Reflection on The True Vine and The Prince of Peace

 Reflection on The True Vine

Recognizing our destructive bent toward self-reliance, Jesus urges His followers to “remain in me” five times in only eight verses. Today, read John 15.1–8 and reflect on the invitation to savor a close connection to the True Vine. Are you as close as He invites you to be? Take a few moments to rest before God. Become mindful of His presence both in deep moments of worship and in the dynamic movements of your daily life. Throughout the day, recognize His life pulsing through you and energizing you for His work even as you learn to rest in Him.

Reflection on The Prince of Peace

The holiday season is rife with opportunities to bicker and worry. Family get-togethers can be filled with tension, as jealousy and old wounds often shatter Christmas peace. Think ahead to your social commitments and write down the names of people who cause unrest in your heart. Spend time with Jesus today, asking for His direction in those relationships and committing yourself to being an ambassador of peace this holiday season.

Will I ever be holy?

 Will I Ever Be Holy?

I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

EXODUS 31.13

Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

JOHN 17.17

May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

1 THESSALONIANS 5.23-24

Have you ever been given a task that seemed too big for you? Did you think to yourself, If it is up to me, I will never get this job done?

When we understand that God wants us to be holy like he is, it can be very discouraging. We know ourselves and our weaknesses too well to think that we can do this job on our own. So some of us just give up on it altogether.

Fortunately, God gives us the ability to become what he commands us to be, and to do what he commands us to do. When God revealed himself in the Old Testament as “the LORD, who makes you holy,” he was talking not only about his divine nature but also about his divine help. The same God who makes us right in his sight by paying for our sin and giving us Christ’s righteousness is at work in us to renew our thinking and clean up our motives and capture our affections. His grace not only covers our sin of the past; it also gives us what we need to make headway in overcoming our sin, now and in the future. He is in the process of making us holy like he is.

The good news about God’s desire for us to become holy is that he doesn’t leave it up to us to accomplish this big job on our own. He is at work in us, chipping away at our selfishness, our lies, our hardened hearts. Holiness is not something that happens instantly. It’s an ongoing project that God is doing in us.

A Good Trade

 A Good Trade

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

MATTHEW 13.44-46

They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.

PSALM 106.20

We all make trades all the time. We trade money for things like groceries. We trade time for a wage slip or watching TV. We trade energy for a tennis match or a service project. Every kid who has ever traded baseball or football cards knows that a good trade is defined by getting something back that is as valuable or more valuable than what was traded away, while a bad trade is getting something less valuable than what was traded away.

Jesus told us a story about two people who made trades — very expensive trades. He told about a man who discovered a hidden treasure in a field, and a pearl merchant who found a pearl of great value. They both traded everything they owned to have the treasure and the pearl. Jesus was saying that he is a treasure, a valuable pearl, and that it’s worth trading everything you own so you can have him.

The psalm writers understand this concept when they say, “I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked” (Psa 84.10). The psalm writers see it as a good trade to give up the stuff of this world for a relationship with God. Paul was also willing to make what he saw as a good trade. He writes, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him” (Phil 3.8-9). Anything and everything you give up or give away to enjoy Jesus more will be a wise trade.

Reflections on Great High Priest and The Alpha and The Omega

 Reflection on Great High Priest 

What a privilege to have direct access to God! It might seem strange to picture the Old Testament sacrifices, especially since many of us recoil from the sight of blood and the fear of pathogens. But understanding the priests’ role in offering sacrifices helps us rejoice in the finished work of Jesus. So approach the throne of grace confidently today and pour out your heart to God. You will not be turned away.

Reflection on The Alpha and The Omega 

Faith is “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb 11.1), trusting God’s character regardless of what our life’s circumstances look like. In what area of your life do you need to trust the Author and Perfector of your faith? Surrender it to Him today, asking Him to continue to work faith in that area of your life.

Discussion or reflection on The Holy One and The Lord of Lords

 Reflection on The Holy One of God

Each time we confess our sins and yield an area of our lives to Jesus’ control, we grow a little more in His holy likeness. Today, take a few moments to confess the sins that have accumulated in your soul; then thank Jesus for being faithful to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Rejoice in the holiness Jesus confers upon you, and walk in His holiness today.

Discussion/reflection on The Lord of Lords

Consider what parts of your life you’ve been withholding from Jesus’ lordship. Does He have complete control of your time, finances, schedule, relationships, career, and dreams? Spend some time today renewing your allegiance to your Lord. Bow your knees in worship to Him, and when He instructs you to do something, trust Him and obey immediately.

Holy hands

 Holy Hands

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

PSALM 63.4

Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.

LUKE 24.50

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God.

