Impossible! Ever have anything impossible happen?  Years ago when I plunged into a crevasse on the top of Mt. Baker, I didn’t realize I was over the gaping hole because of a layer of snow. Steve VandenBos and I stepped onto the crevasse at the same time and landed 15 feet down on a snow ledge.  A few feet before or after we would have fell 30 feet and pulled the third person down with us and we’d still be there.  I landed on my feet, looked around and thought impossible for it to happen the way it did.

Ever see a miracle, the right timing, the right opportunity, the right provision.  When you live with a God awareness, the impossible is a way of life.  Somehow money works out when it should not.  Sometimes it is a small grace, a timely phone call, a found object. Sometimes more dramatic, a miracle of healing, God taking you through a tough time.  Impossible.  One of the great delights for Christians is to believe in the God of the impossible.  “Impossible” is used in today’s scripture.  We’ll talk about the amazing use of the word Impossible, a twist in how we normally think of it.  In another place of scripture, a favorite thought that brings comfort to millions of Christians, “Nothing is impossible with God.”  I believe with my whole heart: God can do anything!  There is always HOPE, always the possibility of a better tomorrow.  Since nothing is impossible with God, we never have any reason to give up on anyone, no reason to fear, no reason to declare anything is impossible.  No reason to give up on yourself! 

Our world is confusing and depressing, but to live by the truth that God is the God of the impossible means we don’t have to understand the problems of this world!  God can do anything!  Amen!  

Sunday

Two days earlier Jesus had been crucified. Here’s how it went. The Roman centurion, certified Jesus as dead. If anyone knew death when he saw it, this man did. This is good news to Pilate. He didn't need any trouble in his province and Jesus' death sentence was a troubling matter. 
 
It was doubly good news to the religious leaders. This imposter Messiah was dead and they didn't need anybody creating trouble and unrest that would stir up the Roman occupiers.  The beginning of the Sabbath and Passover at sunset was now only a couple hours away.  

You see, the timing was all bad for the Jewish religious leaders. Yes, they wanted Jesus dead, but by Jewish practice, they couldn’t allow a body to be on the cross over Sabbath. If Jesus’ death was slow, and it he could have hung there for a couple days before dying, they would have to hasten the process and request that his legs be broken so Jesus would suffocate because he would be hanging just by his arms. Then the body had to be removed and quickly disposed of or entombed.