Journey Toward Easter
Matthew 21:1-11
Today we begin our journey toward Easter. Passion week starts with the march of Jesus into Jerusalem. We celebrate the Triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday next Sunday. The last week of Christ’s public ministry was jam packed and filled with action. One third of the four gospels are given to recording the events of the last week of Christ’s public ministry.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey the news of his grand parade spread fast and Jesus became the talk of the town. As soon as people heard the news they quickly ran to watch the parade of people pass by and many joined in the march.
The prophet Zechariah had predicted the march into Jerusalem. Zechariah 9:9 – Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey --- even the donkey’s colt.”
Whispers and questions quickly traveled from one person to another, “Who is this man?” From that day to this people are still asking that same question: “Who is this Jesus?”
Some people in the crowd probably replied that –
Jesus was a skilled carpenter.
Jesus was a great man.
Jesus was a great teacher.
Jesus was from Nazareth in Galilee.
Many in the crows answered: “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.”
What is you answer to the question? Who is Jesus to you? Is He just a man or is He the Messiah, God’s only Son? Is He your personal Savior and Lord?
To many the name Jesus is just a name to use when disgusted and angry. When I visited the church our youngest daughter Janette McDugald attends in Florida, saw the subject the Pastor was going to preach on in the future: “God’s last name is not Dam!”
Why is it that people in America use the name of Jesus in vain? Why don’t they say another name in history like, “Abraham Lincoln” or “Mahatma Gandhi?” Exodus 20:7 gives a clear command: “Do not misuse the name of the Lord God.”
Jesus had a clear vision for His mission for the last week of his public ministry. He knew His mission was to go to Jerusalem and complete God’s mission. Christ’s compassion and love compelled him to go to Jerusalem.
If you had one week left to live for the Lord how would you spend you time? As we look at a harmony of the four Gospels we see just how action packed the last week of Jesus really was.
• Jesus cursed an unproductive Fig Tree.
• He cleansed the temple and drove out merchants who had turned the temple into a place of business. Jesus said his House was to be a place of Prayer.
• Jesus debated with Chief Priests, scribes and elders about his authority to do and say what He was doing.
• Jesus told three parables about “Two Sons, Wicked Tenants, and Guests at the wedding feast of the kings men.”
• Jesus debated with the Pharisees and Herodians about paying taxes to Caesar.
• Jesus debated with the Saducees about the resurrection.
• Jesus pronounced woes upon the Scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites.
• Jesus praised a widow for giving her small offering because she gave everything she had.
• Jesus gave teachings on the destruction of Jerusalem, the close of the age, the second coming of Christ, the coming judgment, and the importance of being ready for Christ’s second coming.
• Jesus warned His disciples of his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
• Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive ointment in the house of Simon in Bethany.
• Jesus had his disciples prepare for the Last Supper to celebrate the Passover. Before the supper Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.
• Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James, and John, but they slept most of the time.
• Judas led the chief priests and scribes and elders to Jesus and betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
• Jesus is tried and condemned before Pilate then Herod and back to Pilate. Barabbas is release and Jesus is hung on the cross on a hill called Golgotha, the place of a skull.
As we prepare for Easter I want us to reflect on the words of Jesus from the Cross. As we think about the final words of Jesus as he hung on the cross we begin to understand the pain, passion and love Jesus had for you and for me.
This past week as I meditated on the words of Jesus from the cross I sensed anew His pain and compassion. I tried to think of words beginning with “C” to highlight the 7 last phrases of Jesus from the cross as they appear in the harmony of the Gospels.
1. Jesus demonstrated “Condonation.” The meaning of Condonation is “the forgiveness of an offense.” (World Book Dictionary) Jesus prayed: “Father forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 We are so unlike Jesus. When we are treated unjustly we want to get even and retaliate. Revenge is portrayed as a way of life and something everyone does on TV and in the movies.
Jesus was deeply wounded. He received pain and agony he did not deserve, yet Jesus did not seek to retaliate. Forgiveness is a supernatural work of God. The Apostle Peter sums the response of Jesus this way: “He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” 1 Peter 2:23
Jesus put a high priority on forgiveness in order to live the victorious Christian life when he taught his disciples how to pray. “Forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” Matthew 6:12 - Jesus followed up the model prayer with an additional comment on forgiveness: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 - If you refuse to forgive others your lack of forgiveness breaks the bridge and access to the Cross and the forgiveness of your Lord.
As a young adult one of the hardest things I had to do in my life, as a Christian was to forgive my father’s abuse of my mother. I felt certain that my mother died early at the age of 62 due to my father’s emotional abuse down through the years. I had read in my devotional reading that if we refuse to forgive someone, we become like the person who we refuse to forgive. With much prayer and God’s grace I was able to forgive my father and we were able to develop in his later years a healthy relationship. Jesus demonstrated “Condonation” forgiveness of offenses.
