Here is another friendly reminder that Proverbial Thought is back! Also do not forget the first book published by Parson’s Porch!

Today is the Jewish Passover. It is a time of celebration of the freedom from slavery and living in the Promised Land.

There have been several times in history when it was merely a celebration of freedom from slavery in Egypt, and that was all because the Hebrew people could not live in their land.

Sadly, it took the mass murder of about six million (6,000,000) of them in World War II for them to get their land back. They also have not had all of the land restored to them.

However, about 2000 years ago there was a similar story. The Jews lived in the land, but they were under the rule of Rome. They were allowed to worship as they wanted, but it was always under the supervision of Roman leaders.

This is the same time that Jesus was born, raised, and performed His ministry. When He was about 33 years old, He went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with His closest disciples.

The night before Passover officially began, He was betrayed by one of His friends, arrested by the Jewish leadership, interrogated and beaten, denied by another of His friends, and then at the time the sacrificial lambs were being sacrificed He was beaten some more and nailed to a cross to die.

Thus, He became the sacrificial Lamb who washed away our sin that separated us from God.

Just before nightfall, which is when the Passover would officially begin, this is what we read in Mark 15 (ESV):

⁴² And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

Therefore, the Savior of the world, Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah (Christ), spent Passover lying dead in a tomb.

We may not always feel like celebrating. The disciples certainly did not that weekend about 2000 years ago.

Yet, when our faith and hope is found in Christ that the Father is in control, we can have peace through the Holy Spirit knowing something the disciples did not that bleak Sabbath day, found in the next chapter of Mark:

¹ When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. ⁶ And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.

Our God and Savior is ALIVE! HE IS RISEN!

We celebrate this week the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have hope because He has overcome death and the grave!