Week Before the Cross: Friday

Last night I watched "The Visual Bible - Mathew." Ever seen this? It is every verse from the book of Matthew in NIV on DVD with actors portraying the events.

I turn on the captions so it displays the verses on the screen like subtitles. It is 2 discs long so last night I watched up until just before the Lord's Supper. I'll watch the rest tonight and I'm looking forward to it.

So here we are. The day of crucifixion. It's weighty. And it would be unbearable without the knowledge of what comes on Sunday. Can you imagine being in the disciples' place on this day nearly 2,000 years ago? Rough.

Of course, they had been clearly told by Jesus that this would happen, and that He would rise again on the 3rd day. Yet somehow, they didn't quite grasp what He was telling them. It's weighty.

So here is what happened on this day in Jesus' life. The disciples scatter, and Peter denies believing in Jesus. Jesus is tried by the Jewish and Roman authorities:

• Matthew 26:57-27:2; Matthew 27:11-31; Mark 14:53-15:20; Luke 22:54-23:25; John 18:13-19:16

Then, Jesus is tortured and crucified - supposedly for the crime of blasphemy - but in reality, for every crime and sin of mine and yours:

• Matthew 27:31-56; Mark 15:20-41; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:17-30

The Bible doesn't tell us the events of Saturday for Jesus, when His body lay in a tomb. So we'll pick back up on Sunday for that dramatic conclusion.

Blessings ~ Rachel