Good morning.,

The wedding feast of the Lamb is soon approaching. What is it and why do I care?

Read on and find out.

The wedding feast!

(Octavius Winslow)

“Let us be glad and rejoice and honor Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.” Revelation 19:7

Jesus sustains no relation to His Church more expressive than this. From all eternity He betrothed her to Himself. He asked her at the hands of her Father, and the Father gave her to Him. He entered into a covenant that she should be His. The conditions of that covenant were great, but not too great for His love to undertake. They were that He should . . .
  assume her nature,
  discharge her legal obligations,
  endure her punishment,
  repair her ruin, and
  bring her to glory!

He undertook all, and He accomplished all–because He loved her!

The love of Jesus to His Church, is the love of the most tender husband. It is . . .
  exclusive,
  constant,
  affectionate,
  matchless,
  wonderful.

Jesus . . .
  sympathizes with her,
  nourishes her,
  provides for her,
  clothes her,
  watches over her, and
  indulges her with the most intimate and endearing communion.

The Lord Jesus will come in the clouds of Heaven, and this will be the occasion of His public wedding of His Church. Her present union to Him is secret and unknown–invisible to the world. But He will appear, openly and visibly to take her to Himself; and before His Father and the holy angels He will solemnize her eternal union.

Oh what a time of splendor and of rejoicing will that be! Arrayed in His nuptial robes, Jesus will descend to make her His own; and she, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” will go forth to meet Him. Then will be heard the song of angels, “Let us be glad and rejoice and honor Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself.”

Yes! “Blessed are they who are called unto the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Did it occur to you that God disciplines His children? Who are His children? All those who have trusted Christ to be their Lord and Savior.

Today, we will see the benefits of God’s discipline in our lives.

Perhaps He will smite you!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.” Deuteronomy 8:5 

“I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” Isaiah 48:10  

I can truly say of everything I have ever tasted in this world of God’s mercy, (and my path has been remarkably strewn with divine lovingkindness), I feel more grateful to God for the bodily pain I have suffered, and for all the trials of diverse sorts I have endured, than I do for anything else.

I am sure I have derived more real benefit, and permanent strength, and growth in grace, and every precious thing–from the furnace of suffering, than I have ever derived from prosperity.

I know not how to quite express my meaning, but even depression of spirit and deep sadness have a particular charm within them, which laughter in vain may emulate.

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted!” Psalm 119:71

Ponder and consider the much gratitude you owe to God for His chastening rod. Dwell much in your heart upon what God evidently regards as one of His distinguishing blessings. Do not lightly pass over, what God would have you consider. Count the cross and the rod to be doubly worthy of your deepest thought.

“Heed the rod and Him who has appointed it.” Micah 6:9

Remember that whenever you are chastened, you are not chastened as a slave master smites his victim, nor as a judge orders the criminal to be lashed; but as a tender father chastens his son.

Your chastisement is a sign of sonship, it is a token of love! It is intended for your good.

Accept it, therefore, in the spirit of sonship, and “Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when you are corrected by Him.”

It is the Lord your God who chastens you!

If He were not your God, He might let you alone!

If He had not chosen you to be His own, He would not take such care of you!

If He had not given Himself to be your treasure, He might not be so diligent in weaning you from all other treasures!

But because you are His, He will withdraw your love away from this poor world.

Perhaps He will take one child after another from you, that all the love that was lavished on the children might flow towards Himself.

Perhaps He will leave you a widow, that the love that ran in the channel of a husband may run altogether to Himself.

Perhaps he will take away your riches, that the consolation you derived from them may be all derived from Him.

Perhaps He will smite you, and then lay you on His own bosom, faint and helpless, that you may derive a strength and a joy from close and near fellowship with Himself, which you would never have had if it had not been that these other joys were removed.

Bless God for your chastenings!

Let the sweetest note of your music be to Him who, as a loving father, chastens His children for their good.

“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son He receives.” Hebrews 12:6
 ~  ~  ~  ~

I am glad God cares enough about me to discipline me. Although I do not like it or understand it, God already knows how it will help me to draw closer to Him.

Do you desire a closer walk to the Lord? Allow Him to discipline you and mold you into the man or woman He wants you to be.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

When we think about the state of our world, the wickedness and corruption and want to blame someone else, look in the mirror. We are our own worst enemies.

Read today’s devotion with that in mind.

The worst enemy I have!

(Thomas Reade, “Christian Meditations”)

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24

Strange to tell, yet, no less strange than true, the worst enemy I have is MYSELF!

