Lent Day 40

 BOOK V - The Words of Post-Resurrection Encounters

1 The first words
2 His revealing of Himself as Messiah on the Emmaus road
3 The infusion of the Spirit in His empowering of those gathered with Him
4 The conversation with Thomas
5 The prophecy to Peter of his martyrdom
6 The words of Ascension

Reflect: It seemed the words from the cross were Jesus' last...but they were not! Tomorrow he will speak again. We do not have many words recorded from the time Jesus spent with his disciples and friends between Easter morning and the day of his Ascension, but what sticks out to you from the words we do have recorded? How do these words fill you with hope as we anticipate the resurrection tomorrow?

Lent Day 39

BOOK IV - The Words of Intimate Conversation

56 His words of forgiveness
57 His assigning of John as caregiver to Mary
58 His resignation
59 His granting of salvation to one of the robbers
60 His last words before Resurrection

Reflect: On this Good Friday, we have come to the words Jesus spoke from the cross. We have been hearing these words in worship throughout Lent; how does it strike you, now, to hear them all together?

Lent Day 38

BOOK IV - The Words of Intimate Conversation

51 In the garden of Gethsemane
52 The arrest and His interpretation of it
53 His claiming, before the High Priest, His divinity
54 Testimony before Pilate
55 His prophecy about the end times

Reflect: On this day when Jesus is arrested, we are all full of questions. This is another good set of readings for reflecting on the questions Jesus asked. Go through and pick out all the questions--what do you hear in his inquiries? Was he always looking for responses, or were his questions also a way of instructing?

Lent Day 37

BOOK IV - The Words of Intimate Conversation

46 The prophecy about their weakness and failure in the face of fear
47 His assertion of His salvific role
48 The promise of the coming of the Comforter and Advocate
49 The benediction
50 His last prayer before them

Reflect: In Jesus' final hours, part of what he did was pray for us! How can Jesus' prayer here be a model of how you pray for others? Try taking his words and using them to form a prayer of your own. How does this compare to the traditional Lord's Prayer we pray as Jesus taught?