Though you would not recognize it through the practice of the western church, Easter is at the core of our faith. We spend far more time and money celebrating Christmas than we do Easter, due in part to the world's pattern shaping our practice. Yet, without Easter, Christmas would have no meaning. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, His life would of no real significance. Without the resurrection His death would be nothing more than the death of a martyr. Paul put it succinctly: "If Christ be not raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God.... If Christ be not raised your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17) It is through the empty tomb of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we view "the Word become flesh and having dwelt among us." It is through the empty tomb of the victorious "Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), that we encounter "in Christ the fullness of the Deity living," (Colossians 2:9) and the "radiance of God's glory and exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His power." (Hebrews 1:3) The triumphant proclamation of the church rings around the world throughout the ages: Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!
In an effort to help us make our celebration of holy week triumphant and special, there will be a special devotional series for the week. It will come in two parts, the first arriving Saturday and the second on Wednesday. This will help keep down the size of the email for the recipients. In these devotionals we will walk with Jesus through His passion week. They are written and emailed with the passionate prayer that we will not only remember and celebrate what Jesus did for us, but that we will learn more about living out our faith. It would be impossible for one devotional series to cover all that is to be gleaned from this week in Jesus' life. Nevertheless, let was walk with Him each day and take at least one thing away . (The time needed to write this series is the reason why there hasn't been a devotional sent last week.)
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!
The people believed they were participating in a coronation. Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a colt and the people, with shouts of Hosanna, made Him a regal carpet of palm branches and coats. They knew their prophecy. They remembered the words spoken through the prophet Zechariah: "See your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." They were sure that the time had come for the Kingdom of Israel to be restored. Maybe today would be the day He would proclaim His Kingship and announce His plans. Maybe today their cries of "Hosanna" (meaning, "God save us") would be answered and Israel would be freed from Roman oppression and be given its rightful place as the world-leading nation.
It was a coronation, but not the kind about which the crowd was thinking. The cries of "Hosanna" would be answered, but not in the way the people imagined. It was a coronation and more, for the Kingdom that Jesus was going to establish was a Kingdom not of this world. It would be established by surrender and sacrifice, not with might and power. Blood would be spilt, but not the blood of the enemy. It would be the blood of the Lamb. The elaborate celebration that was taking place as Jesus entered the city was also a presentation of the Lamb - "The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." It was Passover time and the lamb to be sacrificed would be placed on display for all to see that it was perfect and without blemish. This coronation was the beginning of that process. Jesus Himself was the Lamb and He was being brought into the city and before this week was done the verdict will be given several times over, "There is no fault in this man." In five days the blood of the Lamb would be shed and the Kingdom would be established with the victorious shout of "It Is Finished!" This Kingdom will be without end and her citizens a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, who are aliens and strangers in this world. (1 Peter 2:9,11)
How often we are like the crowds that gathered that day in Jerusalem. We shout and sing unto Jesus, but our desires are far from His desires. We want Him to be the king of our expectations. We want Him to squash our enemies, lift us up, and obey our whims. We forget that the way of His Kingdom is the way of surrender to the Father's will and a way of self-sacrifice. We forget that His Kingdom is not of this world, but is established in the hearts of those who have committed themselves to Him and have received His life-transforming grace. Let us be sure our cries of "Hosanna" come from a yielded contrite heart. Let us bow down and worship the Lord with sincere and glad hearts, knowing we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and Jesus is Lord of our lives! "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!"
The accounts are not very clear whether Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and His cleansing of the temple happened immediately after the triumphant entry on Sunday or on Monday. We will assume it was on Monday for our walk with Him this week.
Jesus returns to Jerusalem early in the morning from Bethany. "And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it...." (Luke 19:41) Already his heart is breaking for the people. He longs to gather them to Himself, but they cannot see. All they see is their self-righteous dreams of world rule. He sees a people whom He loves with a divine love. He sees a people from whom He will willingly take their sin upon Himself and bare it on the cross so that they need not suffer its condemnation. They continue to look for a Messiah that fits their dreams and expectations. His heart breaks and He weeps for a people whom He has come to save, cleanse, make new, and make His own.
He proceeds into the city making His way to the temple. The people's interest heightens. This could be the continuation of yesterday's coronation. Having been rebuked by the Pharisees for the ruckus He caused the day before, Jesus may have just laid low for the night and returned today to complete the coronation. The king would naturally go to the temple for it is there he would be anointed and would kingship would be announced. The excitement peaks as Jesus enters the temple. But rather than announce His Messiahship, He does something that brings only bewilderment. Jesus, with the same authority that astounded people when He spoke, proceeds to throw the money changers and merchants out of the temple along with their wares. What was Jesus doing? His rage should be toward the Roman oppressors, not fellow Jews.
Jesus' cleansing of the temple, as it is traditionally known, raises questions for us as well. This act of Jesus is most often referred to when addressing the subject of anger. Second, it is noted in discussions about the use of church buildings. Third, it is used when discussing the fulfillment of prophecy. But, just why did Jesus cleanse the temple? And what does this have to do with us?
The triumphant entry into Jerusalem was indeed a coronation ceremony. But it was not the crowning of a king of an earthly kingdom. Jesus' Kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, His cleansing of the temple was a consistent act for the Ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven. As He cleared the temple He proclaimed, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of robbers." (Luke 19:46) It is crucially significant that He said, "My House." If a prophet had spoken these words he would have added, "Thus saith the Lord." Jesus did not add this clause because He did not need to. It was His temple and it had been turned into a flee market. The temple, which was created for a particular purpose for and by God, had been reduced to a human market place. Jesus sanctified His temple that day, returning it to its created purpose - a House of Worship; a visible sign of a God's presence in this world and an earthly place for His people to worship Him.
We do not have a temple today. But God is not without His temple here on earth. "Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) We are to be God's temple. In order for us to be what we are created to be, cleansing is necessary. Anything contrary to God's design and everything offensive to Him must be cleansed from our lives. When praying for His disciples Jesus prayed; "My prayer is not that You take them out of the world... Sanctify them by the truth." (John 17) "Sanctify" is a multifaceted term in Scripture, but one thing it clearly includes is cleansing. His prayer was that we would not be taken out of the world, but that the world would be taken out of us, making us a temple befitting our King's use.
The cleansing of the temple was far more than Jesus expressing righteous anger. It was more than His cleaning out the church building. It was more than the fulfillment of prophesy. This cleansing of His temple on Holy Week Monday was a revelation of God's will for today's temple - His cleansing of His people. When we consecrate ourselves wholly to Jesus, He cleanses us and takes His rightful place upon the throne of our hearts. His Kingdom is established in us, here on earth. Through His infilling of the Holy Spirit He takes up residence in us - individually and collectively - and we become the visible sign of His presence in the world. Therefore, beloved, let us offer ourselves to Him that He may sanctify us through and through, knowing that "He who has called us is faithful and He will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
On Tuesday Jesus made His way back to the temple, where he spent the
day responding to challenges and teaching the people. Surely it was a long
grueling day. Jesus has His authority challenged, His loyalties questioned,
and His understanding of the law tested. With compassionate directness
Jesus responded, not allowing the main issues be drowned out by the trivial
questions of His challengers.
The challenges came from an unusual alliance of religious leaders. Three groups came together in a effort "trap Jesus in His words." (Matthew 22:15) They were three groups that usually did not have anything to do with each other. There only discourse was disagreement and arguing. But now their mutual desire to get rid of Jesus gave them reason to work together. And they conspired to trap Jesus.
Jesus' authority was challenged with the pungent question, "By what authority are you doing these things?" Jesus responded by throwing the question back to them, by asking from where John's baptism come. The only answer they could give without trapping themselves was, "we don't know." Not being able to recognize God's anointing upon John, they were not ready to hear the truth about Jesus, so He would not answer their question. Had they allowed their eyes to be opened they would have seen the answer to their question right before them. (See Matthew 21:23-27)
The Herodians, who wanted to restore the throne of Herod obliterating every element of Jewish nationality, came to Him and challenged His loyalties. They submitted their carefully worded question; "It is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?" Jesus, using a Roman coin as a object lesson, directed them to give to Caesar what was his and to God what was His. Jesus not only silenced the challengers, He brought the crucial issue to the forefront. (See Matthew 22:15-22)
The Sadducees, a group of theologians, were next. Their question was an entrapping theoretical question about which husband of a women married seven times due to the death of each, would be considered her husband after the resurrection. An intriguing question from a group that did not believe in the resurrection. Jesus, pointing out His questioner's lack of understanding and knowledge of the Scriptures, again brought the main issue back to the forefront with His response. He would not allow such puny, trivial questions like this to cloud the central concern. His final word to this question; "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (See Matthew 22:23-33)
"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got togther" and came to Him. Their question would naturally involve the law, for they were its guardians and the example of how it was to be fulfilled. Jesus forthrightly answered their question about which was the first and greatest commandment. Their question, ironically, actually dealt with the main issue. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind," Jesus answered and added the second, "and your neighbor as yourself." After giving His answer to this question, Jesus spent the rest of the day teaching the people.
In each response Jesus would not allow the main focus to be clouded by their questions. In each case we are brought back to where we stand in relationship to God and each other. The authority of Jesus was no less than the authority of God Himself. Its not about loyalty to earthly rulers, its about devotion to God and living out holiness. It's loving God with our whole beings and having a right relationship with Him, through which we are enabled to truly love each other.
There was a preacher working diligently to put the finishing touches
on his sermon. His six year old daughter kept coming into his study disturbing
him, breaking his train of thought. He did not want to put her off, yet
needed to complete his task. So he seized the idea of cutting up a world
map like a jigsaw puzzle, thinking that having his daughter put it back
together would take a considerable amount of time, allowing him to finish
his work. He sat her down on the floor of his study, gave her the pieces
of the map and challenged her to put it together. She accepted the challenge
with enthusiasm. After a short period of time, to the father's surprise,
his daughter jumped up and announced she was done. He ask, "How did you
get it done so quickly?".
"Daddy", she responded, "I found a picture of a man on the back of the map and when I got that picture right the world was right."
"Loving the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and you neighbor as yourself" is the eternally crucial issue. Being sure God is at the center of our life and our relationship with Him is reconciled and in order must come first. When this is accomplished the rest find its rightful place.
There is no record of Jesus doing anything on Wednesday. On this day Jesus withdrew from the crowds and rested. Yes, this was the most important week in His ministry. Yes, there was much to be done and said that only He could do and say. But, Jesus knew that if He were to meet the strain of the days ahead, He would have to go to a solitary place to spend time alone with the Father and rest. This was not something new for Jesus. He had practiced this important spiritual and physical discipline throughout His life. This week, as crucial as it was, would not change his devotion to this vital discipline. Here, away from the demands of the crowds resting in the arms of the Father, Jesus would find the strength to turn defeat into victory and death into life.
Behind Him were the crowds, the cleansing, and the controversies. Before Him were the betrayal, the cross, and the resurrection. But on this day He was alone. As James Roy Smith aptly noted, on this day in the quiet place Jesus enjoyed:
"A day of rest for a day of redemption;
A day of power for a day of passion;
A day of strength for a day of sacrifice;
A day of calm for a day of crucifixion."
We must never underestimate our need for days like this. We have been duped by a worldly philosophy of efficiency, effectiveness, business equals importance, and production means everything. In such a world getting away to the a quiet lonely place to rest and do nothing but enjoy being in the presence of our Heavenly Father seems ludicrous.
Mark records a time when the disciples returned to Jesus ecstatic with a wonderful report of powerful successful ministry. Jesus responded to their reports by saying, "Come away by yourself to a lonely place, and rest a while." Jesus taught by word and example that getting alone and taking a day for rest is far from ludicrous. It is essential!
Beloved, let us "get away to a lonely place and rest a while." Let us practice this essential discipline with tenacity, resolve, and regularity, just as Jesus did.
The day of Unleavened Bread had arrived and Jesus desired to celebrate the Passover Seder with the twelve. But this would be no ordinary Seder for this group of men. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to prepare the room and the meal. At the appointed hour the thirteen men gathered in the upper room. The disciples quickly found their seats around the table and began talking among themselves. The conversations were silenced when Jesus rose from the head of the table, walked to the small table holding a basin and pitcher of water, and taking off His outer garment, Jesus proceeded to fill the basin, take a towel, and wash the feet of each of the twelve disciples, including His betrayer. (See John 13)
Completing this astonishing act Jesus returned to His seat and used His foot washing as an object lesson to call His disciples to love and service. Then He shared the Passover meal with the eleven, Judas having left to finalize and set his plans into motion. This night the Passover Seder was transformed by Jesus. The celebrative meal of God's delivering His people from Egypt, became the Lord's Supper, a glorious celebration of the New Covenant wherein we can know deliverance from sin and new life in Christ. This new covenant would be sealed with the broken body and shed blood of Jesus and this celebrative meal would become a means of grace for God's people and a proclamation of Jesus' death that would provide for our full salvation. (See Matthew 26:17ff, Mark 14:12ff, or Luke 22:17ff)
This night of fellowship was filled with intimate moments between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus taught the men and in the words He spoke that night are found the most complete teachings about the Holy Spirit and His work that we have in Holy Writ. He also spoke words of comfort, challenge, and preparation. The disciples were having their eyes and hearts opened. Though they were confused about all the happenings of the week, they possessed a peace in His presence and from His words that defied human explanation. Even so, before the night was over, they would all forsake Jesus running for their lives.
