When I think of Jesus bloodied and beaten on the cross, it is easy to put that on mean Pharisees, Pontius Pilate, the Roman guards, Satan! And indeed, they did that! But so did His friends, so did you and I. His friends betray Him and deny Him. There is no reason to assume you or I would have fared much better. Let’s look at a little closer as Jesus steps into the most difficult night ever lived.

When I think of Jesus bloodied and beaten on the cross, it is easy to put that on mean Pharisees, Pontius Pilate, the Roman guards, Satan! And indeed, they did that! But so did His friends, so did you and I. His friends betray Him and deny Him. There is no reason to assume you or I would have fared much better. Let’s look at a little closer as Jesus steps into the most difficult night ever lived.

One thought on this for today though is Judas. What happened to him, why did he do this? He is chosen to follow Jesus, along with 11 others. That takes place early in Jesus’ ministry so we can assume Judas would have seen almost all of Jesus’ miracles. He would have heard almost all of Jesus’ teachings. He would have enjoyed the friendship of Jesus on a daily basis. We might even say, Judas knew Jesus as well as, maybe better than any of us. And not only Jesus, but Judas ran with the likes of Peter, John, Matthew and James. So what happened?

One thought on this for today though is Judas. What happened to him, why did he do this? He is chosen to follow Jesus, along with 11 others. That takes place early in Jesus’ ministry so we can assume Judas would have seen almost all of Jesus’ miracles. He would have heard almost all of Jesus’ teachings. He would have enjoyed the friendship of Jesus on a daily basis. We might even say, Judas knew Jesus as well as, maybe better than any of us. And not only Jesus, but Judas ran with the likes of Peter, John, Matthew and James. So what happened?

If you knew you were going to die in a couple days, and it wasn’t because of sickness, you’re healthy and mobile, but you are going to die; what would be important to you to do? What people would that involve? What would you be talking about? A hypothetical exercise for us, but for Jesus it was His reality. He is down to a couple of days, and we get to see who He is talking to, what He is talking about, what is important to do in the time left. Luke 21 shows us a day in the life of Jesus, when there are just a few left.

If you knew you were going to die in a couple days, and it wasn’t because of sickness, you’re healthy and mobile, but you are going to die; what would be important to you to do? What people would that involve? What would you be talking about? A hypothetical exercise for us, but for Jesus it was His reality. He is down to a couple of days, and we get to see who He is talking to, what He is talking about, what is important to do in the time left. Luke 21 shows us a day in the life of Jesus, when there are just a few left.

We continue our second week in our study of Easter at Luke's. We are studying this week in Luke 20.

We continue our second week in our study of Easter at Luke's. We are studying this week in Luke 20.

Here I am today starting an Easter series in February, also the earliest I have done that, and Easter is not till April 17. I have so often handled both Easter and Christmas with 2, 3, maybe 4 messages; but there is so much more. And I wanted to do something a little more thorough. I choose Luke, for his expressed purpose of a gospel account that encourages our certainty. When it comes to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we need to be certain, so certain, we’d stake our life on it, as many have.

Here I am today starting an Easter series in February, also the earliest I have done that, and Easter is not till April 17. I have so often handled both Easter and Christmas with 2, 3, maybe 4 messages; but there is so much more. And I wanted to do something a little more thorough. I choose Luke, for his expressed purpose of a gospel account that encourages our certainty. When it comes to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we need to be certain, so certain, we’d stake our life on it, as many have.