The Ken Read Podcast

0318B A CORD OF THREE STRANDS (SONG OF THE WEEK)

A CORD OF THREE STRANDS (Read Family children version)

(This song was written almost 40 years ago for the wedding of our dear friends, Bill and Lynette Prosise. Three years ago, our children blessed us with a recording of them singing that song. A precious testament of our heritage.)

Build around the Master

Build upon the Rock

And you will be built on a firm foundation

A home that the storms will not rock.

You've grown to love each other

Two dreams have grown to be one

And witnesses know that your love still will grow

As long as you live in the Son.

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

A cord of three strands has unusual life.

And three joined as one makes a perfect new union:

Just husband and Jesus and wife.

With faith you can move mountains

And hope will help you be strong

And love never fails it endures to the end

In these three abide your life long.

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

A cord of three strands has unusual life.

And three joined as one makes a perfect new union:

Just husband and Jesus and wife.

 

0319 RAISING LAZY RUSS

RAISING LAZY RUSS

 

Lazy Russ was dead: to begin with. There’s no doubt whatair about that.

 

it wasn’t that he was just lyin there r-e-l still that was the clue. Russ could lay still-lack for hours on end, doingnothin tall. But Martyr and Mary knowed he was bad sick this time, on account of he was groanin and all hot n feverish. N then after a couple a days, Russ got quiet. Still lying there, just like always, but he wasn’t feeling so hot to the touch. Fact, he got to feelin just like room temperture. After a while, the sisters concluded he must be dead, cuz he wan’t eatin nothin no more, and he got kinda stiff-like.

 

so, they wrap him up and put him in a tomb and roll a stone there.

 

permit me to repeat: ol’Lazy Russ was deader’n a doornail. That was for sure. This must be distinctly unnerstood, or nothin wonnerful can come of the story I’m gonna relate.

 

meantime, up in Gal’lee, Jesus says to us Russ’s sleepin and He’s gonna wake im up. Then He says, Lazy Russ was dead. We was confused, but we figgured we go along, cause either way it would be something to see.

 

‘cept for Tommy. Tommy can find the black linin behind any cloud. You catch a record-size bass, n Tom’ll tell you the little ones taste better. In Tommy’s eyes, the glass is half empty, and it’s on account of it’s got a leak in it. Anyhoo, bein’ the eternal pessimist, Tom figgures if we head back near Jerusalem, Jesus’ll get killed. So he says, “let’s go too, so’s we can die with Him.” Tommy knows how to ruin a party.

 

couple days later, we get to Judea. Martyr runs out to meet the Lord, while Mary stays behind and prays n cries a while. Martyr glances at us-all with a look that says, “y’all et all my pretzels,” then she gets to blamin Jesus. Well, she was distraught. We’ll cut ‘er some slack.

 

“if’n you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t of died.”

 

there’s a nice greetin for ya.

 

to make a long story short, soon Prayery Mary come and says the same, n Jesus keeps saying’ he’ll live again n they keep saying it won’t be till later, n He says just believe, you’re gonna see something. Then Jesus says for one of us to roll the stone away from the tomb. Pete starts right in on it, long with Zealous Si.

 

before we can get started, Martyr thinks of something real practical. She says, “it’s been four days, Lord. Surely he stinketh much.”

 

Jesus, said, “no worse’n usual. And I ain’t Shirley. Go ahead and move yonder stone.”

 

(now the truth is, Russ never did smell too good. I’m thinking that’s why Jesus started cryin right about then.)

 

anyways, Pete n Si move the stone and come scamperin back with the group. Jesus prays n hollers, “Lazy Russ, come forth!”

 

kin I tell you what I was thinking right then? to be honest, I was rememberin the last time we seed Russ n the girls up in Gal’lee before they moved, when they was in their teens. Jesus n the girls n Russ was racing up a hill, like kid’ll do, n ol’ Lazy Russ, he was so slow, everybody beat ‘im up ‘ere. But Jesus wouldn’t say, “you come in last, Lazy Russ.” He says, “you come in fourth,” like Lazy Russ had actually done something good. So it had been kinda a joke amongst us all that Jesus was too polite too call Russ a loser.

