The Death of the King

In East Tennessee, our thorns are briars - blackberries and roses. Scratched skin, snagged clothing - uncomfortable but not dangerous. In Kenya, thorn has a different reality. Spines, spears, needles - 3 inch inflexible shafts ending in razor points. Meant to deter herds of grazers from destroying the few desperate leaves that grow in the months of dry. The shame and pain of the crown Jesus wore on earth could be felt on any acacia tree.

Artist - Bill Timm

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Our next story {Day 5 of Easter Week} What other story can you tell on Good Friday? The Death of Jesus Matthew 26:26-27:61, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, John 16-19

This is the story from God's word: Jesus and his best friends sat around a large table, celebrating the day God's special people left Egypt. Jesus was preparing them for what was about to happen:

Soon, he said, You will not see me anymore. I am going to be with God. When I do, I will make everything new. But I won't leave you alone. I am sending a special,  perfect helper to you. His disciples were confused, but they didn't say anything.

Then Jesus led them to their favorite garden. Like the first garden, a betrayal was about to happen. While Jesus was praying, one of his friends showed up with an army to arrest him, even though Jesus had never done anything wrong.

An angry court listened to lying witnesses and convicted Jesus of crimes he never committed. They sentenced him to death. As he died, he looked at the people around him and loved them. He prayed, Lord, forgive them. Then he accepted the punishment for all their disobedience from God, all the way back to Eve's fruit and on as long as time. Then he cried out, It is finished because he had done everything God asked him to do.

His friends came and buried him in a cave. Then they rolled a big rock in front of the cave door and sealed it up. They ran away and hid thinking that this was the end of Jesus. That's the end of our story.

If you used the stories, please tell me about it.