This Changes Everything

April 5, 2026 (Easter Sunday)

Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "This Changes Everything." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.

Every Easter, the question of why Judaism rejected Jesus as the Messiah comes up. Here's an essay I did back in 2022 that attempts to answer that question: Heart & Soul.

As we've noted, Holy Week and Passover tend to overlap. It's quite likely that the Last Supper in the upper room was a Passover celebration. So what's next? In both Christianity and Judaism, it's about 50 days to the next event. In about 50 days, it's Pentecost (pente = 50) for Christians and the Feast of Weeks for Jews.

Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles after Jesus' resurrection. The Feast of Weeks (seven weeks to be exact) is a harvest celebration and one of the times that all men are to return to Jerusalem. That is why the apostles were all there in Jerusalem. You may hear the word Shavuot used for the Feast of Weeks; it means "weeks."

GotQuestions.org sums it up like this: "On the Day of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, the 'first fruits' of the church were gathered by Christ as some 3,000 people heard Peter present the gospel after the Holy Spirit had empowered and indwelt the disciples as promised. With the promised indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the first fruits of God's spiritual harvest under the New Covenant began. Today, that harvest continues as people continue to be saved, but there is also another coming harvest whereby God will again turn His attention back to Israel so that 'all of Israel will be saved' (Romans 11:26)." (Posting: What is the Feast of Weeks?.)

I'd like to share some information about how the Old Testament views justice and mercy (referring back to last week's Easter message).

Let's start with justice by sharing a Bonus piece I wrote back in 2024: Justice, Justice.

Here's another brief Bonus essay: Compassion vs Justice.

And lastly, as Superman espoused: Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

Now to mercy. Here's one discussion from 2023: The Life You've Always Wanted: Kindness. Kindness is often a translation of the Hebrew word also translated as mercy, chesed (חֵסֵד).

Here's an interesting, 3-minute video on the God of Justice (Elohim) and the God of Mercy (Adonai/Jehovah). You'll hear the two names discussed while watching fly-by views of Masada, Herod's amazing palace atop a desert mountain. Biblical Excavations On Location: Masada.

Bonus

Step Forward

Sometimes, YOU have to make the first move. A step of faith, if you will. CBN Israel recently published a short devotional on this topic: Step Into the Sea (referring to the Red Sea during the Exodus).

Bonus2

November Christmas (movie)

November Christmas is a Hallmark movie, of course, but a little different. And quite the tear-jerker. A young girl fighting a life-threatening illness becomes the recipient of an outpouring of community love and support through which several members of the community benefit as well. It's something of a win-win-win without an ounce of typical Hallmark Christmas movie stuff (romance, third wheels, misunderstandings, two people trapped in a cabin deep in the snowy woods, etc.).