Podcasts about Arimathea

Send us a message!We read Luke 23 straight through, sitting with Jesus' trial, crucifixion, and burial instead of saving it for one week a year. We also look at the “side characters” Luke includes and ask what their words and choices reveal about what they really think of Jesus. • why we tend to avoid the crucifixion and why we should not • Pilate's repeated finding of innocence and his eventual compromise • Herod's shallow curiosity and Jesus' silence under accusation • Barabbas released and the crowd's demand for crucifixion • Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross and what it models for discipleship • Jesus' prayer for forgiveness and the criminals' opposite responses • the repentant thief and Jesus' promise of paradise • darkness, the torn curtain, the centurion's confession, and the crowd's regret • Joseph of Arimathea's courage in burial and the women's faithful witness • the question we cannot dodge: what do we think about Jesus right now  At outloudbible.com, you can find free resources to help you study the Bible. And while you're there, send us a message to say hi, or start a conversation about having us at your church or event. If Outloud Bible has been a valuable part of your understanding of the Bible, please consider supporting the ministry by visiting outloudbible.com.Support the showCheck out outloudbible.com for helpful study resources, and to discover how to bring the public reading of God's word to your church, conference, retreat, or other event.

A Greek artisan is commissioned by St. Luke and Joseph of Arimathea to make the Holy Grail, while fending off the the evil Simon Magus and the Emperor Nero. It's a very uneven film, sometimes boring, sometimes visually fascinating, and at least Jack Palance seems to be having fun. These days, it's best known as the movie Paul Newman apologized for making--which is a heck of a thing when it's your debut film. Starring Paul Newman, Jack Palance, Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, and Lorne Greene. Written by Lesser Samuels. Directed by Victor Saville. This is a preview of the latest episode of our series Hollywood Avalon. To hear the entire episode, join the Mary Versus the Movies patreon for $3/month to hear this and the entire series Hollywood Avalon: https://www.patreon.com/maryvsmovies. 

Outside the gates of the palace of Pontius Pilate, the mob has left, and a single man stands to make a request. Joseph of Arimathea makes claims to show Pilate…

We continue in Mark 15 verses 38-47.Here our Lord, having died, Mark records that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This points to its divine origin. This veil was at least 4” thick and very heavy. Our Lord died crying out with a loud voice, not a weak one. The roman centurion, in seeing and hearing Him, made this confession “Truly, this man was the Son of God”. How did this soldier hear that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Later in this passage, we see Joseph of Arimathea, asking for the body of Jesus in order to bury Jesus in his own new tomb also recorded in Matthew 27:57-60.Our Lord's burial fulfilled Isaiah 53:9 He “was with a rich man in His death..” In Mark 15:38, here is Dr. Mitchell on the Unchanging Word Bible Broadcast.

What happened after the crucifixion of Yeshua?Where did Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, Lazarus, and all the Holy Women go — and why did France become one of the most powerful landscapes encoded with feminine mystery traditions in the world?In this episode, Julia explores the sacred geography, pilgrimage routes, Black Madonna traditions, and initiatory sites connected to the Magdalene stream after leaving the Holy Land.

In this episode of The Backstory on the Shroud of Turin, Guy Powell interviews Christian apologist and theologian Tom Dallis.Tom explores why the Shroud of Turin continues to challenge skeptics and researchers alike. The conversation examines Jewish burial customs, Roman crucifixion methods, and scientific mysteries connected to the cloth believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ.Topics include:• Jewish first-century burial practices • Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus • The Sudarium of Oviedo • Blood flow evidence on the Shroud • Why the image formation remains unexplained • Problems with the medieval forgery theory • Carbon dating controversies • Bayesian probability and forensic evidence • Why medieval artists could not reproduce these details • How the Shroud supports discussions about the ResurrectionTom also explains why the Shroud differs from known historical forgeries. He compares it to fake Dead Sea Scroll fragments and discusses why scientific testing continues to support the Shroud's uniqueness.The interview connects faith, science, history, and biblical scholarship in a compelling discussion about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and The Only Witness.

Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus in his tomb. Women go to the tomb Sunday morning.  An angel tells them Jesus is risen! They leave, afraid and amazed.Join Pastor Daryl as he journeys through the entire Bible.Visit the radio station website.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Subscribe to Pastor Daryl's daily devotional and listening plan.If you enjoy Simply the Bible, please give us a rating and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. That helps us a lot!Calvary Chapel Treasure Valley now meets Sunday mornings in a tent on our church property at 3853 E Lake Hazel Road in Meridian. For service times, online messages, and info on small groups meeting throughout the week, please visit our website at calvarytv.org.

JOHN 19:31-41 - JESUS'S BURIAL - BRIAN SUMNER - 2025JOHN 19:31-41 "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”The Burial of Jesus38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid."To support this channel and partner with Brian in Ministryhttps://www.briansumner.net/support/For more on Brianhttp://www.briansumner.nethttps://www.instagram.com/BRIANSUMNER/https://www.facebook.com/BRIANSUMNEROFFICIALTo listen to Brians Podcast, click below.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Purchase Brians Marriage book at https://www.amazon.com/Never-Fails-Da...Brian is a full time "Urban Missionary" both locally and internationally with a focus on MISSIONS - MARRIAGES - MINISTRY. Since coming to faith in 2004 doors continued opening locally and internationally to do more and more ministry with a focus on Evangelism, Outreach Missions, Marriage, Counsel, Schools, Festivals, Conferences and the like.  Everything about this ministry is made possible because of people personally partnering through the non profit. God Bless and thank you. †Support the showSUPPORT THE SHOW

Monday, 4 May 2026   Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Matthew 19:16   “And you behold! One having approached Him, he said, ‘Good Teacher, what ‘good' I should do that I may have ‘life perpetual'?'” (CG)   In the previous verse, Jesus laid His hands on the little children and then departed. Next, it says, “And you behold! One having approached Him.”   Luke 18:18 identifies this person as a ruler. Whether this means the rule of a city, a synagogue, or someone in a position like the Sanhedrin isn't stated. But he is in some position of authority. This man approached Jesus and “he said, ‘Good Teacher, what ‘good' I should do that I may have ‘life perpetual'?'”   This seems to be an obvious question as the law itself offers it to the people –   “And you guard my enactments and my verdicts, which he will do them, a man, and he lived in them. I, Yehovah.” Leviticus 18:5 (CG)   The meaning is that a man would live by doing what the Lord says. That is a promise right from the law. But this man sees an obvious problem with this seemingly simple promise. Nobody in his history was alive except those born in his general generation.   Everybody since Moses had been born, lived, and died. One generation after the next, the people continued to die. As such, this man is curious to find out what the Lord was referring to. Thus, this man is not unlike Joseph of Arimathea, who came to Jesus to ask deep theological questions of Him despite the fact that he was a ruler of the Jews.   Their own theology had failed them. They strove under the Law of Moses, looking for the secret to living under the law, and they kept on punching their proverbial tickets. He is trying to get past this seemingly impassable wall.   Life application: It may be that this person came to Jesus to seek the key to being resurrected and then live forever at that time. If so, this would be someone from the Pharisee side of the theological aisle. However, he does not ask about the resurrection specifically. Instead, he asked about life perpetual apart from any other distinction.   Therefore, it is likely the man is looking to the promise in the law and wondering how he can get around dying in the first place. If this is true, he could be either a Pharisee or a Sadducee.   Sadducees didn't believe in a resurrection, but there is no reason to assume they didn't believe they could merit life through their deeds as promised in Leviticus. For the most part, unless someone has a misfiring brain, nobody wants to die.   People have been trying to cheat death all along. Today, there are companies and individuals striving to lengthen life or even cheat death altogether. As for the Jews at Jesus' time, if the Law of Moses gave a way for man to live, why wasn't it working?   For the next few verses, Jesus will deal with this issue. He will get to the heart of the matter concerning how to obtain perpetual life. Regardless of the outcome of this story in Matthew, if you would like the answer as to how to “cheat death,” which isn't really cheating at all, John's gospel explains the matter clearly and without any ambiguity –   “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:14-17   If you want what the world has sought after since man first trod on the earth, come to Jesus. He alone has defeated death. If you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, you too will live forever.   Lord God Almighty, we who have believed thank You for the absolute assurance we possess concerning the hope of eternal life. We know that we possess it, and we know it because Jesus has led the way. Death is defeated in Him, and we place our trust solely in Him. Thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This powerful message explores the journey of surrender through the lens of Nicodemus, a religious leader who encountered Jesus three times in the Gospel of John. We discover that surrender isn't an instant transformation but rather a gradual process of moving from curiosity in darkness to courage in the light. The beautiful analogy of Rocky's work with rescue dogs reminds us that God sits with us in our brokenness, never forcing but always attracting us toward His love. Just as those traumatized dogs needed patient presence and space to trust again, we too need time to process what it means to fully surrender to Christ. The message challenges us to examine whether we look the same in darkness as we do in light—at work, at home, in traffic, with friends. Are we secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea, or are we ready to publicly align ourselves with Jesus even when it costs us something? Most importantly, we're reminded that new believers need community, not judgment. They need a church family to walk alongside them as they grow stronger in faith, just as Nicodemus needed Joseph. The call is clear: surrender means being alive in both light and darkness, and our role as the church is to invest in those taking their first steps toward Jesus.

