Archive for the category 'Holy Week'
March 31st, 2010
When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:5-7 NLT
In the year 2010…Easter is…? Bunnies. Colored eggs. Chocolate Rabbits. Plastic junk. And religious rhetoric?
After spending hours and hours studying the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to find out exactly what Holy Week and Easter mean to ME, I’ve come to this conclusion:
Jesus Christ is the same today as He was on that first Resurrection Morning in 33 A.D. He is alive. He is victorious. His name is above every name that is named, in heaven and on earth. He holds the keys to my eternal life in His hands. He holds the lives and futures of those I love in His hands. There is no other way to God the Father except through God the Son and my acceptance of what He did for me personally on Calvary’s cross centuries ago. His gift of life is the only thing that makes sense today in our world of complete moral collapse, too much chocolate, plastic junk, and religious rhetoric!
Over the years I’ve learned a few things about following Christ. During this season of Lent some things have been magnified a hundredfold. A list of the high points might read:
1. Religion kills people. Christ saves them.
2. Anyone can prove any point by quoting scripture. Only a personal, Holy Spirit revealed knowledge of scripture, can provide the truth about who and what Christ really means in the life of each and every individual on the planet.
3. Following Christ is not about what I can believe. Following Christ is about what I can obey.
4. Every day of my life is about choice. I can choose blessings or I can choose curses. My choice dictates what I accomplish every day.
5. God’s Word IS alive and active and it is my owner’s manual for getting through every situation. In God’s Word there is guidance for all of life’s circumstances.
6. IF I am willing to spend the time to build a relationship with Jesus, by getting to know him personally through the living and active Word of God, my life will be forever changed. I will be blessed. I can live in peace. I have His promise!
7. !Important! I am a spirit. I have a soul (my mind, my will and my emotions). I live in a body. God IS a Spirit. There is no other way for me to be acceptable to God than by accepting my need for a spiritual rebirth.
In the year 2010 Easter is NOT about spiritual rebirth and obedience. But is should be! No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:5-20 NLT
On the first Resurrection Sunday Mary and the disciples were amazed by the presence of the living Christ. He appeared in their midst and spoke these most profound words to one of them, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Dr. Luke, in chapter 24 of his narrative, tells of another encounter with the risen Christ: “Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. “Luke 24:13-53 NIV
Eyewitness accounts! In 2010 we know all about eyewitness accounts. Our justice system hangs its credibility on eyewitness accounts. Our idolized celebrities rise or fall based on eyewitness accounts. So why would we doubt the eyewitness accounts of so many?
On Friday Jesus Christ was crucified. On Saturday He conquered all that is dark and evil, striping the prince of this world of power; taking away the keys to death, hell and the grave. Today He walks and talks with us; he breaks bread with us. He is alive!
And because of the great love of God the Father, the great sacrifice of God the Son, and the wonderful counsel of God the Holy Spirit (who now lives within me) I am also alive! I can choose victory and peace. Nothing may enter my life that does not first pass under His name. I have His promise!
He is Risen!!! Happy Easter!!!!
March 30th, 2010
“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hell!” Revelation 1:10-18
Not a great deal is written about Saturday – the day after His crucifixion, the day before His resurrection – in the gospel accounts.
Luke gives us a single sentence…”On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandments.” Luke 24:56b
Luke, the only known Gentile author in the New Testament, makes an observation here that speaks volumes for me. “They (the Jewish followers of Christ)…they (the Jewish disciples of Christ), rested. They rested! According to the commandments! Please understand, the exclamation points here are mine, and mine alone. But, as a Gentile believer myself, I was amazed when this statement sunk in to my thinking. On that Saturday, ‘they’ were grief stricken, confused and without a shepherd…trapped somewhere between their religion which had bound them for a lifetime before Jesus came along and said “follow me!” – and “he whom the Son sets free, shall be free indeed.”
We recently heard a Jewish rabbi who is a believer in Yeshua the Messiah say, “some modern day Jews go to extremes in following the commandments.” There’s an ancient Jewish tradition which says tearing is considered work. The commandments forbid work of any kind on the Sabbath. Apparently a couple of millennia or so ago when the question ‘what is work?’ arose, some ancient genius came up with the idea of using any occupation connected with the construction of Solomon’s Temple as the yardstick. Maybe, during construction, it was necessary to tear the fabrics used for wall hangings? So…tearing is classified as work! Today these extreme followers of the Jewish tradition tear enough toilet paper on the day of Preparation to prevent the need for the work of tearing on the Sabbath! Things weren’t so terribly different on the Saturday after the cross. Remember the accusations of the religious community when Jesus healed on the Sabbath? Luke 14:1-6
Jesus had just spent the last three years teaching them what it meant to be free from the demands and dictates of a dead religion, then suddenly a dark cloud comes over their lives, and it looks like he’s gone. What do ‘they’ do? Turn right back to their old way of thinking…right back to their religious traditions. Am I guilty of doing the same thing? Do I so easily turn my back on his teaching when a dark cloud appears on my horizon and it looks like he’s not there shepherding, prodding me along the way I need to go? I wonder?
