Today is Good Friday and it seems unfitting to call a day when Jesus was crucified on a cross after being severely beaten, “Good.” What Jesus experienced that day and what led up to it, epitomizes the concept of suffering, which we rarely, if ever, label as good. However, when we zoom out and see what God does after Jesus’ death on the cross, our perspective changes, doesn’t it?
God RAISED Jesus from the dead!
Romans 4 tells us:
23 “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”
Did you notice what verse 25 does? It gives a reason for Jesus’ death AND a different reason for His resurrection. His death was for our sins, however, His resurrection was for our justification.
Romans 5:1 gives us some additional insight, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,…”
What justifies us? Faith. Faith in what? In the resurrection!
According to the bible
It’s easy to believe that someone died but believing that someone was raised from death to life – that’s hard. Remember “Doubting Thomas?” He didn’t doubt Jesus died, he doubted that He was raised from the dead. See John 20:24-29.
Believing Jesus was raised from the dead requires faith – faith that the One who created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them, raised Jesus from the dead. This is the faith that was, and still should be, proclaimed.
Paul, in Romans 10, explains the message of faith that he and his companions proclaim:
8 … “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e]
Not only does Paul speak of these things but notice what Peter does as he begins to preach the Gospel. Acts 1:21-22 stresses the need for finding someone to replace Judas, the betrayer, to “become a witness” of Jesus’ resurrection. There is no indication in the Bible that every apostle saw Jesus die on the cross, in fact, only John is mentioned by name. However, we do know that all of them saw Jesus after God raised Him from the dead.
21 “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
Acts 10:39-43 emphasizes what we just read in Acts 1.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”
So as we think about “Good Friday,” let us remember that Jesus was crucified for our sins but He was raised for our justification. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, the apostle Paul writes that we would still be dead in our sins.
1 Cor. 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
Let us rejoice that our faith is NOT futile, that we are NOT still in our sins, for us who believe, because God raised Jesus from the dead and it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us!
Let us go be radiant, reflecting this truth as we celebrate Easter this Sunday. Wishing you a very joyful Easter!
I was speaking to a woman who has a couple of different, significant health issues. In the course of our conversation, she said, “I just need to touch Jesus’ cloak.” Her statement really impacted me. I could hear her longing for healing and her faith. It inspired me to study Luke 8:40 – 56.
Jesus has just returned from the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee, where he restored a demon possessed man.
A crowd is waiting there (likely in Capernaum) for Him and welcomes Him. A synagogue leader named Jairus, falls at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house. Why? Because his only daughter, a girl of about 12 is dying.
As I read this, I noticed something Interesting – Jesus doesn’t reply verbally, but we know He goes with Jairus because v. 42 says, “As Jesus was on his way…”
As we picture the scene before us, we know it’s completely crowded because the passage says the “crowds almost crushed him.”
While Jesus is on his way to heal a sick girl, something happens to cause him to stop and ask a seemingly unusual question. I call this: The Interruption.
A woman was there. We don’t know her name, but we do know:
She was subject to bleeding for years (12).
She had spent all she had on doctors.
No one could heal her.
Presumably, she’s desperate and in FAITH, she comes up behind Jesus (v. 44) and touches the edge of his cloak. IMMEDIATELY her bleeding stops
Here, in v. 45, is where Jesus asks a seemingly unusual question. “Who touched me?” All the disciples deny it and Peter chimes in, “Master the people are crowding around you and pressing against you.” I’m guessing Peter wondered why it even mattered until Jesus replied, which we read in v. 46. “But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that POWER has gone out from me.’”
Power had gone out from Him? We’ll come back to that.
We read in v. 47, “The woman, seeing she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of ALL THE PEOPLE, she told why she had touched him and how she had been INSTANTLY healed.”
That must have been so difficult for her, maybe even embarrassing to share that in front of such a crowd, but what a testimony. How powerful is it that she was instantly healed?
In v. 48 we read Jesus’ response, “Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your FAITH has healed you. Go in peace.”
Earlier we learned that this woman had spent all her money to try to be healed. But it wasn’t her money that healed her…it was her FAITH. She is now freed from her suffering and can go live her life in peace.
FAITH BRINGS PEACE.
At this point in the passage, we return to Jairus. Remember, Jairus was with Jesus because they were on their way to heal Jairus’ daughter.
In v. 49 we read, “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came to him from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore!’”
In Mark 5:35, it says, “…why bother the teacher anymore?”
As I was reading this, I asked myself, why add this last part, the part about not bothering the teacher anymore? And then it hit me. Because the messenger thought it was too late – that there was nothing Jesus could do.
