EASTER • 5

What Does It Mean To Follow After Jesus?

SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 2 MAY

John 14:1-14

To Believe His Word, Trust His Way, and Continue His Work

  • READ

    After finishing his last meal with his disciples, Jesus washed their feet and commanded them to love each other just as he had loved them. He then shared the news that he is leaving and that none of them can follow him to where he is going. Furthermore, he announces that one of them is actually a traitor and the leader among them is going to deny him (John 13).

    Imagine being one of the twelve who were in the room that day. Will you not feel troubled after hearing such news? And knowing that their hearts were troubled, Jesus told them to trust in him and assures them that he will come back to get them so that they can be with him (v1-3). And that is the desire of Jesus. He longs for us to be with him where he is.

    Jesus then assures them that while they cannot go where he is going now, they do know the way to get there (v4). Not surprisingly, the disciples couldn’t quite understand what Jesus was saying. They had no idea where Jesus was going and how to get there (v5)

    This is where Jesus begins to explain that he is going to the Father and the only way to get to where the Father is, is through the Son. And the disciples need not worry about getting there because they know Jesus and because they know Him, they also know the Father and will be able to get to where the Father is and where Jesus is and be with them (v6-10).

    All that Jesus requires from them is trust. If they trust him, they would be able to get home and on their way home to where the Father is and where Jesus is, they will be able to do far greater things than Jesus himself ever did through and by the Spirit (v11-14).

  • REFLECT

    These are the words of Jesus to you and I who are carrying a troubled heart, a weary soul, a distressed mind and a broken body –

    “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

    Jesus is alive and he will come back to get us one day. Until then, we are called to follow in his footsteps and to do the works that he has done to an even greater degree. And when we finally see Jesus face to face and be with him where he is, we will declare with all the faithful that our momentary affliction on earth is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory that we are experiencing (2 Cor 4:17).

    Do you believe in God? Do you trust Jesus? Will you continue the work that he has begun?

reading for: Wednesday Night, 3 MAY

Acts 7:55-60

To Imitate His Life and Become Like Him in His Death

  • READ

    Tonight’s reading takes us to the brutal murder of Stephen by an angry mob. While it’s only five verses, it would be profitable to recall who Stephen is and to go through his speech in order to understand the circumstances that led to such a gruesome death (6:1-7:53).

    We don’t know much of Stephen except that he was among the “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”, who was chosen to resolve a conflict between the Hellenists and the Hebrews (6:1-3). The other thing we know is that Stephen stands out among the seven as one who is “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”, “full of grace and power” and who was doing great works among the people (6:5, 8). 

    Stephen spoke with such power and authority that some people began to plot against him and brought charges against him before the council (6:12). In response to the accusations, Stephen gave a long sermon, taking his audience through the entire history of Israel from Abraham to David and rebuking them for being stiff-necked, uncircumcised and for resisting the Holy Spirit (7:1-53). Evidently, Stephen’s words were not well received and the council turned into a vengeful mob (7:54).

    And that is the background to our lectionary reading tonight. The moment Stephen decided to be faithful to speak what God has put in his heart, he had signed his own death sentence. The council will do to him what they did to his Lord. Nonetheless, Stephen chooses to follow in the way of Jesus who is now standing at the right hand of God (7:55-56).

    As the angry mob stones Stephen to death (7:57-58), his dying words – “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (7:59-60) echoes the final words of Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:46; 23:24). Stephens commits his Spirit to Jesus and forgives his killers as Jesus committed his spirit to the Father and forgave the ones who put him on the cross. This is the story of Stephen, who was the first to die for the faith and whose life completely mirrors the very words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth. This is the way of Jesus.

  • REFLECT

    The story of Stephen is a sobering reminder that there is a real cost to following Jesus. Stephen did not hold on to his life. He imitated the life of his Lord even unto death. How much of your life resembles that of Christ? Will you be able to be like Stephen and many others who have gone before you, who loved not their life, even unto death? (Rev 12:11)

    It also challenges us to seriously consider the depth of our love and the genuineness of our faith. The reality is most of us, if not all of us, will never die for our faith. And our faith is likely pretty comfortable and convenient. It probably doesn’t cost us much to follow Jesus. Think about it for a moment. How costly is your faith? What has it cost you?

