Where do Jews go? To the Cave of the Patriarchs to kick it with Abraham.
Where do Muslims go? To Medina – the burial place of Muhammad.
Where to Buddhists go? To Kushinagar to see the Mahaparinirvana Stupa where Buddha ‘left his body.’
…
Where do Christians go? No where, because there’s no body, ergo no enshrined tomb. The tomb was empty, and Jesus is alive! Read ‘em and weep, other ‘world religions!’
I enjoy studying the gospels because I find that no matter how many times you’ve been through them, there’s still a wealth of details you’ve never approached before. Here’s one:
Has it ever occurred to you to wonder what sort of stick and sponge the soldiers offered Jesus wine or vinegar with while he was on the cross? Have you ever wondered if this was an act of mercy or an act of mockery as the context in Luke suggests?
I think sometimes in all of our thinking, talking, exegesis, and what-have-you, we make the Gospel way too complicated. Maybe it’s because it makes us feel like better Christians to claim to understand the intricacies of God. Maybe it’s because the true Gospel is so simple that its hard for us to accept that as all we need. Whatever the reason, I’d like to suggest that we take a look at ourselves, and see if maybe we’re not appreciating the simplicity of Jesus.
People say they believe God is good, but do they? Many people don’t believe God is good because of things that have happened in their life, or that they see in the lives of others. People have died, they’ve been hurt, someone close to them has a disease…and what do we do? Directly or indirectly blame God. We’ll say, “Well, God took him from me.”
Let’s look at Luke 18:
18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
So the next logical step here is to understand ‘good.’