 

so I was thinking Jesus hollered, “Lazy Russ, you come in fourth!” n I figgured He was tryin to encourage Russ again. Don’t know what I ‘xpected to happen, really.

 

but shore nuff, here come forth ol’ Lazy Russ, still all wrapped up in white cloth.

 

he looked like he’d been tee-pee’d, rolled up in toilet paper as part of some college prank. N there he was, trying to walk outa that tomb. Teeterin back n forth with little baby steps, sorta hoppin from time to time, not able to see where he’s goin.

 

I’m saying for bein a miracle, it weren’t the most impressive scene ever. Most of us was watchin, catchin sidewise glances at each other, with little snorts comin out our noses, tryin not to laugh out loud. I don’t think Martyr liked it. 

 

least we wasn’t eatin her pretzels.

 

at last ol Russ falls down, n Jesus says, “that’s just pitiful. Somebody unwrap that boy!”

 

Martyr was already there, n Pete n Si join in to hep. N in a minit, Russ is there, good as new. He weren’t even stinky, any more’n usual. In fact, with them spices they had on im, he was smellin better’n ever, like he splashed about a gallon of Old Spice on Himself.

 

maybe that was the greatest miracle ever. But if i’d had a video cam’ra, I bet a million people be watchin it on YouTube right now. “Resurrection Fail.”

Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. And people said, "How He loved him!" How do I know Jesus loves me? He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Amen.

0320 SEEING HOW PRAYER WORKS

SEEING HOW PRAYER WORKS

Jesus was nearing the end, we could tell. Though we didn’t see clearly how it would unfold, Jesus knew His time was at hand. The atmosphere was foreboding, to be sure. 

That was when we overheard the Master praying. It was full of so many emotions, and after I had some time to reflect on it, I realized that it contained every theological and practical matter of prayer. Let me explain it to you.

I thought I knew how prayer worked. We begin our prayers with reflectively addressing God, revering His name, noting His attributes, rehearsing His history, and honoring His holiness. It was how Jesus had taught us to pray. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” That sort of thing, you know. 

But Jesus broke the mold when He fell to His knees, lifted His hands and looked to the sky. His voice was choking back tears as He spoke, saying, “Now my soul is in turmoil.” I had not heard a prayer begin with such a self-aware confession of emotion and inner conflict. It wasn’t even clear whether the prayer had yet begun, really. 

I guess that was when I first realized that it’s okay to be honest and transparent with God about my feelings.

I also thought I knew the purpose of prayer. Prayer was to bring our petitions before the Throne and plead our requests. We were to be like the widow and the unjust judge, and just keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. God would respond to our sincere requests, if we asked and did not waver or doubt. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us our daily bread,” and all that.

But Jesus did not ask or seek or knock that day. He did the opposite. “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Certainly, His soul wanted to say just that. And if He had said it, maybe His Father would have delivered Him in answer to His request. But Jesus stopped to discern the Father’s will, not just His own. 

I guess before the “give us” comes the “Your will be done.”

I thought I had even understood God’s will. God’s will is to deliver us from evil. So our prayers should say, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The Father wants to bless His children. So we pray with confidence because that’s His will.

But Jesus knew God’s will is more complex than that. He went on to pray, “But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” He knew that in order for God to bless the billions, One would have to be rejected. He would need to suffer the agony of His Father turning His face away, of being forsaken by His God.

I guess my purpose is to serve Him, not to have Him serve me.

And I thought I understood how God answers prayer. Slowly, through natural process, silently, through impressions and dreams, nudges and coincidental timing. My prayers end with, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” It ends with my speaking, right?

But this day, God answered prayer in a way that I had never heard before. A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” We had heard that voice twice before—at His baptism, and on the mountain. But those occurrences were declarations, not responses to prayer.

I guess prayers do not always end with the Amen.