Mark’s record skips straight from Friday to Sunday. “they laid Jesus in the tomb…and when the Sabbath was past…” Mark 15:46 – 16:1 John’s gospel is the same. “as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. Now on the first day of the week…” John 19:42 – 20:1
It is Matthew who tells us that on Saturday, “the next day” – the day after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said;
“Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”
Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. Matthew 27:62-66 NLT
‘Seal it the best you can!’ This is key! Remember it…
In his letters to the new believers, Paul writes of what was really going on Saturday. The Jewish converts were resting, according to the commandments of Moses. The religious sects who had schemed for years to destroy Him continued to posture and plot against Him. The pagans, Pilate, the Roman guards and the rest of the idol worshiping world, were by now bored with the whole thing and had moved on to yet another round of politico and debauchery.
“Seal it the best you can… don’t bother me with it again…it bores me…. That was Friday, this is a new day. What can it matter?”
But Paul…by revelation, through the Holy Spirit…tells me what Christ was doing on the Saturday that would change the world forever. To the church at Ephesus Paul writes: “When he ascended on high he lead a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens the he might fill all things.)” Ephesians 4:8-10
Into the lower parts of the earth…? What does that mean for me? In one translation King David, a man after God’s own heart called that place Sheol. The King James Bible translates it another way, ”If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Psalm 139:8
Twenty-first century ‘religious’ teachers tend to skip smoothly past Saturday in their Holy Week sermons. “He was crucified! He is Risen!!! Hooray!” This type of teaching leaves us assuming Christ died, was laid in the tomb, stayed there until Resurrection morning, and then walked out to show himself to Mary and the disciples. Uh huh…Lovely! Happy Easter!
To the crowds of followers Jesus said, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. John 12:27-33
As they walked toward the garden of His betrayal Jesus told the disciples, “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-34
John, the revelator, by the power of the Holy Spirit, saw the bigger picture. Christ was crucified. His followers rested. The religious Jews and the Romans turned away and for the most part forgot about Him, thinking they had dealt with the situation once and for all. But on that long ago Saturday, Jesus Christ, the Son of God was not waiting patiently in Joseph’s tomb for Sunday morning. He went instead straight into satan’s realm, conquered him, and set his captives free. Jesus, the conquering King, placed His foot on the neck of the defeated foe and took away the keys to the realm. Rev. 1:17-18
Christ descended, not only from deity to humanity, and from humanity to infamy and death, but also into the lower parts of the earth. Into hell itself. There He took back what Adam allowed satan, the prince of this world, to steal in the dawn of man’s existence. Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave. He liberated captive souls from satan’s grasp. He established His absolute authority on the earth forever more.
Because of what Christ has done I am free! I rejoice in my freedom from the past; from the powers and principalities of the enemy’s conquered realm, from fear, and all things common to those who do not believe in His victory over death, hell and the grave.
Between the crucifixion and the resurrection Jesus went to hell and back.
“Now the prince of this world will be driven out…take heart! I have overcome the world.”
March 23rd, 2010
I’ve been writing another story this week… But, I am determined to finish this study of ‘the week that changed the world’ I’ve learned soooo much. And soooo much has happened. But what’s been happening is for another post. As for what I’ve learned…
Christian tradition says Christ spent Friday on a cross, juxtaposed between two thieves, completing God’s plan for reconciling his fallen creation (man) to himself. Hollywood and the History Channel take great pleasure in depicting the horror of the crucifixion of Christ. With the special effects possible in today’s world of technology it’s not difficult to produce the blood soaked images. And you can see them all. At any time. Right in your living room! During Holy week we watched video documentary after documentary. Some on Christian TV, some on the History Channel, and even one during the Good Friday communion service at church. We watched as they drove the nails into his wrists. We watched as a replica of a Roman cat of nine-tails was graphically demonstrated flogging a “life-like” silicon dummy. We saw the shredded skin. We saw the crown of thorns. The producers seemed to be screaming, “Look! Look! Look, what was done to this man who claimed to be the Son of God!” He died an unspeakable death. And, with the exception of Christian films, that’s where they left it.
Yes, crucifixion was a horrible way to die! It was practiced for centuries as a form of capital punishment. It was considered the ultimate public humiliation and torture. Because of the position of the feet, nailed to the cross with slightly bent knees, it was possible a body might hang in limbo for days. By straightening the knees and drawing a deep breath into the lungs, death by suffocation that would normally come within hours, could be put off for days if the criminal was strong and determined.
