Friday the 13th

Today is Friday, April 13, 2018. And a new horror movie comes out in theatres today. As such i got to thinking, “Why is Friday the 13th notorious for bad luck/horror movies?”

Why not Friday the 14th or Thursday the 13th?

Then i decided to look up Bible verses that contain 4:13 as the reference since that is today’s date. I didn’t get very far. In Genesis 4:13 we read, “But Cain answered the Lord, ‘My punishment is too great to bear!'”

What was this punishment referring to?

In Genesis 4:8 we read about the crime. “Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him” (emphasis added).

Think with me for just a moment:

If Jesus was raised from the dead on the day after the Sabbath, then Sunday is the first day of the week. If Sunday is the first day of the week, then Saturday is the Sabbath (7th day). And if Saturday is the Sabbath, then Friday is the sixth day.

The sixth day was when Scripture says, “God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27).

Therefore, for horror movies–movies that glorify murder and fear of death–to be released on Friday the 13th, and not Thursday the 13th or Friday the 14th, is a slap in the face of a God who created human beings in His image on Friday.

“But what about 13?” you ask.

I’ll get there. (There’s a link several paragraphs down. Keep reading.)

But first, i won’t say you’re sinful for watching these types of movies. All i know is i won’t watch them. (I love suspense, but violence for the sake of violence and terror for the sake of terror are not my cups of tea.)

If you know the Lord, thank Him for making you in His image. Thank Him for giving you value and worth. Reflect on the value of human life on days like Friday the 13th, when the rest of the world says, “violence, slaughter, death.”

If you don’t know the Lord, come to know Him today.

I mentioned above that Jesus rose from the dead. Before He could rise, He had to die; before He could die He had to be handed over to His enemies. The way in which He was handed over to His enemies played out like a horror movie; one of his closest friends (the 13th in the room for the Last Supper) betrayed Him. And then the greatest horror in the world was when Jesus–the only innocent human to ever live–was crucified on a Roman cross for sins He did not commit.  The way He was able to remain innocent was because He wasn’t only human. He was also God. This is why He was able to rise from the dead.

He overcame death so that we don’t have to glorify violence and so that we don’t have to fear death. Trust Him today!

Soli Deo Gloria