Jesus – Karen Gamble Writes

What Is Maundy Thursday?

Maundy Thursday is an important, though often overlooked, part of Holy Week.

A lot of things happened on Maundy Thursday.

Among them:

Jesus celebrated the Passover in the Upper Room with His disciples.

We now call this meal the Last Supper because it was the last time He shared a meal with them before His crucifixion.

It was during this meal Jesus instituted Communion as a way of remembering Him.

At the end of the meal, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples as a show of humility and as an example of how He wanted them to humbly serve others.

Following the Last Supper meal, Jesus and the Disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, located at the Mount of Olives.

Here Jesus went off alone to pray.

He asked the Father to take this cup away if possible, meaning the Crucifixion He was about to experience, but immediately followed it up with, “Yet, not my will, Father, Yours be done.”

Jesus knew what was coming.

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The Last Supper

The night before He was crucified, Jesus celebrated the beginning of Passover with His disciples.

This meal is often called the Last Supper because it was the last meal Jesus shared with His followers.

During the Last Supper is when Jesus instituted the act of Communion (also called the Lord’s Supper).

He broke a loaf of bread and said it was a symbol of His body being broken for us.

He then poured a cup of wine and told them to drink, explaining it was a symbol of His blood being shed for the redemption of our sins.

Jesus instructed them to do this in remembrance of Him.

In churches today, we periodically celebrate Communion by drinking a small amount of wine or grape juice and eating a small piece of unleavened bread.*

This is to remind us that Jesus’ body was broken for our healing and that He paid a high price to ransom us. .

When we participate in Communion we are reminded of the great sacrifice Jesus made by dying for us and we are acknowledging we know He did it for us personally.

While Jesus and the disciples were at this meal, Jesus told them He knew one of them was a traitor who would betray Him.

He even went so far as to name Judas as the one.

Judas immediately left and went straight to the leaders and priests to tell them where to find Jesus.

This led to Jesus being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane later that same night.

After the meal, they sang a hymn and left the Upper Room to go to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Judas knew that’s where they would be and that is where he brought the leaders and priests to arrest Jesus.

This arrest meant the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

It also meant the beginning of His trial, which led to His Crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

To learn more about what happened next, please read my post, Jesus Was Arrested.

*Because the bread used during Passover is unleavened, it is tradition to use unleavened bread during Communion.

To read about the Last Supper, please see Matthew 26:17-30, or Luke 22:7-23

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

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Why Jesus Was Crucified

There is a passage in the New Testament where the crowds are mocking Jesus while He’s on the cross.

One of the rulers even says to Him, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” Luke 23:35 (NIV)

They didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

It is important we understand that Jesus was fully God, as well as fully man, and as such He had the power to prevent the Crucifixion.

He could have called down legions of angels to fight for and protect Him.

He could have killed all the people who were against Him.

But, He didn’t.

Jesus knew He’d come to earth for one reason – to fulfill God’s plan for mankind’s redemption by going to the cross and paying for all sin for all mankind once and for all.

Jesus was perfect and had lived a completely sin-free life.

By being crucified, He was paying for all the sins of all mankind.

He was trading His perfect life, which fulfilled all the law of the Old Testament for the redemption of all the sin-filled lives of every person ever born. .

He knew many would reject Him.

He knew many would not understand.

He also knew many would accept Him and the free pardon of sin He offered.

Jesus went through with the crucifixion because He loved all of mankind past, present, and future and He wanted to ransom each and every person ever born.

Category: death, Faith, God, Jesus, New Testament | LEAVE A COMMENT

Why Easter’s Date Changes

It seems like Easter is never on the same Sunday.

In some years it’s in March and in others it’s in April.

There’s a reason for that.

Not long after Christ died there was disagreement among Christians about when Easter should be celebrated.

Because the original Crucifixion had happened at Passover, many people felt it should be held close to that.

Others felt it wasn’t right to tie a Christian holiday (Easter) to a Jewish one (Passover).

After a lot of arguing the decision was made by the First Council of Nicene to use a set standard to calculate Easter each year.

The standard is that Easter is held on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

This is very similar to how Passover is calculated.

Passover typically begins on the evening of the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

There is one big difference, though.

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A Bittersweet Entry

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Palm Sunday story.

As well known as the story is, I think there is another side to it.

A side many people miss.

What they miss is seeing the day from Jesus’ point of view.

When people think about Palm Sunday, they usually think about how Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a colt with people laying palm branches before Him, shouting,

“Hosanna! Glory to God in the highest!” John 12:12-15 (NIV)

Many people loved Jesus so they cheered for Him loudly.

This was a very special and important time.

Jesus was declaring Himself king in a very humble way.

He was fulfilling prophecy that spoke of Him being the Messiah. (Zechariah 9:9)

It was a time of celebration.

That’s a very important part of the story.

What a lot of people don’t realize, though…

It was also a time of sadness.

A few minutes earlier, as Jesus was preparing to ride into Jerusalem, He looked on the city and cried.

He saw this city full of people He loved so much – people He was about to die for.

He knew that many of them did not love Him back and that many would perish because of this lack of love.

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Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season.

It is a time we stop, examine ourselves, and reflect on what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross.

It is a time we stop and consider whether we are walking worthy of Christ or whether we need to repent and change how we do certain things, both big and small.

We do this by looking deep within ourselves to see whether there’s anything we need to bring to the Lord in prayer and repentance.

It is my hope that during this season you will take time to reflect on all Christ has done for us and will draw nearer to HIm than you’ve ever been as you remember the mercy He has shown us with His death, burial, and resurrection.

You might also like to read my post, What Is Ash Wednesday? or my post on the The Lenten Season.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

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Did Judas Go to Heaven?

One question I’ve seen asked a lot is whether Judas Iscariot went to heaven.

Some say there is no way he could have since he betrayed Jesus.

Others assume he did because the Bible says he regretted what he’d done.

Let’s look at these a little further.

First of all, yes Judas did betray Jesus.

But, at the same time, so did Peter when he denied Christ 3 times before the cock crowed. (Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75 NIV)

If I am real honest with myself, there are times I betray Jesus, too.

No, I don’t do anything “big” like sending people to kill Him.

But…

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Judas Iscariot

One of the people involved in Christ’s crucifixion was Judas Iscariot.

Judas was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus.

He traveled with Jesus.

He had first-hand experiences and in-person visits with Him.

Unfortunately, Judas didn’t see things from the same point of view as Jesus did.

Part of Judas’ responsibility was to look after the money bag.

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It’s Easter Sunday!

Today is Easter, the day we celebrate Christ’s triumphant rise from the grave.

It’s the day we remember how He beat death and hell as He paid for our sins so we can be reconciled to God.

Today – let us rejoice as we celebrate that Christ is risen indeed!

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV

To learn more about Easter read my post, What is Easter?.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

Category: God, Holiday, Jesus, Life | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s Good Friday

Today is the day we remember Jesus’ crucifixion and the sacrifice He made for us when He died to pay for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! –Romans 5:6-10 NIV

If you have not yet trusted Jesus for your salvation, I urge you to take time today to talk to God about your situation.

If you have trusted Him, I encourage you to take time today to reflect on this gift and what it truly means for you.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:16-17 NIV

For a more complete explanation of Good Friday, please see my post, What Is Good Friday?

You might also like to read my post, What is Holy Week? which gives a more in-depth explanation of why this week is so important.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

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