There is so much great stuff in this week's reading that there is no way I could cover it all and still give you an email that isn't too long. I guess next year, I'll check the archives to see what I wrote about in 2003 and go to a different subject. Prime example: In day two, Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit, but I make no mention of it in favor of Peter's denial of Jesus. That was on my heart when I wrote up day 2 for us. The same is true of many of the days that we've read together. So many times, the reading has so many great topics that I'm forced to choose among them and decide what will be written about and what will be excluded.

If there's a down side to my project here, that has to be it. There are so many great lessons in the Bible that to write about all of them in one year is just not feasible. On the other side of the coin, there have been days that had me wondering what to write about. By this, I'm referring to topics such as the Jewish census taken in the times of Moses. I wasn't sure then what I could find to discuss, but we worked through it. We've worked our way to week 44 out of 52!

With the power in this week's reading, we'll be on the home stretch. And how much power is in this story? The culmination of Jesus' work on this earth marks the beginning of a new era on earth. Jesus is the one we set our calendar by, whether we are faithful or not! Two Thousand years ago, Jesus came for you and for me. The latter days of His last week is the setting for this week's reading. I trust you'll see several object lessons that I failed to write about and I hope you learn a little something from my writing.

Yours in Christ,

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At this point, Jesus was a very popular public figure. For the last three years, He had traveled the countryside, healing people with all manner of ailments as he went. How popular was he? In the first part of our reading, we can see that some of the most powerful of the religious figures had to meet in secret and plot a way to have Him killed. They were openly concerned about the public outcry if they were caught acting against Jesus. This "upstart" had taken so much of their power and they knew it. The common saying is that power corrupts. I'm more of a mind that power attracts the corruptible. Of course we're already all corrupted, but you see what I mean, I'm sure.

Wearing sandals in Israel with the dust and sweat must have made for some pretty gross feet when you think about it. Washing your feet was a common practice for the sake of cleanliness, but with this passage it became something more. Unless you are willing to allow Jesus to wash the most disgusting of your filth, you have no claim to make on His sacrifice. The popular notion today in this sense would be self-reliance or neglect, but neither of these options are ones you should consider when you are talking about your eternity. Jesus' washing of your sins is necessary if you don't want his torment to be matched by your own. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can handle it on your own and don't put off this necessary cleansing if you haven't done so already!

A little side matter. I used to think of the Lord's Supper as Jesus dining with the twelve disciples. Judas was excused by Jesus before this time, so there would be eleven disciples at this time, not twelve. That's not exactly stunning news from a historical perspective, but it should be remembered when considering whether you should accept communion at church. Have you betrayed your Lord? That is, have you made your faith secondary to worldly pleasures? In eternal terms, thirty pieces of silver is equal to winning the lottery. How do I figure that? It doesn't mean a thing. So if you have compromised your morals and beliefs in the chase for the almighty dollar, I suggest some reflection before accepting the bread and wine.

Day 2

Oh, Peter! You mean so well in what you do, but Jesus is continually using you as an example for us all. Peter carried a sword wherever he went. Shortly, we'll see that sword in use against a Roman soldier. We have already seen that sword weigh him down as he was sinking into the water, but Jesus helped him and we can all learn from his actions and his words.

Peter was very quick to speak and act in accordance with the wishes of Jesus and he was very slow to admit his human frailties. Does that sound like anyone you know? Heck, that's me in a nutshell! How then could I try to say that I would never deny Jesus? I think the key to this is what you are relying on. If you rely on your human efforts, like Peter's sword, you'll come up short and may very well end up sinking into the water. If you rely on the rock that is our Lord, you will be truly empowered.

An olive branch cannot live without the vine. And to have the best yield of crops, any branches that aren't producing need to be removed and the producing branches cared for. We all have some aspects of our lives that need changing. As these aspects aren't bearing any fruit, they need to be removed. That's a process I'm working on right now. At the same time, I'm tending the better branches of my life right now. How about you?

Day 3

Have you ever felt persecuted for your faith? Persecution is more than just beatings or vandalism. It takes the forms of verbal abuse, insults, stereotyping, and many other acts meant to demean you. Christianity is the only established religion that can be dragged through the mud with the public's approval at this time and I find that to be very wrong. But it's nothing new. When you are with Him and living for Him, you belong to Him and are no longer of the world. I actually find this to be very comforting. I have taken some harassment for my public stance I take on this and if that means I'm in the fold of the Good Shepherd, then I'm not out wandering with the goats, am I?

Jesus prayed for Himself and everyone who He could claim as His own, but not the entire world. He came to save the world from their sins, but He had a special interest in believers. The disciples had recently had a breakthrough in their understand of His teaching, and the time for this couldn't have been any later. Jesus knew that they would need God's protection as He was leaving them. Through all of the difficulties, not a one of the disciples had been lost, save Judas, and that was by the grace of Jesus. Now the Holy Spirit was called upon to retain the protection of the remaining disciples and the other remaining believers.

Day 4

You know, I used to wonder why Jesus dreaded the punishment that was soon to come. I mean, He knew His duty from the beginning of time and had prepared Himself and the people for it for no less than three years. He knew that this sacrifice would be a suitable penalty to save all of mankind, and yet He labored over the horror of His fate. Let us not forget that Jesus was 100% God, so He fully knew the punishment that awaited. Do not discount the fact that He was also 100% human at this time and had the same fears on His mind that you or I may have. This means that He knew that the penalty for sin was death, followed by torment in Hell and that was the penalty He took.

If I were to suffer this penalty, I would undergo a similar fate as Jesus. A death resulting in a separation from the grace of God in Hell. Jesus died for my sins and suffered that fate for me. He also died for your sins and your punishment was added to mine. While He was at it, the torment for each and every person from that moment forward was heaped upon Him. He knew every detail of this going into His last day on earth before the crucifixion. He had earned none of this punishment, but there it was in His very near future. As the hours passed, He composed himself and steeled His will to accept that fate. I wonder if that isn't why He maintained His silence during the trials leading to the cross.

Day 5

As Jesus was taken to the high priest, Peter followed at a distance and stayed in the vicinity. Remember that this was the middle of the night during a festival. I can imagine a fire on a cold night to warm the guards, but the priest was up and around, evidence that he knew this conspiracy. I imagine they had intended to trap Jesus in false accusations and stone him quietly, but they couldn't get their statements to match closely enough to do this. All they could muster at this time was a beating for our Lord.

The servant girl of the priest was also up and about and recognized Peter. Peter was one of only two disciples to even follow Jesus after the scattering, so we shouldn't condemn him too much here. We discussed earlier that Peter was the only disciple to even get out of the boat, but so many people call him a man of so little faith. He was also willing to fight an entire Roman garrison on his own. This was no faithless coward! But his emotions must have been going off the charts at that moment. The last meal they had shared ended with a fellow disciple leaving under suspicious circumstances. His master who had power over the winds, the earth and everything else in creation had been upset the entire night and then captured after a betrayal by Judas. Jesus' fate was not hard to guess and as one of the Twelve, he knew that he could easily be next. But he loved Jesus with all of his heart and didn't want to let Him go. Before hoping to be reunited, he first had to survive. And once he denied knowing Jesus a third time, the rooster crowed a second time and he knew that his strength was not enough on it's own. I bet he wept much harder than this reading gives him credit for.

Day 6

I recall Jesus saying to give to Caesar what is his and give to God what is His, but that's not the witness of the people. Pilate saw through this act and tried several times to release Jesus. During their conversation, Pilate realized that Jesus was under the jurisdiction of Herod, so he promptly passed the buck. I'm surprised at his weakness, but I remind myself that Jesus was destined to die, and no decision by any world leader would change this. Of course Herod was no better. It says right in our reading that he was only looking for Jesus to entertain him! What was Jesus to him? A court jester? When the entertainment didn't come, Herod just sent Him back to Pilate. I ask, what is Jesus to you? What is worship to you? If you're looking at church as a place for entertainment first, then I suggest more prayer.

As much as the Jews wanted Jesus dead, they wanted even more to be able to eat the Passover, so they made Pilate come to them. Pilate could have thrown out the case on a technicality over this, but he didn't. This tells me that, at this point, the only motive for the Jews that was stronger than their hatred of Jesus was their selfishness. They wanted Jesus dead, but couldn't think of any crimes to accuse Him of when the time came. Hey, wait a minute here. Didn't they plan ahead here? They had planned to accuse Jesus for some time, but never came up with anything to say when the pivotal time came? There was not even a shred of sin or of civil disobedience for them to stretch in this case, so Pilate told them to try Jesus according to their own laws. Of course, that wasn't good enough. They couldn't execute Jesus. That's the whole reason they got Pilate out of bed that night. They wanted nothing other than a dead Jesus. Pilate saw only one other option to save Jesus. Barabbas.

Day 7

It was customary in those days for a condemned criminal to carry their own cross as far as they could manage. Now Jesus was no wimp. He was a carpenter by trade and could manage to carry a cross under normal circumstances. But this man had suffered several violent beatings and was unable to carry his own cross as quickly as the religious leaders wanted, so Simon from Cyrene (not the disciple) was called upon to carry the cross for him. What an honor!

There are a zillion things that could be said for the matters of this day and I'll only be able to mention a few points. The wine mixed with gall that was offered in the beginning was meant to deaden His senses before this ordeal. His refusal of it shows resolve to take the full punishment for all of us. Praise be to God! The first thing Jesus said as he was being crucified, was a prayer to forgive those who were in the process of killing him. He was a forgiving man and He is a forgiving God. The robbers had both mocked Him, much as the other people had, but one changed his tune later, asking that he be remembered. This man truly understood Jesus better than the disciples and was the first man to enter Heaven under the new covenant that Jesus made with the world. Righteous acts will not get a person to Heaven, but believing in God's mercy as punishment enough for your sins will see a person to glory.

Weekly Link Tabernacle at Timna Officially opened to the public in September, the Tabernacle replica was meticulously constructed to the specifications found in the Book of Exodus. It stands at the foot of what has, until now, been the park’s major tourist attraction: Solomon’s Pillars. Timna Park offers a number of other attractions for the price of admission: archaeological findings, a restaurant, souvenir shop, manmade lake, coin-minting machine, copper-production display, authentic Bedouin tent, and a variety of activities for the kids. But the Tabernacle and its courtyard - resonating ancient authenticity - hold center stage. While no original materials (e.g., gold, silver, bronze) have been used, the model is accurate in every other way based upon the biblical description. If you'd like even more information and pictures of this location, you may want to try a Google search. I found quite a bit of interesting information about this fascinating subject, and you know what? I wouldn't have found it to be as interesting if you didn't keep me committed to this project. Thank you! <http://www.tabernacletimna.org/>

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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!