Pratt: 'In God’s Time'
For Christians around the world, Easter is the culmination of God’s plan to provide redemption for a sin-filled humanity that shatters any hope in a world all too willing to follow evil over good, but how could it be called Good Friday?
A few days ago, children danced down the aisle at my church, waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna.” Done in remembrance of a man named Jesus who rode a young donkey down the streets of Jerusalem, cheers of people crowding along the way to the Temple celebrated this great healer who came teaching them how to honor God by loving and serving one another.
Recently, in a village outside Jerusalem, he had arrived three days too late to heal his dear friend Lazarus. Family members, friends and paid mourners were present when he arrived. They heard him call “Lazarus, arise from the grave.” Perhaps some thought Jesus was unhinged by guilt that he was not there in time to heal his friend.
Imagine their astonishment, when Lazarus, smelling already of the grave, walked out of the tomb still wrapped in the body covering and smell of death upon him. Witness to a power never imagined by this man many called Teacher, the word of resurrection spread quickly in the area.
It is not surprising that crowds gathered to cheer as Jesus rode down the street in Jerusalem to the acclaim of people gathered to see this miracle-worker for themselves. Nor is it stunning that there were whisperings in the halls of power that they must rid themselves of a great threat to their leadership.
Word goes out from the political powers, we must eliminate him immediately.
The plot involved having the blame placed entirely on Rome by showing the itinerate preacher as an enemy of the state rather than critic of the temple authorities who brought him before Pilate, Rome’s ruler over Israel. Their implied accusation is that the followers of Jesus planned to overthrow the rule of the Romans.
But that inner-circle of Jesus, his disciples, could not bring themselves to believe what he was warning them was about to happen – all but one, that is, who had already agreed and accepted payment to betray Jesus. Personal accounts of the story can be found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the four gospels from his disciples who followed him not only to the crucifixion on the Roman cross.
Stunned, afraid and in hiding on the Sabbath, the 11 remaining disciples who had seen Jesus heal people of physical and spiritual illnesses, raise the dead and inspire the hopeless, were astounded and skeptical when one of the women who went to visit his tomb with the correct embalming spices knocked on the door of their hiding place on the third day crying, “He is risen. We have seen him!”
Christians today around the world still celebrate the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. And it is from the Apostle John’s writings that the expectation of His return to finally eradicate Satan’s strong-hold on mankind is most carefully described in what is called by Christians, “The New Testament.”
Stories of how the faith in Jesus grew and expanded into churches. Question and issues encountered as people tried practice their faith in the Resurrection spread into a great variety of people groups over time, the spread of the Christian faith is in itself an interesting story of human success and failures.
The battle between God and Satan is described by the Apostle John in the final book called Revelation. It echoes much of the prophets predictive words in The Old Testament, which is the Torah of Jewish origin.
We stand today with the apostles and others of faith, looking into the night skies with satellites playing tag with the planets and stars, wondering, “When?” And our answer is clearly before us, “In God’s Time,” when a single day may be as a thousand years in human terms.
In the Acts (of the Apostles), two men dressed in white arrive, watching with the disciples when Jesus ascended into Heaven after returning to reassure them of his living presence: “Men of Galilee,” they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Beth Pratt retired as religion editor from the Avalanche-Journal after 25 years. You can email her at beth.pratt@cheerful.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Pratt: 'In God’s Time'