2. Jesus provided “Conversion.” “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Jesus hung on the cross between two thieves. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the suffering Servant, “Because he poured his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
Both thieves deserved the judgment of God. One thief was repentant and one was rebellious and defiant. The repentant thief experienced conversion, a new life in Christ. The one who deserves to go to hell goes to heaven. He called out with a repent heart, “Lord remember me.” Jesus spent his entire public ministry in calling people to repent. The repentant thief saw in Jesus the love of God at work and called out to Jesus.
We prepare for Easter by calling out; “Lord remember me!” Jesus knows the deep cry of your heart and gives us the promise: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me. Today you are my child. You are now part of my family.”
3. Jesus showed “Compassion.” Jesus looked down at his mother and his friend, Apostle John and said with tenderness and compassion: “Woman behold your son! Behold your mother.” John 19:26 - In his dying moments Jesus cared for the needs of others.
It’s hard for us to comprehend how Mary felt watching her son suffering in deep agony on the cross. Jesus looked at his mother and said, “Woman” not “Mother.” Jesus was providing a place for his widow mother to live and also preparing her for a new relationship. Jesus was would no longer be her son, he would now be her Savior.
4. Jesus felt what it was to be “Castaway”, forsaken, and abandoned. Jesus cried out form the cross: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!” Hebrew-Aramaic words that mean, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” (Matthew 27:46)
The experience of Jesus at that point on the cross is beyond human understanding. Jesus was dying in our place. Jesus was dying for the sins of the world. Jesus who was sinless was taking on Himself our sins. Jesus suffered in your place. The cry of Jesus gives us just a glimpse of what Jesus experienced in becoming the sacrificial Lamb of God.
Luke 23:44 says, “By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart.” The crucifixion of Jesus gave the appearance that evil had won. Darkness prevailed with Jesus hanging on the Cross. Sin and all its blackness blocked out the sun and the Light of God. But the veil hanging in the Temple allowing only select priests to enter the Holy of Holies was torn in two now allowing for all who seek the Lord to enter into the divine presence of God.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sins, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Jesus experienced being forsaken, abandoned and castaway for you and for me.
As we take our “Journey Toward Easter” this morning we want to get a new understanding of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. Jesus demonstrated “Condonation” – “Father forgive these people because they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus provided “Conversion.” “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus showed “Compassion.”
“Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother.” Jesus felt what it was like to be a “Castaway.” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”
5. Jesus felt human “Craving.” “I thirst.” John 19:28
Jesus cried out from the cross His fifth phrase from the cross: “I thirst.” Jesus felt human “Craving.” Can you imagine the pain and suffering of Jesus on the Cross. During his public ministry, Jesus asked for a drink of water by a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well near Sycar. Jesus offered her living water – eternal life.
When Jesus cried out “I thirst,” Jesus was expressing his humanity. The thirst on the cross was at a far deeper level than his thirst in Samaria. Jesus knows what it is to feel human desires. Jesus knows how you feel.
Jesus felt pain. Jesus felt every strike of the Roman soldiers whip. The Psalmist describes some of the agony of the crucifixion that Jesus suffered: “My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sun-baked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.” Psalm 22:14-15
John 1:14-- tells us that God became incarnate in man. In Mary’s birth of her son, Jesus became the Son of Man and the Son of God, through the miracle of the Holy Spirit. “So the Word/Jesus became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.”
When you come to Jesus in prayer you can be assured that Jesus understands your heartache and pain. Jesus is available to help you carry your burdens and your sorrows.
6. Jesus “Completed” God’s mission on earth. He cried out, “It is finished.” John 19:30
The work God called Jesus to, was finished. At the death of Jesus God was providing once and for all the forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Jesus. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God. The death of Christ closed the door on Old Testament sacrifices for sin. Jesus became the once and for all our sacrificial Lamb of God.
When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” his shout was a shout of victory.
In spite of all the pain, suffering, and ridicule Jesus did not give up on His mission.
If you feel like giving up! Don’t give up. If you feel like quitting! Don’t quit. Do you feel discouraged as a parent? Hang in there! Are you pessimistic about your job? Ask God to help you see His mission in your work.
The Apostle Paul was one who experienced many hardships as a Christ follower. He was whipped, stoned, nearly died in a ship- wreck, spent years in prison and under house arrest. He could testify, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
Whatever your situation, it is always too soon to quit.
7. Jesus “Consummated” God’s plan of salvation for humankind. “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
By his death Jesus defeated the god of this world, Satan, and provided a way for all people to come back to God, their Creator.
Our Journey to Easter is about the truth of the Gospel. I Corinthians 15:3-4, The Apostle Paul proclaimed the good news of the Gospel: “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me – that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.”
We sing the Hymn “Nearer My God to Thee,” showing that our own cross and trials bring us nearer to God. We also sing “In the Cross of Christ I glory” which depicts the cross of Christ being celebrated. But these two songs fall short of the true message of the cross.
When we sing, “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.” In this hymn we realize that it was not mere man who died on Calvary, but it was the Lord of Glory.
The love of God as seen in the cross demands our soul, our life, and everything that we have.
As you partake of communion this morning why not dedicated your life anew to Jesus thanking Him for His love in dying for you on the Cross of Calvary.