Today in History: King Hezekiah and all Israel celebrated Pesach Sheni for 14 days (see 2 Chronicles 30:1). Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus celebrated Pesach Sheni. They did the good deed of burying Yeshua. But it made it impossible for them to eat the normal Passover offering because of ritual impurity (see John 19:38–42). Pesach Sheni (Second Passover): ”If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, observe the Passover to the LORD. In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it” (Numbers 9:6–14).This week's portion is called Emor (Speak)TORAH PORTION: Leviticus 23:33–44GOSPEL PORTION: Luke 19:28–48What verse spoke to you most today and why?Did you learn something about God?Daily Bread for Kids is a daily Bible reading podcast where we read through the Torah and the Gospels in one year! Helping young Bible-readers to study God's Word, while also discovering its Jewish context!THE KIDS' JOURNAL is available from ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arielmedia.shop⁠⁠⁠⁠BUSY MOMS who want to follow the Daily Bread readings on podcast for adults, can go to ⁠⁠https://dailybreadmoms.com⁠⁠The Bible translation we are reading from is the Tree of Life Version (TLV) available from the Tree of Life Bible Society.INSTAGRAM: @dailybreadkids @arielmediabooks @dailybreadmomsTags: #DailyBreadMoms #DailyBreadJournal #BibleJournaling #Messianic #BiblePodcast #BiblicalFeasts #Journal #biblereadingplan #Messiah #JewishRoots #Yeshua #GodIsInControl #OneYearBible #MomLife #MotherCulture #FaithFilledMama #BiblicalWomanhood #Proverbs31woman

In this week’s podcast, Tiffany Velasquez walks through Luke 23, looking at each person who encountered Jesus—from the crowd and Pilate to the thieves on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea, and the women—and how their responses revealed their hearts. Though they all stood before the same Savior, their reactions were vastly different. As we listen, we’re invited to ask ourselves: how do we respond when we come face to face with our gracious and merciful Jesus?Support the show: https://harvest.org/donate/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Shroud of Turin is a relic housed in the cathedral in Turin Italy and claimed to be the burial cloth of Christ.   The Gospels give us some details: Matthew 27:59-60 ESV "And Joseph (of Arimathea) took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away."  Mark 15:46 ESV "And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking Him (Jesus) down, wrapped Him in the linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb." Luke 23:53 ESV "Then he (Joseph) took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid."  John 19:40 ESV "So they (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of Jews."   Shroud of Turin A linen shroud approximately 14 feet long, 3 1/2 feet wide.  Pastor shares a picture of the shroud. It's very hard to discern what shows on the shroud.   But on May 28, 1898 Secondo Pia (1855 - 1941) received permission to take a picture of the shroud. The photographic negative ended up being an image of a man's brutalized face.  He said "I think I may have been the first person in centuries to see the face of Jesus!" In the following years many others have used developing technologies in photography to take photos of the shroud. Pastor shares his pictures and how it shows the person has been crucified and brutally whipped with over 300 lacerations.  Many people have asked the last 100+ years if this is indeed Jesus.   Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) a group came to examine and test the Shroud 1978 - 40 U.S. scientists, multiple institutions and laboratories. Went to Turin Italy - 5 days, 122 hours, to study the shroud, fully expected to find a forgery Tests- large variety of tests and equipment And in the following years 1978-1981 they spent an additional 100,000 - 150,000 hours of intensive study on the results of their testing. And made their final report in 1981.   1981 STURP Report Findings Image is on the top surface of linen fibers. The image is only .2 - .7 microns - that's several hundred times thinner than a human hair) Identity - it is the image of a scourged and crucified man. Approx 5' 11" tall around 178 lbs.  Origin - No evidence of paint of pigment Bloodstains were found of hemoglobin + serum albumin - which is evidence of a person having been horrifically tortured. 3D data - used a VP8 Image Analyzer (developed for the space program) and discovered that what is recorded on the shroud had 3 dimensional properties. Mechanism - how was it produced - unknown   For an insider's view of the study "Report on the Shroud of Turin" published in 1983 by John Herbert Heller. (A member of the Shroud team). The book caused many questions to start emerging. Pastor shares an article "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ" from the JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association from March 21, 1986, Volume 256 and the impact that article had on him.   Pastor goes further into the continued testing over the years. Here are the latest results: 2013 - (FTIR) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy indicated the Shroud was 2,000 years old 2013 - Raman Spectroscopy also reported the Shroud to be 2,000 years old 2022 - (WAXS) Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering was used and it showed the Shroud to be 2,000 years old.   Research continues: Physicist Paolo di Lazaro and team at ENEA Labs, after 5 years and hundred of failed attempts to reproduce an image like the shroud, concluded that to make the imprint on the Shroud it would take 34 trillion watts of radiant energy for 1/40 billionths of a second. (An energy level greater than all the energy plants in the world combined)   Final Observations: 2000 year old Linen Shroud Crown of Thorns Abrasions on shoulders from carrying Crossbeam Nailed to the cross, not tied Has a side wound, no broken bones Rushed burial - as body was not washed Brief entombment    Could this be the burial shroud of Jesus? Pastor shares an interesting quote from the book by Heller and then shares that he believes it is certainly possible that this is the burial shroud of Jesus!      Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.   Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/whats-the-answer   Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

On the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, this homily examines the temptation to treat Christ as a figure of the past rather than the Living Lord. It explores how even faithful Christians can reduce Him to something studied at a distance—especially in an age of endless religious content. Grounded in the Church's sacramental and communal life, the message calls us to encounter Christ where He truly speaks: in His Body. The result is both comforting and demanding, as the living Christ not only teaches, but calls us to repentance and transformation.  Enjoy the show! --- Homily for the Myrrhbearers St. Mark 15:43–16:8; Acts 6:1–7 Today we celebrate the holy Myrrhbearers: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the most holy Theotokos, Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, Joanna, Salome, Mary and Martha, and Susanna—those who loved Christ enough to come to Him even in death. Their love is beautiful. It is courageous. It is faithful. But it is also, in one very important way, mistaken. They came to anoint a corpse. They came expecting silence, stillness, finality. They came to do one last act of love for someone who was no longer present to receive it. And that is where we must be careful—because we can do the same thing. We sing again and again, "Christ is Risen!" But how often do we live as if He were not? Think about how we relate to the dead. We remember them. We honor them. We reflect on their words. We study what they said, and we try to apply it to our lives. But we do not expect them to speak to us now. We do not expect them to guide us in real time. And this is exactly how many Christians treat Christ. We treat Him as a figure from the past—a great teacher, whose words are preserved in a fixed collection of texts. If we want to know what He thinks, we go back and study what He said, like we would with Plato or any other historical figure. Please—do not misunderstand me. We need the Scriptures. We must study them. But if that is all we are doing—if Christ is only someone we study—then we are treating Him as if He were dead. Because if He were truly risen—if He were truly alive—then we would expect Him to still be teaching. And He is. Christ is alive—not only in heaven—but here and now. He lives in the hearts of the faithful. He lives in His sacraments. He lives most fully as the Head of His Body—the Church. And that means something very concrete: the Church is not a memory. She is not a museum. She is not an archive. She is alive. And here is where the danger comes in—because just as we can treat Christ as if He were dead, we can also treat the Church as if she were dead. We do this when we reduce her to an institution, when we treat her traditions as relics instead of life, when we experience the Liturgy as repetition instead of encounter, and when we assume that nothing truly happens here—nothing new, nothing real—only the preservation of the past. We do this when we think, "I already know what the Church says," "I'll decide how to apply it," or "I'll take what is helpful." But a living body does not work that way. If Christ is alive, then His Body is alive. And if His Body is alive, then it speaks—not just in the past, but now. In the hymns, in the prayers, in the canons, in the counsel of those who are faithful and wise, in the real, sometimes difficult life of the parish—where we are taught through living out our salvation with one another, in patience, repentance, and love—and in the quiet voice that speaks when we have learned to be still. And this leads to the second reaction—the more difficult one. It is one thing to doubt that Christ is speaking. It is another thing to realize that He is. Because "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). A dead teacher can be interpreted. A living Lord must be obeyed. A dead teacher can be studied at a distance. A living Lord sees you, knows you, and calls you to change. And here is one of the ways we avoid this. We listen to the Church—but at a distance. We listen through podcasts, through videos, through discussions online. We hear sermons, teachings, arguments, explanations. And again, these things can be good. But notice what happens when this becomes our primary way of listening. We receive the words, but not the life. We hear, but we are not known. We learn, but we are not accountable. We can pause it, skip it, choose one voice over another, agree or disagree without consequence. In other words, we remain in control. But that is not how the living Christ teaches. The living Christ teaches through His Body—a Body that we must enter, a Body that sees us, a Body that corrects us, a Body that calls us to repentance, a Body that we cannot curate or control. You can learn about Christ anywhere, but you can only be taught by Him within His Body. To receive Christ only as content—even Orthodox content—is still, in a subtle way, to treat Him as if He were not fully alive. Because the Risen Christ does not simply inform us; He forms us. It is much easier to interpret what Christ said two thousand years ago—indeed, much easier to interpret what the Councils and Fathers said hundreds of years ago—than it is to hear what He is saying to you today. Because interpretation can be shaped by our pride, by our ego. Obedience cannot. So how do we learn from the living Christ? The answer is not new. We give our lives—our bodies, our minds, our souls—to Him and to His Church. We pray. We enter into the Liturgy. We love our neighbor. We learn from the Fathers. We seek counsel. We quiet ourselves so that we can hear—not because this is a system, but because this is where He is: ministering to us, teaching us, healing us, enlightening us. The Myrrhbearers came looking for the dead. Instead, they encountered the Living One. And that is the same invitation given to us. Do not come here to remember Christ. Do not come here to study Him from a distance. Do not come here as if nothing real is happening. Come here to meet Him. Because He is not in the tomb. He is not confined to history. Christ is risen. Indeed He is risen—and He is with us, here, now, and always.

