Good Friday: What We Owe the Disciples

Last updated on: April 19, 2019 at 12:15 pm by Matt Pearson

Good Friday: What We Owe the Disciples 2019-04-19T12:15:56-05:00 Matt Pearson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“We owe it to those first Christian disciples to do our very best to understand the utter hopelessness of their situation after the Crucifixion. They had invested their whole lives in what appeared to be a diabolical joke. They had seen their beloved Master scourged almost most to death, dragged through the streets, nailed to a cross and abandoned to suffer public agony in the face of the obscene mockery of everybody in Jerusalem. Once they had basked in the reflected status of a celebrity who had been mobbed by large crowds; now he had been judged a nonperson, fit only for the most degrading and sadistic death that the human mind was capable of devising. If there had been any solidarity among his followers, it had vanished; not one person had dared to come forward in the Master’s defense, and their supposed leader, Peter, had cravenly denied Jesus three times. There was nothing left. It is preposterous to think of them pulling themselves together with the sorts of thoughts available to them from the mystery religions surrounding them. Frankly, their Jewish faith, based in the utterly realistic and unromantic Hebrew scriptures, would not have allowed any such vague and generic hopes. The Messiah was supposed to usher in the kingdom of God; for those disciples who had staked their lives on Jesus being that Messiah, it cannot be stated too strongly: there was no hope.”

Fleming Rutledge The Undoing of Death

Biblical Reflections

Devotions

Previous Post

April 17, 2019

Silent Wednesday

Next Post

April 21, 2019 Go Make it Happen

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Biblical Reflections Devotions Fridays are For Illustrations General Challenge General Preaching Resources Letters to West Franklin Preparing to Preach Table Talk Questions The Preaching Event Top Ten Quotes Uncategorized West Franklin West Franklin Talks

Select a Month March 2023 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the Roman centurion who converted to Christianity in Acts 10?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Herod Nicodemus Felix Cornelius