From the upper room Jesus and the eleven men went to the garden. Jesus instructed eight of His disciples to "sit here while I pray." Taking Peter, James, and John along with Him, He went further into the garden where He would pray. He told the three, "My soul is deeply distressed and troubled. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch." (Mark 14:34) With that He went a bit further where He fell to the ground and prayed.
Jesus was already bearing the weight of the sin of the world. With this weight and the awareness of what lie before Him, Jesus, in His humanity, recoiled from the pain and agony. His heart is breaking. The distress, sorrow, and agony were almost too much to bear. He sensed that He might not even make it to the cross. He told Peter, James and John that He was "to the point of death." In these agonizing moments Jesus was tempted to go another way. He pleaded with the Father three times, "Take this cup from." Where would He find what He needed to make it to the cross? How would He overcome the temptation to bypass the cross? The answer came in His prayer; "Yet, not what I will, but what you will." It was in yielding to the Father's will that Jesus found rest from the struggle, strength in weakness, joy in desperation, determination to fulfill the Father's will, and ultimately, victory! With calm, strong assurance Jesus rose from His place of prayer ready to hand Himself over to the detachment of soldiers, led by Judas, who had come to arrest Him.
Yielding and surrendering are seen as weaknesses in our culture. They
are understood as giving up and giving in. In reality, when it comes to
our battle with God's will, quite the contrary is true. Yielding is a glorious
act of courage and victory. Richard Foster insightfully notes, "Relinquishment
takes us into rugged terrain. The climb is steep, the rocks are sharp,
and the trail passes by precarious ridges. From every human viewpoint at
times it looks like we have fallen over the precipice to our death. But
we know better. We know that we have fallen into the arms of Jesus, fully
satisfied, fully at rest." Surrendering is faith taking the bold step of
placing ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As Jesus found rest,
strength, joy, determination, and victory in yielding to the Father's will,
so do we. When we are tempted to go another way; when we are troubled and
sorrowful to the point of death; when we are in our Gethsemane on our faces
before God, exhausted, tempted, worn and weary; "Yet, not what I will,
but what You will Lord" is the path to victory! Absolute surrender is the
way of Christ-likeness. It is the way of holy living! It is way of the
true disciple. It is the only way!
We had just concluded a Bible study discussing the events of Holy Week. One gentleman came up to me and ask; "Why do we call it Good Friday? It was not good at all. It was a horrible day. It was the day that we crucified Jesus Christ! I don't understand why we would call it good."