The Romans flogged their prisoners using no more than thirty-nine lashes. Through trial and error the determined thirty-nine lashes was the maximum number a human being could endure and still live. The crown of thorns placed on Jesus was made using a plant with pliable stems that could be twisted into a circle. Euphorbia Millii bears thorns that are from one to two inches long, thorns sharp as nails and toxic.
Google it! any of it! Yes the facts are available. Jesus Christ was tortured, humiliated and killed by the religious leaders of the time. And, if you’d care to watch it happen in graphic, brutal detail, Hollywood can help you out.
I have a beloved friend, who detests religion and everything it stands for. To quote her, “I have read the bible. I have discussed it with experts! I don’t believe it. Any of it. I believe that when I die I will get six feet of dirt in my face, and that will be the end of life. Besides, why would I want to spend an eternity rubbing elbows with a bunch of people I can barely tolerate for a few hours now?”
I wonder if Hollywood and the History Channel enjoy slamming their bloody, violent, depictions of Christ’s death down the throats of people like my friend? I wonder if they understand that by showing all the gore and leaving the story unfinished someone that believes as she does is even more put off by the whole thing? Truthfully, I expect the goal of the main stream media is to discredit the Biblical account and leave anyone watching their productions sickened by the brutality – with more questions than answers. That’s probably because I tend to believe today’s main stream media is dominated by un-Godly producers who only choose the topic for the gore. And the profit!
The brutal death of Christ on a Roman cross gave rise to the centuries old title “Black Friday” – a title that would continued for centuries – a title used by ‘the church’ to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. Only after the Bible was translated from Greek to English in about 1490 was the term “Good” Friday introduced into the culture. So….what’s good about the brutal and humiliating torture of another Roman prisoner? History records thousands were crucified for minor infractions of Roman rules. What makes this one better than any other? What makes this death on a cross good? Non-Christians (like my atheistic friend) are still asking that 2000 year old question today.
To find to an answer we need to skip over the morning of Good Friday, and look closely at the afternoon. Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23: 44-49, John 19:28-37
Jesus has been hanging on the cross since about nine in the morning. He’s barely alive. Close to noon the sky begins to darken. By this time most of the crowd who followed as he made his way along the Via Dolorosa (the road of suffering) had dispersed. A few of his followers and a few Roman soldiers were still standing at the foot of the hill looking up at three crosses silhouetted against the roiling clouds…watching…waiting. The sky is getting darker and darker. Luke writes “the sun’s light failed.” This is more than just a few storm clouds folks! Matthew and Mark both speak of a “darkness over the whole land.” The light of the world went out here!
God turned off the lights and all of creation was in darkness for the final three hours of Jesus’ life. It had to be dark. And not only were the lights off in the created realm, the spiritual realm was in total darkness as well. God could not bear to look upon the this death ordained to heal and restore mankind to himself. Neither could he allow heaven or hell to look upon his death. This all man, all God, Son of God who cried out, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” understood in that moment, God (the Heavenly Father) had turned away, turned off the lights, and for a moment in eternity, closed his eyes.
All of heaven and all of hell had been watching and waiting for Jesus to either save himself, thus proving once and for all his Godly parentage, or simply give up and die. Only the Father and the Son understood completely what was required to finish the work of the cross.
So…while his body, hardly recognizable as human any longer, hung on the cross, alone in the darkness, on that Friday afternoon, Jesus carried the sins, sickness, disease, and misery of mankind into the presence of God the Father. His spirit entered the Holy of Holies, and announced, “It is finished!” God the Father opened his eyes, turned his face toward God the Son, and the lights came back on. At that exact moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Split forever was the dividing wall between God and mankind. From that exact moment forward, we – you and I – could walk boldly into God’s presence and say, “I come before you in Jesus holy name, can you help me out here?”
Then Jesus, the man, cried out from the cross, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” and he breathed his last breath as a man.
Now when a Roman centurion, standing at the foot of the hill, saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent! Truly this man was the Son of God!” The lightening flashed across the sky, the earth shook and the rocks were split. Matthew, the tax gatherer (he was the disciple with the analytical mind, remember?) saw the tombs opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep coming out of them. Wonder why Hollywood missed the opportunity to portray that one with all their special effects lights and magic? Zombies have always been a Hollywood B movie favorite!
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to break their legs and that the bodies be taken away. Those Jewish leaders wanted to make absolutely sure Jesus was dead, and buried…that they were finished with him once and for all. If they only knew!
Afterward, a rich disciple of Christ’s, Joseph of Arimathea, asked Pilate for permission to take away his body.
At that point Pilate could have cared less. I can see him in my imagination waving them away, brushing them off with a bored gesture. “Take him. Get him out of my sight. What a day this has been….I’m going to retire to my palace…eat, drink and be merry. I’m sick of all this drama!”