There was a crowd there that day. They didn’t all hear the prayer, because it wasn’t delivered for thousands of people to hear it. But thousands heard the response of the Father! Some, because they didn’t know the context, thought that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 

Jesus hadn’t needed to hear the sound. He answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.” It was for my sake, and those who heard the prayer, to realize that God the Father is actively listening and involved with every prayer I pray, even when I don’t know what to say, when I am asking for something that is against my will, when I am about to do a hard thing.

The prayer of Jesus was a brief touchstone between Son and Father as they headed into the final stretch of Christ’s purpose for coming to earth. I came to know those kinds of prayer well over the remaining decades of my own life. 

So. Did I ever tell you about the time I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day while in exile for Christ? Did I tell you about how I heard a voice like a trumpet behind me? And the rest, as they say, is what is yet to take place.

0321 LOVE ONE ANOTHER

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

What are the two greatest commandments, according to Jesus? Love God and love your neighbor. That’s right. He says that all of the law and the prophets is summarized in those two principles.

Those are the two most important Old Testament commandments. And yet Jesus now issues a new commandment. What are the subtle differences between this “new commandment” and the one that was already established? Let’s look at it.

Jesus had just washed the feet of his disciples when we said these words. And John notes that in this way, Jesus, “having loved” them, he “showed the full extent of his love” by washing the feet of these men. And then He gives them a new commandment about love. Coincidence? I think not.

Jesus says in verses 34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

What is “new” about this commandment? 

1. “One another.” It is not just love God and neighbor, but does involve loving “one another.” The church, the followers of Christ, become family. And family takes care of family. We show kindly affectionate brotherly love and defer to one another in this extended family circle. We have each other’s back,
2. Reputation. All people will know that we are Christians if we have love for other believers, and it shows that this is our natural love language. But if we only love naturally, and without the Holy Spirit, then our message will not be convincing. Not many churches have actually undertaken such radical love and fellowship.

What remains of this command, then, is to pursue the question, “And what is love?”

Love is not warm fuzzy familial feelings. There’s another word for that in Greek, and this is not it.

Love is not erotic emotional sexual attraction. There’s another word for that in Greek, and this is not it.

Love is not being good friends and neighbors. There’s another word for that in Greek, and this is not it.

Love is sacrifice. Love is surrender. Love is service. Love is laying down my life to choose what is best for you, not what is best for “me,” or even for “us.” Love is not a feeling; it is a choice.

This love is the right goal for every married couple to strive for. Not when they are dating and trying to attract each other. Not on their honeymoon. Not after living together for decades and taking one another for granted. But by diligent study of the love language of each other, maybe after fifty years you begin to achieve this kind of love. The love that is faithful for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until you are parted by death. And it only begins to kick in after seeing both sides of each of those promises.

So Jesus commands his followers to love one another. Not just one-on-one, but collectively to put one another before ourselves. Just as Jesus showed all of us his love for us. He laid down his life for us, his bride, and he did it long before he died. Jesus loved us in his daily schedule.

As we will see later in the New Testament, this kind of love is patient and kind. This kind of love does not envy or boast. This kind of love is not arrogant or rude. This kind of love does not insist on its own way. This kind of love is not irritable or resentful. This kind of love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. This kind of love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

This kind of love that Jesus commanded is the last thing standing, even after faith and hope are gone. It never ends.

This is what Jesus wants his followers to choose. Make no mistake about it; love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. 

Let us choose this kind of love. Amen.

0322 THE WAY

THE WAY

If you recall the book of Exodus, it covers the miraculous event of the children of Israel escaping from slavery in Egypt. It starts with the Passover and the flight in the night, the parting of the Red Sea, various stops along the way, Mt. Sinai and the giving of the law, including the ten commandments, and some forty years of wandering in the wilderness waiting to enter the Promised Land. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, the book is named Exodus. Ex = out of. Odos = road, way, path.