In V. 50, we have a glimmer of hope as Jesus speaks. “Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just BELIEVE, and she will be healed.’”
One commentator noted, “…in perfect faith there is no fear; the more we fear, the less we believe.”
Matthew Henry
We fast forward to their arrival at Jairus’ house. Jesus didn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.
Verse 52 tells us, “Meanwhile all the people were wailing and mourning for her. ‘Stop wailing,’ Jesus said. ‘She is not dead but asleep.’”
Why would Jesus make the distinction here? Why would he say that she isn’t dead, but rather asleep? Let’s look at Barnes’ notes:
“Every possible evidence of her death had been given, and he acted on that himself, and conveyed to the people the idea that he raised her ‘from the dead.’ He meant to speak in opposition to their opinions. It is not unlikely that Jairus and the people favored the opinions of the Sadducees, and that ‘they’ understood by her being dead that she had ‘ceased to be,’ and that she would never be raised up again. In opposition to this, the Saviour used the expression ‘she sleepeth;’ affirming mildly both that the ‘body’ was dead, and ‘implying’ that ‘her spirit’ still lived, and that she would be raised up again. A similar mode of speaking occurs in John 11:11 ‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.’ The sacred writers often spoke of the pious dead as ‘sleeping,’ 2 Peter 3:4; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 1 Corinthians 15:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15. The meaning of this passage, then, is, the maid has not ceased to ‘exist;’ but, though her body is dead, yet her spirit lives, and she sleeps in the hope of the resurrection.
Phew! I had to read that a couple of times. But it really helped shed a little light on that part of the passage for me.
Let’s return to Jairus’ house. Verse 53 tells us how the people responded when Jesus said the girl wasn’t dead. “They laughed at him, knowing she was dead.” In v. 54 we read, “But he took her by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’” And what happened? “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.” V. 55.
In my last blog post, Awaking Tabitha, I recounted in the Biblical text that when she died, the disciples sent for someone. Who was it?
Peter, that’s right. And after Peter prayed, he said, “Tabitha, get up”, or “Tabitha, arise.” Peter heard Jesus say, “My child get up,” and watched the girl stand up.
Now think about what just happened with Jairus’ daughter in v. 54. Who was in the house with him? Peter! Jesus had modeled for Peter something he would do at a future time. Isn’t that so amazing?!?
In Luke 9, following this passage, Jesus gives the 12 power and authority to drive out all demons and cure diseases and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Jesus literally empowered the 12. Remember when Jesus’ prayed for the disciples in John 17? He prayed for their protection by the power of His name. There is POWER in the name of Jesus. Our God is OMNIPOTENT – All Powerful.
The next time you feel powerless in a situation, remember the God you serve. Remember who lives in you! Remember to reach out to Jesus, in faith.
Let us go be radiant this week, in faith, reflecting the healing power of God.
Just like when buying a house, one thing you want to know right away is location, location, location, when reading Scripture, it’s context, context, context. Sometimes that context isn’t just literary context (what comes before or after a particular passage), but geographical context (where it takes place).
Our story, Acts 9:32-35, takes place in Joppa. Let’s look at our map. Can you find Joppa?
Joppa is a port on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
It’s not far from Lydda, also mentioned in our text
It would be known today as Tel Aviv or Jaffa
Joppa is also referenced in the Old Testament and was the place to which materials to build Solomon’s temple were brought.
We also read about it in Jonah when God told him to go to Nineveh: “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port…” Jonah 1:3
Understanding the location of Joppa and that it functions as a port is important as we get to the end of our story – so we’ll come back to it.
The main character in the Biblical account is Tabitha. What do we know about her?
She is called a disciple (v. 36)
I love that it’s the first thing we read about her
She was always doing good (some translations “full of good works”).
“Many are full of good *words*, who are empty and barren in good *works*; but Tabitha was a great doer, no great talker.” Matthew Henrey
She was always helping the poor
She showed her faith by her works
She made robes and other clothing (v. 39)
The “robes” were closer to the skin, kind of like tunics. The “garments” were the looser outer cloaks worn over them. (Ellicott)
She was probably a widow (v. 39, 41)
She became sick and died (v. 37)
Peter is another main figure in our Biblical account. “When the disciples heard Peter was in Lydda, which was near Joppa, they sent two men to urge him to come at once.” V. 38
Why do you think they sent for Peter? Do you think they just wanted him to come to console them in their loss?
