Read Matthew 27:57-66 and 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
I. Jesus Burial
a. Passage (Matthew 27:57-66)
- After the death of Jesus, a rich man named Joseph from Arimathea asked for Jesus' body from Pilate. He wrapped Him with clean linen, laid Him in a new tomb, and rolled a big stone in front of it. The day after, the religious leaders asked Pilate to secure the tomb to prevent Jesus' disciples from stealing His body and probably deceiving the people that "He rose again after three days". Pilate agreed and he even sent someone to post guard.
b. Reflection
- Out of nowhere, a rich man showed up to claim Jesus' body to give Him the proper burial He deserved. The rich man was a secret follower of Jesus and in the past, he was afraid to be seen with Him. But after Jesus' death, he came courageously to claim His body and even gave his own new tomb. The disciples, on the other hand, publicly followed Jesus but when He was arrested, they all scattered and hid because of fear.
Just like the disciples, we sometimes hide our faith because of fear of others. When we are faced with opposition, we tend to conceal that we are Christians to fit in with the world. Remember in Isaiah 41:10 that "we should not fear, for God is with us. He will strengthen us and help us, and he will uphold us with His righteous right hand".
II. Food Sacrificed to Idols
a. Passage (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)
- Paul talked about foods sacrificed to idols. He reminded the church that there is only one God and only one Lord in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we should not offer anything to idols and also be seen eating what is offered to idols. Some weak believers might see this and follow us resulting in sin.
b. Reflection
- God's second commandment was "to not make any graven images (idols) or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or earth beneath... you shall not bow down to them or serve them....." In the passage, Paul reminded us not to have idols and not to sacrifice foods to them. Also, we should not be seen eating any food sacrificed to the idols. I grew up in a Catholic culture and when I was young, I always see houses with numerous statues (Sto Nino, some saint, and even Buddha) in their houses. They pray to them, they bow down to them, and they even bring food to them. I thought this was weird because of the second Commandment, but for some reason, we were blinded by our blind guides in worshiping these stones. "God is a jealous God" and after accepting Christ and studying the Bible, I realized that what I was doing was wrong. Not only should we not have idols, and pray to these man-made "stones", we also should not sacrifice any food to them. There is only one God and only one way through Him, which is Jesus Christ. Instead of wasting our time communicating to dead people or statues, we should pray to God the Father, through the guidance of the Spirit, and in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
III. Proverbs for Today / 11:9-11
With his mouth. the godless destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous escape. When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices, when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. Through the blessings of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.
IV. Old Testament Reading
Numbers 21, Numbers 22:1-20, Psalms 57:1-11