1 TIMOTHY 2.8

As children we are taught to fold our hands in prayer. But perhaps that has more to do with keeping our hands out of mischief than helping us approach God. So what do our hands have to do with the way we relate to God?

Throughout Scripture we are called to lift up our hands to God — in motions of asking and receiving, as well as motions of giving and blessing. When we lift our palms to God, that might express openness, invitation, and surrender. When we reach out our hands to God, that might signify asking him for something or depending on him. When we extend our open hands to God, that might symbolise blessing God.

Desperate for a response from God, David said, “I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land” (Psa 143.6, NIV). Our hands can mirror our souls as they stretch out to touch God. David also lovingly called to his faithful God with hands lifted up, “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer” (Psa 63.4). Lifted hands reflect a connected heart.

Lifting hands is common in some church traditions and rare in others. But the lifting of hands isn’t really about what kind of church you go to. And lifting up our hands to God should never become a meaningless habit or a spiritual show. If we’re only lifting our hands in his direction to impress those around us, what an insult that would be to God! When our thoughts are about ourselves and our hearts feel cold toward God, we lift up our hands to him because of what we know about him. And that simple gesture can draw our hearts toward him.

Trampling on the Son of God

 Trampling on the Son of God

If we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. . . . Think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy.

HEBREWS 10.26, 29

Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

ROMANS 6.1-2

Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

1 JOHN 3.6

When you walk along a pavement and you look down and spot a pound coin, you pick it up because you see it as something of value. But when you see a discarded gum wrapper or a used ticket stub, you don’t pick it up, you just walk over it or step on it, because it is worthless to you.

Sometimes we keep chasing after something we know is sin, even after we’ve come alive to God and his goodness. When we do this, it’s as if we see Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross and then just walk right over it, trampling it under our feet, because we see it as worthless. It’s as if we say, “I know it’s sin, but I am going to do it anyway.” And in doing so, we’re rejecting the sacrifice of Christ, saying, “I don’t need you or your holiness. I want to live my way, not your way.”

Once we become followers of Christ, we become more serious about how we deal with sin. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking we can just keep walking toward sin after knowing and experiencing the truth. If we do, it’s like we’re trampling the Son of God.

As a believer you will sin, but if you find that you keep on choosing to sin without feeling sad about it, then you need to question if you have really placed your faith in Christ. But when you feel sad about your sin, you can celebrate that as confirmation that you want Jesus more than you want to go your own way.

Discussion and reflection on The Truth and The Lion of Judah

 Discussion/reflection on The Truth 

What lies about God, yourself, relationships, emotions, and life are you battling today? Write them on an index card, and take a few moments to find truth in Scripture on that topic (you can use a concordance online or at the back of your Bible). Write those verses on the back of the index card and then spend time with the Truth. Ask Him to transform the way you view that area of your life so that you can walk in the freedom of the truth.

Discussion/reflection on The Lion of Judah

Have you adopted our culture’s view of Jesus as “safe”? Today, meditate on His power and glory as the Lion of Judah. Ask Him to awaken you to the reality of His grandeur and respond in humble worship.

Discussion and reflections on Christ and The Word of God

 

Discussion/reflection on Christ 

Have you tried to fit Jesus into your idea of who He should be or how He should act? Take time this season to read through the Gospels. Reacquaint yourself with Jesus. Marvel at His miracles. Chuckle at His witty responses to the Pharisees’ snide remarks. Weep as His people reject Him and He walks toward Golgotha. Rejoice as the stone is rolled away and the tomb is found empty. Go beyond surface familiarity with the stories and engage with the Anointed One as He is revealed in the pages of Scripture.

Reflection on The Word of God

When we think of “spending time in the Word,” we often think of merely reading the Bible. And while studying Scripture is important, it should always drive us to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Today, let your time in the Word drive you to spend time with the Word. Talk to Him. Invite Him to speak into your life right now. And then listen to the Word.

Pour on the power

 Pour On the Power

I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

EZEKIEL 39.29

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere —in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

ACTS 1.8

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence.

2 PETER 1.3

Picture a child walking along holding his father’s hand. He is happy and secure in his father’s love, but there is no powerful urge to talk about it. But then suddenly the father reaches down and sweeps the child into his arms, hugging and kissing him and telling him how much he loves him. Then he puts the child down, and they continue on their walk. The child believed his father loved him before, but now he can hardly contain himself — he wants to shout with joy over being so loved by his father.

This is a picture of what it’s like when the Holy Spirit “comes upon” a person with power, as Jesus promised would happen to the disciples after he ascended and went to heaven. Before, they had a real but quiet knowledge of Jesus, but soon it would burst into an energetic outpouring of affection toward God — an overflowing joy coming from a complete confidence in him. Because the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and minds with a fresh passion for God, they couldn’t resist praising him out loud and talking about him to anyone who would listen. This is what Jesus meant when he said they would receive power and be his witnesses.

