Tagged: daily bread

“They hurried away from the tomb half-overjoyed, half-fearful.” –Matthew 28:8 “Jesus said to them: ‘Do not be afraid!’ ” –Matthew 28:10 When the first followers of Jesus learned that He had risen, some were half-fearful and half-overjoyed (Mt 28:8). This divided reaction still occurs today. When we first encounter the risen Jesus, we rejoice with great joy. Yet we also realize quickly that risen life brings new challenges and new responsibilities, especially in evangelization. Satan couldn’t prevent the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, so now he is reduced to trying to stop us from spreading the good news that...

“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is void of content and your faith is empty too.” –1 Corinthians 15:14 What did Jesus do between His death and resurrection? Did He just lay in the tomb? During the time Jesus was buried, “it was in the spirit also that He went to preach to the spirits in prison” (1 Pt 3:19). “The reason the gospel was preached even to the dead was that, although condemned in the flesh in the eyes of men, they might live in the spirit in the eyes of God” (1 Pt 4:6). Because Jesus...

“Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” –Hebrews 5:8 Through His suffering and death, Jesus’ appearance was marred beyond that of man (Is 52:14). “He was spurned and avoided by men, a Man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from Whom men hide their faces” (Is 53:3). Our infirmities He bore; our sufferings He endured (Is 53:4). He was “stricken,” “smitten,” “afflicted,” “pierced,” and “crushed” (Is 53:4-5). Jesus became “an Object of reproach, a Laughingstock,” and “a Dread” (Ps 31:12). Jesus was dreadfully brutalized, tortured, and traumatized for love of us. What will we...

“The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you.’ ” –1 Corinthians 11:23-24 God became a human being. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). The Lord emptied Himself (Phil 2:7). He became like us in all things but sin (Heb 4:15). God became a human embryo, baby, toddler, little child, teenager, etc. God washed the feet of His disciples (Jn 13:5) and continues to do so today (see Heb 13:8). God emptied...