Those three days....

So, it's Easter weekend.  People talk about Jesus on the cross, Jesus in the garden, the darkness and earth shaking when He died.  They rejoice in the resurrection.

However, we miss something that I find to be VERY important.  The disciples. Everything they believed up until that fateful weekend. Then, their entire world fell apart.

Have you ever spent 'dry' time?  When you don't hear from God? When you almost wonder if He's even there? You know, those times where you stay home from church because 'what if they can tell that God isn't talking to me?'  Yeah, those times.  The times where no amount of tears and pleading and begging will reconnect you.

That was 'Easter weekend' for the disciples, for the women who followed him, for everyone who believed that Jesus was King. Not only were they afraid for their physical lives but for their spiritual ones too.  If Jesus was not who He said He was then they had walked away from the Jewish traditions and were guilty of betrayal as well.

Just sit in that for a bit, we all want the good feeling that Jesus brings.  We want the "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." (Luke 6.38) We want the future that God has promised - "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jere 29.11) We want THOSE things.  We forget that Jesus said "Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you."  So we will be persecuted, not always by the people around us because we don't always fight flesh and blood.  Ephesians 6.12 tells us "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." So, they heavy desperation, the depression, the sadness, the darkness, the plea for help to God that seemingly goes unheard...that is what we need to fight against.  Just as the disciples did.

They had to fight against that same set of demons. It started in the Garden, with Jesus (well, it really started  in the Garden with Adam and Eve but I mean for the disciples) and won't finish until Jesus comes back again.

I am leaving you with this video on Easter Eve.  Do YOU remember the Garden? Do YOU remember Jesus' prayers? Do you remember the REAL reason why Easter Sunday was such a relief?  Will you let your weight be lifted when you recall that Jesus DID rise again on the 3rd day?