A Week of All Weeks

In this week of all weeks there are many things upon which to focus. There is an entry triumphant into Jerusalem within which we learn that if we, as God's creatures, cannot behave the way God made us to behave, namely to praise God in our vocations, then step aside, because the rocks themselves will praise the Living God, simply by being what they were made to be; rocks. God will be adored.

Take some time to examine the righteous indignation of Jesus when He storms through the Temple and says, "You have made this place into something of dishonor." We are mindful that God will not be mocked.

On Maundy Thursday Jesus celebrates Passover one last time and then gives the church an unqualified gift, namely His body and His blood in, with, and under bread and wine.

In the garden, a grieving and distressed Jesus asks Peter, James and John to watch and pray not once, not twice, but three times; and they could not.

Then there is Judas and "the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees" coming to arrest Jesus. The one who would write, "be prepared to give a defense . . . for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15) defended Jesus with a sword (the antithesis of his most recent advice to the church concerning defending the faith) and cut off the ear of Malchus.

Then the defender denies Jesus. Jesus would have to deal with that later at a place where Peter could be found; on the shore of the lake.

A mockery of a trial is held. Protocol is shattered. The sentence of death by hanging on a cross is reluctantly agreed to. "There is no cause to punish this man," says Pilate. That is true. Jesus broke no divine law. And He knew the law. He wrote the law. But His creation, specifically human kind, broke His law. There was only one thing to do about this. It was His love for us that drove Him. It was a Godly love, an unconditional love that carried no assurance of return. He alone assumed our sin, the sin of every one born of the seed of Seth. Because He did, there is every reason for Him to suffer hell on the cross. Because He did, there is no way around it.

I need to add that this was not a spur of the moment, spontaneous idea of Jesus. Jesus, being born to die for the sins of all mankind, for your sin and for mine, was first promised in the Garden of Eden when the Universe was fledgling and starlight was fresh. It wasn't so much a promise as it was a statement of fact, addressing Satan and intended for Adam and Eve to hear. Adam and Eve heard the Word of God, and they embraced it by faith. Hope was alive. Hope was alive because of God's love.

So concerning the crucifixion, appropriate is not the word to use. Amazing, remarkable, astonishing, beyond our ability to conceive, these words fall short to describe that which was accomplished by Jesus on the cross for us. But that which was accomplished brings hope, comfort, peace, and a future. These are ours because of the resurrection. With sin there is death. With Christ, there is a resurrection to life.

As you focus on the events of this week of all weeks, I encourage you also to consider the message of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. Read this post resurrection record and as you do, notice the frequency of teaching and preaching on the resurrection. Having been sent by the risen Christ Himself, every chance they had, they talked about Jesus being raised from the dead. We are a resurrection people. We are a redeemed people who have been sent with the same message that Adam would teach to his children and their children. We have been sent with the same message as Noah, and Jonah, reluctant though he was. We have the same message as the disciples.

Is your neighbor looking for hope or peace? Assure him of this: "He is risen. He is Risen indeed!"