Passion Week: Sunday (The LORD'S Day)

Sunday (The Lord’s Day) Mark 16:1-8

The single most important day for every follower of Jesus is today! The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the turning point of history. It is because He lives that our faith is valid. It is because He lives that we may have hope beyond the grave. It is because He lives that He is worthy of worship. And it is because He lives that we may have confidence to engage in service to this world.

Yes, this is what I want to focus on today, namely,

The resurrection of Jesus empowers me to take great risks for the gospel!

This is what 1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us. After walking us through the significance of the resurrection as it relates to our present faith and future hope, Paul then tells us how this truth effects our gospel labors,

“Therefore [because Christ has risen and taken the sting of death away] my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain”

He lives so that we can die in service of the gospel, and know that our deaths (and lives) have significant meaning, impact, and value.

Let us serve our risen Lord today and long for His return!!

Passion Week: Saturday

Saturday

On this day, the whole day Jesus’ body lay in the ground. Though His spirit was with the Father, God the Son was literally decomposing. That’s it,…. Dead.  The disciples sulked in the upper room, frightened out of their minds, and thought that they too would probably join their Master to the grave very soon. None were thinking about a possible resurrection. Though Jesus had foretold both His inglorious death and glorious resurrection the disciples just did not get it. It is as if the disciples of Jesus heard Charlie Brown’s teacher whenever Jesus spoke of these two certain realities. He was going to have to die, but He was certain to rise from the dead.

The first Passion Saturday for the followers of Jesus was nothing but sorrow. They had no idea that the most amazing joy – filled moment of their lives lie just around the corner. So amongst the myriad of truths I can fix my mind on, today I want to chew on this truth:

The brightest dawn comes after the darkest night!

It is Saturday, but Sunday is coming!

Friday's Photo

But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 
and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

Passion Week: Friday

Friday

It was a long bus ride. I was part of a youth mission team on our way back from Peoria, Illinois and I was hungry for the Lord. Someone put in my hands a copy of the first non-fiction book I had ever read voluntarily. I devoured it on that ride home. The book was “Six hours One Friday” by Max Lucado. It was, no surprise, all about the Cross of Christ.  It was and still is a good read.

Today is the day that we focus, perhaps more intentionally than any other day, on the Cross. We focus on those six hours that Jesus hung there and all that transpired as a result. Indeed, the Cross is THE focal point for the believer, and we use this day as a tool to make sure it remains in its place of prominence.  It is good to use this day thusly, for I fear that our emphasis on the Cross all to often reflects the above picture. We say that it is central but in how we think, feel, and act in the moment by moment practicalities of life we often have to strain hard for the cross to come into focus.

So today as I am out shopping for an Easter tie I want the Cross to consume me. One of the most helpful ways, I have found, to reach this desired end is to meditate on the 7 sayings of Jesus from that 6 hour Cross:

·      A WORD OF FORGIVENESS – Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)

 If anyone every had a right to wallow in His own self pity and simply nurse His wounds and die it was Jesus. This is not, however, the picture we get at all. Indeed His first words are the epitome of mercy (not giving something that which is deserved…. In this case judgment). Jesus is here practicing what He preached. His enemies persecuted and He prays for them (Lk. 6:27-28)

·      A WORD OF PROMISE – [to the repentant thief] I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (LK. 23:43)

“The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day; and there may I , though vile as he, wash all my sin away. Wash all my sin away.”

The promise of paradise is simply amazing, but what makes it so amazing is that Jesus is going to be there. “You will be with ME…” What makes it even more amazing is that this thief went “immediately” to this Jesus dwelling paradise.

·      A WORD OF CONCERN – Woman, behold your son; Son, behold your mother… (John 19:26-27)

Mary had not paid a dime to social security. In her day and in her culture her sons would be her social security and IRA and everything else. They would be the ones to take care of her when she could not herself.  Jesus, amazingly, is providing (as any good first -born would) for His mother even when He suffers excruciation pain and suffering.  When Jesus is dying on the cross, however, none of Mary’s other sons were believing in Jesus. Jesus, therefore, chose John to take care of His mother. I believe this signifies at least two things:

1.     Jesus considers being united to Him in faith a more solid bond then one can have with even blood ties. Jesus would rather entrust His mother to believing John with no blood relation than to unbelieving Jude or James who, like Him, came from Mary’s womb. This speaks volumes about how Jesus thinks we should  treat each other in the body.

2.     The old adage has some truth to it, “While He was on the Cross, I was on His mind.” Well, at least Mary was on His mind, however I think we can extend the principal out to ourselves and all believers as well. At the very least here we have yet another image of Jesus being concerned about others even in the throes of His own suffering.