The crucifixion of Jesus is so fundamentally crucial to Christianity that all four Gospels record it in great detail (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19) and it is consistently referred to throughout Scripture. The day Jesus was crucified marks the lowest that sinful humanity could sink. Never in all the crimes and massacres recorded and yet to be recorded in history, will there be a more heinous murder, unjust slaying, or despicable killing than what we did to Jesus. On this Friday sin reared its ugly head, grabbed the Son of God and man, falsely accused Him, verbally abused Him, scourged Him, brutally beat Him, placed Him on the cross, pounded nails through His hands and feet, and dropped the cross into the ground crucifying Him. As in all His life, Jesus did nothing but extend love and forgiveness in His dying hours, as we stood by jeering and mocking. It was indeed, anything but a good day! It was a sinful, ugly day! Why do we dare call it good? Why do we remember and commemorate it? Why do we "boast [glory] in the cross"? (Galatians 6:14)
The cross not only reveals the depth of sin, it gloriously reveals the magnitude of God's love for us! "This is love," John tells us in his first epistle, "not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10) In the cross God's love and justice met. On the cross the sin problem was dealt with once and for all. "He sacrificed for their sins once for all [for all sin, for all people, for all time] when He offered Himself." (Hebrews 7:27) "No one takes my life from me," Jesus announced, "but I lay it down on my own accord." (John 10:18) Though our sin is great and evil is powerful, we could have never taken Christ's life without His consent. He willingly and lovingly laid down His life for us that we might live. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Mark reports that "with a loud cry Jesus breathed His last" breath. (Mark 15:37) John records the word of that loud cry; "It is finished!" (All one word in the Greek; John 19:30) This was not a cry of defeat. It was the final shout of victory! This same cry reverberates in the heart and soul of everyone who has and will come to the cross, confessing sin and accepting the forgiveness and cleansing that it provides. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8)
There was to be an Easter parade in their town and the two young boys were working hard on their small float for the parade in the basement of their church. They decorated their small wagon and placed a wooden cross right in the center of it. They put flowers on and around the cross and draped it with purple strips of cloth. The pastor happened to stop by the room. He looked at the boys' float and said, "I am sorry boys, but you have it all wrong. The cross was not beautiful like you have made it. It was rugged, hard, ugly and blood stained. You will have to change your float." The boys stood silent for a moment. Then one of the boys looked up to His pastor and responded, "But pastor, I thought that Jesus never touched anything and left it the same!?"
For all eternity this Friday will be called Good, because on this Friday Jesus took the symbol of sin and death and transformed it into the symbol of Life and Victory! On this day we remember the price of our salvation and rejoice in the Love that paid that price in full. On this day we view the cross through an empty tomb, greatly rejoicing, for we know that sin did not, and therefore never will, have the final word! Today we celebrate life in Jesus! He never touches anything and leaves it the same.
Hallelujah for the cross!
A pastor and I were sitting at the table having a cup a tea. It was the Saturday before Holy Week. What we would be doing in our respective churches to celebrate this special week had become the topic of conversation. During our discussion the pastor raised the question, "why do we make such ado over Easter? The cross is what is important." Why indeed? Would it make any difference if Christ had not come forth from the grave alive?
We are not left without an answer to this inquiry. In 1 Corinthians 15:14-20a the Apostle Paul notes the ramifications "if Christ has not been raised from the dead." Under divine inspiration, Paul notes: If Christ be not raised, our preaching is useless, powerless, and the gospel hopeless. If Christ has not been raised our faith is futile and useless. If He was not victorious over sin and death, it would be foolish to place our faith in Him, for it would have no foundation. If Christ has not been raised, we misrepresent and bear false witness of God. He had said He would bring Christ back from the dead. If He has not then He is less than we proclaim. If Christ be not raised we remain in our sin. As crucial as the cross is, the resurrection gives the cross its power. Had He remained in the grave Christ would be nothing more than a wise prophet that died a martyr. Sin's final stronghold was death and in order for sin to be defeated, death had to be conquered. If Christ had not been raised we would be without hope. If death were to have the final word, where then would hope be found. Without the reality that this is not all there is, that there is an eternity where we will be with our Lord, what basis would we have for hope. We would be left with directionless, purposeless, hopeless life. If Christ had not been raised from the dead we are to be pitied more than those who have placed their faith in substance-less world religions and "isms". We are to be pitied more than anyone.
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" The cry of the church continues to ring throughout the ages; "He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!" It is essential that we do not miss the full impact of this glorious proclamation. In the original language this statement is in a tense that denotes that Christ was raised at a particular moment in history and remains forever risen. We attempt to capture this in our translations by using the phrase, "has been risen." He is forever risen, never to die again! In verses 3-8 of this same chapter the Old Testament prophets and the eye-witnesses of His resurrection are called upon to testify to the glorious truth that Christ has been raised. The record of Jesus appearing to over 500 people before ascending into heaven is included, giving added strength to the testimony.
Christ is indeed risen! Because He is risen our preaching has divine power and the Word we proclaim is living and active; our faith is securely grounded and dynamic; our testimony about God is true and we represent Him rightly; we do not remain in our sin, but the provisions of the cross have power; forgiveness and cleansing are ours; our hope is confident and sure, both now and eternally; and we are a pattern people of true faith and victorious living, not a pitied people.
"Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian! Lift up your voice and sing eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King! The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find, none other is so loving, so good and kind. He lives, He lives! Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart! (Words of 3rd verse of Alfred H. Ackley's hymn "He Lives")
Hallelujah! He is Risen! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry