Witness

#67

March 24

WITNESS

So it's getting towards Easter.

Time to look at the four accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus again. Never seems like a person plumbs the depths of what is happening and how it happened...and the consequences for our lives.

For instance, I'm reading Eugene Peterson's CHRIST PLAYS IN TEN THOUSAND PLACES and find him doing the same thing. Here's how he puts it regarding Mary, the prime witness to the resurrection of Jesus.

"In the resurrection stories, marginal people (in this case, women) play a prominent role in perception and response. Mary Magdalene, perhaps the most marginal of any of the early followers of Jesus, is the chief resurrection witness and the only person to appear in all four accounts. The only fact we know about Mary Magdalene before she joined Jesus was that she had been possessed by and delivered from "seven devils." The "seven devils" could refer to an utterly dissolute moral life or to an extreme form of mental illness. Either or both of these pre-Jesus conditions, coupled with being a woman in a patriarchal society, puts her at the far edge of marginality.........and in contrast - in our day we give such place to celebrity endorsements." pp120-121

Jesus died in substitution for our sinfulness.

He rose again, proof that his death was sufficient for all.

The Father's kiss of life was upon Him forever.

And it was so certain, that even "marginal witnesses" could play a major role in it all.

Feel like your ability to talk about Jesus is a bit marginal?

Join the Mary gang this Easter.

'cause it's all about Jesus, not me or you.

Happy (Early) Easter.

Dave