RESURRECTION EVENTS RECALLED

Recently I was thinking about an Easter service that was likely our first one many years ago. That morning our little band went to a beach somewhere on Fox Island. There at water’s edge the sun rose in glorious brilliance for our time of worship. It was a great memory of fellowship, worship, and rejoicing because of Christ’s resurrection.

Ancient wall of Jerusalem with many tombs outside the wall awaiting resurrection. Up to 150,000 are buried in the area. -by MS taken on location in 2011.

With Easter we also must reflect on the pain that Jesus endured earlier. After the Passover Feast with the twelve Jesus soon was arrested and whisked away for series of six trials. They were illegal because they were all at night. The first three were before Annas (Jn. 18), then Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin (Mk. 14), and finally before just the Sanhedrin (Mk. 15). At about this time Judas, one of the twelve, committed suicide. All of this must have been a terrible drain on Jesus. The last three trials were before Pilate (Jn. 18), then Herod Antipas (Lu. 23), and finally before Pilate again (Matt. 27). It was a dark night for Jesus. But that was just the beginning.

Pilate then scourged Jesus and he was given a crown of thorns (Jn. 19). He hoped to release him but the people cried “Crucify, crucify Him!.” It was about six in the morning now.

Next Jesus was mocked and led to Golgotha where he was nailed on a cross. He languished in physical and emotional pain there about six hours and died. A few followers then took his body away and prepared it for the tomb.

Golgotha where it is thought Christ died on the cross on top of the hill. Note the holes in the rock face liking like a scull.

But the grief of Christ’s death was wiped away by the joy of his resurrection on Sunday morning. What a glorious moment for rejoicing that was and still continues to be. He paid the price for our redemption and changed history and the calendar too. We have an eternal hope.

David Gunn of RBP wrote, “This life is transient, and someday it will surely end. But that is no cause for fear. Death is not the end. Springtime will come again. The resurrection of Christ portends our resurrection too. Because He triumphed over death, the portal to life everlasting—an eternal springtime—has been opened.” He is risen!

Near Golgotha an ancient tomb where Christ likely was laid. Here the women came early in the morning and found it gloriously empty and Chris standing nearby.

He is risen!

Pastor Mark (Redeployed)

EASTER WEEKEND AT DISCOVERY April 2-4 2021

Good Friday - Everyone is welcome to join us this Friday at 6:30 for a special Good Friday service at the Helland Home (12976 Gopher Hill PL SE, Olalla, 98359).

We plan to meet indoors, but if it's sunny and not unbearably cold, we will meet out back. Please bring your own chair if the sun is shining brightly.

Thank you for coming with hearts prepared for communion. May Christ be lifted up as we lovingly worship Him throughout this Passion Week.

Easter Sunday - We’ll celebrate his resurrection at 2:30 as usual at Harborview Fellowship. Our new building is going up fast and very soon we hope to be back in it for our first service. Thanks for praying.

THE BAD CROSS OF GOOD FRIDAY

This morning Nancy and I experienced some very happy & sad moments. At 3 a.m. I was up so stepped outside to the full moon still in all it's glory with the big dipper pointing the way north. Later we awoke to a bright sunny day here in Gig Harbor. Not many like that in this part of the country with the coastal fronts often visiting us with clouds and rain. But today birds were singing as the sun streamed through the forest lighting the tree tops like massive table lamps.

Then we remembered it was Good Friday, the day Christ died on the cross. Our morning Bible reading recalled what a sad day that was as Jesus hung on the cross for us sinners. There he was with his wounds while being nailed to a thief's dirty cross on a hill for all to see. Soon he was gasping for air as death was creeping up. I was reminded of Corona-virus-19 patients describing their panic like trying to breath under water. It is hard to watch a person die at this point. I have watched a few. But with Christ it was far worse as He bore our sin while hanging on that grizzly blood stained cross.

Today we also remember Christ bore the sin of all who who recognize it and turn to Him in repentance. To them the free gift of salvation, eternal life, and the blessing of truly glorifying Him forever are theirs. That is infinitely better than the other option.

I love this painting done by a friend Hele Heras for one of our church art shows. This man, Sarah Hodo's father, caught the emotion of what the blood stained cross might have been like.

See my post yesterday, GOOD OR BAD FRIDAY, for detail on us being one of the criminals on the side crosses.

Pastor Mark Suko

GOOD OR BAD FRIDAY

I read something by a Tim Harlow that caught my attention. He said this is a most unusual weekend to be remembering Good Friday and Resurrection Day while in quarantine. Why? Because there was “only one other Easter that was like this, the first one.” On Good Friday Christ suffered and died on the cross. The disciples were afraid for themselves and soon locked themselves up in a kind of self-quarantine because of fear they would end up dead. Their Passover was ruined, and they were unsure what would happen next.

But while Christ’s death was terrible, cruel, and unjust there came from that darkness a wonderful bright hope. Why? Because that brutal wooden cross is where the vertical met the horizontal. God came down in a vertical way by sending His son Jesus to die on that cross for our sin. We who are horizontal now have the hope of forgiveness by having our sin paid for in full by Christ. That is what is “good” about Good Friday.  

Golgotha hill where it is thought Christ was crucified. Golgotha means “place of the skull” which is easily seen in the cliff with three holes in it. Pic taken 2011.

This is depicted clearly by the two criminals suffering on either side of Jesus. The one thief cast abusive insults at Jesus challenging Him to save them. The other robber rebuked the first reminding him to fear God because they were both guilty and deserved to die while Jesus didn’t. He then appealed to Jesus to remember him in heaven.  Jesus replied, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”  (cf. Mat. 27:44; Lu. 23:39-43)  

The Garden Tomb where it is thought Christ resurrected from. It is only a few dozen yards from Golgotha. Pics taken during our 2011 trip there.

The obvious implication is that the first robber rejected Christ and went immediately to hell to suffer for his own sins eternally. The other thief Jesus did promise would be with that very day in “Paradise” because Christ had paid for his sins in full as God required. Therefore, Jesus gave him His righteousness. In reality we are all like thieves who deserve to die a cruel death for our sinfulness against a holy God.  We could be cowering in quarantine. But wait, Christ died to remove our sin and if we repent and come to Him for forgiveness, He will give it. The question is, which thief are you?

Pastor Mark

• GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE 7 PM Pastor Chris speaking. Livestreamed only. Click here to watch: https://livestream.com/discoverybaptistgigharbor/events/9074975

• EASTER MORNING WORSHIP 10:30 AM Pastor Mark speaking on Slow to Believe  Livestreamed CLick here to watch: https://livestream.com/discoverybaptistgigharbor/events/9074981