There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Mark 15:40-43 + context!)
I learned from a young age to listen for details. Why did one parent believe in Jesus and the other angrily oppose any such belief? And in the listening, I realized that the details were constantly in favor of the good news of the kingdom of Jesus Christ our Lord.
There are two ways I “read” God’s word and try to answer my three questions (What is God saying? What is God doing? How do I join him in his work?). The primary way is to meet with God first thing in the morning to hear what’s on his heart for me as I meditate on shorter sections of his word. The second way is to listen to the Bible as I’m doing my morning exercises (sporadic as they have been as of late).
Together, the “magnifying glass” of the first and the “step out onto the viewpoint” of the second mesmerize me with details. No matter how much I zoom in to a text to find out what words mean, or no matter how much I step back to take in the biggest view possible, everything is detailed.
In fact, the details tell me that the author of the whole Bible had to be God and that he has delighted to make his word so intricately detailed that even the first and last books of the Bible, separated by fifteen centuries in their writing, contain facts that harmonize in the most beautiful symphony of truth.
I’m not sharing this to change the minds of those who hide their sin behind a feigned skepticism. Rather, for those who will humble themselves enough to check out if what I am saying is true, even the chapters of Mark 14-15 give ample evidence of what I am sharing.
Go ahead and test this out. As you read those chapters, write down every detail that is given that could be tested by anyone who read Mark’s gospel account. Now let yourself receive the testimony of those verifiable people and places and ask if you would have included so many details if you were trying to pull of a con.
The verifiable nature of the four gospel accounts is why John could end his record with,
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31).
Jesus did what he came to do. The testimonies of his life, death, and resurrection are written in four gospel accounts. The details are there so we can know how to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in genuine repentance and faith. And I am one more voice that has tested everything and found myself on an inescapable journey to believing in Jesus Christ as Lord so that I now have life in his name.
It’s just that I can’t keep the good news to myself, so I hope you will look at this with an open heart and join me and others as the his-story continues to lead us home.
© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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