With all of the chaos swirling around in our lives, it’s easy to miss the important things in life. Here’s a little nudge to my friends to share the word that Christ died for our sins about an hour ago 1,990 years ago.
The time here in Nashville is just after 8:00 a.m., which would be 4 p.m. in Jerusalem. We don’t know if it was Roman soldiers or Jesus’ friends and family, or both, but shortly after he died they took his torn, pierced, bruised and bloody body down from the cross. A well-to-do man offered his freshly carved tomb as the place to lay Jesus’ body, so over the next hour or two they carried his body there. While they washed the blood from his body and wrapped him in a burial cloth, it’s easy to imagine a couple of Roman guards peering inside every few minutes to check on their progress. We don’t know if they had anything to say about the man laying in the tomb they were ordered to guard, but they probably weren’t very happy about standing guard tonight, 1,990 years ago.
I know too well the hopelessness felt when caressing the cold corpse that was once my firstborn son. The loss and grief felt over the next 36 hours or so by Mary, Jesus’ family and his friends and followers probably left them with a sense of bewilderment.
Just a few things to ponder and share, but in about 36 hours the sun will rise in Jerusalem again, bringing with it a new sense of hope and salvation. Pause, and share these thoughts with your friends over the next day-and-a-half.