<\/p><\/a><\/div>\n

As you read the events of Holy Week in the Gospels, you might notice some similarities to a heist movie.\u00a0 For example, it repeatedly seems like the bad guys have the upper hand.\u00a0 One of Jesus\u2019 own disciples betrays him for 30 pieces of silver.\u00a0 Jesus is lynched by a company of soldiers in the middle of the night.\u00a0 He is tried by a kangaroo court of jealous religious leaders.\u00a0 The spineless Roman governor Pontius Pilate declares him innocent but still condemns him to keep the peace (and his job).\u00a0 Jesus is sentenced to the torturous execution reserved for violent criminals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imagine how Satan and his demons must have felt at this point.\u00a0 It reminds me of my favorite Easter hymn as a kid: \u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s Risen, He\u2019s Risen.\u201d\u00a0 Verse two says,<\/p>\n

The foe was triumphant when on Calvary<\/em><\/p>\n

The Lord of creation was nailed to the tree.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Satan\u2019s domain did the hosts shout and jeer,<\/em><\/p>\n

For Jesus was slain, whom the evil ones fear.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jesus is crucified; the bad guys are winning; all hope is lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But remember:\u00a0 this is a heist movie, and things are not as they seem.\u00a0 We should have paid more attention at the beginning of the movie.\u00a0 When Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem, he sends two disciples to a village to find a colt tied up in the street.\u00a0 He prophesies that someone will let them \u201cborrow\u201d the colt simply because they say, \u201cThe Lord needs it.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, but if I caught someone stealing my Mazda and they told me, \u201cthe Lord needs it,\u201d I would call the police.\u00a0 It all happens just as Jesus says, and the disciples return with the colt (Mark 10:1-10).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The whole week is like that.\u00a0 At the Passover meal, Jesus reveals that Judas will betray him and then sends him off, like Christ is the MC dismissing an act.\u00a0 As a company of soldiers approaches Jesus, he asks them whom they are seeking.\u00a0 When they answer \u201cJesus of Nazareth,\u201d he replies, \u201cI am he,\u201d and they topple like bowling pins.\u00a0 When Peter draws his sword and lops off the ear of a servant in the mob, Jesus rebukes him and heals the man.\u00a0 Later, Pontius Pilate is terrified to realize that it is really he <\/em>who is on trial, not Jesus; and he can\u2019t get rid of Jesus fast enough.\u00a0 On the cross, Jesus prays that the Father would forgive his enemies like he is directing the film; he promises heaven to a repentant criminal as if he\u2019s Heaven\u2019s Authority; he yells out \u201cIt is finished,\u201d (nearly impossible in his state) then bows his head and gives up his spirit\u2014which is another way of saying that he decides when it is time to die.\u00a0 The moment of his passing, there is an earthquake; the un-rippable temple curtain is ripped in two; and several dead believers resuscitate and wander into Jerusalem.\u00a0 Dozens of prophesies made over thousands of years are fulfilled in a single day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My favorite Easter hymn continues:<\/p>\n

\n
But short was their triumph; the Savior arose,<\/em><\/p>\n
And death, hell, and Satan He vanquished, His foes.<\/em><\/p>\n
The conquering Lord lifts His banner on high;<\/em><\/p>\n
He lives, yes, He lives, and will nevermore die.<\/em><\/p>\n
O, where is your sting, death? We fear you no more;<\/em><\/p>\n
Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden\u2019s door.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
For all our transgressions His blood does atone;<\/em><\/p>\n
Redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The bad guys are conquered; the good guy prevails.\u00a0 Roll credits!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you see what this means?\u00a0 You may wonder about this whole salvation thing.\u00a0 You may be carrying a Whirlpool fridge of shame on your shoulders.\u00a0 You may be snared in some kind of addiction.\u00a0\u00a0 You may struggle to believe you can be forgiven and loved by God.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Will you be ruined and destroyed?\u00a0 Is true peace a pipedream?\u00a0 Is it possible God could produce anything good out of your foolishness?\u00a0 You\u2019ve heard you are forgiven, but will you ever feel<\/em> forgiven?\u00a0 Will you ever be rid of this crippling shame?\u00a0 Maybe there is no happily-ever-after for you.\u00a0 Maybe the credits of your life will roll to a lifeless dirge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Corey Ten Boom said famously, \u201cIf you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. \u00a0If you look within, you’ll be depressed. \u00a0If you look at God you’ll be at rest.\u201d\u00a0 Stop focusing on what the bad guys are up to, whether the bad guys out there or the bad guy within.\u00a0 Look at the good guy.\u00a0 As you contemplate the passion story again this week, look for hints that the good guy is working the plan he and his Father concocted in eternity.\u00a0 That Savior rides into Jerusalem on a colt; he orchestrates his own arrest and the Kangaroo court; he arranges to be arraigned before Pilate so he can be executed on a Roman cross according to a thousand-year-old prophecy.\u00a0 He endures the rejection of his Father as he suffers for the crimes of the world.\u00a0 And he bursts out of an air-tight tomb three days later.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
All this elaborate scheme so you can be saved, and you could be 100% certain of it.\u00a0 No matter how guilty or ashamed, you are forgiven and cleansed.\u00a0 You are declared innocent in Jesus.\u00a0 You are at peace with God.\u00a0 You are loved now and forever.\u00a0 Roll Credits!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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