Jesus and others used the Septuagint when they spoke, using the common trade language of the people, rather than to try to communicate in Hebrew in the first century. (Note that they did not use Latin, even though Palestine had been conquered by Rome at this point.) So it is especially significant that Jesus uses the word “odos” to describe himself here. After all, He is The Way Out.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Our Lord does not just point us to the way or tell us the way. He does not help us find the way. No, he IS the way. He himself is the road that we travel from captivity of sin to the promised land of freedom and grace. What’s more, Jesus does not say that He is A way, being one of the paths to God. No, he says that he is the only way to the Father. And just to be more clear, he says that no one comes to the Father except through him. There is salvation in no other name than the name above every name, the name of Jesus.

Jesus also called himself the truth. And, again, not just saying that he speaks or tells the truth, but that he IS the truth. And not just A truth, but THE truth. There is no other who is truly true. He is the Only True Way to the Father. There are many who speak truisms, or who tell the truth. But there is only One who IS The Truth itself. All the others are imposters and liars.

And then Jesus refers to himself as the life. Not just alive, and not just life. Not just that he leads to life or that he keeps from death. Not just that he is a way that leads to positive results. But he himself is the one and only life, saving us from sin and death. Soon, Jesus would die and be raised to life again, and be able to raise us again to eternal life. And he is the only one in history to have such a power.

And just in case you didn’t catch it, Jesus clarifies that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus himself. Because, he is the way. He is the truth. And he is the life. Amen.

0323 ABIDING IN HIM

ABIDING IN THE VINE

John 15:1-6 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Jesus so often used metaphors and common experiences for his listeners to understand an abstract concept. They were drawn into the common knowledge of the word picture, and then were better able to make the leap to understand the metaphysical teachings of the ways of God. So he spoke of fishing, of sowers and harvesters, of seasons and servants, of plowing and pruning, of servants and masters and lost sheep and a man with two sons, all of these practical matters of daily life, all to explain spiritual truths. I notice how seldom Jesus started his analogies with talk of Jewish worship, such as sacrifices and festivals, except when He was talking to the religious leaders.

So here Jesus uses a rather extended metaphor of vines and bearing fruit, with which the vast majority of his listeners were well acquainted. I can’t explain about vines from the viewpoint of an experienced vinedresser. But we are here to understand the spiritual truths behind the earthly metaphor. So let’s see if we can find a parallel illustration that will illustrate the same principles.

Jesus says that he is the true vine, and his father is the vinedresser. Believers are branches of the vine, who “abide” in the vine. If we bear fruit, it is because of our connection with him. If we do not bear much fruit, we are pruned by the vinedresser, so that we will in time bear more fruit. Pruning might seem painful, but it is for the good of our goal as branches in the vine: to bear much fruit. If, on the other hand, somehow we detach ourselves from the vine, we bear no fruit and die. Then the vinedresser gathers us and throws us into the fire to be burned.

Let me try a musical metaphor and see if it helps me to understand the story as more of an insider to the principles. I am an orchestra player. Jesus is the conductor, and the Father is the composer and/or owner of the concert hall. If I follow the conductor’s directions and fall into synch with the orchestra and him, then the music we make will be beautiful, and the more we are as one the more beautiful the art we make. If I get off the beat or play out of tune, I will be told to pay more attention and to practice with a metronome or something. If I follow the correction, it will make me a better player. But if I decide to play a solo in the middle of the work, I will be escorted out and cut from the orchestra. It is only in following the conductor to embody the music that he hears in his head that will yield results that sweep us all away into rapture of the collective music we have come to create.

Or, since it illustrates everything in life, let’s try baseball. Jesus is the manager and his Father is the owner. I am a baseball player on the team. Coach Jesus has trained us and drilled us until we can be ready for any situation. I am really no good on my own, but thanks to his careful instruction, I am a valuable five-tool player, helping the team to win it all. Sometimes I go through a slump or get the yips, and coach might bench me for a few games and go back to work on fundamentals. It will serve to make me a better player in the end, and the team needs me to be at my best every game. But if I decide not to follow coach’s instruction in practice or his directions during the game, I’ll be released from the team, and no other team will want me, either. I will be robbed of the very game I claim to love so much, because you can’t play baseball by yourself.

