This time of year, I go to the store and there’s candy, baskets, and bunnies everywhere… and I LOVE them all. I shouldn’t love all that candy, but I do. But it’s particularly easy to get in to the fun children’s stuff, the Easter egg hunts, the super cute outfits, watching kids having the time of their life, and lose sight of what this holiday represents for many.
Yes, I’m aware Jesus didn’t die in the spring. I’m aware this was originally a pagan holiday celebrating the god of fertility (hence the bunnies). At some point, the Christian church began celebrating the resurrection on this day. I’m not sure exactly when and it’s irrelevant for the sake of this article. What’s important is what happened, and more importantly, the legitimacy of it.
I’m not going to go deep in to this, but I will touch on it. The execution itself is extremely important. First, it was reserved for the vilest of criminals. Not all criminals received this treatment, only the worst. When pinned to the wood, they were completely naked. As they were dying, the guards would put a wooden plank under their feet so that they could lift themselves up and gain more air and live longer. The guards would do this so that the torture and agony would last longer. Insanely cruel but true. Then after some time, they would break their legs so they couldn’t stand up and would usually die soon after. This was the case with Jesus and the two criminals by his side. They were particularly concerned that this would go in to the Sabbath day and they couldn’t have that. They had to follow God’s law… I know, crazy! So they set out to end this execution. The guards were instructed to break their legs. The 2 guys on each side of Jesus were indeed alive when they got there. So their legs were broken by the guards. This is where it gets pretty interesting.
Jesus was already dead. As a result, they didn’t break his legs- fulfilling one prophecy (Psalm 34:20). Instead, they stuck a spear in his side to make sure he was dead- fulfilling another prophecy (Zechariah 12:10). Then it just keeps getting stranger.
Because of the nature of crucifixions and the condition the corpse was in once it was completed, and because of who was up there, no one ever asked for proper burials afterwards. The body was usually in such bad shape that you sometimes couldn’t even make out who it was. This makes the next series of events very significant.
First, Joseph of Arimathea gets the guts to approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. Pilate could have, and maybe would have under normal circumstances, struck him dead just for asking for a criminal’s body. But this was no normal circumstance and Joseph was no normal guy. Joseph was a big dog in the Sanhedrin- Yeah, the group that turned Jesus over to Pilate. Joseph did not agree nor consent to this act. So this wasn’t just some unknown figure. This guy had pull and money. Pilate couldn’t believe that 1- Joseph of Arimathea was the one asking and 2- that someone of his position would care. Another interesting piece is that Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, wanted to help prepare the burial. No one asks for criminals bodies, especially not people in high places of power.
With this alone, Pilate became concerned. He was also concerned his wife was right. Listen up men, they usually are! Haha! So first, Pilate confirms with another guard that Jesus is dead. He then realizes that if Jesus’ body disappears that the conspiracy will continue and many will doubt he ever died. He’s also aware that grave robbing is a big thing in this time. Joseph assures him that he has a space that will be used and it requires many strong men to move the entrance rock. So the next day, after high priests and Pharisees request, Pilate orders guards to seal and watch the tomb.
It is worth nothing that another important piece of the legitimacy of this story is that the people who wrote eyewitness accounts of the events of Jesus were willing to die in an effort to spread the good news of this Messiah. I’ve never met anyone willing to be tortured for a lie. I’ve never even heard of this. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, it’s just so incredibly rare, if true. Almost all of the disciples were murdered in torturous fashion; hung upside down on a cross, beaten to death with a club, skinned alive until death, impaled, and sawed in half. No one endures this for a lie or a rumor. One would only do this if they witnessed the existence of a miraculous change in history.
Looking at this story, here’s what becomes so important to me. There were so many moving parts making sure that Jesus was dead. Making sure that everyone knew he was dead. Making sure he stayed dead. Making sure the word got out that this “deceiver” was just that, a dead nobody, just like all the false prophets before. This means…. Yep… this means that his death was very legitimate. This really happened and there many, many witnesses to this.