When we have faith like Joseph of Arimathea who buried Jesus, and courage like the Myrrh Bearing Women, who went in the darkness of the night to anoint Jesus, our actions are blessed by God for the glory of His Church. Through faith, courage, and action, we will go out in the darkness of the world and share the good news of Christ's resurrection. People need hope. People need the Good News to convince them to come to the Church to experience Jesus Christ, the King of King, Resurrected from the dead.

“Joseph of Arimathea could roll the stone, doesn't that mean other people could also roll the stone & take Jesus away? I've heard the argument that the stone was impossible to roll but Joseph did it." “Could you explain why the Psalm 22 quote is written out in the original language?" “Why do the Jews think Jesus is calling to Elijah?" "Does the field of Blood contradict Acts saying Judas bought the field himself?" "1 John 2:2 -> Sins of the whole world. Does Jesus die for the whole world or only for those that trust him?" “How do you become a saint? Why are they so important in catholicism and not in protestantism?" "Why are bodies of saints raised in Matt 27:52? What is the purpose of this and who were they?” "Matthew is the only gospel that talked about the saints rising from the dead 27:52-53. Isn't this significant enough to be talked about in other gospels and non-christian texts?" "Why in v44 did it say that the robbers reviled him & similarly in Mark but in Luke it talks about the criminal that gets told "today you will be with me in paradise"? Did this happen?”

Dr. Francis Myles reveals the Order of Melchizedek — the ancient priesthood that unites ministry, marketplace, and government in one calling. In this explosive conversation, he breaks down why Jesus chose marketplace men over seminary graduates, why AI is the Babylonian language of our day, how Divine Intelligence outranks Artificial Intelligence, and the Joseph of Arimathea mantle — the real reason God gives believers wealth. This will wreck every religious box you've been living in. 

This often-overlooked passage at the end of chapter 19 focuses on Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus following the crucifixion of Jesus. Explore the lessons associated with secret discipleship and the fear of men. Reverend Eric Alexander challenges us to yield wholly to Jesus and take our stand with the company of the committed on Hear the Word of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/581/29?v=20251111

The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands as the cornerstone of our faith, transforming everything we know about God, ourselves, and the world around us. This message walks us through the dramatic events of that first Easter weekend, from the crucifixion on Friday afternoon to the empty tomb discovered on Sunday morning. We witness the courage of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both secret followers who went public with their faith at great personal risk. We experience the earthquake, the terrified Roman guards, and the angels whose appearance was as sudden as lightning. Most powerfully, we encounter Mary Magdalene in the garden, weeping over her lost Lord, until Jesus calls her by name. That personal encounter reminds us that the resurrection isn't just a historical event—it's an invitation into relationship. The risen Christ proves three essential truths: He is who He claimed to be, He has the power He claimed to have, and He keeps His promises. This reality offers us three life-changing gifts: forgiveness for our past, help for our present struggles, and life—both abundant and eternal—for our future. The resurrection declares that death doesn't have to win, that our guilt and shame can be canceled, and that we have access to supernatural power for the challenges we face. This isn't just good news; it's the best news humanity has ever received.

Northwest Bible Church - April 5, 2026 - Resurrection Day - Alan Conner John 18-21 Christ's Death and Resurrection Intro A.  THE ARREST - John 18:1-6. 1. Christ is in control.   2. “I am” and the mob falls (John 18:6).   B. THE TRIAL - John 18:12-19:15. 1. The Jewish trial a. Before Annas, John 18:12-24.    b. Before Caiaphas, John 18:24-27.     c. A kangaroo court trial. d. Jesus supplied the evidence for their conviction (Matthew 26:63-64). 2. The Roman trial (John 18:28-19:15). a. Did not want to get involved, John 18:31 b. John 18:31-32, Prophecy must be fulfilled, Isaiah 53:5; Psalms 22:16; Zechariah 12:10.    c. Pilate interviews Jesus and concludes, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 18:38). d. Jesus is scourged, crown of thorns, purpose robe, mocked, slapped (John 19:1-2). e. Pilate, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 19:4). f. Chief priests and officers, CRUCIFY, CRUCIFY (John 19:6). g. Pilate, “I find no guilt in Him” (John 19:6-15). C. THE CRUCIFIXION (John 19:16-37). 1. Jesus carried His own cross (John 19:17). 2. The inscription: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS (John 19:19).   3. Casting lots for His clothes (John 19:23-24).  Fulfills prophecy, Psalms 22:18 (John 19:24). 4. Jesus' sayings on the cross:     5 of 7 dealing with redemption. a. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 b. “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 c. “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”  Matthew 27:46; Psalms 22:1.   d. “It is finished.” John 19:30.   A CRY OF VICTORY.    e. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46; Psalm 31:5.   5. No broken legs (John 19:31-37).   6. Soldiers pierced His side and out came blood and water (John 19:34).   D. THE BURIAL (John 19:38-42). 1. Joseph of Arimathea, the secret disciple requests Jesus body (John 19:38).   2. Nicodemus, the devoted follower brings 100 lbs. of spices (John 19:39).    E. THE RESURRECTION (John 20-21). 1. Mary Magdalene is the first to report the empty tomb (John 20:1-2).    2. Peter and John run to the tomb, Peter sees, but John believed (John 20:6-8). 3. Mary returns and looks into the tomb, sees two angels (John 20:11-18).    4. Jesus' first appearance to the disciples (John 20:19-25).   THOMAS DOUBTS. 5. Jesus' second appearance to the disciples (John 20:26-29).  Thomas, “MY LORD AND MY GOD.”   6. Jesus' appearance to the disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).   a. Jesus restores Peter.   b. “FOLLOW ME” (John 21:19, 22). Conclusion

The Jesus Effect: Nicodemas John 19:38-42 38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (Sorry for the cutoff. Microphone battery failed.)

This powerful Easter message reveals a life-changing truth: God is a borrower—and when He borrows, He always gives back better. From the moment Simon of Cyrene was pulled from the crowd to carry the cross, to Joseph of Arimathea offering his tomb, to the empty grave on resurrection morning, this sermon uncovers how God invites ordinary people into extraordinary purpose. You may feel like you're just passing through life—but what if this moment is a divine interruption? What if God is calling you to step in, give Him your faith, and trust Him with everything?