May you wrap yourself around Jesus, drawing your life from deep within his, and becoming what He alone can help you to become, this day and always. Amen.

 

0324 CONVICTION!

THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS

John 16:7-12 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Jesus came into the world to call all to “repent,” for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. If his message is reduced to a single word, that word could be “repent!” That might seem a bit unfriendly or unloving, but in truth it is the most loving thing that Jesus could ever say. As Proverbs 27:9 says, “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.” Other translations call it “sincere counsel,” “earnest counsel,” “true friendship.” In other words, the greatest joy one receives from a friend is when that friend is telling you something hard.

So when Jesus went away and returned to heaven, He left the counselor here on earth to be our guide. The unexpected part of that prediction from Jesus is that there are three applications, all of which speak of the Spirit bringing conviction.

A convict is a person who has been convicted of a crime. In this case, they didn’t necessarily confess to their wrongdoing. But they were nonetheless found guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt, and so were declared to be guilty of the crime.

So are we, you know. Regardless of whether we have yet acknowledged our guilt, we are convicted by the One who knows both our hearts and our actions. So we are convicted by the heavenly court, objectively speaking.

But in the case of the Holy Spirit, conviction is felt within. We feel the conviction, know it in our hearts, fall under the judgment of the Holy God. This is the job of the Spirit whom Jesus says He will send in His place. When the Spirit comes, it doesn’t take Jesus going from town to town to say, “Repent!” The Spirit is in every conscience, and He declares the news. He convicts us (the world, before becoming members of the kingdom) of sin, righteousness and judgment.

We are convicted of sin because we do not believe in Jesus. We realize that our behavior has been quite contrary to the holiness of God. 

We are convicted of righteousness because Jesus has gone to the Father. We have a measurement by which to know what righteousness is, and to know that we have not met that standard.

We are convicted of judgment, because the ruler of the world is judged. When the Spirit enters our lives, we see the end for the devil, and realize that Satan is our enemy, not the friend we had imagined. We see that the serpent of old is cursed, and he is not our friend at all. The Spirit helps us to distance ourselves from the evil one with whom we once were aligned.

This is the joyful, blessed work of the Holy Spirit on earth. He convicts the world, everywhere, all at once. And the gift of conviction is that it is the only way to reconciliation. The Spirit brings us to a right relationship with the Father by convicting us of our sin, of His righteousness, and of coming judgment. The conviction brings us to repentance, and repentance sends us in a new direction.

To be clear, know that conviction is not the ONLY work of the Spirit. The Spirit will bring things to our remembrance, He will lead and guide, teach us, help us discern truth, give us words to say, even work signs and wonders. So the work of the Holy Spirit is multifaceted. But you might say that the FIRST work of the Spirit is to convict us.

Thank God for the effective work of the Holy Spirit in the world! May He bring you to a right relationship with God, even this day. Amen.

0325 LOOKING UP

HE LIFTED HIS EYES

When you hear someone say, “Let us go to the Lord in prayer,” what is your natural posture? For those of us who have become used to the practices of evangelical Christianity, our natural inclination is to bow our head and close our eyes, perhaps folding our hands somehow. What does that posture mean? Does it have biblical support? Why do we choose that posture? Those are three different questions, so let’s deal briefly with each one in turn.

What does it mean when we bow our head and close our eyes and fold our hands to pray? Thinking about that posture in prayer, I suppose it would represent contrition and humility, repentance and brokenness.

Does it have biblical support? Surprisingly, the best support for such a posture in prayer is in the story of the Pharisee and the publican, both praying at the temple. There, Jesus said that the tax collector (the publican) “would not even look up,” but beat his breast. That’s because he was particularly broken and repentant before God, so that he humbly chose not to follow the prayer posture of his people.

Jewish prayers were done looking up to heaven, with eyes wide open and hands extended in the air. This was the posture in the synagogue, while all the members stood and faced toward Jerusalem. They looked up because that’s where God seemed to be located—in heaven, don’t you know?