This is huge… don’t miss it. This was a real guy, in a real country, suffering real pain. He suffered this for one reason and one reason only. To please and obey his Father (not necessarily in that order). Our salvation was a result of His obedience. Remember, he had recently asked if there was another way. Pleaded with God. He knew what was coming and didn’t want to do it. He had an opportunity to decline. He could have just went his own way. He didn’t, knowing what was about to happen. We have to make sure we see who Jesus really was and that he is more than the boss of the Easter bunny. He’s more than some cute picture on a wall. He’s more than a word to say when you’re mad at someone. He’s a man. A real man that changed our calendar. Our lives.
But what happens next is where Jesus becomes separate from all other gods and religions. Every other “god” is still in their grave. You can dig them up today. He still holds the record for greatest disappearing act of all time. His dad is still the author of the #1 best-selling book of ALL TIME! This was made possible by the adversaries that sought to extinguish a fire- yet they only drenched it in fuel. So this Easter, remember: Because His death is authentic, His Resurrection is Revolutionary.
Stay Classy GP!
Grainger
I can remember growing up, I played a lot of sports. No matter which sports I played, there were a few constants. I wanted to win. My coach liked to yell. If I was disrespectful to anyone, I was quickly dealt with. Win or lose, I got my juice box and relaxed on the ride home. But I never remember the refs. In fact, we were always told not to say a word to the refs… that this was coach’s job, not ours. So we never got involved in the ref bashing. As I got older, that changed. My smart mouth got me in so much trouble, that I literally once called out a defense “Twelve!”, which was our 2-1-2 and was given a T. The ref said “I heard what you said!” I said “yes, my teammates heard it too… I called the defense.” He looked at the coach and said “if you don’t take him out, I’m going to throw him out!” The fact was… I had a reputation… and not a good one. I remember a lot of fun things, bad things, tough things from those days in sports. But one thing I can never remember doing back then was… well… I don’t ever remember thanking the refs. Ever. For anything.
There I am, when they play Elvis clips on TV, one after another. I’m glued to the screen. I can’t move. Captivated by this guy. The most interesting part is…I’m 2 years old! So how does this music have this much of an impact on me?
We’ve all lost someone to suicide. We remember the initial feelings of shock and doubt. I’ve written an entire blog dedicated to this subject alone, so I won’t rehash it all. But the key to this problem is isolation. If the enemy can get us isolated, he can convince us of the lies that we’re not needed anymore. But the newest crisis is just that, a crisis. Ministers committing suicide. The latest victim was this week, Pastor Jim Howard of Real Life Church took his own life. While I have no idea what his life was like, the first thing I thought was all the “church faces” we put on when we walk in. I thought about all the facades that we continue to project so that we’re not embarrassed by our reality. Former pastor 
We’ve all lost someone to cancer. We know who they were before they found out. We know who they were after. We know what it was like watching them suffer. We know how strong they were through the entire process. Most of us also remember the feeling of how unfair this was to take someone like them. Inevitably, it’s accomplished one of two responses to faith. Either a stronger belief in the Creator, knowing that He is still in control and will make someone better because of this…OR someone who questions or even loses faith in anything that would “let this happen”. This week the music industry lost a legend. One of the greatest voices off all time, James Ingram, to cancer. I’ve lost quite a few friends to this. But one friend was quoted as saying, “why not me? If it causes people to come together in love and be closer to God, then why not me!?” That may be the most selfless thing I’ve ever heard someone say. Basically, he’ll die so we can be closer to God. Well, it worked. A large church filled up quickly to celebrate his life and before you knew it, men and women of all ages, races and cultural backgrounds were worshiping One God, with One Voice. It was amazing. For me, it changed the way I viewed friendships. He and I had grown close. Just being friends with him taught me how to be a better friend. So while I’ll never understand why God decided to welcome this incredible human being to heaven instead of someone like me, what I will understand is the unmatched power that God displays in times like these. But I’ll still simply never understand pure hate.
