… for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

There are only a few movies I can sit down to watch more than once, and only one have I ever seen twice in a cinema… and yes you guessed right, it’s Black Panther!!! As I am a man of little words, I won’t go into every detail of how awesome I think the movie is, or the shenanigans that meant I had to see it a second time 😁. But having said that, my favourite scene from the movie has to be Killmonger making a mockery of the hapless and helpless T’challa, and condemning him to the abyss… “is this your king?” he bellowed as he crushed him to death, shattering the hopes of the onlooking Wakandans.

So much as I loved this scene, I never thought much of it until today as I remember a similar scene played out many years ago… helpless, he was mocked to death – stripped naked, dressed in a scarlet robe, with a crown of thorns and a staff, they knelt and mocked him “hail the king”, then spat on him and beat him silly. Then as they crucified him, they wrote boldly above his head for all to see THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS!!! “He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel!” Is this your king?, they meant to say to everyone that ever believed in him… He was condemned to the tomb and sealed away with a large stone. Good riddance! They thought.

But On The Third Day!!! Oh my! On the third day, Jesus TUNRED UP!!! And this here is why Easter has always been my favourite part of the year. While I love Christmas so much, all the ceremony and the more significant celebration of the greatest gift ever given to men, nothing compares to Easter… for on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead – and there is the singular most significant event in the history of humankind! He rose from dead, (trust me, this was way more cool than T’chala coming back 😉) and now he lives forever… in my heart, and hopefully in yours too…

I reckon as you go through life, sometimes it feels like you’re being asked “Is This Your King” as you feel helpless and it seems nothing is going according to plan. As you enjoy the long holidays and celebrate Easter this year, I just want to remind you – he rose on the third day… and that he did, just for you…

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you .

Happy Easter, friends!!!