The Word of God The importance of the Bible. Without it, knowledge would be limited. It sets people free and offers a new life. Matthew 28:1-6 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary visit the sepulcher. A great earthquake occurs. An angel descends, rolls back the stone, and sits on it. The angel’s appearance: countenance like lightning, raiment white as snow. The keepers shake with fear and become as dead men. The angel tells the women not to fear. He knows they seek Jesus, who was crucified. Jesus is not there; He has risen as He said. The angel instructs them to tell the disciples that Jesus is risen and will go before them into Galilee. The Empty Tomb The ladies were seeking Jesus. Their responsibility was to take care of the body after it was delivered to the tomb. Jesus gave up his life; it was not taken from him. Isaiah’s prophecy: Jesus bore the iniquity of us all. God put the iniquity of all mankind on Jesus. Jesus bore the embarrassment, humiliation, rebellion, and unlovingness of sin. Jesus died for future sins. Every sin He died for was future for those born after that day. God accepted the blood of Christ as atonement for sin. Galatians 4: God sent His Son to redeem those under the law so we might receive the adoption of sons. Having Jesus in one’s heart because He died for our sins. Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and counselor, was secretly a disciple of Christ. Being a disciple of Christ secretly for fear of the world. Being afraid of ridicule or standing out for one’s faith. Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. It was approaching evening, and they needed to take the body off the cross before sundown. Pilate marveled that Jesus was already dead. The legs of the others were broken to hasten their death, but Jesus was already dead. To be sure, they pierced Jesus in the side, and blood and water came out. Every drop of Jesus’ blood was for sin so that people could go free. Joseph went back to the cross to take the body off. Joseph was not alone; Nicodemus showed up. Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, now revealed his belief. Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight of ointments and spices. Joseph and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body and wrapped it. They carried the body to a new tomb that Joseph had hewn out. No corpse had ever been in this tomb. The Burial and the Guard Jesus was dead. The penalty for sin is death. Adam was told he would surely die if he ate the forbidden fruit. Jesus Christ became the propitiation for all our sins. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary followed them as they carried Jesus’ body to the tomb. They stooped down to enter the tomb. Humbling oneself before God leads to seeing the light and finding life. They laid Jesus in the tomb and rolled a great stone at the door. Mary and Mary Magdalene witnessed exactly where Jesus was laid and the stone being rolled over the door. The Pharisees and Sadducees were nervous and went to Pilate. They reminded Pilate that Jesus had said He would rise again in three days. The Pharisees, unlike the disciples, seemed to believe Jesus’ prophecy. They feared the disciples would steal the body and claim Jesus had risen. Pilate instructed them to make the tomb as secure as possible. They sealed the stone with Herod’s seal. The Visit to the Sepulchre Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher at the end of the Sabbath. They wondered who would move the stone. Doubt and unbelief can keep people from seeing the empty tomb. The world needs to know the truth: Jesus is not dead anymore. At the very moment one begins to seek Jesus, He has already sought them. The tomb was sealed and had a rock in front of the door. Divine help intervenes when it is needed most. Unbelief leads to torment. Hell is full of the wicked, agnostic, and atheist. They could not get past the stone. No one finds God on their own; divine help is needed. If there were another way to heaven, God would not have sent His Son to be crucified. Divine intervention moves the rock of earthly intellect and human understanding, giving faith. Never having been to Jerusalem or seen the tomb. It doesn’t matter if one has seen the tomb; what matters is that Jesus is alive in one’s heart. He is Risen The people of God are too quiet about the truth. The life-giving force for believers is the three words: “He is risen.” The ladies wondered who would move the stone. The Holy Ghost convinces people that they are lost and need a Savior. It is expedient that Jesus went away so the Comforter could come. The Comforter, the Spirit, will guide and lead in all truth and righteousness. If one is not saved through the power of the Holy Spirit, they are not saved. There is only one way to heaven: through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Being born in the Spirit is essential; religion, church membership, and baptism alone do not save. When the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart and invites one to come to Him, that is the moment to bow one’s heart. Jesus gives eternal life, and believers shall never perish. The angels helped the ladies. The guards were hired to keep watch over the tomb. The stone was not holding Jesus in; He came out on His own. The stone was rolled back so that others could see the empty tomb. What is behind the stone of unbelief? It covers the heart and separates one from the truth of Jesus Christ. The ground began to shake. When one gets born again, earthly experiences fade away. Divine intervention takes place, and one’s attention is solely on God. God moves the stone, and unbelief drifts away. The angel of the Lord descended and rolled back the stone. The keepers fell as dead men. Everything that would keep the ladies from knowing the truth about Jesus Christ had been dealt with. When Jesus comes to someone, everything else melts away. The stone had to move. Even the disciples didn’t believe at first because they still had a stone in the way. The Holy Ghost will show up and move the stone so one can see the truth. The truth is that Jesus died for our sins, shed His blood, and is alive. The stone was moved by the angel, and the keepers were no longer a problem. The Truth The only thing needed was the truth. Salvation requires divine intervention; one cannot be saved apart from the Holy Spirit. No one seeks after God on their own. The Holy Spirit moves in one’s life. Each person is given a measure of faith, just enough. The greatest gift is when God moves the stone and gets rid of the keepers. The ladies heard that Jesus was not there. The three words “He is risen” changed their lives. The greatest news is that He is risen. Someone has to help with the stone of unbelief. When the Holy Ghost shows up, one starts paying better attention. When the heart listens instead of the ears, it’s getting close. When one hears Him speak and say, “I’ve come for you. I want to save you,” one will know in their heart that He is alive. He is alive forevermore. The angel said, “I know who you’re looking for. You’re looking for Jesus. He’s not here.” He is risen. The primary difference between all other religions and Christianity is that our Savior is alive. In Revelation, Jesus says, “I am he that was alive and was dead, and am alive forevermore.” The reason to believe is that He now lives within. One needs their own experience to know that He is alive. All that is needed is for some things to be moved out of the way. What better day to be born again than Easter morning? Surrender to Christ and believe.

There was a man named Joseph . . . and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. — Luke 23:50-51 There seems to be a lot of waiting in Scripture. Abraham and Sarah waited for a promised child (Genesis 12-18).The Israelites waited for many years to be freed from slavery (Exodus 1-12). Simeon, Anna, and others waited for the Messiah to come (Luke 2:25-38). The Hebrews had many words and phrases for “wait,” just as some Indigenous languages spoken in northern Canada have many ways to describe snow. Snow is a large part of life there. Waiting, it turns out, is a large part of life for God's people.As we read in our text, Joseph of Arimathea was waiting for the kingdom of God. But here, surprisingly, he was taking the dead body of Jesus down from a cross. Joseph had thought Jesus was bringing in God's kingdom, but now he was dead. If Joseph could bring himself to pick up the work of waiting again, it would likely have been a defeated, hopeless sort of waiting.Think of the women there as well. They probably assumed that Jesus' work and teaching had come to nothing, that there was just a body to bury.But as Joseph laid Jesus' body in a tomb and the women prepared spices for Jesus' burial, God was preparing something new that would change hopeless waiting into joy and peace. We know that you ended the waiting, Father. But before we go there and rejoice, let us taste the waiting and recognize something familiar in it—our own experiences of longing and waiting. Thank you that, in Christ, we do not wait without hope. Amen.

Reflect on the meaning of the cross this Good Friday with a powerful sermon from Mark 15:42–47. Pastor Ricky Smithwalks through the burial of Jesus, highlighting the courage of Joseph of Arimathea, the certainty of Christ's death, and the significance of the sealed tomb. This message reminds us that the tomb was not the end—it was preparing the way for the resurrection.

Luke 23:50–24:12I. Joseph of Arimathea – 23:50-53II. The Women from Galilee – 23:54-24:9III. The Closest Disciples – 24:10-12

On Good Friday, Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate early in the morning, declared innocent, yet condemned to death after the crowd chose Barabbas over Him; He was mocked, beaten, and led to crucifixion at Golgotha, where He was nailed to the cross around 9 AM, prayed for forgiveness for His executioners, endured mocking, and showed compassion by promising salvation to a repentant criminal and entrusting His mother to His disciple John. From noon to 3 PM, darkness covered the land as Jesus bore the weight of sin, cried out to the Father, and ultimately declared "It is finished" before giving up His spirit. At His death, an earthquake occurred, the temple veil was torn, and even Roman soldiers recognized His innocence. His body was then taken down, confirmed dead, and placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea before the Sabbath began, marking the completion of the events of that day. __________ John 18:28–37 NLT, Luke 23:6–12 NLT, Luke 23:13–19 NLT, Matthew 27:15–23 NLT, John 19:1–13 NLT, Matthew 27:24–25 NLT, John 19:13–16 NLT, Luke 23:26–29,31 NLT, John 19:17–22 NLT, Mark 15:23 NLT, Luke 23:34a NLT, John 19:19–22 NLT, John 19:23–24 NLT, Matthew 27:39–40 NLT, Mark 15:31 NLT, Luke 23:36–37,39 NLT, Luke 23:40–43 NLT, John 19:25–27 NLT, Mark 15:33 NLT, Matthew 27:46–47,49 NLT, John 19:28–29 NLT, John 19:30a NLT, Luke 23:46 NLT, John 19:30b NLT, Matthew 27:50–53 NLT, Matthew 27:54 NLT, Luke 23:47–48 NLT, John 19:31–33 NLT, John 19:34–37 NLT, Mark 15:42–47 NLT, Mark 15:46 NLT, Matthew 27:59–60 NLT, John 19:39–42 NLT, Mark 15:47 NLT, Luke 23:55–56 NLT __________ Partner with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/partner Connect with Us: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com Leave a Comment: https://churchforentrepreneurs.com/comments __________      

