September 2nd - Luke 18:31-33

Luke 18:31-33

Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.” A few days before Jesus’ death on the cross, he took his disciples to one side and give them a vivid description of what was going to happen. However, incredibly, they didn’t understand a word of it. It was a complete mystery to them, and the coming days were a total shock. They understood that Jesus was an amazing teacher and healer, but they hadn’t yet grasped the true meaning of his life - and didn’t want to think about his death. We live in a society that is equally unaware of the significance of Jesus’ death. This is a great tragedy, and we need to reflect on the ways we can help people to grasp its importance. We should be very glad that, at Easter time, chocolate eggs are still a focus of huge attention. Incredibly, 80 million are sold every year in the UK, along with more than 500 million cream eggs! While Easter eggs aren’t typically a source of deep spiritual enlightenment, they are a clear and powerful image of new life. And, in them, we have been handed the most amazing visual aid to help explain to people the new life that Jesus came to bring, whatever the time of year.

Question Thinking of the people you meet each day, how might you be able to help them to understand the true significance of Jesus’ death on the cross?

Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, thank you that you were willing to go to the cross out of love for me. Amen