So, why do so many Christians today face downward when they pray? Is it because they imagine their Heavenly Father to be below them? Certainly not! Is it because they are following the example of the publican who would not even dare to look up, but smote his breast and said have mercy on me a sinner? I don’t think so. Otherwise, they would also be smiting themselves on the chest as they pray. But I do have a theory as to how this tradition started. Want to know what it is? I’ll tell you anyway: I think it’s a matter of crowd control in junior church. The leader would say to them, “Now I want every head bowed and every eye closed, and keep your hands to yourself, and we are going to pray now. Every . . . Head . . . Johnny? . . . Every eye . . . No, Susie. We’re praying now.” 

In any case, Jesus, when He prayed this beautiful, extended prayer for his followers, “lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come…’”

How do you think it would change your relationship with God the Father if you normally spoke to him with your eyes open and looking up? As the call-and-response of the ancient liturgy says, “Lift up your hearts.” “They are with the Lord.” And you see in that worship space that an image of Jesus has been painted on the ceiling, of all places! 

Maybe we find it easier to concentrate when we pray with our eyes closed, so we don’t get distracted quite so easily. But maybe we will find it is easier to pray when we worship with our eyes open, lifting our eyes unto the hills, from whence comes our help, or looking unto Jesus the author and perfector of our faith, or looking to heaven as we address our Heavenly Father. 

Maybe as we join Jesus in our prayers, we will find that things are really looking up.

0325B TO LOVE YOU (SONG OF THE WEEK)

TO LOVE YOU

(The verse of this song came to me in a dream one morning over 25 years ago. Here is an a cappella arrangement being sung by Katie and Daniel Read, and Samantha and Josh Rutledge.)

To love You, Lord my God

with all my heart, with all my soul

with all my mind, with all my strength

This is my highest prayer.

 

This is my dream

My sacred passion

My highest Goal to love the One for whom I'm fashioned.

0326 LONGEST DAY EVER

THE LONGEST DAY

 

a day lasts for twany-four hours, right? but some of em pass by so quick, you’d think it was just a few minutes. Others is so full of sorrow n fear, they seem to last forever. Jesus’ last day on earth was the longest day ever for me.

 

it begun nice enuf. Passover. Thursday evenin in Jerusalem. saider meal. Little Jimmy asks, “how come this night is differ’nt?” Jesus gives the traditional Jewish answer:  we was slaves in Egypt, the Lord delivered us from death through the blood of a perfect lamb, we et unleavened bread, n escaped into the Promised Land, where we now dwell.

 

course, we fuss over who gits the best seats. I’m a bit ashamed to say I wun ‘n was sittin on Jesus’ right hand. Then Jesus gits up n starts washin all of our feet. Oops. There ain’t no slaves to do that courtesy. Except One. Jesus reminds us one last time, the way up is down.

 

Jesus says:  “a new command I give y’all:  love one anuther, as I love y’all.” love ain’t nothin new. But lovin like Jesus loves, that’s a whole new level downward mobility, I guess you’d say.

 

Jesus takes the bread and wine, explains ‘em in a new way. They’s His body n blood. Tells us to remember Him.

 

He says somebody gonna betray Him. Somebody dippin in His bowl with Him. We-all declare, surely it ain’t me. But I’m wond’rin: did I done invade the Lord’s personal space bubble one too meny times, like Pete says? He tryin to say He’s tired sharin His bowl with me all the time? Judas up n leaves. Turns out, he’s the one.

 

Jesus says Pete’ll deny Him. Pete, course, denies that he’d deny Him. Says he’d die for Him. N us-all believed we would, too. Well, that didn’t work out, neither.

 

we sing a bit. Head to the Garden. Sunset. Jesus starts prayin n weepin. Asks us to stay with Him. Tells us to pray for ourselves, so we don’t fall into temptation. Wellsir, we fall into temptation before we even start prayin not to, cause we all fall asleep, with all the sadness round us. Nine o’clock. All’s not well.

