If you go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Stan53jo/Home# you can see our latest efforts in our garden. I harvested the potatoes yesterday. Today I harvested the last of our tomatoes for this season. On Saturday morning I am going Burdetts to purchase more seedlings. I now wish to try grow cauliflower, broccoli, peas and beans. My aim isn't to make us self sufficient in these vegetables, but to add to supplement our veggies with home grown produce. Can I do it? I don't know, but I am going to try.
On the news front, our Vicar, The Rev Phil Hurwood and his wifey have gone of to the UK. In the mean time, St Luke's has a fill in, no pun intended, Minister. The forums can continue as normal. Except for one item, that being my Bible notes from our daily reading plan. As Phil is not here to monitor what I write, I will be posting them here.
Today's Bible reading is from 1 Corinthians 11.
This is one of those controversial topics. Well two topics actually. I will address both here. I have no restrictions on what I write here.
The first is: women as leaders in the church. In context or out of context. Literal or allegorical. That is the question. To be or not to be. Now, from where I am standing, Paul says women leading in church is not happening. That leaves the question: Is this current in today's church? Hmmm. That's a sticky question. Well, if it's not relevant to today's church and time, then which part of the Bible is? Do we take it literally?
No, wait. Paul didn't say that at all. He said man is the head of woman. Can woman lead? Yes. Provided...... and in this chapter he shows how. Interesting.
Now to topic number two. To eat or not to eat that is the question. To drink, or not to drink that is the question. Again, Paul is clear. Don't eat or drink unworthily. But wait, there is more. Remember, even if we eat we are in that very act, acknowledging that we can see His death. So, we partake either to our salvation or damnation. Which will it be?
There are some churches who wont allow a stranger to partake of the Lord's supper lest that person partake unworthily. They will "examine" the person to see whether they be in Christ or not.
And that is my lot for today.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Sunday 12th April 2009 I am blogoholic
That's what my wifey just called me. And she is right. She is a woman. You see, women have two rules. Well one actually.
Rule number 1: Woman is always right.
Rule number 2: If woman is ever found to be wrong, see rule number 1.
And that is enough of that.
Today is Easter Sunday. Three days after Jesus was buried, He rose. Some time on Sunday morning. In the wee small hours. You see Mary went to the tomb in the early morn, but the tomb was empty, the stone rolled away and no Jesus in there. Ain't that something else. It is that very fact that gives me such great hope. The life that he lived qualified Him for the death He died. You see, His death is only part of the picture. If He had just died that would have paid the penalty for my sin, it would have covered that sin, but that is all. You see a lamb did the same. It was a sacrifice, a payment if you will, for a sin committed. But it didn't guarantee resurrection from physical death. It didn't prove that we would have a place in eternity. Jesus resurrection did that. It qualified us for new life. The death He died qualified us for the life we live.
He was seen so many times, and the apostles also saw Him ascend into heaven. If He hadn't resin, what prove would we have that there is life after death, and what guarantee would we have that we would be a part of it?
What is the next big event in the Christian calendar? Pentecost Sunday, which should happen 31st May 2009.
What's it all about? The birth of the church is what it is all about. This is interesting.
"When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force-no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck.] They couldn't for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, "Aren't these all Galileans?] How come we're hearing them talk in our various mother tongues? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs! "They're speaking our languages, describing God's mighty works!" Their heads were spinning; they couldn't make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: "What's going on here?" Others joked, "They're drunk on cheap wine." That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: "Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren't drunk as some of you suspect. They haven't had time to get drunk-it's only nine o'clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen: "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams. When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and women both, and they'll prophesy. I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvellous; And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved." That is from Acts 2:1-21.
I think that is fantastic. What about you? Can you imagine this. The One you love more that life itself dies. A couple of days later He rises again. He stops by for a week or two and then you watch Him rise, literally into the sky. A bit like a rocket heading into space. That's enough to make any one sit up and take notice.
He leaves, your down in the dumps, not too happy about things at all. You and a bunch of people are sitting in a room praying one day and all of a sudden a jet aircraft sounds as though it is about to land. But it doesn't. You are sort of off with the pixies about now, thinking about how wonderful He is and how much you gonna miss Him and well, love sort of wells up and you open your mouth and start babbling like a fool only it's not babble, it's all about Jesus and even more amazingly, people who speak a different language to you, that you don't know and cant normally speak, can clearly understand every single word you are talking in their own tongue.
Yep, that's guaranteed to get any one's attention.
When is Pentecost Sunday? 31st May 2009, or so it seems. More details when it gets closer.
Rule number 1: Woman is always right.
