Archive for the ‘Holy Week’ tag
April 12, 2009: Jesus Dies and Lives Again
The text for this lesson is Mark 15:1—16:8.
Key Points
- Good Friday is both the worst of days, revealing the gravity of our sin and God’s wrath, and the best of days, forever portraying God’s love for us in the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son.
- Law: Though I was not there, I am among those who spat in Jesus’ face and crucified Him by my sinfulness.
- Gospel: Willingly, Jesus came to earth, suffered, died, and rose again so that God might enliven me and forgive my sins.
Context
Our Holy Week was for the Jews the week of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In Jerusalem, it was standing room only. Because the Jews were under Roman rule, the death penalty could only be pronounced by a Roman official—thus, Pilate’s involvement. Jesus is executed on Friday but rapidly removed from the cross because of the approaching Sabbath. He rests in the tomb the few remaining hours of Friday, then Saturday (the Sabbath), and then rises sometime on the third day, Sunday. Sunday, therefore, becomes the day for Christians, replacing the Sabbath of the old covenant.
April 5, 2009: Peter Denies Jesus
The text for this lesson is Mark 14:26–72.
Key Points
- Though we, like Peter, deny Jesus and His gifts, Jesus cannot deny us because we are part of Him, baptized members of His own Body. Instead, He forgives us and welcomes us back.
- Law: To deny Jesus is to commit spiritual suicide.
- Gospel: Even when I deny Him, Jesus will never turn His back on me, never refuse me, and never stop loving me.
Context
It is Maundy Thursday. The Lord’s Supper having been instituted, Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, their familiar hangout. There Peter refuses to believe what Jesus predicts: that he, along with the rest of the apostolic band, will desert and deny their Master. A few hours later, however, after Jesus is arrested and while He’s being tried in the kangaroo court of the Jews, Peter thrice denies his Lord. Luke adds a detail skipped by the other evangelists, that at the third denial, “the Lord turned and looked at Peter” (Luke 22:61), calling to mind the prediction that Peter had fulfilled by his infidelity.
March 15, 2009: Jesus Clears the Temple
The text for this lesson is John 2:13–22.
Key Points
- Jesus’ cleansing of the temple carries a twofold message for the Jews and for us: first, that the true Lord of the temple was here in the flesh and, second and more important, that Jesus is the true temple, who houses and perfects us, raising our bodies to be like His.
- Law: I sin when I turn God’s house into a place of business, soiling His sanctuary.
- Gospel: Jesus is my holy temple who, by His sacrifice on the altar of the cross, purged my sin and made me a member of His Body.
