Pastor's Blog

The Scriptural account of the events that took place in Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago on that original Good Friday presents us with an appalling scene, the most appalling scene the world has ever witnessed or ever will . It’s no wonder that it was cloaked in darkness and no wonder that the earth trembled.   Just a week before, as Jesus made his way triumphantly into Jerusalem, and the people were rejoicing and praising God and saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” “But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ But Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” [1]   In other words, if man should withhold his praise, nature itself would find a way to express its joy!   How often do we read of such things in Scripture, where creation itself reacts or is called to react to what God or men have done? Psalm 44, for ...

We find a rather peculiar thing in the eleventh chapter of John’s Gospel. The chapter recounts the incident of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In the first few verses we’re told that Mary and Martha sent messengers to tell Jesus that their brother, who was very dear to him, was ill. And then we read the following: The Raising of Lazarus by Juan de Flandes (1465-1519) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.   John 11:5-6 What a very odd thing to say. We would have expected something quite different. After saying, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,” we would have expected John to have said, “So, Jesus hurried off to their home to heal him.” But, no, it says, “He loved them, so he stayed two days longer where he was.” What’s going on here? Because Jesus loved them, he wanted to teach them something that would prove to be an immeasurable comfort...