On Palm Sunday our church family sang together, witnessed two beautiful baptisms and a sweet baby dedication. The choir sang a powerful "Jesus Saves", we heard the Word proclaimed and...
we remembered what Jesus did for us on the cross as we shared in the Lord's Supper; the greatest act of love the world has ever known.
As I played on the piano the story of the cross, thoughts ran through my mind about how this was the last time our church family would ever experience this in this place all together again and I was overcome with sadness. I was experiencing a "final" as Holy Week began.
As I reflect on and remember the sequence of events of Holy Week, I'm reminded of the deep sadness Jesus must have felt as He began His final week on earth.
- the final celebration of Passover with the people He had lived with for 33 years
- the final Passover meal with His disciples, The Last Supper
- the final lesson taught on becoming a servant by washing the disciples' feet
- the final plea for deliverance from the cup of wrath He came to bear in the Garden of Gethsemane
His next visit to Jerusalem would be as Jesus, the Lamb of God - our Savior and supreme sacrifice.
Behind Him was a very full, 3 year ministry of pouring His heart into His disciples and teaching those who would listen to His divine message. Just ahead of Him was the reason He came to earth - the cross.
Palm Sunday was the beginning of the annual celebration of Passover for the Jewish people, but for Christ, this week would end on a horrific and humiliating cross.
On Sunday, the people proclaimed Him king, little "k", because they thought Jesus had come to rescue them from the cruel and oppressive Roman Empire as their earthly king, but the King of kings, big "K", had come to defeat a much greater vice than the Romans. He came to break the chains of sin, to set them free from its power, by becoming their sin sacrifice.
Riding into the city on the back of a donkey as the people proclaimed Him King of the Jews waving palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna!", it should have been a happy time, but...
"He was sorrowful and acquainted with grief." (Read Isaiah 53)
Even after 2000 years, they still didn't understand why He had come.
He came to die. To become sin. For them. For us. For all mankind.
Jesus met the Father's requirement to pay for all sin. He was holy, without blemish, the perfect Lamb.
As He died on that cruel cross, in excruciating pain and agony, the Son satisfied the Father's wrath with His perfect, blood-spilled sacrifice.
It was GOOD! It was finished! Our debt was paid in full!
Don't miss the GOOD in Good Friday!
And there's more...
Sunday's coming!
My Pleasure,
Melanie
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