Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Tday’s passage is Luke 24:1-12. Let’s go!

Luke 24:1-12 (NIV) 
1  On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 
2  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 
3  but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ……

Which is the greatest miracle of all? Many Christians would point to the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. The crucifixion-resurrection event is, after all, the basis for our salvation. But why would we consider the death and resurrection of Jesus so great an event? After all, others have died and risen again. Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, Eutychus. Why is the resurrection of Jesus a greater event than the raising of Lazarus from the dead?

Make no mistake, Jesus’ resurrection is a greater event than the raising of Lazarus. Lazarus eventually died again, but Jesus rose to eternal life and glory. When Lazarus rose, a great deal changed for him, but little changed for the world. But when Jesus rose, everything changed.

What was so different about Jesus’ resurrection? The key lies in who died and rose. In the case of Lazarus, a human died and rose again to continue a mortal life. But in the case of Jesus, someone much more than a human died and rose again. Jesus was human, but not just a human. He was both God and human — God in the flesh, God incarnate, both divine and human.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 23:27-43. Let’s go!

Luke 23:27-31 (NIV) 
27  A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 
28  Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 
29  For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 
30  Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”‘ 
31  For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

On verses 27-31: I am amazed by the compassion of Jesus. Even as Jesus is going through the most painful humiliation and torture that anyone would ever have to go through, Jesus still goes out of his way to speak his heart for the women of Jerusalem and their children. You can tell what is truly in a person’s heart when they are under pressure. In Jesus’ case, when under the most pressure anyone would ever face, Jesus looked past his own immediate suffering and focused on the suffering that others were slated to face years later. I believe Jesus did this not because he was in denial about his own suffering or because he was trying to look spiritual in front of others, but simply because Jesus is love and compassion personified. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 23:1-12. Let’s go!

Luke 23:1-7 (NIV) 
1  Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 
2  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” 
3  So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. 
4  Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” 
5  But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” 
6  On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 
7  When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. 

On verses 1-7: Being under Roman rule, the chief priests and teachers of the law did not have the authority to order capital punishment. So they go to someone with that authority, namely, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The chief priests and teachers of the law try to convince Pilate that Jesus is deserving of death. Despite the assembly falsely accusing Jesus of subverting the Jewish nation and opposing payment of taxes (v2), and despite Jesus acknowledging that he is the king of the Jews (v3), Pilate finds no basis for a charge against Jesus (v4).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 22:39-53. Let’s go!

Luke 22:39-40 (NIV) 
39  Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.
40  On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 

On verses 39-40: Previously, when his disciples asked Jesus how to pray, one of the lines Jesus taught them to pray was “lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4). Now is when the rubber meets the road, when the disciples are in a situation where they need to pray more than ever the way Jesus teaches them to pray.

How often do you pray, “Lord, lead me not into temptation”? It may be a prayer we ought to pray more often.

Luke 22:41-42 (NIV) 
41  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

On verses 41-42: Jesus is the Son of God, the most powerful man to ever live.  Yet notice the way Jesus approaches his Father in prayer:

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 22:14-24. Let’s go!

Luke 22:14-24 (NIV)
14  When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15  And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17  After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you…….

On verses 14-24: This scene, one of the most famous scenes from Jesus’ life, is the basis for why and how we do communion. The bread we break represents the body Jesus broke for us on the cross. The cup we drink represents the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross.

At first, when I read a passage like this, I’m struck by how petty the disciples are in this scene. Their leader Jesus has just shared his heart about how much he desires to eat this final supper with them before he suffers. The disciples, however, upon hearing that one of them will betray Jesus, turn this last supper with Jesus into a quarrel among themselves about who would be the one to betray Jesus. This would lead to various disciples getting defensive and starting to talk about which of them was the greatest disciple. Yet in quarreling this way, the disciples were missing the point of the last supper. They had turned an occasion that was supposed to be about Jesus into an occasion that was more about themselves.