·      A WORD OF DESPAIR (Matthew 27:45-46) – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The whole New Testament answers this question. As the song goes, “I’m forgiven because You were forsaken. I’m accepted, You were condemned…” No one reading this has ever known what it feels like to be “God forsaken”. Jesus alone has known that feeling, and He felt it so that we never have to feel it!

·      A WORD OF FULFILLMENT (John 19:28) – I thirst

IT is ironic that the One who promises living waters to bubble up within a person (John 7:37) would Himself thirst. This word, however, is not just a word of irony. If one were to study the accounts of the crucifixion with Psalm 22 one would see a major overlap. It is as if Jesus was meditating on and fulfilling Psalm 22 with every act and word on the cross. Psalm 22:15 says, “my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth…” Amongst other things, Jesus was intentionally fulfilling Scripture on the Cross! He is truly the ONE whom all the Law and the Prophets pointed toward!

·      A WORD OF TRIUMPH (John 19:30) – It is Finished

What is the “It” he refers to? God’s work of redemption is what Jesus is referring to. Because He was forsaken in my place I can now be acceptable in the sight of God. This is what makes “Good Friday” good. Without this and it would be “Tragic Friday”. Jesus’ mission, however, was a successes. The Greek word is just one word and carriers the meaning of “Paid in full”. The CROSS was all the payment we needed for our sins. The way has now been opened decisively.

·      A WORD OF SURRENDER (LK. 23:46)

None of the gospel writers say that Jesus “died”. It seems like they are deliberately avoiding the word. Death did not claim Him as a victim; Jesus seized death as a Victor and the gospel writers want us to be clear on this! His death was totally voluntary and totally at His disposal to the very last breathe. 

Passion Week: Thursday

Thursday  (Mark 14:12-52; John 13-18:11)

Today is what is traditionally known as “Maundy” or Holy Thursday. The word “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word meaning “commandment” and refers to the “command” that Jesus gave His followers to love and serve one another. Indeed we get the word from John 13:34,

“A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this all people will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”

There is much that happened on this night. Indeed the activity is so much that the night never ends, it just goes on with action until the morning when Jesus is being tried. This Thursday night was the last night Jesus would have with His people pre-resurrection, and though He had 40 days after His resurrection in which He instructed His followers, not much of that is recorded for us. Much of what happened on this night, however (Thanks to John’s Gospel), is recorded for our instruction.

On this night Jesus instituted the New Covenant with the Supper. It is on this night that we have Jesus’ “Upper Room Discourse” in which significant truths are communicated to the disciples. The Truths are almost too many to mention (it is perhaps better to just read John 13-18 today). Truths like: Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life; Jesus is coming back to receive us to Himself; Jesus is One with the Father; The Holy Spirit will be given to aid Jesus’s followers; Jesus’ disciples are to have the kind of relationship with Him that a branch does to a vine; and much more!

So with so much to occupy the fires of our meditation today, I ask myself “what do I want swimming in my mind as I make a drive to Selma and back?” I think I want to think about this:

Jesus makes all things new!

It is what the Lord’s Supper signifies. Jesus is establishing the NEW Covenant that had been promised for so long. A covenant in which God’s people will have His laws written on their hearts and minds. A covenant in which God comes and makes His abode within each member of the covenant. Indeed, a covenant in which God is not ashamed to call those in the covenant “My People” and those people can joyfully, and confidently address Him as, “MY GOD!”

And this covenant is characterized by its members reflecting the way of its founder. It is seen and felt as they, like Him, pick up the towel and basin and serve each other. They, thus, fulfill the very “New” commandment of the Master, namely, to love like Him.

I want to have the towel and basin firmly in my hands today! 

Passion Week: Wednesday

Wednesday

No one is really sure what occupied Jesus’ time on Wednesday of Passion Week. We know that Judas, on this day, probably made his arrangements to betray the Master. The actions of Jesus, however, are a mystery. We simply do not know. This has led some in church history to dub this day of Holy Week as “Silent Wednesday”. 

So, what did He do? Did He spend the day in fasting and prayer? It is possible. Was he giving the disciples some “advanced” lessons that He did not give the crowd the day before? That is very likely. After the previous day's  teaching did He need to spend this day in rest (He had practically taught all day)? Again, we simply do not know. So I guess there is no meditation for this day of Holy Week…. WRONG! There is much to think on for this day.

So as I am preparing our Student Room for Worship I want a few truths to simmer in my mind. For starters:

Our God is gloriously mysterious!  

One of my favorite verses in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 29:29

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law”

Are you not overjoyed to know that there are some things that are simply beyond our finite minds to grasp or know? I am! God has not told us everything. He has not revealed to us all there is of Himself! He could not do that in this life, for He is of infinite value and the beauty of His excellencies will take all eternity to spread out for the redeemed to marvel at. This is why heaven will be no bore!