I may flee from other enemies, but from this I cannot escape.

Wherever I go, SELF still is there.

The inbred evil travels with me.

I may cross mighty oceans, traverse extensive deserts, plunge into the deepest recesses of the tangled forest or the caverned earth, yet, in the profoundest solitude, SELF is there!

None but the true believer knows the dreadful conflicts between the flesh and the Spirit. His cry is; “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I flee away and be at rest!”

But soon he feels the vanity of this wish; for even if he could fly on eagle’s wings to the earth’s remotest bounds, he would carry with him all the evil he deplores.

He therefore prays for present grace and strength, for present power to conquer sin, and to glorify his Savior in the place divine wisdom has appointed for him.

Lord Jesus, you alone can enable me . . .
  to vanquish the powers of darkness,
  to overcome the corruptions of my heart,
  to crucify the lustings of the flesh.

“Lord, save me from that evil man, myself!” Augustine

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The answer to the question is Jesus Christ.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

A deadly enemy!

(William Sprague, “Lectures on Revivals of Religion”)

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

Beware of the world!

Everyone who has made much progress in the Christian life, has been taught by his own experience that the world is a deadly enemy to the believer’s growth in grace.

The cares of the world are exceedingly apt to mar the Christian character.

But there are, in addition . . .
   the pleasures of the world,
   the honors of the world,
   the riches of the world,
all of which in turn seize hold of the heart with a mighty grasp.

Sometimes the world laughs and scoffs at the Christian, and tries to persuade him that he is giving himself to fanaticism and folly.

Sometimes it flatters and caresses him, and by its artful blandishments, seeks to draw him aside from the plain path of duty.

Indeed the world will assume any form, or morph into anything, to draw the Christian away from God and from duty.

How important then that you be on guard against this dangerous enemy! Beware especially against the levities and amusements of the world; for this is the point at which you are most in danger.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16
~  ~  ~  ~

Good advice.

Tomorrow, “The worst enemy I have.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

We are living in a world that is changing moment by moment. However, there is one thing in this world that does not change, and never will.

See if you can find it in today’s devotion.

Life is like a painted dream!
(Octavius Winslow, “This God is Our God”)

“For this God is our God forever and ever–He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14

“The world passes away.”

Everything here in this present world is changing.

“Life is like a painted dream,
 Like the rapid summer stream,
 Like the fleeting meteor’s ray,
 Like the shortest winter’s day,
 Like the fitful breeze that sighs,
 Like the waning flame that dies,
 Darting, dazzling on the eye,
 Fading in eternity.”

A rope of sand,
a spider’s web,
a silken thread,
a passing shadow,
an ebbing wave,
are the most fitting and expressive emblems of all things belonging to this present time’s state.

The homes that sheltered us in childhood we leave.

The land which gave us birth we leave.

The loved ones who encircled our hearths pass away.

The friends of early years depart.

And the world that was so sunny, and life that was so sweet, is all beclouded and embittered; the whole scenery of existence changed into wintry gloom.

Such are the saddening, depressing effects of life’s vicissitudes.

But in the midst of all, “This God is our God FOREVER AND EVER!“

All beings change, but God.

All things change, but Heaven.

The evolutions of time revolve, the events of earth go onward–but He upon whom all things hang, and by whom all events are shaped and controlled, moves not.

“I, the Lord, do not change.“

Our affairs may alter.

Our circumstances may change.

Our relations and friends may depart one by one.

Our souls in a single day pass through many fluctuations of spiritual feeling.

But He who chose us to be His own, and who has kept us to the present moment, is our covenant God and Father forever and ever, and will never throw us off and cast us away.

“For this God is our God forever and ever–He will be our guide even to the end!“ Psalm 48:14
~  ~  ~  ~

God does not change! His word does not change! We can rely on it to be true, faithful, and God’s communication of His will for us.

Trust in the Lord.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

The resurrection changes everything.

The Resurrection Changes Everything (1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 13-18)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ⁵ And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ⁶ After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: ¹⁴ And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ¹⁵ Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ¹⁶ For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ¹⁷ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸ Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

God made it very clear: no resurrection, no salvation! Now that is a scary thought. The good news is that Christ is resurrected from the dead. There were over five hundred witnesses. The Holy Spirit lives within each believer. Our eternal destiny is secure.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

What Is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

April 23, 2019

Leaven is repeatedly emphasized in the Bible. It is mentioned more than 70 times from the time of Abraham to the life of Moses to the histories of the kingdoms to the former prophets, major prophets and minor prophets. Jesus Christ talked about it during His ministry, and He emphasized it on the final night before He was crucified.

