Maundy Thursday

Good Morning!

You may be surprised to learn that Paul … not Matthew, not Mark, not Luke or John … was the first person to write about Jesus being crucified. Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth predates what we refer to as the Gospels. Here is what Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (New International Version, ©2011)
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried…

Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Or you at the first

We are in the middle of Holy Week. Some denominations refer to today as “Maundy Thursday” as it is the traditionally the day preceding Christ’s death on the cross. There are some scholars that claim that the crucifixion actually took place on a Wednesday. I don’t know. I just know this simple fact – the crucifixion took place when God wanted it to take place. And the resurrection took place when God wanted to take place. And … here’s the good part … the return of Christ will take place when God wants it to take place. Whether I am still in my earthly sojourn or I have gone to be with Him is not important … what is important is that God will fulfill His promise to us.

And that excites me on this Maundy Thursday in 2011.

Agape’


Mr. Jim