Think about the greatest discovery you have ever made. Perhaps it was a wooded trail that led you to a beautiful mountain top view. Or maybe it was the time you finally cracked the code in the mathematical equation you had been working on all semester. Or perhaps it was the time when you seemed to get just how the opposite sex thinks (I said ‘seemed’ J ). Or even finding a new truth in a passage you had memorized since 5^th grade VBS.  Do you have your moment? Whatever you felt in that moment, multiply it to the nth degree and then perhaps you will begin to taste a little of what heaven may be like. Our God will unpack His beautifully mysterious self for all eternity and every moment will be a “Wow” moment!

There is, however, another truth to ruminate on, namely:

Silence is an appropriate response when we think about the Lord’s judgment.

In Revelation 8:1 as the Lamb opens the 7^th and final seal, an opening that is the un-corking of the bottle of God’s wrath, John tells us that there was silence in heaven for about an half of an hour. Zephaniah 1:7-10 and Zech. 2:13 point to the same reality as well. The silence called for in these verses is the silence of fearful awe as the Lord rouses Himself and prepared for judgment.

Is there any time more appropriate than Holy Week to sit in silence at the awesome act of God, the cross, where both His judgment and His mercy kissed? There are some things that are so weighty that it seems like speech would defile the event. Think about how much you would like to take a slug at the guy on his cell phone during the national anthem at the ball park!

On Wednesday, this day, today, lets take some time to take some time and be silent. Think on the Cross and ….. be silent. I think it no accident that we do not have recorded what happened on this day. I think the Father designed it this way for specific purposes. I think He would have us meditate on just how awesome what we are about to see on Friday really is. Sure, we will think about the Cross on Friday, but it is so grandiose that we need to get ready for it.

Some of the Psalms (and a few other places in the Old Testament) use a little word, Selah. No one really knows exactly what the word means, but the best conjectures is that this word was a musical notation that probably was meant for the singer to pause and meditate on what was just sung or what was about to be sung. In the song of Passion Week God has written His own Selah,  and we call it Wednesday.

Be silent. Selah

Passion Week: Tuesday

Tuesday (Mark 11:27-13:37)

This day finds Jesus busy in the Temple and surrounding areas teaching.  Reading this section of even Mark’s gospel (the shortest account) leaves the reader with the impression that what we have recorded is surely the cliff notes, and Jesus must have literally taught all day. Among the many themes that Jesus expounds on are:

·      (11:27-33) The authority of Jesus is the authority of God. This is what Jesus is trying to get his opponents to publically admit as they try to trap Him. Brilliantly Jesus, in true wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove fashion, turns the tables on his enemies and is honored by the crowd

·      (12:1-12) God will judge those who reject His kindness. This is what the parable of the tenants teaches. The vine owner is God and the tenants are the religious leaders of Israel. They have spurned God’s kindness and God will eventually spurn them.

·      (12:13-17) We owe our governmental leaders obedience and respect; we owe God EVERYTHING!  We see this as Jesus is again being placed in a verbal trap. He is asked, “Is it right to pax taxes to a pagan, vile ruler?” Jesus answer is classic and probably hardly needed of repeated for all who would read this. He asks for a coin and asks whose image is on it. The response is Caesar. Then He says, “render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God, the things that are God’s.” Well Caesar has his image on the coin, so give it to him. Where then is God’s image? On our very beings….. so let us give our beings to Him!

·      (12: 18-27) The eternal state will prove to be the substance of what all our lives in this world was just the echo of. This is clear as Jesus refutes the ignorance of the Sadducees who doubted life after the grave. All things in this life are just pointers to a greater reality found in fellowship with the Triune God (even marriage). That was something for the Sadducees that had not even come on their radar (Maybe that is why the were so Sad – u – see…. Sorry, I could not resist)

·      (12: 28-34) Loving God and loving people is really all we need to worry about!

·      (12: 35-37) Though Jesus is a descendant of David, He is greater than David.

·      (12: 38-44) How much we give is really not that significant, but how much we SACRIFICE is!

·      (13:1-37) Jesus is coming back!

So, as I am eating breakfast this morning I want all of this truth to permeate my mind. Above all of that I want to focus today on the truth that:

Jesus is My Great Teacher! He is my Rabbi and I am His life long pupil!


[Okay, it's Katie here.  I had to add a little to David's post reminding you to scroll down to "Jesus' Final Week" posted Monday in case you missed David's writing for Sunday and Monday.  Don't want you to miss anything he has been writing.  Alright, David.  Thanks again.  Back to you!]

Jesus' Final Week

I have asked my wonderful husband to be a "guest author" :) each day this week - a week that we reflect on the final days in the life of Christ before His glorious, death-defeating resurrection.  I am excited to personally read what David has written, and I'm thrilled for you to do the same.  Thank you, David, for taking time to share with us regarding these days in the life of our Lord.  I love you, your love for Christ, and your desire to make His glory known to all.  So, those of you reading . . .  keep reading, and be blessed!   

