Way to go and good luck at nationals!

Happy Easter!

exciting stuff. just hearing about sarah’s recognition of dependence on others, that’s huge. and i can’t even imagine what it would have been like to see that girl’s face. at jesus
time at nine on easter we looked at what it would have been like if we were one of three characters on that weekend: barrabas, pilate, and peter. i got the barrabas one off of a pastor’s blog (mark batterson: http://www.evotional.com) and i wrote the other 2. imagine what it would have been like for barrabas, stuck in his death sentence. the week leading up to it, the mental preparation for that night, and then he hears the crowds yelling ‘crucify him’ and he knows it’s coming. and then Jesus steps in and takes his cross and he goes home to his family. could you imagine what that would feel like? could you imagine how we would live if we actually believed we were doomed before Jesus took our place? i don’t think the word ‘devotion’ could contain the passion that would occur in following Jesus, owing him your life. i think that girl knows more about freedom than i ever will, and she hasn’t even seen the outside yet. your work is awesome out there. be encouraged.

here are those stories that we looked at. then we wrote out responses to what it would be like to say “i am barrabas, i am pilate, or i am peter”

I am Barabbas.
Imagine what that Friday must have been like for him. He was sitting in a jail cell awaiting his execution. He knew it was the last day of his life. It was the end. There was no hope. Then he hears the crowd chanting his name and the next thing he knows he’s a free man. The charges are dropped. His life that was almost over starts over. And a sinless man named Jesus literally takes his place. He expected to die. He deserved to die. But his execution, in the sovereign plan of God, was scheduled on the same day Jesus was arrested.
I am Pilate.
So he is faced with this decision. He can’t find anything wrong with the prisoner, but he has too much pride tied up in public opinion of himself to do the right thing. What Jesus says makes sense to him. But he still asks, “What is truth?” Pilate stares Jesus (who has already said he is the Truth) in the eye and asks what when he should have been asking who. Truth isn’t a thing to behold, it is a person, and his name is Jesus. Pilate was so close to Truth he could touch it. He definitely heard it and saw it, but he couldn’t reconcile prior commitments and responsibilities. He couldn’t lay down his career or his life for that matter. He turned Jesus over for others to deal with him. It was too risky for him.
I am Peter.
Despite his best efforts, he denied Jesus. He couldn’t own up to being a disciple. He wanted to. He kept telling himself, and kept telling himself, and kept telling himself that he was strong enough. After the rooster crowed, there was no denying what he had done. Peter had to come face to face with the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to do it on his own. No amount of his will power could undo what Jesus had said. Jesus also told him that he would build his Church on Peter. He destroyed the evidence against Peter when he put the ear of the roman soldier back on. Jesus had faith in Peter. And no amount of Peter’s will power could undo what Jesus had said.