So His followers took the body of Jesus, prepared it for burial, probably wondering, “What next?” and placed it in the garden in Joseph’s new tomb and closed it up, rolling a huge rock across the entrance. They went away thinking this new movement they had been a part of was over and they would get up on Saturday to face another day of ‘business as usual’ without hope and without him, they went to their homes thinking….”It’s all over.”
The Jewish religious leaders placed guards at the entrance to the tomb so the followers of Christ could not come and take his body away. They thought they had covered all the bases. The “king of the Jews” was dead. The tomb was guarded by Rome’s finest. At last they could rest easy.
They, too, thought it was the end for the followers of Christ.
It was only the beginning!
March 17th, 2010
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:1-5 NLT
The ‘Last Supper’. Maundy Thursday. An event celebrated by the Christian world for over 2000 years. A gathering captured on canvas by one of the most celebrated artists in history. In the last few years we have been bombarded with The Di Vinci Code causing many to question. …is this truth or an elaborate conspiracy theory? Was the last supper an historical event? Was it on a Thursday? What was really going on here?
Was the last supper really on Maundy Thursday? The Hebrew calendar does not correspond with the Gregorian dates we are accustomed to. I was interested in the comparison, and so I Googled Jewish calendar - getting 3,100,000 results! I learned that the Gregorian calendar we now adhere to is an adaptation of the Roman or Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. This much seems important…the Hebrew calendar begins at Passover!
“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb…” Exodus 12:1 28
The children of Israel have celebrated the feast of Passover for thousand of years. Historians place the exodus from Egypt somewhere between 1445 and 1260 BC. either way, thousands of years ago. Yet even today, most of the Jewish community still awaits the arrival of Messiah – the incarnation of God’s Passover Lamb!
Someday I may take the time to work out the differences and similarities in the various dating systems, but not today. There isn’t time. It’s not important! Christ was working on God’s timetable. And God’s timetable said…now is the time!
During the day Jesus went about His business as usual. The feast of Unleavened Bread was to begin within hours. Chaos continued throughout the city. The religious leaders rested comfortably in the assurance that they had purchased his capture and could proceed with their plans to kill this ‘lunatic’ prophet who was disrupting their religious traditions and making them all so terribly uncomfortable. These wise and learned men, teachers of the law, priests and leaders, had no idea they were simply following along on God’s timetable. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “None of the rulers of this age understood…for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:8
Matthew, traditionally thought to be the Apostle Matthew, also called Levi, a former tax-gatherer; writes briefly, and with what seems to be the analytical mind of an accountant, of the ‘last supper’. Apparently the thing which stood out for him during that evening was his Lord’s announcement that one of them was a traitor. He says, “and they (not I – they) were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, ‘Is it I, Lord?’” Then this former financier gives his version of Christ’s amazing statements: “This is my body. This is my blood….”
I wonder as I read Matthew the tax-gatherer’s rather cold, factual account of this great miracle – did he get it? As a Jewish author, writing for Jewish readers, and writing some 30 or 40 years after the death of Christ…I’d guess, not really. Not completely.
I found a similar account of Thursday night in the gospel of Mark. John Mark, who was not one of the Twelve, but traveled with Paul during the first missionary journey writes with the authority of an eyewitness. Many scholars believe he was simply recording the teachings of Simon Peter, gathered first-hand over time Acts 12:12-13 and as they traveled together to Rome, years after the resurrection. 1 Peter 5:13. I’ve questioned if perhaps Mark wrote his account of the ‘last supper’ based on other historical documents? Right up to the point where Jesus foretold Peter’s reaction to the events to come, that is. At that point the narrative becomes personal! Mark 14:12-73 In my imagination I think I can hear the profound regret over Peter’s denial and betrayal of his Lord in the writing. Even transcribing the story, Mark portrayed the old man’s grief. But again, the question comes to my mind. Did he get it? Did this writer understand the enormous significance of Jesus ratification of a “new Covenant”?
Paul certainly got it. But then Paul had a face to face with Jesus, after His resurrection. That would tend to open anyone’s eyes! Acts 9:1-31 He wrote to the church at Corinth: “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it. ”For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 1 Corinthians 11:23-30
Luke’s gospel contains an equally straightforward record of Thursday night – the last supper. His body – broken for them. His blood – poured out for a new covenant. Luke, beloved physician was writing an orderly history of the life of Christ and the origin of the church for someone named Theophilius (see Acts 1:1) possibly a non-Christian official, but definitely a person of high position and wealth.
Did Luke get it? Hard to say, but with his second book covering the arrival of the comforter and counselor, the Holy Spirit, I’m thinking he understood better than the average historian.
John? Now John got it! He speaks of ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. He carefully and lovingly records the words of his Lord on that final night with an insight only Love could inspire. He writes of Jesus troubled spirit. He writes of their teacher and Lord performing the very intimate act that was to bind them to him forever in love – the washing of their feet. John writes of the promises Jesus made to them as he reassured them concerning tomorrow.
