What Jesus Did : Mark 15:42 - Day of Preparation
by Phil Ware
Day of Preparation - Mark 15:42
This day was called Preparation day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. (ERV) Full TextKey Thought
We have lost almost all sense of a day of preparation for a holy day with God. Unfortunately, many Christians have lost their sense of the special-ness of the first day of the week (Sunday) and let many other things crowd in and distort a day to be with God and his people. To challenge folks to spend Saturday preparing for this day is almost unthinkable to many in our busy world. Yet in the middle of the mayhem and horror of the crucifixion, the Jews in Jesus' day took notice and sought to honor their Sabbath with God. There are two judgments rendered by this one short verse. First, ritual observance of days does not make us holy, because it is so easy to do the ritual and forget the righteous call of God—the horrible acts of the people directed at Jesus are proof of this. Second, in our day, we have lost the sense of holy because we have allowed all days to become the same—busy days to get done what we want to do and then squeeze our "God-time" in where it fits. How sad on both accounts.
Today's Prayer
O Father, please give me a proper sense of what is holy. I do not want to be a legalistic ritual keeper; yet at the same time, I do not want to drain all of life of its meaning by secularizing all time. Teach me to know your will, your time, and your holy ways. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
This day was called Preparation day. (That means the day before the Sabbath day.) It was becoming dark. A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to go to Pilate and ask for Jesus' body. Joseph was an important member of the Jewish council. He was one of the people that wanted the kingdom of God to come. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. Pilate called the army officer that guarded Jesus. Pilate asked the officer if Jesus was already dead. The officer told Pilate that Jesus was dead. So Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. Joseph bought some linen cloth. Joseph took the body {from the cross} and wrapped the body in the linen. Then Joseph put the body in a tomb (grave) that was dug in a wall of rock. Then Joseph closed the tomb by rolling a large stone to cover the entrance. Mary from Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was put.-- Mark 15:42-47 (ERV)
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