My wife and I watched Mel Gibson’s movie “Passion of the Christ” last week. It opens with Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. It ends with a resurrected Christ walking out of the tomb. In-between are some of the most brutally bloody scenes I’ve ever seen in a motion picture.
The toughest to watch were those when Jesus was beaten by Roman soldiers. So much blood. So much blood. That’s what we should ponder when we hear the words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God gave His Son for a world and to a world that doesn’t want to be redeemed. Doesn’t want to be governed. Doesn’t want to be bothered. Doesn’t want to be interrupted.
Jesus lived the perfect life. Died the perfect death. His resurrection was an affirmation of that perfection. It’s a good day to think about that, this quiet Saturday after Good Friday.
Why?
Because this is the day Christ’s enemies celebrated their victory over God. “What’s a relief,” they thought. “It’s over.” Things could get back to normal. But there was no “normal” after the resurrection. The Holy Spirit was unleashed; the church was born. Soon (I believe) this same Jesus will return. This resurrected Christ.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:2 that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” I agree. “Now is the accepted time.” Why? Because, as it warns in Jeremiah 8:20, there will come a day when “now” is no longer: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Don’t wait until it’s too late. “Now is the accepted time.”