Failed and failed again

 Failed and Failed Again

Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

LUKE 22.61-62

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” . . . Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, . . . jumped into the water, and headed to shore.

JOHN 21.4-5, 7

There aren’t many things worse than facing up to failure — a failed test, a failed business, or a failed relationship. Sometimes when we fail, we want to hide. We’d just rather not face the truth and feel the brunt of our disappointment.

Peter had failed Jesus, and failed again. He failed Jesus by denying that he knew him — even while Jesus was being beaten. Then after Jesus rose from the dead and instructed the disciples to wait in Galilee, Peter failed again. He and the disciples went to Galilee for a while. But then they got tired of waiting and went back to what they did before following Jesus — they went fishing.

When Peter heard Jesus calling to him from the shore, we might expect that Peter would hide, embarrassed by failure heaped on failure. That is what a lot of us try to do when we’ve let God down. We hide. We keep our distance. But Peter showed us what to do when we’ve failed God. He dove into the water in a rush to get back to Jesus. He didn’t let his shame hold him back. And Jesus was there waiting for him, not with harsh words of criticism but with a comforting breakfast.

God is not looking for people who never fail. But he welcomes people who hurry to be restored when they fail — people who won’t let anything get in the way of having their relationship with him restored.

Reflection on king of kings and light of the world

 Reflection on the kings of kings

The entire universe worships the King of kings—but as humans we often miss out on this privilege. We’re often so focused on ourselves that we become prideful, angry, and annoyed with others, especially in the busyness of the holiday season. Today, take your eyes off yourself, and fix your gaze on the King of Glory. Worship Him today.

Reflection on light of the world

The holiday season is filled with lights, strings of lights on Christmas trees, colorful lights on rooftops, inflatable light-up figures on front lawns, light shows in arboretums, and lighted signs announcing the best sales of the season. It’s easy to allow commercial light pollution to drown out the shining light within us. Today, ask the Spirit to shine God’s light in your life and help you see God’s works all around you, then ask Him to shine through you so that others may see the hope of life eternal and turn to Him.

Discussion points on Jesus and the resurrection and the life

 Because I never put them in my blog I thought I would add these discussions or reflections from my post I added to the Facebook group where I initially posted them. Hope they help and yes the first one will mention Christmas so do with that what you will

Discussion/reflection on Jesus

As you enter this season of Advent, what expectations do you have of Jesus? Are you expecting Him to provide finances, heal a loved one, mend a marriage, or fulfill some other request? He very well may … but He may not. Regardless of what happens or how He answers, open yourself to His saving touch, and ask Him to show you what He wants to do in your life. Begin the Advent season with an open heart filled with hope because of Jesus our Saviour .

Discussion/reflection on the resurrection and the life 

What does it mean to live like the resurrected? What implications does this mindset have on your relationships, job, finances, service, evangelism, and pastimes? Today, pick one of these areas and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to engage in it as one for whom life is eternal.

Believing without seeing

 Believing without Seeing

Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

JOHN 20.29

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

1 PETER 1.8-9

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

HEBREWS 11.1

Some people say they’ll only believe something if they can prove it or if they can see it with their own eyes. If they can’t see it, touch it, hear it, or prove it some other way, they won’t believe.

Did you know that Jesus is understanding when it comes to people who have a hard time believing in what they can’t see? He showed us that when he was willing to give proof to his disciple Thomas. Thomas said he wouldn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he touched Jesus’ hands where the nails had been and Jesus’ side where the spear had wounded him. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, he said, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” And Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20.27-28).

Then Jesus responded that those who believe without seeing him are blessed. Jesus knew a time was coming when all who believed in him would do so without the benefit of seeing him with their eyes or touching him with their hands. So he gives us the gift of faith. Faith gives us the confidence to believe in a Jesus we have never seen with our physical eyes.

Jesus has risen!

 JESUS HAS RISEN!

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

MATTHEW 28.5–6

If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never get over the beauty of that history-changing declaration.

Jesus Christ has risen!

He has risen, indeed.

And this is the best news of all because despite our mortal enemy’s best attempt, Jesus’ cross was not a place of defeat but of victory — the triumph of love over sin and death!

I hope that news never gets old for you.

I hope these last few weeks reflecting on the life and love of Jesus have changed something in you when you say those words.

I hope you’ve found yourself in these familiar Bible stories, the recipient of Jesus’ extravagant, never-stopping, never-giving-up love.

I hope you’ve grown to know Jesus as a person and as God and to love Him more than ever before.

I hope you’ve experienced His love filling you up and spilling over into the most surprising relationships.

I hope you’ve found space to grieve and mourn and lament … and also to hope and celebrate and rejoice, all because of Jesus.