I believe it is here, in the prayers for his disciples and for his church, for me – “for those who believe in me through your word” – that we find the deepest meaning of the Lord’s last supper. He said, “I pray that they may all be one; even as you and I, Father, are one. That they may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. I gave them your glory Father. I am in them. (this is my blood, drink all of it). I made known to them your name Father. and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-36
Then Jesus went out across the Kidron valley, to a favorite garden where he had been spending his nights in prayer Luke 21:37. We are told, while his faithful followers slept, he prayed that amazing prayer every true believer aspires to for their own life: “nevertheless…not my will, but yours, be done.”
Judas knew about this favorite place, too. It was here that Jesus told a band of Roman soldiers and Jewish officials with lanterns and torches and weapons, “I am he.”
Now get this…it’s important! When he spoke those words the whole lot of them “drew back and fell to the ground.” Peter, brave, rambunctious Peter, drew his sword and lopped off the the right ear of the high priest’s slave. I wondered if Christ, always patient, and understanding, stopped the whole process long enough to put the ear back in place? I think it would have been just like him to do that. Luke says he did! Luke 22:51 Matthew, he was there too, remember, with his cool analytical memory, records Jesus saying, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled?”
“Do what you came to do” And they did!
Arrested – accused – hauled before the Jewish High Priest. Spat on, struck, denied by one of his best friends – not once, but three times, and thrown into a filthy, rat infested prison cell to await the day that was to change the world, all the while knowing what tomorrow would bring. And all for love!
March 9th, 2010
After deciding to do an in-depth study of biblical accounts of Christ’s final week on earth - I’ve got to say – my understanding is being re-shaped. And I’ve only scratched the surface.
Easter week has destroyed D emotionally ever since I’ve known him. For thirty plus years I’ve understood, or tried to, why thoughts of Christ’s suffering and death were soooo hard for D to think about, read about, talk about. Today, I’m starting to get it. Yesterday he recorded a first person account of his Holy week experience in 1964, and it devastated him…again. But as we shared our writing and I watched him, listened to him, filtering his experience through my new found understanding of Christ…it devastated me too. Tears are too small an offering after what Jesus did for us.
If you’re interested in reading D’s personal story click HERE
In Western Christianity, the Wednesday before Easter is sometimes known as “Spy Wednesday”, indicating that it is the day Judas Iscariot first conspired with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins. Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-12, Luke 22:3-6.
The Sanhedrin was gathered together and it decided to kill Jesus, even before Pesach (Passover) if possible. In the meantime, Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. Here he was anointed by Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, with very expensive ointment of spikenard. Some of the disciples were indignant about this; the oil could have been sold to support the poor. Judas went to the Sanhedrin and offered them his support in exchange for money. From this moment on Judas was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
For years I have complained about the numerous betrayals in my life, once telling a friend I had trusted and loved “you betrayed me!” Her response, “I know you feel betrayed, but it was the only thing I could do.” To which I replied, “Oh well, that makes it alright then! (sarcasm) Everyone I’ve ever loved, except Dick, has eventually betrayed me. There’s no reason for me to think you would be any different!”
Betrayal!!! Small disloyalties that can be interpreted as unfaithfulness, treachery, infidelity, and ultimately betrayals – huge betrayals – deliberate betrayals – unintentional betrayals! Spy Wednesday? I don’t think so. From today forward, in my simple understanding, this will be known as Betrayal Wednesday.
Jesus was betrayed!
A small, although not insignificant, disloyalty among the disciples cropped up over Mary’s loving gesture during supper on Wednesday. Imagine it if you can… They are gathered at the home of Simon the leper. Jesus being who Jesus is, makes it seem likely their host did have leprosy when he met Christ, but after Jesus healed him, he became a follower and benefactor of the ministry. Some scholars think this may be Simon the Pharisee who Dr. Luke wrote of in 7:36-50. (possibly Shimon Ben Gamiliel, a sage and leader among the Jewish people and a direct descendant of King David). But in any case, during the meal, Mary of Bethany approached Jesus carrying a tiny marble flask of perfumed oil, and in keeping with the traditions of the time, broke the seal and poured the oil over his hair and beard. Now understand – this was no small thing. It was a great act of love. Jesus saw it for what it was, and said she would be remembered forever, whenever the gospel was preached.
For several reasons the people in the ancient world devoted great attention to the use of fragrances, perfumes and anointing oils. Perfumed oils were used for religious purposes, in funeral rites, for cosmetics, as aphrodisiacs, and prior to the invention of soap and shampoo, oils were used to anoint the scalp to prevent head lice. It was customary to offer guests water to clean the dust from their feet and oil to rub on their faces as protection against damage from the scorching sun. The spices and fragrances used for these oils were not indigenous to the region of the Holy Land. They had to be imported from Arabia, Iran, India and elsewhere, making them extravagantly expensive, and highly valued.
