Revised Common Lectionary

"Come, let us kill him" (Matthew 21:38). This is the human story of Christ's crucifixion. He was "put to death by wicked men." There is also the divine story - "the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23). The wicked men thought that this was the end of Jesus. They were wrong! - "God raised Him from the dead." Could it have been any other way? Could the evil scheming of men have prevailed over God's plan of salvation? - No! "I t was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him" (Acts 2:24).

 * Our Question: “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job)  * God's Answer: "He (Jesus) is risen."

We rejoice in Christ's resuurection, but we do not rush on to His resurrection without turning our thoughts to His crucifixion. His resurrection has no meaning without His crucifixion. Before there could be His resurrection, there needed to be His crucifixion. Before He could be raised from death to life, He needed to die. He died for us - then, He was raised for us. In His suffering for our sins, He prayed, "My God, my God, why have You fosaken Me?" As we learn to appreciate the wonder of what He has done for us in His death, our joy will increase, when we hear the words, "He has risen."

MATTHEW Matthew 3:13-17 The Saviour; The Scriptures; The Spirit * The Saviour has come for us. He takes the sinner’s place – in His baptism, in His death. * The Scriptures – God has spoken to us. He still speaks to us – here and now. * The Spirit has been given to us – for holiness and witness. Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus was led by the Spirit, but the temptation came from the devil (Matthew 4:1). The wilderness was the place of danger. It was the place of promise. We can lose ourselves. We can find ourselves. We can lose God.We can find God. Satan says, “If…” (Matthew 4:3,6). Jesus says, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4,7). Satan offered Jesus the world (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus said, ‘The Lord is all that matters to Me.’ People speak to us about living in the real world. They talk about looking after No. 1. ‘”Go away, Satan! Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him” (Matthew 4:10). Matthew 4:12-25 “John had been arrested.” Jesus knew what lay ahead of Him! His message ...

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