    Will you and I hold nothing back and give our all to imitate the life of our Lord and become like Him in His death?

reading for: Thursday Night, 4 MAY

1 Peter 2:2-10

To Belong to His People and Be His Witness

  • READ

    “Born again” is one of many Christian jargons that is often used but may not always be understood. Interestingly, the phrase itself only appears twice in the Bible. Jesus was the first to use the phrase when he told Nicodemus that “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

    Peter was the second person to use the phrase as he exhorts the followers of Jesus to love one another because they have been “born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1:22-23).

    Taken together, to be born again is not something that humans can do. It is an act of God alone. And to be born again is to experience a second birth that is spiritual in nature and to awake to new realities and new ways of seeing, relating and living.

    Thus, when we are born again by the Spirit, we are like new born babies. We need proper nourishment in order to grow up healthy and strong (v2-3). And like any infant, we need to and ought to be hungry to learn how to speak, how to walk and how to live in this new life.

    It is noteworthy that Peter makes a connection between the new life that we have in Christ and the imagery of us as individual stones being built up as a new temple of God (with Christ as the cornerstone), so that we may become a holy priesthood (v4-8). In short, the new life we have in Christ is not an isolated life but one that is intimately tied to Jesus and his Body.

    If there is any doubt, we need only to read the remaining verses of our text tonight. After making the connection, Peter proclaims that we are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” and called to speak of His goodness (v9). And why should we speak of His goodness and His deeds? We should because we are the people of God and the people who have received mercy (v10).

  • REFLECT

    Our new life in Christ begins with a new family. When we are born again, we are born into the family of God. Our lives are not our own and we are no longer on our own. Our lives belong to God and we belong to His family.

    Yes, we don’t always feel like a family. Yes, we find it hard to get along with the people of God. Yes, the body of Christ is messy and can get ugly. But none of that changes the reality that we have received new life in Christ and have been grafted into a new family of God.

    And Peter makes it pretty clear that as the people of God and the ones who have been born again, we are to do the works of God, mediate between God and men, and speak of what he has done for us. In other words, we are to bear witness to who He is in this world (Acts 1:8).

    Jesus came to reveal the Father and to reconcile all men to himself so that men can once more have communion with God (Father, Son, Spirit) and walk with him in the garden. That is the joy that was set before him that held him on the cross. That is the dream of his heart.

    Will you do whatever it takes to fulfil the dream of his heart? Will you carry His heart, bear His name and make His presence known? Will you belong to His people and be his witness?

reading for: Friday Night, 5 MAY

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

To Entrust Our Lives Wholly Unto Him

  • READ

    Psalm 31 is a lament written by David who has grown weary from all the troubles in his life. In it, David turns to the LORD and pleads with Him to save him (v1). He declares that the LORD is a rock of refuge and a strong fortress (v2). And he is confident that the LORD is on his side and will lead him out of his predicament (v3-4).

    In the midst of his trials, David entrusts his life wholly to the LORD and acknowledges that his life is in His hand (v5, 15). He knows that only the LORD can save him and that He will save him, not because of anything he has done, but because the LORD loves him (v16).

    Though we are not able to determine what exactly was the situation that David was facing, we can be certain that he penned these words while going through a very difficult period of his life. Nonetheless, David kept his faith and thew himself before the LORD in complete abandonment, total commitment and absolute dependence.

  • REFLECT

    Is there any wonder why these words of David that was written thousands of years ago has resonated with so many? As Jesus breathed his last on the cross, he recalled psalm 31 and cried out “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). Similarly, as the angry mob stoned Stephen to death, he too cried out to Jesus to receive his spirit (Acts 7:59).

    David, Jesus and Stephen entrusted their lives wholly unto God in spite of trials, tribulations and troubles. Complete abandonment. Total commitment. Absolute dependence.

    If you are going through a difficult time right now, take heart! Jesus has overcomed the world! Entrust yourself wholly unto Him. He sees you where you are. He knows your pain and your sorrow. He deals gently and he is faithful to keep you till the very end.

    For those of us who are well, let us take a moment to pray for the troubled and distressed. Let us consider how we can journey with them through the valley of death. And let us pursue Jesus with complete abandonment, total commitment and absolute dependence!

Season of EasterCNL