April 2 Good Friday

Friday:   Emma and I attended the Good Friday service at 5PM over at Calvary. It was a quiet, serious, sober hour of remembrance and communion. I am very thankful we went. Growing up in Detroit, we did not observe "Good Friday" ... personally, I think it was a negative reaction to the Catholic teachings about that day. Detroit was a highly Catholic place when I was a kid--I'm not sure if it is still or not. We were also taught that Jesus was NOT crucified on a Friday--and they were quite emphatic about it too. I didn't dare question it!

But years ago, I studied it out--those last days of Jesus here on earth and have concluded that He was, indeed crucified on a Friday. I won't go into the argument here--but I am fully convinced of it. It isn't that the day matters so terribly much ... but ... it kind of does to me. 

The past two weeks, I've been reading the four gospels in "A Harmony of the Four Gospels" 2nd ediction (Orville E. Daniel). I've never read the gospels in this way before and I was truly impacted from it. I love history and I love dates ... I love words and their meanings ... I love to study the Bible. John's Gosple is very different from Matthew, Mark and Luke--and for the first time, I was able to see those long discourses Jesus spoke in the context of WHEN He spoke them--which gave them much more meaning--being that so much of what is recorded in John happens in that last difficult week of His life here. 

After the service, Emma and I came here and ate some chicken and rice and fruit, etc. It was still early and Emma had taken the night off work so that she could go to the service. I suggested that we watch the movie, "Son of God" (2014) which I remember seeing several years ago and I liked it--biggest reason was because I felt it was very true to Scripture as well as the fact that Jesus was not portrayed as some kind of boring stoical druggie. This Jesus actually smiled and laughed. He was a little bit too good-looking, however, to be the REAL Jesus because Isaiah tells us that there was nothing about Jesus that was "attractive" in His appearance--He was just a regular guy.

Emma felt that it was a little bit choppy and disconnected in the story line. I felt that the telling of His last week was really well done, and His suffering, and the choices He was faced with ... and the triumph of His obedience. Good stuff.