Have you ever had one of those days? I mean like the title of this article days? A day where you experienced the entire gamut of life in a 24 hour period?
You could almost feel like you were a pawn (or some other chess piece) in a cosmic battle for your soul.
It wouldn’t be that strange, based on what we know of history, but my would it feel strange! One minute you’re Clint Eastwood (“the Good”), then suddenly you’re Lee Van Cleef (“the Bad”), and just as suddenly you’re “the ugly” and look just like Eli Wallach at his worst.
If you’re under 30 you may not get that reference at all, though you still might know something about Clint Eastwood, who is about to turn 95 and is the only living member of the trio.
Jesus had a day like that, at least measured in the way they measured days then, from evening to evening.
The Bible book of John, who was an eyewitness to all of this, records that Jesus spent the evening with his closest friends and followers. The last thing he did was pray for them. That prayer is recorded in John 17, and in it Jesus prays for them as well as for “everyone who will believe through them,” which includes all Christians today.
But Jesus knew it was about to get ugly.
In the garden, things get ugly
The evening goes on with Jesus’ closest followers — now missing Judas, who has gathered some strong arm types in preparing to betray Jesus — going to a place in a garden. It was across a little brook called Kidron, and they all knew it well because they’d met there many times. Judas knew it, too.
And so there is a confrontation in the garden. The soldiers have torches and weapons and they want to know which one of this group is Jesus.
Jesus identifies himself — “That would be me.” And they drew back and fell to the ground!
The power of good, embodied in Jesus, was greater than their bravery or their weapons.
Jesus reminds them of their task, asks them to take him and let his followers go, and Peter (this is the ugly part), draws a sword of his own and swings it, cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword back in its sheath, because he must “drink the cup” that is his to drink.
John doesn’t record this, but Luke notes that Jesus healed the ear of the man Peter wounded. And then they took Jesus away.
The bad comes into the picture
A number of things happen next that make it look very much like the bad (evil) is going to win this battle. You can read the whole story yourself, but it includes Peter denying that he even knows Jesus. That’s bad, and perhaps even worse because Jesus had told Peter he was going to do that. And he did.
It also includes some “trials.” One is before Jewish leaders (who did not have the authority to kill Jesus) and another is before Pilate, who did have that authority.
Before Pilate questioned Jesus, he had him flogged.
Then Roman soldiers made a crown out of thorn branches and put it on Jesus’ head. Then they mocked him and struck him with their hands.
Pilate says to the people that he finds no guilt in Jesus. They don’t care, so Pilate says they should take him and do as they please. The Jewish leaders say that Jesus should die because he “has claimed to be the son of God.”
That scares Pilate, and he questions Jesus again, ultimately trying to figure out how to release him. But bad is in control now, and good is about to pay the price.
It looks like good has lost
Sure enough, the people take Jesus up a hill and crucify him.
Do you know the word “excruciating” that is sometimes used to describe pain? The word literally means “out of the cross” or “as painful as crucifixion.” It is a reflection of the torment inflicted by crucifixion.
I won’t go into all that, but it was perhaps the most painful and terrible way to die.
Good isn’t just being killed, Good is being crucified and feeling the pain both in body and spirit.
Jesus died, but good did not. One man requested that Pilate grant him the right to take away the body of Jesus, and it was granted. That man, Joseph of Arimathea, with help from another man, Nicodemus, buried Jesus in a tomb owned by Joseph.
The rest of the story
Evil must have been rejoicing, if evil can rejoice, because Jesus had been killed.
Bad wins, it seems.
But as followers of Jesus have said for centuries, “Sunday is coming.”
On Sunday morning, in fact, a follower of Jesus went to check on his body. She couldn’t do that on Saturday because it was a holy day, and no work was allowed. Early Sunday, though, even before first light, a woman named Mary went to see what she might do.
The stone that had blocked entry to the tomb had been rolled away, and she assumed someone had taken the body of Jesus. So she ran to tell Peter and John, who came to investigate. They almost understood, but not completely.
Soon enough, though, they saw Jesus again. He was not dead, he was alive. He was, as many say on Easter, risen.
That was and is, for billions of people, the greatest event in human history.
That’s why we celebrate Easter, and that is why Friday is good.
Good wins.
Happy Easter!
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Have you ever had one of those days? I mean like the title of this article days? A day where you experienced the entire gamut of life in a 24 hour period?
You could almost feel like you were a pawn (or some other chess piece) in a cosmic battle for your soul.
It wouldn’t be that strange, based on what we know of history, but my would it feel strange! One minute you’re Clint Eastwood (“the Good”), then suddenly you’re Lee Van Cleef (“the Bad”), and just as suddenly you’re “the ugly” and look just like Eli Wallach at his worst.
If you’re under 30 you may not get that reference at all, though you still might know something about Clint Eastwood, who is about to turn 95 and is the only living member of the trio.
Jesus had a day like that, at least measured in the way they measured days then, from evening to evening.
The Bible book of John, who was an eyewitness to all of this, records that Jesus spent the evening with his closest friends and followers. The last thing he did was pray for them. That prayer is recorded in John 17, and in it Jesus prays for them as well as for “everyone who will believe through them,” which includes all Christians today.
But Jesus knew it was about to get ugly.
In the garden, things get ugly
The evening goes on with Jesus’ closest followers — now missing Judas, who has gathered some strong arm types in preparing to betray Jesus — going to a place in a garden. It was across a little brook called Kidron, and they all knew it well because they’d met there many times. Judas knew it, too.
And so there is a confrontation in the garden. The soldiers have torches and weapons and they want to know which one of this group is Jesus.
Jesus identifies himself — “That would be me.” And they drew back and fell to the ground!
The power of good, embodied in Jesus, was greater than their bravery or their weapons.
Jesus reminds them of their task, asks them to take him and let his followers go, and Peter (this is the ugly part), draws a sword of his own and swings it, cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword back in its sheath, because he must “drink the cup” that is his to drink.
John doesn’t record this, but Luke notes that Jesus healed the ear of the man Peter wounded. And then they took Jesus away.
The bad comes into the picture
A number of things happen next that make it look very much like the bad (evil) is going to win this battle. You can read the whole story yourself, but it includes Peter denying that he even knows Jesus. That’s bad, and perhaps even worse because Jesus had told Peter he was going to do that. And he did.
It also includes some “trials.” One is before Jewish leaders (who did not have the authority to kill Jesus) and another is before Pilate, who did have that authority.
Before Pilate questioned Jesus, he had him flogged.
Then Roman soldiers made a crown out of thorn branches and put it on Jesus’ head. Then they mocked him and struck him with their hands.
Pilate says to the people that he finds no guilt in Jesus. They don’t care, so Pilate says they should take him and do as they please. The Jewish leaders say that Jesus should die because he “has claimed to be the son of God.”
That scares Pilate, and he questions Jesus again, ultimately trying to figure out how to release him. But bad is in control now, and good is about to pay the price.
It looks like good has lost
Sure enough, the people take Jesus up a hill and crucify him.
Do you know the word “excruciating” that is sometimes used to describe pain? The word literally means “out of the cross” or “as painful as crucifixion.” It is a reflection of the torment inflicted by crucifixion.
I won’t go into all that, but it was perhaps the most painful and terrible way to die.
Good isn’t just being killed, Good is being crucified and feeling the pain both in body and spirit.
Jesus died, but good did not. One man requested that Pilate grant him the right to take away the body of Jesus, and it was granted. That man, Joseph of Arimathea, with help from another man, Nicodemus, buried Jesus in a tomb owned by Joseph.
The rest of the story
Evil must have been rejoicing, if evil can rejoice, because Jesus had been killed.
Bad wins, it seems.
But as followers of Jesus have said for centuries, “Sunday is coming.”
On Sunday morning, in fact, a follower of Jesus went to check on his body. She couldn’t do that on Saturday because it was a holy day, and no work was allowed. Early Sunday, though, even before first light, a woman named Mary went to see what she might do.
The stone that had blocked entry to the tomb had been rolled away, and she assumed someone had taken the body of Jesus. So she ran to tell Peter and John, who came to investigate. They almost understood, but not completely.
Soon enough, though, they saw Jesus again. He was not dead, he was alive. He was, as many say on Easter, risen.
That was and is, for billions of people, the greatest event in human history.
That’s why we celebrate Easter, and that is why Friday is good.
Good wins.
Happy Easter!
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