Gospel John 18:1—19:42 Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:             Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says:             They will look upon him whom they have pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by. Reflection One of the great challenges is to move from the Old Testament, understanding its wisdom and its teaching, and then receive from the New Testament the fullness of the message of who God is. And we see here a situation where in John himself is saying, this is the way it had to happen, because this is the way it was written in the Old Testament that it would happen. Interesting. And how clearly it seems now to look at the disciples and see how they didn't understand all this, because they were never taught these things from the temple. The temple didn't seem to even pay attention to those kinds of predictions that would come and they didn't recognize Jesus. But if you listen to the Old Testament, you know who Jesus is. And it's so affirming that it's really the revelation of who God really is. Closing Prayer Father, give us wisdom. We cannot see you or understand your message without this gift of your presence within is enlightening our minds. Help us to see all of this as it was intended to be seen and be transformed by it, as God intended us to be. And we asked this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Collect Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament Isaiah 52:13-53:12 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him --so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals-- so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.   Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.   Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.   Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The Response Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meus 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? * and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; * by night as well, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are the Holy One, * enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; * they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 They cried out to you and were delivered; * they trusted in you and were not put to shame. 6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, * scorned by all and despised by the people. 7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; * they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying, 8 "He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; * let him rescue him, if he delights in him." 9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, * and kept me safe upon my mother's breast. 10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; * you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, * and there is none to help. 12 Many young bulls encircle me; * strong bulls of Bashan surround me. 13 They open wide their jaws at me, * like a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; * my heart within my breast is melting wax. 15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; * and you have laid me in the dust of the grave. 16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; * they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. 17 They stare and gloat over me; * they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing. 18 Be not far away, O Lord; * you are my strength; hasten to help me. 19 Save me from the sword, * my life from the power of the dog. 20 Save me from the lion's mouth, * my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls. 21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; * in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. 22 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; * stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory. 23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; * but when they cry to him he hears them. 24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; * I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him. 25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: * "May your heart live for ever!" 26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, * and all the families of the nations shall bow before him. 27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; * he rules over the nations. 28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; * all who go down to the dust fall before him. 29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; * they shall be known as the Lord's for ever. 30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn * the saving deeds that he has done. The Epistle Hebrews 10:16-25 The Holy Spirit testifies saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. The Gospel John 18:1-19:42 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Good Friday: It is Finished Hebrews 10:1-25 & St. John 19:1-37 by William Klock Picture again the scene we read about in last night's Gospel: Jesus and the disciples gathered in that “upper room”.  Their feet were dusty from a day spent walking the streets of Jerusalem.  There should have been a servant there to wash their feet.  But, instead, Jesus took up the towel and pitcher of water and began to wash the dust, the grime, the dirt from their feet.  Even Judas, whose feet were covered with dust from his journey to visit the high priest to betray Jesus.  Jesus washed even that dust from the feet of his betrayer.  Here was truly the Messiah, the suffering servant who came to wash his people clean from their sins.  Peter drew back.  “No Lord!  You can't wash my feet!  If anything, I should be washing yours.”  But Jesus insisted.  This is what he'd come to do. Jesus turned everything upside-down.  After washing the disciples' feet—something totally inappropriate for a teacher to do for his disciples—he took the bread and the wine of the Passover meal and started talking about them as a new sacrifice.  These men knew all about sacrifices. They knew all about bulls and goats and lambs sacrificed for sin, their bodies broken and their blood poured out before the altar to purify the people from the impurity of their sins, to make them fit for God to draw near.  And yet Jesus now took the bread and wine and said that it was his body broken and his blood poured out—that they were all on the verge of a new exodus, but this time he would be the Passover lamb, his body and blood would be broken to free them from the slavery of sin and death.  The disciples didn't understand.  Not at this point.  Picture them looking at Jesus and looking at each other with confusion.  What was he trying to say about the Passover?  They really did want to follow Jesus, they wanted what he had to offer, but they didn't understand yet what it was he was offering.  When Jesus had tried to wash Peter's feet, Peter had indignantly refused, but Jesus explained that he needed it—that if we wanted any part in his master, this washing was essential.  Of course, then Peter did want it—he wanted even more of it (“Wash all of me, not just my feet, Lord!”)—but he still didn't understand what it meant.  He just trusted Jesus.  This was the Messiah.  Peter wanted what was coming…whatever that might be. After supper Jesus took his friends to the garden of Gethsemane to pray.  Even after the foot washing and that last supper and all Jesus' talk about servants and sacrifices, they still didn't understand.  They had no idea what was going to happen.  They knelt among the olive trees as Jesus went off a little way away to pray by himself.  And as Jesus prayed like he'd never prayed before, the disciples drifted off to sleep.  They had no idea that something was about to happen that would change the world forever.  Jesus woke them up in time for Judas to return, leading a pack of Jewish soldiers who had come to take him away.  Peter drew out his sword, ready for the attack, and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers.  Maybe he thought that now was the time Jesus, the conquering Messiah, was going to throw off his clever disguise of humility and start the revolution that everyone expected.  Now was his chance!  But it didn't happen.  In fact, Jesus actually healed the soldier and told Peter: “I can appeal to my Father and he'll send twelve legions of angels.  But if I did that, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled?”  I can only imagine just how much more confused Peter was at that point. And the disciples ran away as the chief priest's soldiers took Jesus away in chains.  They figured it was over.  Chalk Jesus up as yet another failed Messiah.  But Peter wasn't ready to give up on his friend, so he followed along to the high priest's house to see what would happen.  He watched the sham trial they put Jesus through.  They condemned Jesus, and as the priests and soldiers spit on him and struck him, Peter gave up just like the other disciples had done a few hours before.  Three bystanders noticed Peter in the crowd and recognised him: “Hey, you!  You were with him.  You're one of his friends.  You're one of his followers.” And each time Peter denied knowing Jesus: “I don't know what you're talking about!  You must be blind!  I've never seen this man before!”  It wasn't just Judas.  By morning Jesus had been betrayed and denied by his closest disciples and friends.  All of them. And in the morning, the Jews dragged Jesus to the court of the Roman governor.  The Jews weren't allowed to execute anyone; the Romans had to do it.  And so Jesus went through another sham trial before Pilate, who caved to their pressuring.  He didn't want a riot on his hands and the Jews were crying for blood—and not just blood—they were crying out for a Roman crucifixion.  Pilate asked them, “But this man is King of the Jews?”  And they shouted back, “No he's not!  We have no king but Caesar!”  That had to be the most unJewish thing ever shouted by a crowd.  I expect that shout left Pilate utterly speechless.  If they'd all suddenly began feasting on roast pig he couldn't have been more surprised.  I expect it had Jesus in tears.  He knew, just as they knew, that the Lord was Israel's king, not Caesar.  But they were so angry with him, they were so set on their rejection of Jesus the Messiah, that they would do the unthinkable and declare their allegiance to Caesar instead.  On Sunday the crowd outside the city had hailed him as King, but now their voices were drowned out by this great hoard calling for his blood.  Not wanting trouble, Pilate gave them what they wanted. His soldiers, the whole battalion, took Jesus to be scourged.  They spit on him, they put a reed in his hand and a crown plaited of thorns on his head and mocked him as king, and then they beat him senseless.  They led him away with two violent thugs, revolutionaries, very possibly from Barabbas' gang.  On a hilltop just outside the city, the soldiers held Jesus down on a cross while they nailed him to it with spikes through his wrists and through his feet.  Then they raised the cross up and dropped it heavily into the ground.  His mother and his friends watched as his blood poured and as he struggled for breath.  For three long hours he hung there.  Roman crucifixion was known for its agony.  The shoulders were dislocated.  Hanging, you couldn't breath.  So you pushed yourself up, putting all your weight on the spike through your feet to gasp for air—alternating between the agony of asphyxiation and the agony of being nailed to a piece of timbre.  Some men lasted for days like that.  Jesus had been abused so badly, all it took was three hours.  He cried out to his Father—in relief, in exhausted victory, “It is finished.”  And just to make sure he was dead, John says the soldiers pierced his side with a spear.  Blood and water gushed out from the wound.  Not what anyone would normally expect, but a detail noted by John.  Maybe to stress the reality of Jesus' body, because there were those at the time John wrote who claimed that Jesus' body had only been an illusion.  As John saw blood pour from Jesus' side, he couldn't help but remember the blood pouring from the animals sacrificed in the temple, and as the wind sprinkled Jesus' blood on the group gathered at the foot of the cross, John remembered standing in the temple as the priests sprinkled the blood of bulls and goats on him and the gathered sons of Israel.  Purifying them from the stain of sin and death. The clouds darkened the sky.  The earth shook.  The great, heavy curtain in the temple that closed off the holy of holies, the place of the Lord's presence, was violently torn in two.  The graves gave up their dead, who went walking through the streets of Jerusalem.  Something remarkable had happened and everyone noticed, but no one understood—except maybe that centurion who confessed, “Surely this man is the son of God!”  Despite all that, the city was quickly back to its business.  Jesus' friends wept in sadness or in anger, and they went home to lie low lest the authorities come after them next. That evening Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to claim the body of Jesus.  They took it down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, placed it in a tomb, and sealed it up. Maybe now the disciples started to ponder what Jesus said last night when he had talked about his body and blood being given as a new—as a perfect—sacrifice.  In our epistle lesson from the tenth chapter of Hebrews, we read some more about the nature of Jesus' sacrifice.  The Law and the old sacrifices were but a shadow of the good things to come.  “It can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.  Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?  But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1-4). The blood of bulls and goats, sacrificed over and over, could only convict the people of sin as it pointed to the perfect sacrifice of the Messiah that had not yet been made.  And so Hebrews 10 says that Jesus came to do “away with the first in order to establish the second.  And by that…we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Messiah Jesus once for all”(Hebrews 10:9-10).  The writer of Hebrews goes on to give us a vivid picture contrasting the old and the new: “Every priest [and he's talking about the priests of the old covenant] stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin.  But when the Messiah had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:11-14). Jeremiah wrote, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds…I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  And Hebrews reminds us, “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:16-18). When Jesus breathed his last and cried out, “It is finished,” it was finished.  Whereas in the old covenant the priest laid the sins of the people on the bulls and goats sacrificed repeatedly on the altar, Jesus, our great High Priest, took our sins upon himself and died the death that we deserved.  The old sacrifices fell short.  They could cleanse the people from the impurity of their sins, but the blood of bulls and goats could never deal with the sin itself.  That's the difference between the old sacrifices and the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.  In the shed blood of Jesus we are purified so thoroughly that, in the Holy Spirit, God himself can live in us, renewing our hearts, writing the law—once carved on tablets of stone—now the Spirit writes that law of perfect love on our hearts. When Jesus breathed his last and gave himself up to his Father, the temple served its last function in redemptive history.  Under the old covenant the holy of holies—the most holy place—was where the presence of the Lord resided visibly for the people, resting on the ark of the covenant.  And yet the people weren't allowed into that place—into the direct presence of the Lord.  Only the high priest was allowed there and then only once a year.  No sinful human being could enter the presence of the Lord and the priest only did it to make an annual sacrifice for sins—and he did so only after a series of purification rituals for himself.  Nobody went there, because sinners can never enter the presence of a holy, just, and righteous God. But when Jesus made his perfect sacrifice on the cross that day—as he breathed his last and pronounced, “It is finished”—the heavy veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the people was torn in two.  By his death, Jesus opened the way into the presence of the Father.  Through Jesus sinners now find perfect forgiveness and, through God's indwelling Spirit, they become the new and perfect temple. On the cross Jesus stretched out his hands; he stretched out one hand to all those who had trusted in him, seeing the future and coming Messiah as they made their sacrifices at the Temple.  And with his other hand Jesus reached out to us, reaches out to the Gentiles, to the nations who had never heard of the Messiah.  On the cross he reaches out with both hands, uniting both peoples to himself, establishing his body by giving new life to dead and paralysed limbs through his life-giving body and blood.  Jesus said, “When I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32).  That's exactly what he did.  In fact, it's exactly what he still does.  He stretches out his hands to draw us in, to unite us to himself.  Through his perfect sacrifice he offers perfect forgiveness of sin.  Through his body and his blood he offers new and eternal life.  Through his Holy Spirit he renews and regenerates hearts and minds and leads us on the path of holiness.  And through his cross, he leads us through the torn veil and into the holy of holies—into the very presence of God.

38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. (John 19:38-40)I can only imagine what was going through Joseph and Nicodemus' minds as they buried Jesus. So much pain, so much sorrow, so many emotions mingled together.Many believe that by this point, these two rich and powerful men were no longer afraid to be associated with Him. It seems they were searching for a way to express and confess their love and devotion—without fear, and in the light.Like them, I want my love and faith to be visible, not hidden or afraid. And if this was their love when they thought He was gone, I can only imagine the boldness they showed when they discovered that Christ was no longer dead.

A sermon for Good Friday, 2026. John 18:1-19:42 Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

In one of the most unorthodox 1 on 1 moments, we find Jesus' body prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. With nothing to gain and much to lose, we find these two unlikely followers of Jesus challenge us with the simple call to honor the Lord.

This powerful exploration of John 19:31-42 invites us to witness what the message calls 'The Greatest Funeral Ever Recorded.' We're drawn into the burial of Jesus through three profound lenses: timing, location, and people. The timing reveals Jesus as the ultimate Passover Lamb, crucified during Passover week when families throughout Jerusalem were sacrificing lambs. His death on Friday fulfills the sign of Jonah—three days and three nights—reminding us that God's eternal purposes are never accidental. The location carries deep symbolism: Jesus died outside the city gates, mirroring the Day of Atonement sacrifice, and was buried in a garden tomb. This garden imagery is breathtaking—just as death entered humanity in the first garden through the first Adam's disobedience, life is restored in this second garden through the second Adam's obedience. The people involved offer us profound comfort: a redeemed criminal who finds salvation yet continues suffering, reminding us that following Christ doesn't remove earthly hardship; soldiers whose evil acts fulfill Scripture, showing that God's purposes cannot be thwarted; Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy leader living secretly as a believer until courage finally emerges; and Nicodemus, the questioner from John 3, now stepping forward in faith. We find ourselves in these broken people—fearful, doubting, questioning—yet invited to believe and step out in faith.

At the Procession with Palms - GospelMatthew 21:1-11When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalemand came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,"Go into the village opposite you,and immediately you will find an ass tethered,and a colt with her.Untie them and bring them here to me.And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,'The master has need of them.'Then he will send them at once."This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophetmight be fulfilled:Say to daughter Zion,"Behold, your king comes to you,meek and riding on an ass,and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,and he sat upon them.The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,while others cut branches from the treesand strewed them on the road.The crowds preceding him and those followingkept crying out and saying:"Hosanna to the Son of David;blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;hosanna in the highest."And when he entered Jerusalemthe whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"And the crowds replied,"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."At the Mass - Reading IIsaiah 50:4-7The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue,that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear;and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced;I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. Reading IIPhilippians 2:6-11Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.GospelMatthew 26:14—27:66One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,went to the chief priests and said,"What are you willing to give meif I hand him over to you?"They paid him thirty pieces of silver,and from that time on he looked for an opportunityto hand him over.On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,the disciples approached Jesus and said,"Where do you want us to preparefor you to eat the Passover?"He said,"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."'"The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,and prepared the Passover.When it was evening,he reclined at table with the Twelve.And while they were eating, he said,"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."Deeply distressed at this,they began to say to him one after another,"Surely it is not I, Lord?"He said in reply,"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with meis the one who will betray me.The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.It would be better for that man if he had never been born."Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"He answered, "You have said so."While they were eating,Jesus took bread, said the blessing,broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,"Take and eat; this is my body."Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,"Drink from it, all of you,for this is my blood of the covenant,which will be shed on behalf of manyfor the forgiveness of sins.I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vineuntil the day when I drink it with you newin the kingdom of my Father."Then, after singing a hymn,they went out to the Mount of Olives.Then Jesus said to them,"This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken,for it is written:I will strike the shepherd,and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed;but after I have been raised up,I shall go before you to Galilee."Peter said to him in reply,"Though all may have their faith in you shaken,mine will never be."Jesus said to him,"Amen, I say to you,this very night before the cock crows,you will deny me three times."Peter said to him,"Even though I should have to die with you,I will not deny you."And all the disciples spoke likewise.Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,and he said to his disciples,"Sit here while I go over there and pray."He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,and began to feel sorrow and distress.Then he said to them,"My soul is sorrowful even to death.Remain here and keep watch with me."He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying,"My Father, if it is possible,let this cup pass from me;yet, not as I will, but as you will."When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep.He said to Peter,"So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again,"My Father, if it is not possible that this cup passwithout my drinking it, your will be done!"Then he returned once more and found them asleep,for they could not keep their eyes open.He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time,saying the same thing again.Then he returned to his disciples and said to them,"Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?Behold, the hour is at handwhen the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.Get up, let us go.Look, my betrayer is at hand."While he was still speaking,Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs,who had come from the chief priests and the eldersof the people.His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,"The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him."Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,"Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him.Jesus answered him,"Friend, do what you have come for."Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesusput his hand to his sword, drew it,and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear.Then Jesus said to him,"Put your sword back into its sheath,for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.Do you think that I cannot call upon my Fatherand he will not provide me at this momentwith more than twelve legions of angels?But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilledwhich say that it must come to pass in this way?"At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,"Have you come out as against a robber,with swords and clubs to seize me?Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area,yet you did not arrest me.But all this has come to passthat the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled."Then all the disciples left him and fled.Those who had arrested Jesus led him awayto Caiaphas the high priest,where the scribes and the elders were assembled.Peter was following him at a distanceas far as the high priest's courtyard,and going inside he sat down with the servantsto see the outcome.The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrinkept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesusin order to put him to death,but they found none,though many false witnesses came forward.Finally two came forward who stated,"This man said, 'I can destroy the temple of Godand within three days rebuild it.'"The high priest rose and addressed him,"Have you no answer?What are these men testifying against you?"But Jesus was silent.Then the high priest said to him,"I order you to tell us under oath before the living Godwhether you are the Christ, the Son of God."Jesus said to him in reply,"You have said so.But I tell you:From now on you will see 'the Son of Manseated at the right hand of the Power'and 'coming on the clouds of heaven.'"Then the high priest tore his robes and said,"He has blasphemed!What further need have we of witnesses?You have now heard the blasphemy;what is your opinion?"They said in reply,"He deserves to die!"Then they spat in his face and struck him,while some slapped him, saying,"Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?"Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.One of the maids came over to him and said,"You too were with Jesus the Galilean."But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,"I do not know what you are talking about!"As he went out to the gate, another girl saw himand said to those who were there,"This man was with Jesus the Nazorean."Again he denied it with an oath,"I do not know the man!"A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,"Surely you too are one of them;even your speech gives you away."At that he began to curse and to swear,"I do not know the man."And immediately a cock crowed.Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:"Before the cock crows you will deny me three times."He went out and began to weep bitterly.When it was morning,all the chief priests and the elders of the peopletook counsel against Jesus to put him to death.They bound him, led him away,and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,deeply regretted what he had done.He returned the thirty pieces of silverto the chief priests and elders, saying,"I have sinned in betraying innocent blood."They said,"What is that to us?Look to it yourself."Flinging the money into the temple,he departed and went off and hanged himself.The chief priests gathered up the money, but said,"It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury,for it is the price of blood."After consultation, they used it to buy the potter's fieldas a burial place for foreigners.That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiahthe prophet,And they took the thirty pieces of silver,the value of a man with a price on his head,a price set by some of the Israelites,and they paid it out for the potter's fieldjust as the Lord had commanded me.Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him,"Are you the king of the Jews?"Jesus said, "You say so."And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,he made no answer.Then Pilate said to him,"Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?"But he did not answer him one word,so that the governor was greatly amazed.Now on the occasion of the feastthe governor was accustomed to release to the crowdone prisoner whom they wished.And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,"Which one do you want me to release to you,Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?"For he knew that it was out of envythat they had handed him over.While he was still seated on the bench,his wife sent him a message,"Have nothing to do with that righteous man.I suffered much in a dream today because of him."The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowdsto ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.The governor said to them in reply,"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"They answered, "Barabbas!"Pilate said to them,"Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?"They all said,"Let him be crucified!"But he said,"Why? What evil has he done?"They only shouted the louder,"Let him be crucified!"When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,but that a riot was breaking out instead,he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood.Look to it yourselves."And the whole people said in reply,"His blood be upon us and upon our children."Then he released Barabbas to them,but after he had Jesus scourged,he handed him over to be crucified.Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetoriumand gathered the whole cohort around him.They stripped off his clothesand threw a scarlet military cloak about him.Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,and a reed in his right hand.And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,"Hail, King of the Jews!"They spat upon him and took the reedand kept striking him on the head.And when they had mocked him,they stripped him of the cloak,dressed him in his own clothes,and led him off to crucify him.As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;this man they pressed into serviceto carry his cross.And when they came to a place called Golgotha—which means Place of the Skull —,they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.After they had crucified him,they divided his garments by casting lots;then they sat down and kept watch over him there.And they placed over his head the written charge against him:This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,one on his right and the other on his left.Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,"You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,save yourself, if you are the Son of God,and come down from the cross!"Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,"He saved others; he cannot save himself.So he is the king of Israel!Let him come down from the cross now,and we will believe in him.He trusted in God;let him deliver him now if he wants him.For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"The revolutionaries who were crucified with himalso kept abusing him in the same way.From noon onward, darkness came over the whole landuntil three in the afternoon.And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"Some of the bystanders who heard it said,"This one is calling for Elijah."Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,gave it to him to drink.But the rest said,"Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him."But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,and gave up his spirit.Here all kneel and pause for a short time.And behold, the veil of the sanctuarywas torn in two from top to bottom.The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,they entered the holy city and appeared to many.The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesusfeared greatly when they saw the earthquakeand all that was happening, and they said,"Truly, this was the Son of God!"There were many women there, looking on from a distance,who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph,and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.When it was evening,there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph,who was himself a disciple of Jesus.He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linenand laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomband departed.But Mary Magdalene and the other Maryremained sitting there, facing the tomb.The next day, the one following the day of preparation,the chief priests and the Phariseesgathered before Pilate and said,"Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said,'After three days I will be raised up.'Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day,lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people,'He has been raised from the dead.'This last imposture would be worse than the first."Pilate said to them,"The guard is yours;go, secure it as best you can."So they went and secured the tombby fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard. 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13aPsalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6Ephesians 5:8-14John 9:1-41Fourth Sunday of LentLectionary: 31Reading I1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13aThe LORD said to Samuel:“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD's anointed is here before him.”But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him.Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”Then Samuel asked Jesse,“Are these all the sons you have?”Jesse replied,“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”Samuel said to Jesse,“Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance.The LORD said,“There—anoint him, for this is the one!”Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.Reading IIEphesians 5:8-14Brothers and sisters:You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”GospelJohn 9:1-41As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.His disciples asked him,“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”Jesus answered,“Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.Night is coming when no one can work.While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”When he had said this, he spat on the groundand made clay with the saliva,and smeared the clay on his eyes,and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.So he went and washed, and came back able to see.His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?”Some said, “It is, “but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”He said, “I am.”So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”He replied,“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyesand told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.'So I went there and washed and was able to see.”And they said to him, “Where is he?”He said, “I don't know.”They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.He said to them,“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”So some of the Pharisees said,“This man is not from God,because he does not keep the sabbath.”But others said,“How can a sinful man do such signs?”And there was a division among them.So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him,since he opened your eyes?”He said, “He is a prophet.”Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.They asked them,“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?How does he now see?”His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.We do not know how he sees now,nor do we know who opened his eyes.Ask him, he is of age;he can speak for himself.”His parents said this because they were afraidof the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,he would be expelled from the synagogue.For this reason his parents said,“He is of age; question him.”So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise!We know that this man is a sinner.”He replied,“If he is a sinner, I do not know.One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”So they said to him,“What did he do to you?How did he open your eyes?”He answered them,“I told you already and you did not listen.Why do you want to hear it again?Do you want to become his disciples, too?”They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man's disciple;we are disciples of Moses!We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.”The man answered and said to them,“This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.If this man were not from God,he would not be able to do anything.”They answered and said to him,“You were born totally in sin,and are you trying to teach us?”Then they threw him out.When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,he found him and said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?”He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”Jesus said to him,“You have seen him,the one speaking with you is he.”He said,“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.Then Jesus said,“I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”Jesus said to them,“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,' so your sin remains.

