As we commemorate Good Friday, it’s a good time to ask: did Christ die on the Cross for all of us, or just for some?
Tag: Passion
Herod and Pilate—on Trial
It’s no coincidence that Herod’s life and Pilate’s are also intimately bound up with the other’s. St. Luke mentions that, after the trial of Jesus, “Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other” (Luke 23:12). And in each case, we might say that it’s really Pilate and Herod who get put on trial. Why? Because these two allegedly powerful men each have before them a man they personally know to be innocent, a man that they want not to execute. Whether they know it or not, this is the most important moment in each man’s life, the moment for which he will be remembered for all of history.
Mary’s Foretaste of the Resurrection
Did the Virgin Mary know about the Resurrection before it happened? There’s a gap of thirty years, called the “silent years” of Jesus, in which Scripture simply doesn’t tell us what happened between Jesus’ infancy and the beginning of His public ministry. But there’s one interruption to this silence, a single event that Scripture records from… Continue reading Mary’s Foretaste of the Resurrection
The Five-Fold Argument for the Resurrection
I’ve got a piece today on Strange Notions (based upon this 2010 post) looking at five specific pieces of evidence that suggest that the Resurrection happened. Here’s a snippet: On this Good Friday, the day Christians traditionally commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross, let’s examine the evidence surrounding his death and resurrection. I’d… Continue reading The Five-Fold Argument for the Resurrection
How Does Good Friday *Work*, Exactly?
Today, Christians celebrate Good Friday, recalling the Death of Christ on the Cross for our sins. Virtually all Christians agree that Christ’s Death is an atoning Sacrifice for our sins. But Catholics and Reformed Protestants understand the nature of that Sacrifice very differently. Is Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross the outpouring of the Father’s wrath… Continue reading How Does Good Friday *Work*, Exactly?
Does John 6:63 Refute the Real Presence?
Early Christian depiction of the Eucharist from the C A couple of my Evangelical friends were recently talking with me about John 6 and the Eucharist. If you haven’t read it recently, you should. In it, Jesus states repeatedly, and in no uncertain terms, that He is the Bread of Life, that our eternal salvation… Continue reading Does John 6:63 Refute the Real Presence?
Holy Saturday
For Christ also died for sins once for all,the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days… Continue reading Holy Saturday
Good Friday
Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men — so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because… Continue reading Good Friday
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum. Pope John Paul II From the Gospel according to Mark. 15:46-47 Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped the body of Jesus in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. And he rolled a… Continue reading The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
The Beauty of Tenebrae
Tenebrae Hearse I went to Tenebrae last night at the Dominican House of Studies. If you’re not familiar, it’s a beautiful way of reflecting upon the death of Christ. Here’s how Wikipedia explains it: The principal Tenebrae ceremony is the gradual extinguishing of candles upon a stand in the sanctuary called a hearse.[2] Eventually the Roman… Continue reading The Beauty of Tenebrae