Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 23:55-56

The devotion of the women, including Jesus’ mother, is admirable.  They stayed at the crucifixion site until Joseph of Arimathea placed the lifeless body of Jesus in his own newly hewn tomb.  The sun was setting on that fateful day.  The women marked the tomb in which the body was placed, then sorrowfully walked to the place they were staying in Jerusalem, no doubt weeping.

Normally, at the death of a Jew, the family and friends anointed the body with special ointments used only for burial.  This did not happen for Jesus.  Not only was there not enough time but no one came with ointment!  Acutely aware of that, the Galilean women took upon themselves the task of anointing Jesus’ body as soon as they could.  But not on the next day, the holy Sabbath.

Let’s pause a bit at this point.  John was apparently with them as Jesus died but what of James, Matthew, Peter and the disciples and followers?  Gone!  What of those he healed, helped, saved?  They were nowhere to be found. Only those four Galilean women stayed to the end.  That was it. All others vanished.

At this point all is a blur.  The disciples who lived with Jesus and who ministered in his name and power deserted him.  The enemies of Jesus – Jews and Romans – were pleased that he was now dead.  There is no more desolate figure than the body of Jesus alone in a cold tomb!  Dead.

What would I have done?  I have no idea, but I do know that, by the grace of God, I believe, with all my heart and mind!  Jesus did all that for me, and you.  We can add nothing, just believe.  Can we renew our vows to follow Jesus forever even though all others despise him?  Yes, and we do.  That is the best way to celebrate the Easter events.

Anna Ruth and Twila created our Easter chocolate peanut butter candies today.  Experts at work, handiwork that will be appreciated this next week as we enjoy Easter celebrations.

 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 27:65, 66

Jesus was executed by the Romans to please the Jews.  Pilate, the Roman ruler, wanted to make sure that no one would dare tamper with the tomb in which Jesus’ body was placed.  Pilate wanted this whole business to be closed, he wanted to hear no more about this Jesus.  He demanded that the tomb be sealed with a Roman seal and guarded by Roman soldiers.

I doubt whether Pilate wanted to guard the tomb from Romans who had no interest in the matter except to protect the peace of the land.  And I doubt whether Pilate feared that the Jews would want to take the body of Jesus.  They made sure Jesus was killed and entombed, a job now done!

Who would be interested in Jesus’ now dead body, drained of life?  Joseph of Arimathea was interested but he was no threat to the Romans.  He placed Jesus’ body in his own new tomb.  The disciples, except for John who was with the women believers, were not to be seen!   The seal worked.  Except for what we now know, Jesus broke the bars of death and the grave and rose from that tomb without regard to the Roman guards who were supposed to guard his body.  They may have been able to keep anyone out of the tomb, but they could do nothing about a living Jesus who burst the bonds of death from inside!

Sorry, Romans, Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, the Lord of life and death.  He cannot be kept in a stone tomb.  He is co-Creator of the universe, the Son of God, the author of our salvation.

While the Romans thought they had control of Jesus, He slipped through everything.  Who or what can hold Jesus Christ?  Nothing!

Behold, He is risen!

A heavy snowstorm on first full day of Spring!  Surprises never cease in nature.  It is a lovely snow, for sure.  But we would not turn down a few days of warm!

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 27:62 – 66

The Jewish chief priests and Pharisees were uneasy.  That Jesus was known to be dead and in a tomb did not settle their spirits.  Jesus, they recalled, predicted that after three days he would rise again.  They were very uneasy.  They asked the Roman ruler, Pilate, to secure the grave and place guards there for the next three days.  The Roman authorities made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

That done, the ancient Jewish festivities continued as usual.  Finally, the Jews had done away with Jesus, assisted, of course by the Romans who did the dirty work.  Jesus was in that tomb!  They were sure of that.  No one could disturb that tomb, it was sealed with a Roman seal!  And guarded hour after hour by Roman soldiers.  It seems strange that the Jews left all of this for the Romans to do. They did not crucify him, the Romans did.  They did not guard the sealed tomb, the Romans did.  How they thanked the Roman Empire for doing away with Jesus!