John 19, Matthew 28, Luke 23, & 1 Corinthians 15:55 In this powerful Easter episode, we continue our journey following the sorrow of the cross to the joy of the resurrection. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lovingly bury Jesus, and guards are posted at the tomb. But on the third day, something incredible happens—Jesus rises from the dead! With awe and joy, the women discover the empty tomb and meet Jesus alive again. Children are reminded that the cross was not the end—Jesus conquered sin and death, just like He said He would. Because He lives, we have forgiveness and hope! Thanks to today's wonderful guest, Whitney Newby!  She is the author of Lift Your Eyes and the founder of Brighter Day Press, a ministry that creates literature-rich, gospel-centered resources for family discipleship. Whitney lives in South Carolina with her husband and four children. You can find her on Instagram @brighterdaypress or https://brighterdaypress.com/ ---------------------------- To join the team supporting this podcast and also enjoy weekly bonus content PLUS access to the entire library of bonus content  go here and click bonus content.   You're not just funding a podcast. You're helping bring the Word of God into homes, into car rides, into bedtime routines—and into the hearts of thousands of children.   From my family to yours, THANK YOU!  To connect with us, go here. For our free Read-A-Loud pdf book go here.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (04/01/26), Hank continues the trek from Palm Sunday—when Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem precisely the way that Zechariah said he would—to Easter. Yesterday, Hank began to talk about the four-part argument that Saint Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 15, which underscores that Christ has, in fact, risen from the dead. Today, Hank moves on to the second part of the argument, the empty tomb. As it is incontrovertible that Christ suffered fatal torment, so too, it is certain beyond reasonable doubt that Christ was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. Were it not true, Christianity would not have survived the tomb containing the remains of the Messiah. As the reliability of the resurrection is undermined in the media, Christians must be prepared to demonstrate that Jesus was buried and that on Easter morning, some two thousand years ago, the tomb was indeed empty. Hank also addresses a question that comes up often on the Bible Answer Man broadcast, “Was Jesus really in the grave for three days and three nights?”

A weekly class at OAG taught by Chaplain Lou Parker.** Edited to remove personal information shared in the class and extended pauses **Title: The Messy Reality of Jesus' Death and BurialSummary: An exploration of the historical, medical, and cultural realities surrounding the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, revealing how his body was considered unclean and ineligible for proper burial according to both Roman and Jewish law.Approximate Lesson Outline:00:00 - Holy Week Timeline02:02 - The Last Supper and Council of Nicaea04:09 - Being a Follower Requires Bravery07:33 - Joseph of Arimathea's Courage11:38 - Why Jesus Was Ineligible for Burial15:55 - The Cost of Touching Jesus' Body19:49 - Jewish Burial Customs and Sanitation22:40 - The Significance of Myrrh and Aloes24:38 - Sealing the Tomb27:29 - Closing Thoughts

Send us Fan MailSEVEN DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLDTHE DAY THE TEMPLE SHOOK | PART 6Senior Pastor Keith StewartMarch 29, 2026 This weekend at Springcreek Church, we're looking at one of the most powerful moments in history—when the earth shook and the temple curtain tore in two. What if the cross you've always heard about is more than a symbol… What if it's an invitation? An invitation not to try harder, but to stop striving. Not to earn your way to God, but to discover that the way has already been opened. If you've ever wondered whether you're enough—or if you've been carrying a weight you were never meant to carry—this message is for you. Join us in person or online for “The Day the Temple Shook.”Opening / Icebreaker When you hear the phrase “It is finished,” what does that mean to you personally? Have you ever felt like you had to “earn” someone's approval or acceptance? What was that like? Observation (What does the text say?) In 1 Corinthians 1:23, why does Paul say the cross is a “stumbling block” and “foolishness”? What specifically made it offensive in Jesus' day?Looking at the people surrounding the cross (Barabbas, Simon of Cyrene, the Centurion, the women, Joseph of Arimathea), what stands out to you about who is included in the story? According to Matthew 27:51, what happened at the moment Jesus died, and why is the order (veil torn before the earthquake) significant? Interpretation (What does it mean?) Why is the true suffering of the cross deeper than just the physical suffering Jesus endured? What does “tetelestai” (“It is finished” / “Paid in full”) reveal about how salvation works? What messages are communicated by the tearing of the temple veil? (Think: what ended and what began.) Which person at the cross do you most identify with right now—and why? Application (What does it mean for me?) In what ways do people today still try to “earn this” with God? Where do you see that in your own life? The message described living with a sense of “not enough.” Where does that show up in your thinking or behavior?What would it look like for you to start “living like the truth is true”—that Christ's work is enough? Is there an area of your life where you still feel like there's a barrier between you and God? What is it? Response (What will I do about it?) The torn veil represents open access to God. What is one practical way you can step into that access this week? What burden do you need to lay down because of the cross? How would your daily life change if you truly believed you are fully loved, forgiven, and accepted in Christ? Closing Prayer Prompt Thank God for what Christ has finished on your behalf. Confess any ways you've been trying to “earn” what has already been given. Ask God to help you live in the freedom and access He has opened through the cross.

