Lessons to Learn from the Week That Changed The World :
Psalms 30:5:“Weeping lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
As we commemorate the Holy Week, let us journey back 2000 years ago and walk through the shadows and darkness of the First Holy Week and Good Friday. Let us share in horror the magnitude of the consequences of sin that caused our Lord Jesus to suffer in agony on the cross of Calvary, understand the despair that the disciples felt on Holy Saturday, and then only will we truly understand and enjoy the light and hope of Resurrection Sunday!
This week,let us look at the true significance of the events leading to the death and resurrection of our Beloved Savior and learn some invaluable lessons from the HOLY WEEK:
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1) The Welcome of Palm Sunday:
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Palm Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey. The crowds welcomed him singing Hosanna and waving palm branches to proclaim Him as the Messianic king fulfilling the prophecy in Zech 9:9 :“See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a colt.
Lesson : 1 HUMILTY :
What a lesson to learn from The Savior of the world who chooses a humble and despised young donkey to ride on instead of a glorious horse that would indicate royalty!
Lesson 2 FICKLENESS OF PEOPLE:
The very crowd who welcomed Jesus as their King would only 5 days later cry for his execution. We should never place our identity on the praise of the fickle crowd.
The word Maundy comes from the Latin word ‘man datum’ which means ‘to entrust’/ ‘to order’/ ‘to command. ‘He gives us the New Covenant in Mathew 26:26-29 and asks us to partake of His Body and Blood in remembrance of Him. John 6: 53: ‘Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you’.
The Last Supper: We see Jesus and His Disciples sharing their Passover Meal together in John13.
Lesson 1: CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IS SERVICE:
Jesus washes the feet of the disciples thus illustrating the spirit of servant hood. John 13:14, 15:“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
Lesson 2: LOVE:
Jesus gives them a new commandment: John13:34 “A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
3) The Anguish of Good Friday:
On this day, we remember Jesus’ arrest, his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial.
Garden Of Gethsamene:
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| Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsamene |
Jesus was 100% human and also 100% divine. That is why it is written in Heb 4:15-16 that we have a high priest who is able to empathize with our weaknesses, one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin….so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We can count on him to understand whatever we go through for he has already experienced it and is victorious.
Lesson 2: OBEDIENCE:
Jesus knew the agony, torture and horrors that he was going to face and is afraid and wishes that he didn’t have to go through it: Math26:39 : He asks God to take the cup of suffering away from Him and yet surrenders to God’s will. “Jesus was obedient to the point of death”: Philippians 2:8
THE 7 LAST CRIES OF JESUS AS RECORDED IN THE GOSPELS AND LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THEM:
Lesson :FORGIVENESS IS FOR THE UNDESERVING:
How could Jesus pray this prayer even after being betrayed, falsely convicted, beaten, spat upon, ridiculed, mocked and unjustly nailed to the cross to die an agonizing death? This is because Forgiveness ultimately comes from God.
2) THE CRY OF THE SAVIOR: Luke 23:43 “This day you will be with me in paradise.”
Lesson : UNLIMITED MERCY:
Even in His time of extreme agony & humiliation, Jesus extends mercy and assures hope to the dying thief on the cross. It is never too late to repent!
Even in His time of extreme agony & humiliation, Jesus extends mercy and assures hope to the dying thief on the cross. It is never too late to repent!
3) THE CRY OF THE SON: John 19:26:“Woman, behold your son..”
· Lesson : SELFLESSNESS & LOVE: Even in His time of Ultimate pain and suffering, Jesus remembers to comfort his heartbroken mother. He entrusts John to look after her before dying.
4) THE CRY OF THE LAMB: Mathew 27:46:“My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?
THE MYSTERY OF INCARNATIONAL SUFFERING: “God forsaking God, who can understand it?”-Martin Luther.
· Lesson : GOD WILL NEVER REJECT US: This cry of Jesus is perhaps the most painful cry of all: It was the Ultimate Rejection of God Himself- For one excruciating moment, the Holy Jehovah had to abandon His Son who took the sins of all humanity upon Himself and had now become the Sacrificial Lamb to be slain for the redemption of all mankind.(2 Corin 5:21)This cry quickens our spirits to the need and urgency of Evangelisation. Let His ransom sacrifice be known to all humanity.Let no man undergo the unending torment of the Rejection of God ever again!
5) THE CRY OF THE THIRSTY: John19:28: “I thirst.”
· Lesson : OBEDIENCE : This Thirst was more a spiritual than a physical one: Here we see the commitment of Jesus to obey His Father’s Program for His life and to fulfill the Scriptures. (Psalms 69:21): “they gave me vinegar for my thirst.” He was thirsty to do the Will of God.
6) THE CRY OF THE VICTOR: John 19:30:“It is finished!”
· Lesson : ENDURANCE: Jesus endured everything (without a question or murmur)and faithfully finished His Mission on earth to save mankind from Sin. We can learn a lesson from the Perseverance and Fortitude of Jesus. Heb 12:2: “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
7) THE CRY OF THE SURRENDER: Luke 23:46 “Father into your hands I commit my Spirit.”
Lesson 1: THE FULLY SURRENDERED LIFE:
Jesus was the Perfect Son who lived a life so totally dedicated and surrendered to God that He never did what He wanted but always enquired what God wanted. John 6:38: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
Lesson : 2: INTIMACY:
Jesus died with a prayer on his lips. Psalms 31:5:`Into your hands I commit my spirit.' was the prayer every Jewish mother taught her child to say, before the threatening dark came down. Even on the cross Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his Father's arms." We need to learn to have this same INTIMACY with our Heavenly Father.
Holy Saturday or rather Silent Saturday is a day of quiet meditation, reflection and waiting while we contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and his grace.
Lesson 1: PATIENCE:
This is a day to consider the despair & desolation that the disciples felt about two millennia ago. Having just witnessed the brutal execution and agonizing death of their Lord. They were now like sheep without a Shepherd; without a leader and full of misery & confusion. They were uncertain & unsure about their future and had no idea about what to do next. They had no choice but to wait patiently. Many times in life, when things don’t turn out as expected, we need to be patient and self disciplined just like they were. We have to “let go and let God”, trusting in His abundant wisdom and never failing love and mercy.
Lesson 2: REST:
Jesus rested in the tomb while his disciples observed the Sabbath. It is God Himself who set the first example by resting on the 7th Day after Creating the Universe. Gen 2:3: “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done”
If God Almighty rested on the 7th Day, how much more should we?
5) The Jubilation of Resurrection Sunday:
"The Resurrection is the ground of our assurance, it is the basis for all our future hopes, and it is the source of power in our daily lives here and now. It gives us courage in the midst of persecution, comfort in the midst of trials, and hope in the midst of this world's darkness." –John Mac Arthur
We have a God who has defeated Sin and Death. In its place, He gives us Righteousness and Eternal Life. Our hope and happiness is that we have within us the same powerful Holy Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead. (Romans 8:11)
Rev 1:18: “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Let us as Christians accept this time of the year as an invitation to stop, reflect and remember the many lessons that we can learn from the life,death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us rededicate ourselves to live a life worthy of the blood of Jesus Christ since “it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that we were redeemed ... but with the precious blood of Christ.”- 1 Peter 1:18,19
In conclusion, let us sing:
God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives!
God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives!
Take Care, God Bless,
Sparky Laurie
Sparky Laurie
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