All is well.  For the Jews, Jesus is dead.  For the Romans, they pleased the Jews greatly.  Normally the Jews and Romans were in contention.  When it came to Jesus, they acted together.  Strange but true.

All is quiet at the tomb as the Jews feasted and rejoiced in their own way throughout the Land. It was a happy Sabbath, Jesus is gone!

Darkness covered the earth.

Dot turned 84!  Our youngest sibling, that is.  She is number 11.  Our lives have been enriched by her love and care.  Is she not a beauty!  In my mind’s eye she is just like this! So, happy birthday, Dot.  Enjoy the day as you usually do.

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The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Matthew 23:55. 56

I understand that when a Jew was buried, the body was treated tenderly.  I mean, a “good Jew.”  Jesus was killed as a bad man, a hoax. He did not deserve a proper burial!  The Jews and Romans made sure of that.

The women who loved Jesus and who were there to see him die did the next thing loving Jews do, anoint Jesus’ body with spices and oils set apart for that purpose.  Jesus was buried quickly with no preparation whatsoever.  These women saw that. They determined to anoint Jesus’ body as soon as the Sabbath was over.

In my mind’s eye I can see them, that night, bringing out those spices and ointments set apart for a burial.  They wanted to honor Jesus.  They were hoping to treat him with greatest respect by anointing his body, thus fulfilling their responsibility of love.  Jesus’ close friends simply deserted him.  We have no idea where they were.

It was the few women who loved Jesus!  I have no idea what was going through their minds as they, upon returning home, brought out what was typically used for a Jewish burial, spices and perfumes prepared specifically to anoint the corpse.  They lived in hope.  On the other hand the Jews were rejoicing in knowing that the imposter, Jesus of Nazareth, was dead, now in a stone tomb.  That is done!

The silence of the Sabbath lay heavily on the land.  For the rulers of the Jews and Rome, they found comfort in knowing that they need never deal with Jesus again.  For the believers, such as the women mentioned, they had no idea what was going to happen, but they were ready to know!

My sister, Roma Ruth, did this fraktur a while back.  I love it. As we enter the hours of the Holy Week, it is wonderful to ponder the meaning of this beautiful art work. The Word is Jesus among us. 

It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

Luke 23: 54

The Leaders of the Jews were happy – the dirty work was done.  They convinced the Romans to kill Jesus as a common criminal.  They hung him on the dreaded Roman cross and made sure he was dead after six hours of derision and scorn.  Then all left the scene, including Joseph who took the body of Jesus away and placed it in his own newly prepared tomb.

Now, the rulers of the Jews breathed easily, because all was done before the holy Sabbath Day.  The Romans did exactly what the rulers had hoped!  They had done their duty, made sure Jesus was killed!  That was done.  It was not lawful to crucify a person on the Sabbath!

Now they could enjoy the Sabbath!  They had succeeded in getting rid of Jesus of Nazareth.

Sabbath morn dawned.  The Jewish elders led the nation in the ancient rituals.  They did not give a thought to the fact that all of those rituals pointed to the coming of the Messiah to save them.  No, they killed Jesus, the Messiah.  He is now dead, lifeless, his body in a cold tomb.

Is this not what is happening now?  For the non-repentant sinner the thing to celebrate is that Jesus has no meaning at all for them, they have in a real sense, killed him.  For those of us who bow the neck and believe, Jesus makes all the difference!  We do not condemn unbelievers, we have love and compassion for them because God in his mercy showed us Jesus in our time of need and we welcomed Him as Lord and Savior.  We are debtors to grace.

Elizabeth, now 13, enjoys her family and friends as she crosses an important age marker.  Her party was a great success, that is for sure.  Her many friends and family helped her to blow out the candles.  Congratulations, Elizabeth.