Rule number 2: If woman is ever found to be wrong, see rule number 1.
And that is enough of that.
Today is Easter Sunday. Three days after Jesus was buried, He rose. Some time on Sunday morning. In the wee small hours. You see Mary went to the tomb in the early morn, but the tomb was empty, the stone rolled away and no Jesus in there. Ain't that something else. It is that very fact that gives me such great hope. The life that he lived qualified Him for the death He died. You see, His death is only part of the picture. If He had just died that would have paid the penalty for my sin, it would have covered that sin, but that is all. You see a lamb did the same. It was a sacrifice, a payment if you will, for a sin committed. But it didn't guarantee resurrection from physical death. It didn't prove that we would have a place in eternity. Jesus resurrection did that. It qualified us for new life. The death He died qualified us for the life we live.
He was seen so many times, and the apostles also saw Him ascend into heaven. If He hadn't resin, what prove would we have that there is life after death, and what guarantee would we have that we would be a part of it?
What is the next big event in the Christian calendar? Pentecost Sunday, which should happen 31st May 2009.
What's it all about? The birth of the church is what it is all about. This is interesting.
"When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force-no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck.] They couldn't for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, "Aren't these all Galileans?] How come we're hearing them talk in our various mother tongues? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs! "They're speaking our languages, describing God's mighty works!" Their heads were spinning; they couldn't make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: "What's going on here?" Others joked, "They're drunk on cheap wine." That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: "Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren't drunk as some of you suspect. They haven't had time to get drunk-it's only nine o'clock in the morning. This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen: "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams. When the time comes, I'll pour out my Spirit On those who serve me, men and women both, and they'll prophesy. I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and billowing smoke, the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Day of the Lord arrives, the Day tremendous and marvellous; And whoever calls out for help to me, God, will be saved." That is from Acts 2:1-21.
I think that is fantastic. What about you? Can you imagine this. The One you love more that life itself dies. A couple of days later He rises again. He stops by for a week or two and then you watch Him rise, literally into the sky. A bit like a rocket heading into space. That's enough to make any one sit up and take notice.
He leaves, your down in the dumps, not too happy about things at all. You and a bunch of people are sitting in a room praying one day and all of a sudden a jet aircraft sounds as though it is about to land. But it doesn't. You are sort of off with the pixies about now, thinking about how wonderful He is and how much you gonna miss Him and well, love sort of wells up and you open your mouth and start babbling like a fool only it's not babble, it's all about Jesus and even more amazingly, people who speak a different language to you, that you don't know and cant normally speak, can clearly understand every single word you are talking in their own tongue.
Yep, that's guaranteed to get any one's attention.
When is Pentecost Sunday? 31st May 2009, or so it seems. More details when it gets closer.
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Saturday 11th April 2009 When
When was Jesus crucified.
All credit goes to Chosen People Ministry's for this post. How many of us have wondered which exact day it was that Jesus died upon a cross. I know I have had to do some mental gymnastics to reconcile myself to when it all took place. The Bible says Jesus was in the earth for three days and nights.
Well, consider the following.
Quote:
John says that Jesus died on the day of preparation of Passover Week, just before a special Sabbath (John 19:14, 31). The other three gospels seem to say that Jesus was arrested on the first day of Passover and crucified the following day. How can this apparent contradiction be resolved, and on what day of the week was Jesus crucified?
John 19:14 tells us that it was the day of preparation of Passover week, but it is not to be assumed that this was the preparation for the Passover. There were also the weekly Sabbath and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread taking place at that time.
John 19:31 tells us that it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. The special Sabbath may mean a weekly Sabbath that was special because it was at the time of Passover, or it may refer to the feast of unleavened bread.
A scenario to consider is as follows:
The Passover lamb was slain at twilight Wednesday, just as Thursday was beginning (Jewish days go from sunset to sunset).
Thursday was the preparation for the Passover and that evening (the beginning of Friday) the Passover was eaten-including the Passover meal eaten by Jesus and his disciples (initiating the Lord's Supper).
Later that night was Gethsemane, the arrest, and the trial by Annas and Caiphas, going very late into the night. The rooster crowed, indicating that it was early in the morning (John 19:27) and that was confirmed in John 19:28.
It was now Friday morning, still the day of Passover, and Jesus was taken by the chief priests and elders to Pilate (Matthew 27:1; John 19:28). Jesus was taken to be crucified, and was dead and buried before the weekly Sabbath began.
A guard was placed on the tomb for the Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday sunset).
Early Sunday morning the tomb was discovered empty, because Jesus was risen.
It is sometimes thought that the day of the week in which Jesus was crucified was Wednesday or perhaps Thursday, but the above approach suggests Friday. It is true that Jesus was to be dead three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40), but we must understand that the Jews of that time considered any part of a day to be considered as a day, and so Jesus spoke of rising from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:46).
We of course know that the important thing is that He arose (1 Cor. 15:3-4)!
End quote.
The above quote is from the FAQ page. I found it very interesting.
I also found this interesting. Yesterday we had Good Friday lunch at our church, St Luke's Anglican in down town Frankston. During the course of lunch a question was raised as to why it is so that we eat fish on Good Friday. Because we must abstain from meat on Good Friday., Oh, but fish is meat I hear you say. Correctly so. But, I was informed, it is not red meat was the answer when I queried that one.
Talking of meat and such. It appears that certain Jews do not eat lamb during passover. Why? Because the temple practise of the sacrificial lamb no longer happens. Turkey, chicken or beef is now served.
There could be another reason. The Lamb that was to be slain, has been slain. It is therefore now no longer necessary to sacrifice a lamb.
All credit goes to Chosen People Ministry's for this post. How many of us have wondered which exact day it was that Jesus died upon a cross. I know I have had to do some mental gymnastics to reconcile myself to when it all took place. The Bible says Jesus was in the earth for three days and nights.
Well, consider the following.
Quote:
John says that Jesus died on the day of preparation of Passover Week, just before a special Sabbath (John 19:14, 31). The other three gospels seem to say that Jesus was arrested on the first day of Passover and crucified the following day. How can this apparent contradiction be resolved, and on what day of the week was Jesus crucified?
John 19:14 tells us that it was the day of preparation of Passover week, but it is not to be assumed that this was the preparation for the Passover. There were also the weekly Sabbath and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread taking place at that time.
John 19:31 tells us that it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. The special Sabbath may mean a weekly Sabbath that was special because it was at the time of Passover, or it may refer to the feast of unleavened bread.
A scenario to consider is as follows:
The Passover lamb was slain at twilight Wednesday, just as Thursday was beginning (Jewish days go from sunset to sunset).
Thursday was the preparation for the Passover and that evening (the beginning of Friday) the Passover was eaten-including the Passover meal eaten by Jesus and his disciples (initiating the Lord's Supper).
Later that night was Gethsemane, the arrest, and the trial by Annas and Caiphas, going very late into the night. The rooster crowed, indicating that it was early in the morning (John 19:27) and that was confirmed in John 19:28.
It was now Friday morning, still the day of Passover, and Jesus was taken by the chief priests and elders to Pilate (Matthew 27:1; John 19:28). Jesus was taken to be crucified, and was dead and buried before the weekly Sabbath began.
A guard was placed on the tomb for the Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday sunset).
Early Sunday morning the tomb was discovered empty, because Jesus was risen.
It is sometimes thought that the day of the week in which Jesus was crucified was Wednesday or perhaps Thursday, but the above approach suggests Friday. It is true that Jesus was to be dead three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40), but we must understand that the Jews of that time considered any part of a day to be considered as a day, and so Jesus spoke of rising from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:46).
We of course know that the important thing is that He arose (1 Cor. 15:3-4)!
End quote.
The above quote is from the FAQ page. I found it very interesting.
I also found this interesting. Yesterday we had Good Friday lunch at our church, St Luke's Anglican in down town Frankston. During the course of lunch a question was raised as to why it is so that we eat fish on Good Friday. Because we must abstain from meat on Good Friday., Oh, but fish is meat I hear you say. Correctly so. But, I was informed, it is not red meat was the answer when I queried that one.
Talking of meat and such. It appears that certain Jews do not eat lamb during passover. Why? Because the temple practise of the sacrificial lamb no longer happens. Turkey, chicken or beef is now served.
There could be another reason. The Lamb that was to be slain, has been slain. It is therefore now no longer necessary to sacrifice a lamb.
Saturday 11th April 2009 Easter Holidays
Now to be politically incorrect. Yes, I am good at it, so I am told.
Here in the land down under we have a 4 day break ever Easter. And on top of that we always have a day off for Christmas Day. If Christmas Day falls on a weekend then we have either the Friday before, or the Monday after off as well.
Two questions. Do we live in a Christian nation and should we have a holiday at Easter and Christmas. The answer to both questions is no.
We may try to fool ourselves that we are a Christian nation, and indeed our Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, is a regular church attendee. Whether he is a genuine Christian is open to question. But that don't maketh us a Christian nation. Israel is a Jewish nation because God said so. He gave the land to Abram, later known as Abraham. Not so Australia. God didn't give us Australia, we took it from the Aborigines around 250 years ago. In fact, Australia is an Aboriginal nation, complete with its own "Dreaming" religion. It was invaded, by stealth, not by force.
So having established that Australia is not a Christian nation, that leaves the question, should we have a Christian holiday in a nation that is not Christian? I say no. If we are going to have Christian holiday then we should also have Muslim holiday's and Hindu holiday and a Buddhist holidays and so on. In reality we are discriminating against the other religions when we will have Christian holidays to the exclusion of others.
So I will end this post as I began. Should we have religious holidays? You be the judge.
Here in the land down under we have a 4 day break ever Easter. And on top of that we always have a day off for Christmas Day. If Christmas Day falls on a weekend then we have either the Friday before, or the Monday after off as well.
Two questions. Do we live in a Christian nation and should we have a holiday at Easter and Christmas. The answer to both questions is no.
We may try to fool ourselves that we are a Christian nation, and indeed our Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd, is a regular church attendee. Whether he is a genuine Christian is open to question. But that don't maketh us a Christian nation. Israel is a Jewish nation because God said so. He gave the land to Abram, later known as Abraham. Not so Australia. God didn't give us Australia, we took it from the Aborigines around 250 years ago. In fact, Australia is an Aboriginal nation, complete with its own "Dreaming" religion. It was invaded, by stealth, not by force.
So having established that Australia is not a Christian nation, that leaves the question, should we have a Christian holiday in a nation that is not Christian? I say no. If we are going to have Christian holiday then we should also have Muslim holiday's and Hindu holiday and a Buddhist holidays and so on. In reality we are discriminating against the other religions when we will have Christian holidays to the exclusion of others.
So I will end this post as I began. Should we have religious holidays? You be the judge.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Friday 10th April 2009 Passover 5679
Yes, it's Easter. That time of the year when we celebrate our salvation. If your Jewish, then Passover is important. It is a celebration of Elohim freeing the Israelites from Egypt. It was and is a type of an event to take place some time in the future. For us, it is to celebrate and event that took place 2000 years ago.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting live. Or as my daughter puts it, you will never die. Her statement is only partly true. You will live forever. It's just a matter of where you will spent eternity.
I learnt lots so far this Easter. For one thing, learnt about the earth age according to the Jewish calendar. It's 5679 years old. I might come back to that. It hold another theory I have about another matter.
I learnt about Maundy Thursday. I had never heard of Maundy Thursday until my wife and I joined St Luke's Anglican Church here in down town Frankston. And I might come back to that also.
Maundy Thursday also got me thinking about another matter. A far more, for Christians at least, of something else that occurred at Easter. It happened after the last Supper and prior to Jesus arrest. I always wondered what might have been going through Jesus mind all those years ago.
Ray Stedman wrote a commentary about Hebrews and also about what he believes happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. I like what he wrote and if it is so then it is staggering.
Here is part of what Mr Stedman wrote:
"How can he sympathize, how does he understand our pressures, if he has never sinned? The answer to that leads us into the dark shadows of Gethsemane. There is no other incident in the gospels that fits the description of this passage where, with prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, he cried unto him who was able to save him from death. As the Lord and his disciples left the Upper Room they passed through the dark valley of the Kidron, up unto the side of the Mount of Olives to the olive tree grove where it was his custom to go. Separating three of the more sensitive of the disciples, Peter, James and John, he withdrew with them into the deeper shadows of the garden. There followed a protracted period of excruciating torment of spirit that found expression in loud, involuntary cries, streaming tears, and ending in a terrible bloody sweat."
"To deepen the mystery of this, there is the awful intensity of this struggle. This passage in Hebrews clearly implies that the Lord Jesus is here facing the full misery which sin produces in the heart of the sinner while he is yet alive, what we call "the sense of sin." I think we can even analyze this further. The three-fold period of wrestling in the garden suggests that he was here being exposed to the full intensity of what makes sin in our lives so defeating, so unshakable, that which makes up a sense of sin: shame, guilt, and despair."
That is what Jesus endured for you and me. Did this, could this have happened in the garden? Yes. Did it? Maybe.
Which ever way one looks at it, the fact that this was all heaped on Him who had not ever done one thing wrong in His entire life, is mind blowing in its intensity. This, for me, makes the cross a let down. Because I know shame. I know guilt. I know despair. And I caused all three at one time or another in my life. Just think. Why should another pay for what I did?
Jesus was aligning Himself with me. He was taking me to the cross. He was becoming what I am.
What was the outcome? Jesus would be separated from His completeness for the first time ever. The Godhead would become incomplete.
Lets get back to what made the cross necessary in the first place. Because the cross and all it stands for is just a bloody mess without and understanding of why it was and is necessary.
God requires our obedience. Without it we, the created, are separated from our creator. We have to, justice and the law demand it. Disobedience requires that a penalty be paid. Some one has to die for the penalty to be paid. That person must be sinless. One can pay the penalty for ones own sin, that's eternal separation. There is no way back from that.
Enter Jesus who becomes the substitute. In the OT the lamb was the substitute. But it was only a covering. It didn't remove the guilt, shame and despair of sin. Only a sacrifice provided by God Himself could do that. Enter Jesus. He becomes that sacrifice. But he must have all our sin placed upon himself. And He did. At the cross. Before the cross I believe.
I haven't completed what I wanted to write. Maybe tomorrow.
About Maundy Thursday. Look here. My wife went last night. She is in the choir at St Luke's. For her it was moving. And when one reads up on it one can see why.
And we wont go into the whole 3 days thing just now will we?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting live. Or as my daughter puts it, you will never die. Her statement is only partly true. You will live forever. It's just a matter of where you will spent eternity.
I learnt lots so far this Easter. For one thing, learnt about the earth age according to the Jewish calendar. It's 5679 years old. I might come back to that. It hold another theory I have about another matter.
I learnt about Maundy Thursday. I had never heard of Maundy Thursday until my wife and I joined St Luke's Anglican Church here in down town Frankston. And I might come back to that also.
Maundy Thursday also got me thinking about another matter. A far more, for Christians at least, of something else that occurred at Easter. It happened after the last Supper and prior to Jesus arrest. I always wondered what might have been going through Jesus mind all those years ago.
Ray Stedman wrote a commentary about Hebrews and also about what he believes happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. I like what he wrote and if it is so then it is staggering.
Here is part of what Mr Stedman wrote:
"How can he sympathize, how does he understand our pressures, if he has never sinned? The answer to that leads us into the dark shadows of Gethsemane. There is no other incident in the gospels that fits the description of this passage where, with prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, he cried unto him who was able to save him from death. As the Lord and his disciples left the Upper Room they passed through the dark valley of the Kidron, up unto the side of the Mount of Olives to the olive tree grove where it was his custom to go. Separating three of the more sensitive of the disciples, Peter, James and John, he withdrew with them into the deeper shadows of the garden. There followed a protracted period of excruciating torment of spirit that found expression in loud, involuntary cries, streaming tears, and ending in a terrible bloody sweat."
"To deepen the mystery of this, there is the awful intensity of this struggle. This passage in Hebrews clearly implies that the Lord Jesus is here facing the full misery which sin produces in the heart of the sinner while he is yet alive, what we call "the sense of sin." I think we can even analyze this further. The three-fold period of wrestling in the garden suggests that he was here being exposed to the full intensity of what makes sin in our lives so defeating, so unshakable, that which makes up a sense of sin: shame, guilt, and despair."
That is what Jesus endured for you and me. Did this, could this have happened in the garden? Yes. Did it? Maybe.
Which ever way one looks at it, the fact that this was all heaped on Him who had not ever done one thing wrong in His entire life, is mind blowing in its intensity. This, for me, makes the cross a let down. Because I know shame. I know guilt. I know despair. And I caused all three at one time or another in my life. Just think. Why should another pay for what I did?
Jesus was aligning Himself with me. He was taking me to the cross. He was becoming what I am.
What was the outcome? Jesus would be separated from His completeness for the first time ever. The Godhead would become incomplete.
Lets get back to what made the cross necessary in the first place. Because the cross and all it stands for is just a bloody mess without and understanding of why it was and is necessary.
God requires our obedience. Without it we, the created, are separated from our creator. We have to, justice and the law demand it. Disobedience requires that a penalty be paid. Some one has to die for the penalty to be paid. That person must be sinless. One can pay the penalty for ones own sin, that's eternal separation. There is no way back from that.
Enter Jesus who becomes the substitute. In the OT the lamb was the substitute. But it was only a covering. It didn't remove the guilt, shame and despair of sin. Only a sacrifice provided by God Himself could do that. Enter Jesus. He becomes that sacrifice. But he must have all our sin placed upon himself. And He did. At the cross. Before the cross I believe.
I haven't completed what I wanted to write. Maybe tomorrow.
About Maundy Thursday. Look here. My wife went last night. She is in the choir at St Luke's. For her it was moving. And when one reads up on it one can see why.
And we wont go into the whole 3 days thing just now will we?
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