An Introduction

By Luci Swindoll

What a wonderful privilege to introduce my brother, Chuck Swindoll. For those of you who may not know him, you’re in for a treat in reading this series of Lenten devotionals for the next seven weeks. Chuck is two years younger than I, the pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and as far back as I can remember has been interested in the Bible and what it taught. He studied it at home, in high school, in the military, in seminary and of course, as a pastor. And…one of the primary reasons I love living in Frisco is to be able to attend that church and hear him teach what he’s learned. When we were kids, Mother used to say, “One day Charles will be great.” To which I’d reply, “Oh, Mother!” And now, when I hear him on Sundays, I always think, “Mother was right.”

I hope you’ll enjoy these excerpts from Chuck’s book. May they be an encouragement to you during the Easter season. There’s not only great teaching here, but practical wisdom as well. Once you’ve read them all, I trust the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross will mean even more to you. 

The Plot to Kill Jesus

For many months, storm clouds had been gathering over Jerusalem. Jesus focused His attention on Galilee during the early part of His ministry, but He regularly traveled to the Holy City in Judea to celebrate the more than half-dozen Jewish feasts throughout the year. And each visit intensified the growing tension between Jesus and the religious establishment—the Sadducees, with their control of the temple, and the Pharisees, who had a grip on the people.

The disciples could sense the danger mounting. So when Jesus announced that they would travel to visit Martha and Mary in the village of Bethany, just  two miles from Jerusalem, Thomas turned to the other disciples and shrugged.“Let us also go, that we may die with him”(John 11:16).The disciples’ fear was not unfounded. On their last visit, an angry mob sought to stone their Master.

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He won a new assembly of followers. However, several friends of the Pharisees saw His growing popularity as a threat and scurried to Jerusalem with the news.

So the chief priests [Sadducees] and the Pharisees called

  the council together and said, “What are we doing? For

  this man is performing many miraculous signs. If we

  allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in

  him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary

  and our nation.”

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that

  year, said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize

  that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for

  the people than for the whole nation to perish.”

  —John 11:47–50 NET

With that, the plot to kill Jesus began.

Excerpts taken from Jesus: The Greatest Life of All and The Darkness and the Dawn by Charles R. Swindoll – Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc.