‘Since He Himself has gone through suffering and temptation, He is able to help us when we are tempted…’ (Hebrews 2:18)

Every day in life we face temptation in one form or another. Sometimes it is obvious for us to see but at other times it is not. But no matter what that temptation may be, the Lord can help us overcome.

‘God is faithful…’ (1 Cor. 10:13)

How good it is to know that even when we wander, when we stumble and fall through a lack of faith, that God will always remain faithful to His promises to us and that through His Son will always welcome us back into His tender loving embrace.

‘…let God transform you inwardly…’ (Romans 12:2)

Whenever we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour we are saved, however, our calling is more than this – our calling is to share this Good News with all. For that to happen we need to allow God’s Holy Spirit to work within us, to transform us and make us more Christ like in all we say and do. So ask God’s Spirit to work in you today, that you might become the Disciple He would have you be and that you might serve Him as He would have you.

‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…’ (Romans 8:28)

Sometimes as we journey through life we find ourselves facing situations and circumstances that we do not understand. How did these things happen? Why are they happening? And the simple, but difficult truth for us to understand, is that we might never understand in this lifetime. What we need to remember, however, is that no matter where we find ourselves in life, the Lord is always with us and He will guide and help us through whatever we are facing.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty…’ (Revelation 1:8)

What do we understand by this verses and what does it mean to us in terms of the way we live out our faith lives each day?

Looking back over the past few days, what differences did we notice in the Gospel narratives?

All four Gospels suggest Jesus died on a Friday and that it was on the Sunday after the Sabbath that the women came to find the empty tomb, but there were differences. The Synoptics all speak of these final hours of Jesus life beginning from the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, John speaks of before the festival. In John when the Jewish authorities come to Pilate they will not enter for fear of defiling themselves before the Passover, but not so in the Synoptic Gospels. Also, in John’s account of these few days Jesus is very much accepting of and in control of what is about to happen. There is no mention of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and also a longer discourse between Jesus and Pilate. Why? It would seem that John is out to show us that all of these things happened because it was destined to be. Jesus’ life wasn’t taken from Him, He willingly gave it up for us, He was in control the whole time. However, there also seems to be a clear difference in timings between John and the Synoptic Gospels, but why?

Was it simply that by the time John wrote his Gospel the calendar had changed or were there theological reasons. For example, see John 19:13,14 – the sixth hour on the Day of Preparation would have been about the time when the authorities in the Temple would have been preparing the Sacrificial Lambs – remember John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world… It would seem that John clearly wants us to look to Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice.

There is no mention of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and also a longer discourse between Jesus and Pilate. Why? It would seem that John is out to show us that all of these things happened because it was destined to be. Jesus’ life wasn’t taken from Him, He willingly gave it up for us, He was in control the whole time.

John’s Gospel is completely different from the Synoptics, not just in these verses but in many ways, and many believe it is the most accurate record of the ministry of Christ. However, that is not to say that the writer of this account did not have his own agenda to proclaim.

Readings for this Good Friday:- Matthew 27:11-26, Mark 15:1-15, Luke 23:1-25, John 18:33-19:16

All of these accounts feature the exchange between Jesus and Pilate, and again John is significantly different from the Synoptic Gospels. In the Synoptics Jesus says very little, however, in John’s Gospel there is quite along discourse between Jesus and Pilate. Not only that, during this discourse although it is Jesus who is on trial and being questioned, there are times when you might believe it to be the other way around. John gives this picture again of Jesus being in complete control of all that is happening.

Continuing from where we left of yesterday:-

Read     Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:1-14

All these accounts speak of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before being arrested, but notice the differences in them. For John there is not the agony of Jesus that we see in the Synoptics and in John, after Jesus is arrested, there is no trial before the Jewish Council only Caiaphas. For John, Jesus is not only accepting of what is about to happen, but is in control of all that is happening.

Over the next few days we are going to focus very much on the last few days of Jesus time here on earth before His crucifixion, primarily looking at the different accounts of these events as found in the different Gospel narratives. We all know these verses so well, but have we ever taken time to compare the different Gospel narratives around the same events? Let’s do so now and then take time to reflect on why there may be some subtle differences. However, before we do so, a little background information:-

Passover, which is the 7 day Feast of Unleavened Bread, begins on the 15^th of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which falls within either March or April of our calendar today, and lasts for seven days. In Judaism, however, each day begins at dusk on the preceding day, so the 15^th day of Nisan would begin at sunset on the evening of the 14^th.

The Paschal Lamb, eaten at Passover would be selected on Nisan 10 and then slaughtered and prepared at dusk on Nisan 14. It is then eaten later that night, on Nisan 15, and any remnants of the sacrificial meal would have to be burned before the sun rises on Nisan 15.

Read Matthew 26:17-19     Mark 14:12     Luke 22:7-8     John 13:1-3

Is there any one of these narratives that seems to stand out from the others as being different? If so, why might that be?