We know he had just healed someone in Lydda (which we read about in vs. 32-35). They probably hoped, prayed, maybe even had the expectation that Peter could restore Tabitha’s life. If indeed they had this expectation, what GREAT FAITH they showed, considering that up to this point, it doesn’t appear as if any of the apostles had raised anyone from the dead. (Benson)
*Let’s pause for a moment here – when we have something huge happen in our lives, who do we reach out to and do we do it expectantly?
Peter arrived and all the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing Tabitha had made. My guess is that they were actually wearing that clothing, maybe even clutching it in their hands to show Peter the tangible ways Tabitha had blessed them.
Peter sends them out of the room, gets down on his knees and prays. On commentator noted, He goes to God in “submission of a servant who is under direction.” (Benson) Isn’t that how we should go to God in prayer—submitted to His will and direction? If you’d like to read more about that idea, see my post on Surrender vs. Submit.
Peter turns toward the dead woman and says, Tabitha, get up, or Tabita, arise. She opened her eyes (I would have loved to have seen the expression on Peter’s face) and seeing Peter, she sat up.
If you look back in Luke 8:40-56, you will see a similar scenario in which Jesus healed a dead girl and guess who was there as an eye-witness? You got it, Peter! Jesus had modeled this for him .
Peter takes Tabitha by the hand, helps her up and calls for the believers *especially the widows, and presents her to them alive. Can you imagine the widows rejoicing? How surreal it must have felt?
When reading this text, I had to ask, why would God have allowed Tabitha to get sick to the point of death? One commentator wrote, “Removed by Divine Providence in the midst of her usefulness, probably to give Peter occasion, by another and still more remarkable miracle than that just mentioned, of confirming the gospel, and awakening men’s attention to it…” (Benson). It wasn’t just to awaken Tabitha, but to awaken others to the truth of the gospel.
In v. 42, we read, “This became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord.”
Now, think back to where Joppa is located. It’s a port on the coast. If this became known all over Joppa, is it likely it became known far beyond there as well?
Think about all the lives who were impacted as a result of Peter bringing Tabitha back to life.
Tabitha’s
The widows
The other believers
Peter’s
People all over Joppa (who as a result BELIEVED) and beyond
When God does something miraculous or supernatural, or answers a prayer in our lives, do the people all over your town hear about it? Does it become known all over? What might happen if it did? Would more people BELIEVE?
Let us go be radiant as we share with others the miracles God has done that they might be awakened to the TRUTH.
I don’t know about you, but occasionally, I feel a little off in my relationship with God. It’s usually when I’ve gotten a bit distracted, or my eyes have momentarily shifted away from where they should be (on Jesus). Essentially, I think I get out of alignment, spiritually speaking.
Whenever I think of “alignment” my mind automatically goes to cars (maybe because we recently went to an auto museum 😉).
My husband is wealth of knowledge about cars, and I began peppering him with questions about what happens when a car gets out of alignment and what happens when it’s realigned. The more I learned, the more I realized what a great analogy this is to our alignment with God.
Here’s what I learned:
You know when a vehicle is misaligned because the misalignment will cause the car to veer to the left or to the right when you are driving.
If there is a misalignment, the tires might wear unevenly (and you might not even feel it)
The tires might also wear out prematurely.
Misalignment could also cause other parts of the vehicle to wear out due to stress.
Are you beginning to see the analogy here? I’ll come back to this idea toward the end and talk about what happens when a car is aligned properly.
Just like cars, it’s easy to get a little misaligned in our spiritual lives, isn’t it?
In fact, sometimes our attention can be easily diverted away from where God wants it to be.
The lures of this world can distract us just enough to get us out of line.
Let’s look at Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, who was out of alignment.
Matthew 16
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Peter was out of alignment, but until Jesus told him, I don’t think he realized it.
We know that because Jesus tells him, “you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
And what were those concerns?
Suffering & death – that Jesus was going to suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law and then he would be killed.
Why did Jesus say Peter was a stumbling block to Him?
Could it be because the human thing to say is, “no! You won’t suffer like that!” His immediate reaction was NO to the suffering (like most of us would react). Peter’s perspective (which was more self and human-focused) didn’t allow him to see how suffering was part of, and the fulfillment of, God’s plan.
Let’s keep reading and see what happens right after Jesus rebukes Peter.
Matthew 16:24
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must:
deny themselves and
take up their cross and
follow me.
It’s easy for us, like Peter, to get out of alignment when we don’t deny ourselves.
We are a self-focused culture (just think of selfies). We’re taught to “look out for #1” – but the Bible says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves…” (Phil 2:3)
We’re told we “deserve” things – when in reality the Bible tells us in the book of Romans: the “wages of sin is death” – which is what we deserve – but the “gift of God is eternal life.” That’s not because we deserve it but because He desires it for us.