Apparently a few of Jesus’ disciples were more concerned over the cost of the perfume than their leaders impending death. *They became furious. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a years wages and handed over to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. *Mark 14:3-18 The Message
Jesus patiently explained the significance of Mary’s act. And I think I can see a mild rebuke for their disloyalty in his words. I would have probably said, “what part of ‘I am going to die! don’t you get?” Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, John 12:1-8 “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” As always, he practiced what he preached even in the face of such disloyalty…such betrayal.
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the Jewish high priests and offered to betray him. These religious leaders, who had been scheming for months to find a way to get rid of Jesus, couldn’t believe their ears. Here was one of his own men, offering him up for a few coins! Reading the words of Judas Iscariot, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” makes me angry and sick at heart. Yet, it was the only thing he could do. Like my long-ago-friend he had to do what he had to do in order for God’s plan to succeed. It was a huge betrayal! It was a huge betrayal with eternal implications! Matthew 26:14-16 And, it meant the end of the road for the traitor! Judas, that infamous disciple, whose kiss of death will forever sound through the annuls of history, hanged himself, but not before trying desperately to recant what he had done. Matthew 27:3-10, Acts 1:16-20
I found copious footnotes speculating about Judas during my study. There are scholarly theories on who he was (not a Galilean, as were the other disciples), why he was chosen last of the Twelve, whether there was always some alienation between him and the other eleven….and so on and so on.
I think Luke probably hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “Then satan entered into the mind of Judas Iscariot….” Luke 22:1-6, Phillips Please note, that is satan; the big gun in hell. Not one of his lieutenants, or corporals; not a prince of power or the governor of a principality, not a demon or an imp out of the fire…the CEO himself. I think probably Jesus understood, when he recruited Judas, exactly how susceptible the man would be to the suggestions of the enemy. It looks to me like there were telltale signs all along. Judas was greedy, full of pride, had a sanctimonious attitude and showed little or no respect for his teacher. In short, Judas was a rebel! Know anybody like that? I could take a side path here and write about the pitfalls of rebellion for a day or two, but this isn’t the time. I’ll just suffice it to say, rebellion, in God’s estimation, ranks right up there with witchcraft. 1 Samuel 15:23 And anytime a follower of Christ gets off into rebellion they open the door to their mind and invite the powers and principalities of hell to walk in and throw a party. The outcome is, always, disastrous.
So…Judas snuck off to find the Jewish executive board, betrayed his boss for pocket change and then began looking for an opportunity to hand him over to them when no crowd was present to object. Now get this… Judas went back, maybe even to the dinner at Simon’s place, to keep company with Jesus and the others. We know he was still with them on Thursday, as they ate the Passover meal in the upper room. Talk about giving the enemy party space in your mind!
I’ve known for years Christ’s followers are dogged by the enemy’s troops. We all have opportunities, every single day, to chose between what is faithful and unfaithful; what is loyal and disloyal, what is rebellious and what is obedient. What I’m not sure I clearly understood before is the significance of my choices.
Jesus loved and healed and blessed his followers. Jesus loves and heals and blesses me.
Mary gave him an extravagant expression of her love, an expression those around her saw as wicked indulgence. Jesus saw it as an act of love. I wonder…when I withhold my best expression of pure love for him… does that put me in the same boat with the ones who complained, swelled up with anger and nearly burst with indignation? Does that make me disloyal to the one who gave me a beautiful new life out of the devastation of my past?
I wonder, when we are sick, but doubt his willingness to heal us until we ‘get it together’ or make amends for our mistakes, is that betrayal? When we stubbornly refuse to accept his sacrifice on our behalf John 3:16 - is that betrayal?
If, after knowing what he knew, seeing what he’d seen, hearing what he’d heard, Judas could open up his mind to the forces of hell and do what he did….
Yes…betrayal Wednesday about covers it. It was one day, in the week that changed the world, but it is a day I won’t soon forget. Because it has given me a crystal clear picture of what betrayal is really all about. And with God’s help, I will forever be more aware that my actions and choices can betray Christ’s love for me in small ways and huge ways; in deliberate ways and in unintentional ways.
I choose not to betray him.
March 5th, 2010
In the morning… Here I’m going to take the liberty of assuming it was on Tuesday because both Luke and Mark record these events as taking place on the day after Jesus cleared the Temple…
In the morning, as they passed by, they saw a fig tree withered away to its root. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Master, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”Mark 11:20-24 “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in Heaven will forgive you your sins also.” Mark 11:25 LB
By this time they were back in Jerusalem, and the Jewish leaders were swarming around Jesus demanding to know by what authority he had driven the merchants out of their Temple. I wonder if his disciples caught the significance of the timing. Have faith in God! Forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against. Don’t let what you are about to see and hear rob you of your faith and God’s forgiveness. I wonder how many times, as we walk through the hard places in our lives he would give us the same advise. Believe. Believe that what you have prayed for and trusted God for will come to pass. Don’t allow the bruises on your soul tempt you to carry a grudge. Things are not as they appear. Have faith.
The Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees dogged his steps all day Tuesday, trying to catch him in some infraction that would allow them to condemn him. They questioned him about his faith, about his choice of friends, about his political point of view, everything. Why do you eat with tax collectors and sinners? Should we pay our taxes? Do you pay your taxes? What is your position on marriage? What commandment is first of all?
Throughout the day crowds gathered around him as they had done for months. He taught them in parables, knowing they would hear, but not understand his words; knowing that by Tuesday of next week they would remember his words and finally they would understand. He was the bridegroom of the marriage feast. He was the son killed by the wicked tenants. He was the willing son sent to work in his Father’s vineyard. Matthew 21:28 – 22:14, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-18 He was the love of God, come to earth to atone for the wickedness of man.
Distilled down to a few simple sentences, Jesus’ message to the crowds on Tuesday was “Whatever you do, don’t miss heaven, and make sure you have something to show for the time you spend on earth. Use your talents. Don’t be a fruitless fig tree.” And, perhaps most importantly, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
And, as is so often the case when there is a move of God in the making, the religious leaders never backed off. They pushed and pushed and pushed, working to discredit him and cast doubt on his teaching. Try as they might, they couldn’t trap him into saying anything incriminating. His answers caught them off guard and left them speechless.
Finally, toward the end of the day he’d had enough, and in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of these experts in religion, for they love to parade in dignified robes and to be bowed to by the people as they walk along the street. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and at religious festivals. But even while they are praying long prayers with great outward piety, they are planting schemes to cheat widows out of their property. Therefore God’s heaviest sentence awaits these men. Luke 20:46-47 LB
The Message…puts it like this…. “Watch out for these religious scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and the helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”
Phillips translations says…. “These men are only heading for deeper damnation.”
Personally I think Jesus spent his final Tuesday on earth working to mop up the mess made by religion; working to bring healing and unity to a people oppressed not only by the Roman government of the day but also by the church leaders, elders, deacons, bishops, etc, etc., etc. I think his intention was to give these simple people – the farmers, the fishermen, the vintners and craftsmen – who followed him hope. He knew they were going to be tested dramatically within the coming few days. He knew some would falter and some would fall. He knew all would question; question him, question God, question their faith and their love and even their very reasons for living.
John, the beloved disciple tells us, “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And he who sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who receives me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has bidden me.” John 12:44-50
My prayer for each of us – you, me, those we love – is that we will see and hear, and understand this final teaching of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Religion does not save. Jesus saves! His entire life, his death and his resurrection was for the single and sole purpose of saving us! His purpose was saving us from the world that is going to hell at an ever increasing pace, saving us from ourselves and our grudges, unforgiveness and folly, saving us and setting us free to be his followers, both now and in eternity. Remember, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the light sent so we do not have to remain in darkness.
In Jesus’ darkest hour, he gave me light, and hope; peace and joy unspeakable. No wonder the world offers our youngsters “spring break” An orgy rather than Easter. Oh that we could impress upon these simple little ones who follow us the healing and peace available to them through the sacrificial Lamb of God. If only we could give them eyes to see the enormity of the week that changed the world.
February 27th, 2010
Picture it. The place – Jerusalem. The time – close to the turn of the millennium. The cultural and political climate is chaotic. The collapse of the world’s greatest social power is eminent; corruption and greed are everywhere. Various religious sects are in a power struggle for supremacy and the ripple effects are shaking the very foundations of the population’s belief systems. Into this scene comes a force such as the world has never known. A single man, riding on a donkey, who will change the course of human history.
Scripture tells us when he came into town, the first place he went was the Temple; a place he had visited often and knew well. Luke says he spent several days there at the age of twelve, listening to and asking questions of the teachers. Luke 2:41-52 Even as a boy, Jesus felt the pull of God on his life, telling his panic stricken mother, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” I can only assume his visits to the temple were frequent during the silent years as he grew and matured to manhood. His family went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. Jesus would have gone along, and presumably spent a great deal more time listening to the teachers, sitting at their feet and learning the fine points of the law.
We have other recorded trips to the temple in Jerusalem during the three years Jesus worked and taught throughout the region known to us today as the Holy Land. But on this night, the night of his Triumphal Entry, he went straight to the Temple, looked around at everything and then went out to Bethany with the twelve. Mark 11:11
No one can presume to know the mind of Christ, but I think he must have experienced the nostalgia any man might feel when looking at a beloved place remembered from childhood mixed with the anguish brought about by twenty years of deterioration and not-for-the-better change. I’ve been there. Probably so have you. What ‘they’ say is true. “You can’t go home again.” And so Jesus went straight to his Father’s house, looked around at everything, and then took his closest brothers and went out to Bethany, probably to the home of his dear friend Lazarus. Mary and Martha would have prepared a meal and gone about the business of attending to their needs as was often the case when Jesus and his disciples were in the area.