On Palm Sunday, the often-overlooked figures Simon of Cyrene and Joseph of Arimathea show what true discipleship means: first embracing the cross, then laying down everything to follow Christ, and finally boldly living out faith in His mission.

The Liturgy of the Palms The Gospel Matthew 21:1-11 When Jesus and his disciples had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, `The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! " When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." The Psalm Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Confitemini Domino 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; * his mercy endures for ever. 2 Let Israel now proclaim, * "His mercy endures for ever." 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; * I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord. 20 "This is the gate of the Lord; * he who is righteous may enter." 21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me * and have become my salvation. 22 The same stone which the builders rejected * has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord's doing, * and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 On this day the Lord has acted; * we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! * Lord, send us now success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; * we bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; * form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar. 28 "You are my God, and I will thank you; * you are my God, and I will exalt you." 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; * his mercy endures for ever. at The Liturgy of the Word The Collect Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament Isaiah 50:4-9a The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens-- wakens my ear  to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious,  I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;  he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? The Psalm Psalm 31:9-16 In te, Domine, speravi 9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; * my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat and my belly. 10 For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing; * my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed. 11 I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbors, a dismay to those of my acquaintance; * when they see me in the street they avoid me. 12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; * I am as useless as a broken pot. 13 For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; * they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life. 14 But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. * I have said, "You are my God. 15 My times are in your hand; * rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. 16 Make your face to shine upon your servant, * and in your loving-kindness save me." The Epistle Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God  as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,  being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself  and became obedient to the point of death--  even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name  that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,  in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,  to the glory of God the Father. The Gospel Matthew 26:14- 27:66 One of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" He answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied, "You have said so." While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd,  the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you." Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And so said all the disciples. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand." While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him." At once he came up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you are here to do." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?" At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" The high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man  seated at the right hand of Power  and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" They answered, "He deserves death." Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, "Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?" Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." Again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money." After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter's field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me." Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him." Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" All of them said, "Let him be crucified!" Then he asked, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!" So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." Then the people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, 'I am God's Son.'" The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way. From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Matthew 27:57–61 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

Chaplain Don Moldstad was preacher for this service. Mark 15:33-47: Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

Order of Service: - Prelude - Hymn 276 - When O'er My Sins I Sorrow - The Versicles (pp. 120-121) - The Gloria Patri (p. 121) - Psalm 121:1-3 (setting: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy): Lift thine eyes, O lift thine eyes to the mountains, whence cometh help. Thy help cometh from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He hath said, “Thy foot shall not be moved. Thy keeper will never slumber.” Lift thine eyes, O lift thine eyes to the mountains, whence cometh help. - Mark 15:33-47: Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid. - Homily - Hymn 47 - My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord - The Kyrie (p. 124) - The Lord's Prayer (p. 125) - Hymn 584 - Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord - The Collect (pp. 125-127) - The Benedicamus (p. 127) - The Benediction (p. 127) - Hymn 565 - All Praise To Thee, My God, This Night - Postlude Service Participants: Chaplain Don Moldstad (Preacher), Rev. Prof. Mark DeGarmeaux (Organist), Prof. David Paulson (Choir Director), Mary Martha Singers (Choral Group)

What does real devotion to Jesus look like — not in theory, but in real life?In this episode, Alex walks through Matthew 27:57-61 and shows us three pictures of devotion from one of the most overlooked passages in the crucifixion story. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the two Marys weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just doing what was right in front of them — and God was working through all of it in ways they couldn't see.If you've ever felt like your faithfulness doesn't matter because it's not big or bold or public, this one is for you.In this episode:Why Joseph risked everything to ask Pilate for Jesus's bodyWhat the myrrh reveals about following Jesus in the mundaneWhy sitting outside a tomb is one of the most powerful acts of devotion in ScriptureHow to follow Jesus even when you can't see where He's leading

What does real devotion to Jesus look like — not in theory, but in real life?In this episode, Alex walks through Matthew 27:57-61 and shows us three pictures of devotion from one of the most overlooked passages in the crucifixion story. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the two Marys weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just doing what was right in front of them — and God was working through all of it in ways they couldn't see.If you've ever felt like your faithfulness doesn't matter because it's not big or bold or public, this one is for you.In this episode:Why Joseph risked everything to ask Pilate for Jesus's bodyWhat the myrrh reveals about following Jesus in the mundaneWhy sitting outside a tomb is one of the most powerful acts of devotion in ScriptureHow to follow Jesus even when you can't see where He's leading

In this episode, Alex walks through Matthew 27:57-61 and shows us three pictures of devotion from one of the most overlooked passages in the crucifixion story. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the two Marys weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just doing what was right in front of them — and God was working through all of it in ways they couldn't see.If you've ever felt like your faithfulness doesn't matter because it's not big or bold or public, this one is for you.In this episode:* Why Joseph risked everything to ask Pilate for Jesus's body* What the myrrh reveals about following Jesus in the mundane* Why sitting outside a tomb is one of the most powerful acts of devotion in Scripture* How to follow Jesus even when you can't see where He's leading

In this episode, Alex walks through Matthew 27:57-61 and shows us three pictures of devotion from one of the most overlooked passages in the crucifixion story. Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the two Marys weren't doing anything spectacular. They were just doing what was right in front of them — and God was working through all of it in ways they couldn't see.If you've ever felt like your faithfulness doesn't matter because it's not big or bold or public, this one is for you.In this episode:* Why Joseph risked everything to ask Pilate for Jesus's body* What the myrrh reveals about following Jesus in the mundane* Why sitting outside a tomb is one of the most powerful acts of devotion in Scripture* How to follow Jesus even when you can't see where He's leading

Segment 1 • Are we re-labeling Genesis because we're embarrassed in front of “the smart people”? • If miracles after Genesis 11 are literal, then creation and the flood can be too. • Is “mytho-history” careful scholarship—or circular reasoning dressed up as philosophy? Segment 2 • Some professing Christians think they can be solid believers while still supporting abortion. • Disagreement isn't a sign of hatred or even dislike - but simple, biblical conviction. • Some progressive “faith-leaders” are utilizing radical subjectivity to approve of things that God hates. Segment 3 • If you've truly seen the cross, how can you flirt with sin? • Evangelism can either be fueled by gospel-shaped gratitude… or a begrudging sense of duty. • Gospel knowledge must be moved from head to heart. Segment 4 • What transformed Joseph of Arimathea from fearful to fearless? • Have you actually considered what it meant to remove Christ's body from the cross? • If the crucifixion doesn't move you to gratitude and obedience, nothing will. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!

Skeptics said synagogues didn't exist in Galilee during Jesus' lifetime. They were wrong. They said crucified victims were never buried. They were wrong. They said the Gospel writers invented details about first-century Palestine. Wrong again.Dr. Craig Evans, one of the world's leading scholars on the historical Jesus and New Testament archaeology, has spent decades connecting physical discoveries to the Gospel narratives. He's authored over 70 books, founded the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute, lectured at Cambridge, Oxford, and Yale, and appeared on BBC, the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic. In this episode, he walks us through the discoveries that secular Israeli archaeologists rely on the Gospels as their primary sources, why skeptical theories collapse under the weight of evidence, and how the skeletal remains of a crucified man confirm that Jesus would have been buried exactly as the Gospels describe. This conversation will transform how you read the New Testament.In this episode, you will learn:Why Israeli archaeologists, even non-believing ones, use Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts as their most reliable sourcesThe discovery of first-century synagogues at Magdala and what they reveal about Jesus' ministryWhat the Theodotus Inscription proves about synagogues existing in Jerusalem before 70 ADHow the Pilate Stone and Caiaphas Ossuary confirm key figures from the Passion narrativesWhy the Gospel writers showed remarkable restraint and integrity in recording only what Jesus actually saidThe archaeological evidence that crucified victims in Jewish Palestine were in fact buriedHow the skeletal remains of Yehohanan, a crucified man with a nail still in his heel, validates Gospel burial accountsWhy Joseph of Arimathea's burial of Jesus is historically plausible and fits Jewish law perfectlyThe stunning continuity of village memory that preserved the location of Jesus' tomb for centuriesCheck out Dr. Craig Evans' work:Website: https://www.craigaevans.comJesus and His World: The Archaeological EvidenceFabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the GospelsThe Bible Seminary: https://www.thebibleseminary.eduStay Connected with Johnny Ova and The Dig In Podcast: Subscribe and follow The Dig In Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Follow all things Johnny: https://linktr.ee/johnnyova Grab Johnny's book, The Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H