The people who listened to Jesus teach at the temple every day woke up Friday morning, to find him already beaten, bloody, and nailed to a cross. The future hope of Israel was bleeding out in front of their very eyes. But as Jesus dies on the cross, there are a lot of massively significant things happening.
The religious leaders need the Roman authorities to rubber stamp the execution orders, so they take Jesus to the governor of Judea, Pilate. After much back and forth discussion, Pilate offers an exchange: The guilty for the innocent; the criminal for the king; Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ. The religious leaders make their choice, and the crucifixion is approved.
Resurrection Sunday, 2023 – Every one of us has a dominant story that shapes the way we view the world, ourselves, and God. For some it's a story of pain, loss, rejection. For others it's a story of hard work, effort put in, and reward or accomplishment. But all of those stories are but smaller stories inside the Greatest Story...the Story of God as spoken in the Bible.
Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well shows a beautiful picture of the gospel, as Jesus comes to meet her in the middle of her sin and sets her free.
In Luke 19-20, Jesus comes face to face with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, when he rolls into the temple and starts cleaning house. The leaders at the temple are no doubt unimpressed, and they have one major question for Jesus: "Who do you think you are?!" It begins a conversation about authority – where it comes from, who holds the keys, and who you will follow.
After 3 years of ministry, at the end of the 80-100 miles journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus crests the Mount of Olives on his way into the city, the crowd breaks into song, and he breaks into tears.
Two men from very different situations in life have a desire to see Jesus. He meets them both in very different ways, but the outcome is the same: Your faith has saved you.
A wealthy man comes up to Jesus looking for the key to eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell everything, and the rich man is extremely disappointed. The idea that you can’t work or earn your way into heaven wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
Jesus gets invited to another dinner party with the Pharisees, and talks to them about who will be invited to the banquet table in the kingdom of God.
Someone asks "How many people will get to heaven? Just a few?" Jesus pauses to reply, and teaches that only those who make every effort to enter the Narrow Door will be saved.