No Better Time!

At their 20-year high school reunion, two classmates, John and Larry, were reminiscing about “old times.” As they traded stories, John recalled an especially cruel prank that had been played on Larry during their senior year. But surprisingly Larry seemed not to recall it. “Certainly, you must remember that?” John asked.

“No”, came Larry’s reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”

If ever anyone had reason to be bitter and unforgiving, surely it was Jesus in the last week of His life. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we see Jesus agonizing over His imminent physical death. But surely He was struggling also with the temptation to be bitter and unforgiving, and the terrible estrangement from God that goes with it. Think for a moment! The jubilant Palm Sunday crowd had turned into a lynch mob before the week was over. And nowhere in the Gospel record is there a sign that one single person out of the crowd spoke up for Jesus when He was arrested.…