long. The one that sold him out, Judas Iscariot would be bringing those soldiers to Jesus, as He predicted during that last supper, and the reason was they were going to arrest Him. 

And the rest of the day is history.

Jesus had prayed in the garden, asking the Father if his crucifixion could be stopped, and yet knowing that it couldn't be because He was to complete God's will for saving the worlds sin, thus redeeming those that would ask Him for forgiveness. 

He would be arrested, stand in front of Pontes Pilate, found guilty and then hang on the cross for that sin.

 

But did you know that Jesus prayed for his disciples and also us as believers during that time as well?

John 17:6-20 picks up that prayer, as well. 

6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

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Jesus prayed for not just his friends that had been with him those years, but for all people that would become believers as time went on. 

Sometimes it seems that some days are dark. When life doesn't seem fair. When we get hurt or someone, we love gets hurt. When divorce happens. When a child gets into drugs. When a loved one dies. When fill in the blank happens.

But the other day, I was looking at a similar picture of Jesus (like the one above), praying in the garden, I remembered that scripture: "My prayer is not just for them (the disciples) alone, but for them that will believe in me...."

that means all that came or will still come to believe in Jesus-He is praying for us!

What a wonderful gift!!!! Not only did Jesus died on the cross for us, but He is praying for us still! 

And so, the next time that I am going through something hard, I will remember this painting of Jesus in the garden, not only praying for himself, but me and others, as well!

Well, at this point in our Easter week, Jesus has been hung on a cross and life as his friends, family and all of Jerusalem knew that His life came to an end.

They didn't know, or understand, it was not the end, but the very beginning and many of their lives would be changed forever! Amen!

Thanks for coming by my friends! Have a blessed day in Jesus' name!!

 

Jewish Holidays: The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

According to what I have found out, this feast is celebrated during Passover. But what is it? Read on:

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

The Bible tells us that the Israelites were to eat only unleavened bread every year during Passover as a commemoration of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. Since the children of Israel left Egypt hastily, they did not have time for the bread to rise, so it was made on that very first Passover without leaven, also known as yeast. In describing this bread and why it was eaten, the Bible informs us of the following: "Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:3). Further commands regarding the eating of unleavened bread are found in Exodus 12:8; 29:2; and Numbers 9:11. To this day, in Jewish homes, the Passover celebration includes unleavened bread.

According to the Hebrew lexicon, the term unleavened bread is derived from the word matzoh, which means "bread or cake without leaven." The lexicon also states that matzoh is in turn derived from a word which means "to drain out or suck." In referring to this second Hebrew word, the lexicon states, "In the sense of greedily devouring for sweetness." So it is quite possible that unleavened bread, while it may have been heavy and flat, may also have been sweet to the taste.

In the Bible, leaven is almost always symbolic of sin. Like leaven that permeates the whole lump of dough, sin will spread in a person, a church, or a nation, eventually overwhelming and bringing its participants into its bondage and eventually to death (Galatians 5:9). Romans 6:23 tell us that “the wages of sin is death,” which is God’s judgment for sin, and this is the reason that Christ died—to provide a way out of this judgment for sin if man will repent of his sins, accept Christ as his Passover sacrifice, and have his heart changed so that he can conform his life to what God commands. (credit: questions.org)

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To be honest, this feast doesn't sound real exciting, does it? But then, when it took place back in the day, it wasn't meant to be. The Israelites had been set free. God had placed certain things for them and the Jewish people that came after, to remember that time. 

And while there seems to be no statics on how many Jewish familiess still celebrate this festival each year, there are many that still do.

Thanks for coming by today, friends. Tomorrow is Good Friday. What does that mean for you if anything?

Have a blessed evening.

april 16-23
 

The Meaning of Psalm Sunday

 

For those of us that are believers of the Christian Faith, we know the meaning of Psalm Sunday and what it represents to us. But for others, that aren't believers, or perhaps weren't raised in Christian homes, many do not know what it means. 

So to refresh our memories or to learn what its about, I point to gotquestions.org for its meaning: Please forgive me for copying/pasting so much of what I am doing here these days, but as with so many posts, at this time in my life, these things are better said by this website as well as others. 

At any rate, here is their answer to what Psalm Sunday is all about:

What is Psalm Sunday?:

Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1–11). As Jesus entered the holy city, He neared the culmination of a long journey toward Golgotha. He had come to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and now was the time—this was the place—to secure that salvation. Palm Sunday marked the start of what is often called “Passion Week,” the final seven days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Palm Sunday was the “beginning of the end” of Jesus’ work on earth

Palm Sunday began with Jesus and His disciples traveling over the Mount of Olives. The Lord sent two disciples ahead into the village of Bethphage to find an animal to ride. They found the unbroken colt of a donkey, just as Jesus had said they would (Luke 19:29–30). When they untied the colt, the owners began to question them. The disciples responded with the answer Jesus had provided: “The Lord needs it” (Luke 19:31–34). Amazingly, the owners were satisfied with that answer and let the disciples go. “They brought [the donkey] to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it” (Luke 19:35).

