 When
did He suddenly start walking through doors instead of knocking on
them? Why did He still have the nail holes in His hands and the
spear gash in His side? But for me, the greatest mysteries
(about Jesus' resurrection) are not so much those
"spiritual" things, but more the practical, behavioral
things.
It astounds me, for example, that of all the
"biggies" He could have first revealed Himself to—He chose
one who was more than likely an ex-prostitute, Mary of the town of
Magdala, a woman left out by the "righteous" ones, laughed
at by the world. It astounds me, the things He chose not
to do. He didn't march up the stars of the Roman governor's
palace—the man who'd handed Him over to be killed—and call him out
in front of the masses. He didn't pay the priests and teachers
of the law the little visit they surely deserved. He didn't fly
through the air surrounded by angels and land in the temple court and
shout to the world, "I told you so!" Instead, He
quietly visited His family and friends. He cooked for them,
helped them in their work, assured them, counseled them, ate with
them, pointed them to the future . . . and He quite simply and
breathtakingly—loved them.
There would be no earthly hoopla ...
no victory parade, no first-century press conference.
Mysteriously, remarkably, shockingly, unfathomably, Jesus played it
all in the exact same way He'd played everything that had gone before—that
way that is so mind-bendingly opposite ours—subtle, simple,
soft-spoken, gentle, guileless, low-key, forgiving, kind,
backseat. Jesus.
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Text and photo taken
from Jesus...Yesterday,
Today, Forever, by
Bruce
Marchiano (p. 104). In Jesus...YTF, you'll taste what only a
handful of people tasted 2,000 years ago as Jesus walked among His
most treasured, beloved creation: people. Filled with
breathtaking color photos from The Visual Bible™'s "Matthew."
Jesus...Yesterday,
Today, Forever. Copyright © 1999 by Bruce Marchiano.
Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402
and Visual Entertainment,
Dallas, Texas 75248. Used on www.LoveLavished.org
by permission.
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