 

midnight. Suddenly, an unruly mob. Temple poe-lease, Phar’sees, your general run-the-mill miscreants n ne’er-do-wells, n . . . Who’s that? . . . Judas. One of our own. Kisses Jesus. Mob grabs Him. Pete uses a sword. Jesus tells him stop. We all take off like spooked rabbits. 

 

Jesus is tried by the high priest. I sneak in. Pete comes with me. Pete keeps openin his mouth. when he does, he sounds like somebody from Gal’lee County. “Gl’lee!” people’s ready to throw him in there on trial with Jesus. Pete denies Jesus. Three times. Shore nuff. Runs off weepin bitterly.

 

they accuse Jesus of lots of stuff. Nothin worthy of death. Then the high priest says, “if you claim to be the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

 

“couldn’t a said it better Myself,” says Jesus. High priest flies into an indignant rage. They got the crime: He claimed to be God. High priest is so upset, he rents his robe, even tho he already owns it. They decide what they already’d decided:  Jesus gotta die.

 

i guess it’s the worst of sins to claim to be God Almighty. Unless You is. Then, You’re just tellin the truth.

 

so, they gonna kill Jesus. But they got a problem. for one thing, it’s pretty much again the Ten Commandments. But the bigger problem for them:  the Promised Land in which we dwell is run by pig-eatin, idol-worshipin Romans, n the Romans say it’s illegal for anybody to kill anybody unless the Romans get to do it theyselves.

 

they beat up Jesus some more so He looks like a crim’nal. Then they march Him over n wake up Pilate, the Roman Head Hoo-Hah.

 

they say, Jesus claims to be king, steada Caesar. 

 

ain’t that something? them Phar’sees absolutely hate Caesar, n Pilate knows it. Whate’er works, I guess. Pilate interrogates Jesus. Jesus is silent.

 

Pilate comes up with an idea!  ever year at Passover, it just so happens that Pilate releases any pris’ner the Jews choose. That very day in jail there’s a notorious man named Jesus. Jesus Barabbas. He’d led a terrorist uprisin n killt a Roman officer. Pilate shore don’t want to release a no-good like Barabbas. But he got him whatcha call a loopy-hole. He can release Jesus n kill Barabbas.

 

after all, Jesus is poplar amongst the people. Right? all them folks singin hosannas five days before. But the Phar’sees stir up the crowd to ask for Barabbas. to have Jesus crucified. Pilate give in—but he washes his hands of the whole thing. He don’t want all this on his sorry head.

 

they whip Jesus again. Lead Him off to be crucified.

 

i can’t describe what Jesus looked like as He was bein crucified. Already beaten near to death. Forced to carry His cross up to Skull Hill. They strip off His robe. Crucify Him completely nekked. No dignity left whatsoever. Nail His wrists n His feet to the wood. Stand it up n drop it in a hole. Pulls his bones outa joint. Pain. Loss of blood. Lack of breath. Sufferin. Hours. It’s the ugliest, most horrific death ever invented. Leave it to the Romans.

 

silent at His trial, when He could get Himself released. On the cross He speaks. But all He says is, “forgive em all, Father. They don’t have no idea what they’re doin.” forgives the man hanging next to Him. Silent in the face of them that mock Him. No, I don’t know how He done it.

 

looks down at His momma. Asks me to take care of her. I did, for the rest of her life.

 

summons His strength. Yells, “it’s all done!” gives His spirit over to His Father. Breathes His last.

 

two rich men ask Pilate for the body. Cover it with spices. Wrap it up tight. Get Him in the tomb before sundown. 

 

twany-four hours. Seems like a lifetime. Jesus goes from eatin a sacrificed lamb to being One. Us boys all go from laughin to cryin, and from tryin to get closest to Jesus to tryin to get farthest away. All the Jewish leaders, who hate Rome, end up pairin up with the Romans on this one matter. Jesus is silent when it could hep Him, n speaks when it can hep ever’buddy else. He’s despised n rejected, n by His stripes we are healed.

 

the ugliest, most beautiful day of my life.