As Jesus ascended toward Jerusalem, a large multitude gathered around Him. This crowd understood that Jesus was the Messiah; what they did not understand was that it wasn’t time to set up the kingdom yet—although Jesus had tried to tell them so (Luke 19:11–12). The crowd’s actions along the road give rise to the name “Palm Sunday”: “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (Matthew 21:8). In strewing their cloaks on the road, the people were giving Jesus the royal treatment—King Jehu was given similar honor at his coronation (2 Kings 9:13). John records the detail that the branches they cut were from palm trees (John 12:13).

On that first Palm Sunday, the people also honored Jesus verbally: “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ / ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ / ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” (Matthew 21:9). In their praise of Jesus, the Jewish crowds were quoting Psalm 118:25–26, an acknowledged prophecy of the Christ. The allusion to a Messianic psalm drew resentment from the religious leaders present: “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’” (Luke 19:39). However, Jesus saw no need to rebuke those who told the truth. He replied, “I tell you . . . if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40).

Some 450 to 500 years prior to Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, the prophet Zechariah had prophesied the event we now call Palm Sunday: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! / Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! / See, your king comes to you, / righteous and victorious, / lowly and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). The prophecy was fulfilled in every particular, and it was indeed a time of rejoicing, as Jerusalem welcomed their King. Unfortunately, the celebration was not to last. The crowds looked for a Messiah who would rescue them politically and free them nationally, but Jesus had come to save them spiritually. First things first, and mankind’s primary need is spiritual, not political, cultural, or national salvation.

Even as the coatless multitudes waved the palm branches and shouted for joy, they missed the true reason for Jesus’ presence. They could neither see nor understand the cross. That’s why, “as [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies . . . will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:41–47). It is a tragic thing to see the Savior but not recognize Him for who He is. The crowds who were crying out “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday were crying out “Crucify Him!” later that week (Matthew 27:22–23).

There is coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10–11). The worship will be real then. Also, John records a scene in heaven that features the eternal celebration of the risen Lord: “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added). These palm-bearing saints will shout, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (verse 10), and who can measure sum of their joy?

Palm Sunday Calendar:
2024 — March 24
2025 — April 13

(credit: gotquestions.org)

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"There will come a day, when every knee shall bow and ever tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." Are you looking forward to that day, Friend? If not, you should be. Because it won't matter at that time, if you have been redeemed by the Lamb of God or not-we will all bow before Jesus and proclaim Him as Lord.  But for those that cannot claim Him as their Savior, they will not have a good ending. 

Jesus is my Lord and Savior! How about you?

Thanks for coming by today, Friends.  Have a blessed day!!!

Jewish Festivals

In looking at the Jewish Passover during this Easter Season, I am interested in some of their other festivals and so I looked up their calendar. I have them listed below and plan this week to check into a few of them to see what they are and how they are celebrated. 

In the meantime, thanks for coming by today and have a wonderful rest of your evening. God Bless

List of Religious Holidays of Jewish in 2024

DAY	DATE	HOLIDAY
Thursday	Jan 25, 2024	Tu Bishvat
Sunday	Mar 24, 2024	Purim
Monday	Mar 25, 2024	Shushan Purim
Thursday	Apr 18, 2024	Yom Hashoah
Monday	Apr 22, 2024	Passover - First Day
Tuesday	Apr 30, 2024	Passover - Final Day
Monday	May 13, 2024	Yom HaZikaron
Tuesday	May 14, 2024	Yom HaAtzma'ut
Wednesday	May 22, 2024	Second Passover
Sunday	May 26, 2024	Lag BaOmer
Wednesday	Jun 05, 2024	Yom Yerushalayim
Tuesday	Jun 11, 2024	Shavuot (1st day)
Thursday	Jun 13, 2024	Shavuot
Tuesday	Jul 23, 2024	The 17th of Tammuz
Tuesday	Aug 13, 2024	Tish'a B'Av
Wednesday	Oct 02, 2024	Rosh HaShana Starts
Friday	Oct 04, 2024	Rosh HaShana Ends
Sunday	Oct 06, 2024	Fast of Gedaliah
Saturday	Oct 12, 2024	Yom Kippur
Wednesday	Oct 16, 2024	Sukkot Starts
Wednesday	Oct 23, 2024	Sukkot Ends
Thursday	Oct 24, 2024	Shmini Atzeret
Friday	Oct 25, 2024	Simchat Torah
Wednesday	Dec 25, 2024	Hanukkah Starts