Easter
History of Palm Sunday
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF PALM SUNDAY Podcast version oly Week, or Passion Week, starts this weekend with Palm Sunday. Why was this week so important that three of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) devote a full third of their contents to reporting this week, and the fourth gospel (John) dedicates its entire last half? Jerusalem, which had a normal…
Read MoreHistory of Easter: The Sanhedrin – Who Was This Council?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF THE SANHEDRIN Podcast version he Greek word Συνέδριον, sunedrion, means literally “sitting together” and is usually translated as “council.” The New Testament refers to it alternately as “the Great Law-Court,” “the Court of Seventy-One,” and “the rulers and elders and scribes.” It was the supreme theocratic court of the Jews. The Sanhedrin…
Read MoreHistory of Easter: Historical Climate
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORICAL CLIMATE OF EASTER Podcast s Passion Week begins this weekend, what was the historical climate of Easter Week almost 2,000 years ago surrounding the last week of the life of Jesus of Nazareth? All men die; Jesus was a man destined to die, not merely in the conventional sense but in a distinct…
Read MoreHistory of Ash Wednesday: Where’s the Ash from?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF ASH WEDNESDAY Podcast version n the Western church, the first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday, derived from the ceremonial use of ashes as a symbol of penitence in the service prescribed for the day. It follows Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday, and ends with Easter, 40 days later,…
Read MoreHistory of Mardi Gras: Why is it called Fat Tuesday?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF MARDI GRAS Podcast version ardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French. It is celebrated the day after Shrove Monday and the day before Ash Wednesday as a last “fling” before the 40 days of self-denial of Lent, which precede Easter. Lent is a word that comes from the Middle English word “lente,” which…
Read MoreHistory of Shrove Monday: Ahead of Mardi Gras
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat is the history of Shrove Monday?
Read MoreJerusalem in a Day, part 1
Reading Time: 6 minutes HISTORY IN JERUSALEM: CHRISTIAN TRADITION Is it possible to see Jerusalem in a day? I did. Twenty eight years ago, following a trip to Israel, I published three articles. I was speaking on technology in Tel Aviv and had only 24 hours to visit Jerusalem. The city may have changed, but the historical sites…
Read MoreHistory of Palm Sunday: How it starts Holy Week
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF PALM SUNDAY The week we now call Holy Week or Passion Week starts this weekend with Palm Sunday. Why was this week so important that three of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) devote a full third of their contents to reporting this week, and The Fourth Gospel (John) dedicates its entire last half? Jerusalem,…
Read MoreHistory of Ash Wednesday: Where does the Ash come from?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF ASH WEDNESDAY In the Western church, the first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday from the ceremonial use of ashes, as a symbol of penitence, in the service prescribed for the day. It follows Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday, and ends with Easter 40 days later, not counting Sundays. It…
Read MoreHistory of Shrove Monday: Ahead of Mardi Gras
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF SHROVE MONDAY The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Monday. The three days before Ash Wednesday is also known as “Shrovetide,” starting with Quinquagesima Sunday and ending on Shrove Tuesday, known more popularly as Mardi Gras. Quinquagesima meant the fiftieth day before Easter, or specifically the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday,…
Read MoreHistory of the Players
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhat happened to our players AFTER the events in the Easter story?
Read MoreHistory of Good Friday
Reading Time: 2 minutesGOOD FRIDAY For centuries, pilgrims have walked the Via Dolorosa, “the way of sorrow” in Jerusalem, following the path Jesus took from the judgment seat of Pilate at the Antonia in the eastern part of the city immediately north of the Temple through several “stations of the Cross” to the ultimate location at the Church…
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