There was a report that Jussie Smollett was allegedly brutally attacked for no other reason than his skin color and his choice in lifestyle. Again, I don’t know him, but no one deserves that. While we now know that this was a completely fabricated story, it’s still happening in our country. You may say, “but we all have rights and they infringed on his rights…they should pay!” And you would be correct. But someone’s rights doesn’t stop them from an attack. The attackers’ lack of virtue makes it possible. We can put as many laws in place that we want, and some are useful. But until we begin to change hearts, we will stay on this decline. That means when someone worships a different God than you, when someone chooses a different sexual lifestyle than you do, when someone gets piercings and tattoos where you never would, that you LOVE them right where they are. You simply refuse to hate. You refuse to neglect. You refuse to make them feel bad for choices they made simply because you wouldn’t have made the same choices. That doesn’t make your choices right or better. It just makes them different. And even if someone is making bad choices, no one ever changed their mind as a result of fear, anger and judgment. Every person I know that changed their minds on bad choices, changed because someone loved them anyway. Every. Single. Time.
The recent story of the catholic school boys and the Native American is a perfect example. The first story that hits is that the boys are taunting and antagonizing the Indian gentleman, Nathan Stanard-also known as Phillips (I choose to call him by the name he used to enlist in to the military). Everyone on the elephant team says, “he did nothing wrong!” Everyone on the donkey team says “punch the smirk off his face!” One story, from one camera and one very unreliable news source comes out. No one knows the facts yet, but their team is under attack. Then the facts come out. Turns out, Mr. Stanard was first attempting to get between the Black Hebrew Israelites and the boys. He then began walking towards the kids and began beating the drum in the face of one of the boys. When that particular boy wouldn’t move out of the way of Mr. Stanard, the incident took form. We now know that there were no ill words spoken by any of the boys. None spoken by Mr. Stanard either. Only the foul language and hate-filled words by the BHI, who appeared nowhere in the first version of the story. We also now know that Mr. Stanard was NOT a Vietnam War veteran as was originally claimed. So now with all the facts, we should be able to properly assess what went right and what went wrong. But there’s two huge problems.
As you go about your day, think about all the things that upset you; the things that cause your whole day to be off. Now look at how much of it you have control over. If you have no control over something, stop worrying about it…TODAY! Traffic. You’re stuck. You can’t do anything about it. Find a way to enjoy it. Notice all the people around you while in traffic. Check out the cool cars. Turn the music up. But freaking out about the traffic…brace yourself… won’t change the traffic. The decisions of a boss/parent/teacher/referee. You can yell and get angry, but it’s still not changing the decision. So find a way to stop giving one extra thought to something you can’t control. And get to a place where you master what you can control.
God didn’t create us to be passive. He didn’t create us to be the fools on sitcoms. He created us to be strong, masculine, men who know when to say sorry, stop, enough, yes ma’am and thank you. We were created to know when to stand up to improper conduct and be the leader in the moment. To be the one that women and children lean on in times of fear and worry. Please eliminate the notion that we must raise boys to be weak, passive, spineless kids that grow up to be the subject of prime-time comedy shows. But there’s a balance. To whom much is given, much is required. It’s strong to stand up to mean people. But it’s also strong to stop and pray. It’s strong to treat your wife like a queen. It’s strong to say I’m sorry. The weakest thing you can do is pick on someone that can’t defend themselves. If you feel the need to pick on someone that can’t defend themselves, I beg you to please come pick on me instead.
No, I didn’t need someone to sit me down and teach me that I shouldn’t rape or bully. But I also had a father that was a good example of everyday living. All boys aren’t that fortunate. Men must step in and be role models when you see there’s a need there. And women must let men be men and hold them accountable when they act like boys. Then, and only then, we will be…..
Today’s culture seems to consistently say “it’s not your fault. The blame belongs to someone else.” When something happens to us, our response to it is based primarily on our history with the person or event. So we respond based on what we know and how we were taught. We have a small, but loud group of people in American culture that believe it is their duty to stand up for others who never asked for their help.
When you’re the victim, everyone else is to blame for every problem, even if it’s your fault. It justifies irresponsibility and makes you co-dependent on others to repair your victimization. Living with a Victorious mentality is when you realize it’s possible that something is your fault, owning it and not needing anyone to get you out of the mess you find yourself in, regardless if it’s your fault or not. YOU (or God in you) can get you out. Now you’re victorious over your circumstance. The sooner we shift our minds (be transformed by the renewing of our minds) from victim to victorious- even (and especially) in the face of adversity, the better our quality of life becomes. This applies to every area of life. I’ve somewhat struggled with this in the past, myself. But not anymore. Get there…I dare you.