On the following day (Monday by traditional calculations), as they were coming from Bethany he was hungry, and seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf he went to see if he could find anything on it. Mark 11:12-14, 20-25
Now right here is where we begin to see a glimmer of what’s going on in his soul!
When he came to the tree he found “nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.” And he cursed the fig tree! And his disciples heard it!
Think about it…his Father’s house has gone from a place of worship and prayer, where he was taught as a boy, to a street market filled with money changers and livestock dealers. The city he loves is in chaos…think New Orleans at Mardi Gras… and his closest friends and brothers don’t have a clue why he’s really here. Everything around him is business as usual, and business as usual is taking everyone further away from God’s plan for their lives by the second. And, consider this: Jesus knows – KNOWS – in less than 72 hours he is going to carry the sins, sickness, disease, heartbreak, worry…everything…for each and every one of them to God to set them free forever. He knows he must act as the one and only sacrificial Lamb acceptable to God for everyone crowding the streets, everyone selling livestock and changing money in the Temple courtyard, every Pharisee, every Sadducee, every Roman soldier, every man, woman and child he sees. And he sees thousands.
But there’s more…. Millions and millions more. There’s you, and me, and all our friends and family members. There’s every human being on planet earth – then and now. Jesus knows he is going to be accused, mocked, spit on, beaten, crucified…all for them. These clueless people, who think they know and understand him…but truly do not get it. At all.
Writing this, I am slammed hard up against the fact that I probably don’t really get it either! Do you?
I’ve been a follower of Christ for the past thirty plus years. I’ve seen miraculous things he has done. We have been healed, set free, guarded, protected, provided for and loved – every day of every year. I should get it!!! I thought I got it! But do I? Really?
I wonder if Jesus righteous anger was only over the condition of his Father’s house; only because of the robbers and thieves whose disrespect was totally apparent on that Monday morning so long ago. Or was some of his justifiable anger because he knew that two millennium later, we would still be taking his sacrifice for granted? The sermon we heard on Palm Sunday 2009 told us Jesus fury when he entered the Temple courtyard that morning turned him into ‘a one-man riot’ because of their lukewarm attitude toward the things of God. The pastor said, “The un-Godly behavior of the people revealed a side of Jesus that few had ever seen.” He also said, “There are people in religious positions today who could make him just as angry.” Am I one of those? Are you?
I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ for the past thirty plus years. That’s much longer than some of you are old. But writing about Holy Week, I’ve seen something in the Scriptures I’ve never seen before. After Jesus tore, like a whirlwind, through the religious community selling their wares in the courtyard of the Church, demanding they acknowledge the true meaning of the purpose of the church…”It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of robbers.’”…the blind and the lame, the weak and the sick, the broken and bruised (those with needs and issues in today’s vernacular) came to him there – in the church yard – and he healed them. Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48
Now, for the first time, I’m thinking Jesus was about ‘business as usual’ on that last Monday morning of his life on earth, too. And since we are told he is the same, yesterday, today, and forever Hebrews 13:8 we can expect him to be furious about the excesses and stupidities in the religious community, just as many of us have been. But I think we can also expect him to clean out the church courtyard, send the pretenders running, and gather those with needs and issues, sickness and disease, the blind and the lame, the weak and broken to himself and heal them.
Here’s something else I noticed….Jesus didn’t ask the weak and broken in the crowd to “get it together’ before he healed them. He didn’t tell them they “should” do anything to make themselves worthy of his attention. He just gave them what they needed. That got their attention. Then they followed him.
I’m thinking, in today’s church courtyards there are entirely too many shoulds. Too many rules and regulations telling us what is going to be required before Jesus can do anything to help us out. That’s not the way it works! Not with Jesus. The real reason he ran the livestock dealers and money-changers out of the Temple courtyard was to clear the way for those in need to approach his Father unencumbered by the religious stupidity of the day.
Read the gospels with this idea in mind. Jesus was followed by huge crowds as he moved about in Judea and Palestine for almost three years. Nowhere do we see him saying, “You should do this, or do that, before I can help you out.” They were blind; they came to him and went away with their sight. They were deaf, came to him and went away hearing. They came to him hungry, and he fed them. They came to him broken in spirit, possessed by evil spirits; chronically ill…he healed them all! And he told them, “follow me.”
Now get this…Jesus knew where he was going! He knew that the great multitudes that followed him would be going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover just as he and his disciples planned to do. He knew what they were going to see, and hear. He knew he was doomed to a horrific death. And he knew his followers were going to watch it happen. Still he said, “Follow me.” Because he knew…at the end of the week that was to change the world, they could follow him eternally!
So…on that Monday before Passover, it was ‘business as usual’ for our Lord. IT still IS.
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