A Seasonal Thought

The Gospel writer Mark records that after partaking of the unleavened bread and wine they sang a hymn. What hymn is not recorded. There are 150 Psalms and it would be no surprise if it were one of them. Would it be a hymn of praise, or perhaps some melancholy one or even one relating to that first Passover and passage out of Egypt.

The next event Mark records is that they went out to the Mount of Olives. It has been claimed for many centuries that the olive trees that now grow on the slopes of the Mount of Olives were there on that very night when our Lord Jesus and his eleven disciples went out to Gethsemane. Modern carbon dating during the 20th  Century showed that about 10 such trees were at least 2,000 year old. They were there when in his distress and agitation he threw himself to the ground and prayed to His Father. They were there when he was betrayed in the middle of the night.

After the Mount of Olives firstly he was taken to the High Priest and the assembly of chief priests, elders and scribes. Then after that he was taken to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate who is still nearly two millennia later one of the most well‑known Romans. His part in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus has not been forgotten. He knew Jesus was not guilty of the crime he had been accused of but yet he gave the order for Roman method of execution, crucifixion.

Crucifixion is a slow and painful death. This is the death our Lord was permitted to suffer for all the men and women that lived before and after him. It is shocking to read that such a method of death penalty is permitted and considered fitting in the last year in some middle eastern countries.

However his death was followed by his resurrection on the third day which in this country is known as 'Easter Sunday'. This is the happiest of days in the Christian calendar because it points forward to the resurrection of the dead at the last day.

The resurrection of the dead is a very important teaching of the Bible. A recent BBC journalist reporting on the death of David Bowie in light of a track 'Lazarus' that the British artist had released just days before his death looked into the camera and finished by saying said "Lazarus came back from the dead, David Bowie won't." On the contrary the scripture says "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".