Caiaphas, James Tissot (1836-1902) ——————— John 11:47-50 — The chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away […]
3309) Understanding Caiaphas Read More »
(…continued) Jesus is enduring these forty days of suffering in the desert because God the Father Himself is putting him through it. Why would God do that? Part of the answer can be found in Hebrews 5:8: “Although he (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience by what he suffered, and once
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Above painting: The Temptation of Christ, Titian (1490-1576) In this brilliant depiction of the temptation story, Titian paints the devil as an innocent child, appealing to Jesus to turn the stone he is holding into bread. He is illustrating the fact that temptations can appear to be very innocent, as it says in II Corinthians
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Max McLean (1953- ) is a stage actor, writer, and producer. I first heard of him in 2009 when he received national acclaim for his performance of Mark’s Gospel. This award–winning stage production consisted of nothing more than Max McLean reciting the entire Gospel of Mark on stage. There are no other actors
3242) Word for Word Read More »
Above painting: The Crucifixion, Paolo Veronese, 1580 In his book Death on a Friday Afternoon, author Richard John Nuehaus made an amazing statement. He said, “If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything.” That is an incredible statement to make, but it
3203) The Truth About Everything Read More »
(…continued) When you want to get someone to do what you want them to do, you can try and find ways to get power over them. But that is not the only way. You can also use ‘authority.’ There is a difference between power and authority. Those words can be defined in different
3202) Love and Power in Holy Week (2/2) Read More »
Todd and Maggie had a big fight and broke up. Todd, as always, had not been treating her very well, and Maggie told him she wanted to call it quits. Todd wanted to get back together, but he wasn’t about to apologize, so he tried a different tactic. He asked out Ellen, Maggie’s
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Painting above: The Message of Pilate’s Wife by James Jacques Tissot (1836-1902) ******************* While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Do not have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.’ –Matthew 27:19
3200) Mrs. Pontius Pilate Read More »
Pictured above: Abraham Lincoln’s Triumphant Visit to Richmond ——————————————– On April 9, 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union forces General Ulysses S. Grant, thus ending the Civil War and the most terrible four years of American history. It was Palm Sunday. Earlier that week, Monday, April 3rd,
3195) Palm Sunday 1865 Read More »
By Al Rogness, from The Word for Every Day, 1981, Augsburg Publishing House, page 234. The Christian church really has but one book. Of course thousands of books have been written about the faith, but all draw from one book, the Bible. The Bible is the basis for our faith. We
