November 14 - Entombed

So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:40-42 ESV)

Jesus’ body was placed in Joseph’s tomb on the day that he died. It was a tomb cut from the rock near where the crucifixion took place. With the Sabbath approaching Joseph used the already prepared tomb in the garden to lay Jesus in.

Jesus is often referred to as the second Adam. The first Adam first sinned in a garden. It seems only fitting that the death to end the threat of sin and death should result in our savior being buried in a garden.

He was buried. He was dead. But he didn't stay dead. He didn't stay buried. He was laid in a borrowed tomb, but he arose the conqueror of death, Hell, and the grave.

January 10 - A Better Man

Read: Genesis 2 and Luke 3:23-38

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:23, 38 NIV)

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase "better man"? Like, "Oh, he's a better man than me for that." They usually mean that the person they are referring to is of a higher moral aptitude for having achieved something which they themselves could not. In contrasting the first man Adam with the Son of Man Jesus such is the case.

Adam and Eve were placed in the middle of paradise. Eden was a beautiful garden the likes of which we cannot even begin to properly imagine. They had everything they needed, and all that they could ever really want. Yet when the devil came into the story he was able to trick and deceive them into sin by making them think God has somehow held back from them.

Jesus faced the same scenario in his life. He was tempted by the devil to believe that there is something to be gained beyond that which God has provided. His choice was not to believe the lie. He was and is the better man. He is the better Adam. The only man to ever make the right choice every time.