Why? Because leaven is a powerful spiritual symbol.

The biblical book that mentions leaven most frequently is Exodus. Exodus 12 records God commanding millions of Israelite slaves in Egypt to keep the Passover, in part by eating lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The next night, God miraculously freed them, and they joyfully left Egypt. Verse 34 notes that they “took their dough before it was leavened.” Seven days later, with the Egyptian army in pursuit, God miraculously divided the Red Sea, the Israelites walked across the seabed on dry land, and the returning waters destroyed the Egyptians.

God commanded His people to memorialize these events—and their spiritual meaning—by keeping annual observances: Passover at sunset, the Night to Be Much Observed the following sunset, and the feast of Unleavened Bread over the next seven days.

“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. … [F]or in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt …” (verses 15, 17).

Jewish believers still keep a form of this observance. But it is actually commanded for God’s Church today. The Apostle Paul wrote to New Testament Christians that “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). New Testament Christians keep the feast of Unleavened Bread! (see Acts 20:6).

There is nothing inherently wrong, unhealthy or evil about leavening. But during this unique one-week period, God uses leavening to represent sin. God commands that we get it out of our lives during this time—every last loaf, slice and crumb!

Jesus warned against “the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” in Matthew 16. The Apostle Paul focused on leaven in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven ….” The Bible links the way leavening puffs up dough and the way sin spreads and permeates our life. It only takes a pinch of leavening to raise an entire loaf—and it only takes a single compromise to fill our life with sin.

Sin means breaking God’s law of love (1 John 3:4; Romans 13:8-10). It ultimately results in death (Romans 6:23). Every particle of human failure and suffering is caused by breaking God’s law, just as failure and suffering are caused by breaking the laws of biology, chemistry and physics. Let sin into your thinking, and it quickly spreads from one part of your life to another—to another to another. It subtly infuses you with selfishness. It puffs you up with vanity. And it takes God’s miraculous intervention, combined with your effort, to put sin out of your mind and completely keep it out!

Just as with the ancient Israelites, God focuses us on “cleaning house” during the Days of Unleavened Bread: removing every crumb of bread with leavening ingredients like yeast, baking soda and baking powder from our homes, our workplaces, our vehicles and every nook of personal property in between. This symbolizes ridding our lives from every bit of sin and keeping it out. Physical deleavening is no easy task, but neither is getting sin out of our lives. It takes real effort and sweat to deleaven your possessions, just like it is a constant, lifelong battle to remove sin and keep it out when it inevitably begins to creep back in.

However, simply getting the leavening out doesn’t completely fulfill the command in Exodus 12:20. For seven days we not only avoid leavening, but we also eat unleavened bread, representing God’s way of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8). That bread symbolizes Jesus Christ Himself—the “bread of life,” the bread we must eat if we are to inherit eternal life (John 6:35, 48). As we ingest that and allow Christ into us, He transforms us into a new and different person. This is another beautiful lesson of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

For God’s people, from Moses and the Israelites to David and the kingdom of Israel to Jesus Christ and His disciples to New Testament Christians through the ages, one of the greatest highlights of the year is the meaningful, exciting, inspiring feast of Unleavened Bread.

To learn more about this annual sacred festival, read Exodus 12-13.

Thanks to the Philadelphia Church of God for a clear and concise description of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Passover begins at sundown tonight. It ends at sundown tomorrow.

Today’s study requires us to open our Bibles and search the references about the Passover. It will open our eyes and help us connect to what Christ did on the cross for us.

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

PASSOVER

EXODUS 1-12

INTRO:  The Hebrews in Egypt (1:1-12:36) 

A. Progressive mistreatment of the Hebrew slaves (1:1-22) 

1. The tribes of Israel identified (1:1-7) 
2. Pharaoh (King of Egypt) who knew not Joseph (1:8) (READ)
3. Growth of Hebrew population (1:9-10) (READ)
4. Harsh treatment of Hebrew slaves in Egypt (1:11-14) (READ)
5. Plan to destroy the Hebrews (1:15-22) (READ)

B. Preparation for deliverance of Hebrew slaves (2:1-4:31)

1. Moses born and saved from destruction (2:1-10) (READ)
2. Moses kills an Egyptian and forsakes Egypt (2:11-14) 
3. Moses in the land of Midian (2:15-22) 
4. God takes knowledge of Israel’s sad plight (2:23-25) 
5. God calls Moses at a burning bush (3:1-4:17) (READ 3:1-10, 4:18)
6. Moses agrees to go back to Egypt (4:18-26) 
7. The Hebrews believe Moses and accept his leadership (4:27-31) 

C. The Israelites delivered from Egyptian bondage (5:1-15:21) 

1. Moses demands the release of the Israelites (5:1-4) (READ)

“Let my people go…” used 8 times
2. Pharaoh’s answer: Hebrews denied straw with which to make bricks (5:5-23) 
3. Moses demand certified by miracle (5:23-7:12) (READ 7:1-9)
4. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (7:13-14) 
5. First plague: Blood (7:14-25) 
6. Second plague: Frogs (8:1-15) 
7. Third plague: Lice (8:16-19) 
8. Fourth plague: Flies (8:20-32) 
9. Fifth plague: Disease on Livestock (9:1-7) 
10. Sixth plague: Boils (9:8-12) 
11. Seventh plague: Hail (9:13-35 
12. Eighth plague: Locusts (10:1-20) 
13. Ninth plague: Darkness (10:21-29) 
14. Death announced (11:1-10) (READ)

D. Israel redeemed by the blood of a lamb — Passover. (12:1-13:16)

Christ is our sacrifice Hebrews 10:4-10 (READ)

1. Beginning of the year is changed (12:1-2) (READ)
2. Passover instituted (12:3-20) (READ)
3. Procedure for Passover ceremony (12:21-30) (READ)
4. Unleavened bread (12:31-39) 7 days
5. Death of the firstborn (12:40-42) 
6. Passover to be observed annually (12:43-50) 

 CONCLUSION:

• And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!  (John 1:36)
• Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18-19)
• Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7)
• FOUNDATION STONE: The blood.  It covered but did not take away the sin of Israel.  Jesus blood takes away the sin of those who repent and come to Him.

Tomorrow we will look at the feast of unleavened bread. Most think this is just a part of Passover. It is not.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

He is Risen Matthew 28:1-10

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.² And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.³ His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:⁴ And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.⁵ And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.⁷ And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.⁸ And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.⁹ And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.¹⁰ Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”

Jesus said He would rise again after 3 days. He did. We must always believe the word of God.  It seems that the women were surprised. Then with fear and great joy they went to tell the other disciples. Then Jesus confirms to them He has risen. Furthermore, that they would see Him in Galilee.

Why do we doubt? We have the Bible with eye witness accounts of all that happened to Jesus from His miraculous birth, His horrifying death, His resurrection, His visual resurrected appearance, and His ascension to heaven.

The disciples’ lives were completely changed after the resurrection. Timid and weak turned into bold and strong. They turned their world upside down for Jesus.

Are we impacted by the resurrection of Jesus?

Tomorrow is Passover. Join us to find out why Passover is important to believers in Christ.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will celebrate Passover, 8 April, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), 12 April.

Our devotionals will center around Jesus death and burial, He is risen, Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, and how the resurrection changes everything.

Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunity to fellowship together, it can never take away our ability to read and study the Word of God. You may see movies or other depictions of these events, but please make sure they line up with the Bible.

Jesus Death (John 19:14-30)

“And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!¹⁵ But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. ¹⁶ Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.¹⁷ And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:¹⁸ Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.¹⁹ And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus Of Nazareth The King Of The Jews.²⁰ This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.²¹ Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.²² Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.²³ Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.²⁴ They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.²⁵ Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!²⁷ Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.²⁸ After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.²⁹ Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.³⁰ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

The chief priest and religious rulers fulfilled prophecy when they called for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus had to go to the cross, on our behalf, to become sin for us. He paid the penalty for our sin, death.

Where were all His disciples? They all fled except John. Even God the Father forsook Jesus. So if Jesus did this for us, why is it that we forsake Jesus? We fail to follow His directives found in the Bible. We put other things ahead of our relationship with Him. We need to repent and ask Jesus’ forgiveness. Jesus promised, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Jesus is Buried (John 19:38-42)

“³⁸ And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.³⁹ And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight.⁴⁰ Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. ⁴² There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand.”

Jesus is dead. The Roman soldiers knew it, Pilate knew it, and Joseph of Arimathea knew it. Prophecy again was fulfilled. Isaiah 53:9 states, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man. Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb.

There had to be a death and burial to have a resurrection. However, if there had only been a death and burial, Jesus would be no different from any other religious leader.

Tomorrow we look at He is risen.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001