This week Christians from all over the world will be celebrating “Holy Week”, the final week of Jesus’ life on earth. Some will be culminating the final days of a 40 day “Lent” period which usually is characterized by some sort of fasting and intensified prayer and meditation. Many Protestants do not practice Lent and might even be scared of the practice as it seems to be “too Catholic” for them to observe. This fear, however, is unwarranted, and this is one area where I think we can learn much from our “Roman friends”. 

Just as it is good to set aside one day in seven every week to focus more intentionally on our vertical relationship with God, it is also good to set aside larger seasons of time for the same purpose. So long as the practice does not denigrate into mere ritual I believe it can be very profitable indeed. What can be bad about intensified prayer and meditation!

Well, whether or not we have observed the 40 day season of Lent this year it will still be profitable for us to take some extra time this week to meditate on the Lord and His work on our behalf. I have found over the last few years that a fruitful way for me to engage in this meditation is by focusing on each of the last days of our Savior’s time here on earth on the day in which those things transpired. I usually try to focus on one aspect of the day and draw one application to my life. Below is an attempt to illustrate what I mean and provide, I hope, fuel for your meditative fires as well. I am so honored that my bride has let me share her blog this week to do this. Please excuse her if the writing this week is not up to par :)

Sunday  (Mark 11:1-26; John 12:17-50)

We commonly refer to this day as “Triumphal Sunday” or “Palm Sunday”, the day in which Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a colt. Both names point to the fact that this is KING Jesus who enters Jerusalem for the feast. Some have observed, however, that this day might better be referred to as the “a – triumphal entry” since a peasant riding on a donkey followed by a ragamuffin group of “uncouth” people stands in stark contrast to the normal way a conquering general would enter a town, i.e. decked in full armor, riding a white horse, and followed by a retinue of soldiers.

Jesus is, however, making some strong Messianic claims by His actions. Riding the donkey enacts the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, and He receives the acclaim from the crowd that is treating Him as their true King (notice the palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna”). This is a triumphal entry, but it is a lowly triumph, and hence we come to the point of application for today. It is one of the grandest paradoxes of the faith:

There can be no crown without the cross!

Jesus knows that the white horse and warrior robes and faithful army is coming, but they have to be bought first. The next time He comes there will be no confusion as to whether or not it is “Triumphal”.  It will be plain to all. Every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him and all tribes will mourn for Him, even so Amen. Every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Triumphal! He came the first time to deal with sin. The next time He comes it will be for the final salvation of those who are eagerly waiting for Him (Heb. 9:27-28).

But He had to suffer first. He had to ride the donkey. He had to live this week’s Friday. This is what I want going through my head as I go to sleep tonight. Jesus is coming to rule! I too will rule with Him, but for now I am called to share in His sufferings and “in my flesh fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Col. 1:24) What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ? NOTHING, except the actual knowledge of those afflictions by the people whom God has given me influence with. They will know those afflictions when I embody them before their eyes. We must tell them the gospel by re-enacting the gospel before them! I hope this causes me to ask myself this week, “Whose affliction am I bearing so that they might know HIM?”

Monday ( Mark 11:12-19)

There are two main actions of Jesus that occurred on this day of Holy Week, the cursing of the Fig Tree and The Cleansing of the Temple. We know these two events are related by the way Mark puts them together and should, therefore be interpreted and applied together. Putting them together this way also signifies to us that Jesus’ activity in the Temple was not a mere cleansing or an attempt to reform, but an act of judgment.

The Fig tree serves as a vivid parable to the condition of Israel’s heart towards God, evidenced by the Temple activity.  Here we have a hungry Jesus coming to a Fig tree in search of some fruit. He hopes to find some, and indeed is led to believe that His quest might prove successful by the fruit promising leaves on the end of the branches. When He gets closer, however, He finds the tree barren and delivers a curse upon it for its hypocrisy.

The Fig tree (often used to depict Israel) represents the nation of Israel as a whole. What Jesus finds at the tree is the same He finds with His people at the Temple. “He came to the Temple and instead of finding fruit and faithful worship, He found nothing but empty form, mere leaves of thievery; thus He judged official Israel and the temple.” (Robert Stein)

So what is the thought that will be running through my head today as I take my son to preschool:

Jesus is concerned about pure worship and will judge those who do not worship thusly!

Today praise the One for turning over the tables of pride in your own heart. Give glory to God for running the lustful and vain ambitions out of the temple of your body and ask for His to be the overwhelming abiding presence in your heart this week. Ask Him to root out any vestures of hypocritical worship in your life and seek to bear fruit in such a way that would bring Him fame!