Angie

Follower of Jesus. Wife. Mom. Book lover.

[Angie @glimpses]

@texasrunnerDFW @RobertMSterling In my experience, winning this when your daughter is 2 doesn’t mean you won’t do it again when she’s 13. You absolutely will. This is practice for then. Moms need these wins now to steel them for the even more difficult battles of the teen years.

[Angie @glimpses]

@megbasham Or maybe, just maybe, their principles aren’t wed to a quest for power.

[The Gospel Coalition @TGC]

𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬’𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
by Petar Nenadov

At the close of Friday, there was hurried activity. The Sabbath was approaching.

All four Gospel writers tell good news before the good news. They tell of an unexpected triumph before the unexpected triumph. There are many important details in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that only one or two of the Gospel writers tell. So we should take notice when all four heralds draw our attention to the same story.

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻

After Jesus died, we’re introduced to Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:50–56; John 19:38–41). There’s no mention of him, not even a hint, before Jesus died. Who is this new person? Why introduce him now?

After Jesus’s death, we learn Joseph was a “rich man from Arimathea” (Matt. 27:57), a “respected member of the council” (Mark 15:43), a “good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action” (Luke 23:50–51), and a “disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38).

Who could’ve anticipated this news?

In the final days of Jesus’s earthly ministry, as one of his disciples, Judas, began to conspire with the council, a member of the council was quietly devoted to Jesus. At the time when Judas accepted a bribe to betray Jesus to the religious leaders, one of their own began to plan a generous offering that would honor Jesus.

Satan entered Judas, and he got outflanked. Jesus had captured the heart of Joseph.

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲

Next, the Gospel writers tell of a new place. Joseph had “his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock” (Matt. 27:60), where he “rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb” (Mark 15:46), “where no one had ever yet been laid” (Luke 23:53), and he buried Jesus with help of Nicodemus who “earlier had come to Jesus by night” (John 19:39).

Joseph needed Pilate’s permission to take care of Jesus’s body, and though at first Pilate was surprised to hear Jesus had already died, he granted permission for Joseph to take Jesus down from the cross. Death by crucifixion usually took time, even days. But Jesus died quickly because of how severely he’d been tortured before.

It was common for those crucified to be left on the cross after death to further dehumanize them and terrorize passersby. But not in this case.

Here again, who could’ve anticipated this news? Condemned criminals weren’t given proper burials by the Roman authorities. If Pilate couldn’t be bothered to spare Jesus’s life, why would he be bothered to spare his corpse?

Many of Jesus’s disciples who would’ve desired to provide a proper burial simply didn’t have the means to do so. A new and private tomb is lavish. Moreover, John tells us Nicodemus helped carry “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight” to prepare Jesus’s body for burial.

If Judas was offended at Mary’s extravagant anointing of Jesus with “about a pint of pure nard . . . worth a year’s wages” (John 12:1–8, NIV), how much more extravagant was this 75 pounds? What were the 30 pieces of silver Judas received for betrayal compared to this amazing offering of love?

Judas walked with Jesus in the day and betrayed him in the dark of night. Nicodemus first came to Jesus under cover of night and then helped Joseph care for Jesus’s body while it was still day. Yes, Sunday was coming. And what a day it was. But even at the close of Friday, there was good news of unexpected triumph. The King of the Jews who received extravagant gifts to celebrate his birth also received extravagant care to mark his burial.

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲

Pilate’s permission, Joseph’s tomb, and Nicodemus’s help all verify the resurrection's truth. These signs at the close of Friday testify that amid the evil and wickedness of the crucifixion, God’s mysterious providence was at work to bring about the promised new covenant.

Jesus was buried, not left to the beasts and birds. Jesus was buried alone, not to be mistaken for any other person. So when Jesus’s tomb was empty, not even the “large sum of money” from the chief priests to the guards (Matt. 28:12, NIV) could tell a more compelling story than the truth of the resurrection. The bribes to Judas and the guards couldn’t match the testimony of Joseph’s offering.

Satan was outflanked. The rulers were outspent.

The deceiver deceived. The conspirators conspired. Death, which swallows us all, was swallowed up in victory.

Luke later tells us that Jesus “presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom” (Acts 1:3). Though we don’t know when it would’ve come up, certainly their discussions must have included Isaiah’s prophesy of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, though silent and led “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,” was also identified with “a rich man in his death” (Isa. 53:7, 9). When Jesus told them, they must have marveled. And each made sure we wouldn’t forget it.

[Bari Weiss @bariweiss]

I hope all of those who have publicly downplayed this barbarism or have fallen silent in the face of it will read this piece and share it:

https://t.co/uQLJ4RhD09

[Rachel Joy Welcher @racheljwelcher]

Something I wanted to address in more depth about Shannon Harris's book was the reality she brought up about Christian women being told they must give up their dreams once they get married.

[Angie @glimpses]

@trevsizzle Lord, have mercy indeed!

[Angie @glimpses]

@KyleJamesHoward @CNN Did you read the story? Or just the headline?

[Phil Vischer @philvischer]

Concerned that policies that support women and children are often opposed by those of us who also most oppose Roe.

Longing for a consistent commitment to human flourishing rooted in the Bible, not in the politics of left and right.

[American Solidarity Party 🧡 @AmSolidarity]

This decision, on its own terms, is just. But it does not establish justice in its fullness. We have much further to go until we have a society that values life the way it should, and that honors mothers, fathers, children with consistency and conviction.

[Angie @glimpses]

@KyleClark @reuben100 This is one of my favorite books!

[Angie @glimpses]

@KyleJamesHoward I can relate!! I don’t have ADHD, but I am convinced that having five children (currently have 3 teens in the home) has turned my brain into something resembling Swiss cheese, and SO MANY THINGS fall into those holes!!

[Sharon Hodde Miller @SHoddeMiller]

Agony. Agony. Agony. Lord, in your power, stop this evil.

[Angie @glimpses]

@KSPrior I’m usually not bothered by darker works. I first read Silence 5 years ago & loved how it caused me to grapple w/ faith/apostasy. Reading 4 dark works back to back in gloomy, gray weather while also fighting the weight of the current political/religious climate was rough, tho. 😏

[Angie @glimpses]

Perhaps @KSPrior should’ve given a warning in her admirable book *On Reading Well* that reading Silence, Ethan Frome, the Death of Ivan Ilyich, and The Road in the long and dreary months of midwinter might serve to heighten the bleak feeling of that season. 😳😰

[Angie @glimpses]

@KSPrior I don’t truly think you should’ve offered that warning. I was unprepared for the examples used for the virtues of faith, chastity, love, and hope to leave me feeling so heavy-hearted. That’s an indictment of my literary ignorance, though, which is not at all your responsibility.

[Angie @glimpses]

@KyleJamesHoward Thank you for your recent threads on men and pastors spending time with women. It’s refreshing to hear a man say that we women are sisters, not seducers, and are worthy of dignity and honor!

[Angie @glimpses]

@KSPrior Wordle 219 4/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛
⬛⬛🟩🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

[Angie @glimpses]

Wordle 215 3/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I decided to join the craze. It’s pretty fun!

[hannah anderson @sometimesalight]

Thread

[Karen Swallow Prior (Notorious KSP) @KSPrior]

Sobering and insightful essay by ⁦@DavidAFrench⁩.

But here’s the most important nugget that I myself need to absorb and remember:

“Malice and disdain makes a person vulnerable to misinformation.” https://t.co/fXjmgbpcC3