Grace City Denver

It’s Sunday morning after Good Friday. None of the disciples are at the tomb, watching for Jesus to rise from the dead as he promised. But Mary goes to anoint his dead body with burial spices. The tomb is empty! Jesus is gone, but his graveclothes remain! What does Jesus do to prove to the original skeptics that he is indeed alive – and that everything has changed?

Even in the “passive” events of Jesus’ death and burial, God is working. His Old Testament promises and types are being fulfilled. A fountain of spiritual cleansing is being opened up. And Jesus is going into death and the grave ahead of us to fundamentally transform the nature of those things.

After a long leadup, Jesus is finally crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. His only crime, as indicated on the inscription above his head, is that he is “the King of the Jews.” This death is not a haphazard sequence of tragic events; rather, it is the fulfillment of the Law and prophets, orchestrated by the Master Storyteller himself. And when Jesus cried, “It is finished!” he meant it: salvation’s plan was completed and there’s nothing left but to believe.

Pilate is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Though he’s pronounced Jesus innocent three times, the Jewish religious leaders relentlessly demand that he be crucified. Pilate can condemn an innocent man or lose his own job – and perhaps his life. In this intriguing story, the religious leaders are the real blasphemers, the governor is powerless, and the guilty is set free because the innocent chooses to die in his place.

The religious leaders have brought Jesus to the Roman governor, Pilate, demanding his swift execution by crucifixion. In the ensuing power struggle, both the political and religious authorities reveal their hypocrisy and their lust for power. In stark contrast, Jesus reveals his real power, paradoxically, in sacrificial love. Which kingdom’s agenda will you follow?

After Jesus is arrested in the garden, he’s whisked away to an illegal trial in the middle of the night at the home of the high priest. While Jesus courageously affirms his public Gospel message and defends his disciples, Peter caves under the pressure of the moment and denies him three times.

The Last Supper has been finished. Jesus crosses the Kidron Valley with eleven of his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the point of no return. Jesus knows full well Judas is leading the religious and political officials to this exact place to have him arrested. He’ll be dead within hours. What do we learn about the identity and love of Jesus through this story?

Too many people view the local church with an individualistic, consumer mindset: "What's in it for me?" But Scripture teaches that a sovereign God has placed you in his body to live out the ideals of unity-in-diversity and interdependence while pursuing the purpose of God's glory and the building up of the church.

The command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is a call to be devoted to him with all that we are and all that we have. Passive, lukewarm, culturally-accommodated living has no place in the Christian life.

Psalm 49 reminds us that wealth, status, and power cannot save anyone from death. Both the rich and poor alike will face the grave, and no amount of money can ransom a life. Those who trust in riches are ultimately fools, for their glory and possessions will not follow them. The wise instead put their hope in God, who alone can redeem from the power of death and give true life.