We live in a culture of self-indulgence – but the Bible says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.” (Mt. 6:33)
We tend to want to avoid suffering – when the Bible tells us that “the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)
I’d like for us to look at an example of two people in the Bible who stayed aligned to God and two ways they were able to do so.
The first one is Daniel:
Daniel, who had been taken captive to Babylon, had the custom of praying 3 times per day.
When a new edict came out that forbade him to pray to his God, Daniel had a choice to make.
Daniel chose to continue his custom of praying 3 times per day to his God (our God).
Even though the world was changing around him and even though the punishment for his choice was death, he chose to remain faithful and stand firm as he got on his knees to pray.
Prayer helped keep Daniel aligned to God.
The second example of someone in the Bible who stayed aligned to God was Jesus.
Let’s look at how he did it in Matthew 26:39 and following.
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42Hewent away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
How did Jesus stay aligned to God?
He prayed (more than once) – just as Daniel had the custom of praying.
Jesus prayed “if it is possible…” and really, it was possible, but not to fulfill God’s plan.
Jesus SUBMITTED His will to God’s will
Why is this such an important example for us?
Because when we submit our will to God’s will,it aligns us to want what He wants – even if it includes suffering.
Submitting to God’s will is TRUSTING that God is sovereign and in control.
Here it doesn’t say “surrender.” Surrendering gives it back to God and takes any action, follow-up, or responsibility away from us. Submitting is actively choosing to stand behind Jesus and going where He goes – we submit to His authority, just like Jesus did to the Father here.
How do we, like Jesus, submit to God?
BY FAITH we step forward and God will give us the strength and all we need to do what He calls us to do.
Friends, I want to ENCOURAGE you. If you already know of an area or areas in your life where you are out of alignment with God, there is HOPE.
You may never have thought of God like this, but He is our Master RE-ALIGNER. 😊
We know that He realigns people because we see an amazing example in the life of Peter – you know the one to whom Jesus said: “get behind me Satan!”
Peter ended up denying Jesus three times and then after Jesus’ death, in John 21:3, he tells some of the other disciples that he’s going to go out to fish, and they say they’ll go with him.
By doing this, Peter was out of alignment. Why? Because he was supposed to be fishing for people.
But we know that he later had an amazing ministry. So how did he get realigned?
Let’s read on in the passage, one that some former teammates of mine and I like to call: Breakfast on the beach.
John 21:3 tells us that they fished all night but didn’t catch anything. Verse 4 Jesus is on the shore (but they don’t realize it’s Him) and calls out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answer. Jesus tells them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they will find some. They did what He said and caught so many fish they were unable to haul the net in.
Fast forwarding a little – Peter swims to shore once he realizes it’s Jesus. Jesus invites them to eat breakfast with them . In verses 15-25, we are privy to a conversation Jesus had with Peter. Jesus does a couple of things here. First, He ensures that Peter loves him “more than these” – I think he means the fish. It makes me think of what Jesus said in Matthew “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself…”.
Second, He tells Peter what He wants Peter to do:
Feed my lambs (v.15)
Take care of my sheep (v. 16)
Feed my sheep (v. 17)
Follow me! (v. 19)
To get realigned, I think Peter needed to be reminded that:
Jesus was alive and well (WE SERVE A LIVING GOD)
He knows more than Peter does (he told professional fishermen who hadn’t caught any fish all night, to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they caught a miraculous amount). HE KNOWS MORE AND SEES MORE THAN WE DO
He does the miraculous!
He has specific work for Peter to do. GOD HAS WORK FOR US TO DO.
Once Peter was re-aligned, he went on to have an incredible ministry and he wrote the epistles of 1st and 2nd Peter.
Friends, I believe God has ministry for us to do too – related to the individual calling He has for each of our lives. One of the best ways to fulfill that is to ensure that we are properly aligned to Him.
Let’s go back to our car analogy.
When a car is misaligned, it will veer to the left or to the right. But a properly aligned car will go straight when you let go of the steering wheel and the tires will wear as they should, because that’s how the vehicle has been designed.
In Christ, we are a new creation, and this new creation is created in holiness and righteous. By faith, we walk in it.
When a vehicle is misaligned, it can cause stress. We can relate to that in our own lives, right? However, just as proper alignment in a vehicle minimizes stress on the vehicle especially on bumpy roads, so our proper alignment with God minimizes problems when we enter a bumpy season in our lives.
My prayer for us is that we would remain faithful in prayer and regularly ensure we are aligned to God – that we want what He wants – that we go where He goes. Let us go be radiant this week!
Go Be Radiant 