This is the beauty of Lent, its cadence allows space for the whole spectrum of human emotion, its narrative arc leading us through desolation to the triumphant conclusion of Jesus’ resurrection that is just the beginning.

But every year I’m surprised by how quickly it’s all over.

Especially after weeks of waiting, watching, and preparing throughout Lent, Resurrection Sunday comes with all its joyous celebration, and before we know it, Monday’s here and we’re back to our regular routines.

But I realized something the year I wrote this devotional: it doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, believers throughout history have continued celebrating Jesus’ resurrection during the fifty days leading up to Pentecost, and we can too. Because as we continue to remind ourselves of the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, we begin to live the lives of the resurrected.

I’ve suggested a few activities on the next pages to help you celebrate the joy of Jesus’ resurrection this week, but let me encourage you to keep coming back to this book in the weeks and months to come. Continue to remind yourself of the deep, deep love of Jesus, and continue to ask for His love to pour out into the lives of others.

Don’t let the celebration end, friend. Jesus has risen!

And because He lives, we can face tomorrow, and the day after that, with hope.

With much joy,

Chris

The first one up

 The First One Up

He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.

MATTHEW 28.6

Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

1 CORINTHIANS 15.20

The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.

1 THESSALONIANS 4.16

Who is usually the first one to get up in the morning at your house? Is there someone who likes to wake up before everyone else?

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter because Jesus was the first one up in the house of God. Jesus didn’t get out of bed first. He rose from the grave first. His was the first body to come back to life and never die again. But Jesus will not be the only one whose body will rise from its grave; he’s just the first. He’s leading the way. Observing his resurrection shows us what the resurrection of our own bodies will be like.

If you have joined yourself to Jesus, the moment your body dies, your spirit will immediately be in the presence of Jesus. Your body will be in the ground waiting for resurrection. And one day, when Jesus returns to this earth, your body will rise out of your grave and be like his.

We all have bodies that will die, because we’re all descendants of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve sinned and brought death down on all of us, and since then every other human being except Jesus has sinned too. But every believer who has ever died, every body belonging to someone who loved Jesus that is in the grave, is going to come out of the grave perfect someday — just like Jesus’ resurrection body. Bodies die because of Adam’s sin. Bodies live because of Christ’s resurrection.

Resurrection weekend suggestion box

 Resurrection weekend suggestion box

Read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection over and over again. Don’t let this story get old. Read it in different translations. Read it out loud and listen to it read. Read a historical novel version. Act it out or draw it out.

Watch a visual retelling of the life of Jesus, like the word-for-word dramatic presentations of the Gospels from Lumo, available in the YouVersion Bible app.

Write out the resurrection account from one of the Gospels in your own handwriting, pausing to savour the story and letting it penetrate your heart.

Hold an Easter egg knocking competition around the table. This is a Romanian tradition and here are the rules. Each person chooses a dyed egg and turns to the person sitting next to them. The first says, “Christ has risen!” And the other responds, “He has risen indeed!” Then the first person knocks the top of their egg to the bottom of the other’s egg. Whoever’s egg remains uncracked proceeds to the next round. Continue knocking eggs with the Easter greeting until the last uncracked egg remains.

Bake resurrection rolls to visualise Jesus’ resurrection. Like any illustration, this will never capture the immensity of the miracle of Jesus coming back to life, but for little children trying to understand the resurrection, it does capture the wonder of the empty tomb. Dip marshmallows in butter and cinnamon sugar, wrap in croissant dough, and bake according to package directions. As you work together, read the crucifixion and burial account in Luke 23:26–56 or the Jesus Storybook Bible. Discuss how Jesus’ body was prepared for burial and then placed in the tomb. As the rolls are baking, read the resurrection account in Luke 24:1–12. The marshmallows will puff up during baking, but once the rolls have cooled, the marshmallows will have disappeared completely.

Donate extra candy to charities like, Operation Shoebox, local homeless shelters, and foster homes.

Set a reminder on your calendar to hold on to your Christmas tree this winter. After you’ve taken down the Christmas decorations, hack off the branches and carve a simple cross out of the wood to use as a Lenten wreath the following year. This activity helps children connect our celebration of Jesus coming into the world at Christmastime with His death on the cross at Easter.

Host an Easter Art Show. Invite friends and family to bring their Lenten crafts, colouring pages, and Easter art to show and tell what you’ve learned throughout the Lenten season. Share how you’ve grown to understand Jesus’ love for you, and how you experienced His love poured out as you served others.

Behind the curtain

 Behind the Curtain

The LORD said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.”

LEVITICUS 16.2

Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

MARK 15.37-38

Dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

HEBREWS 10.19-20

When you go to someone’s house, you usually wait to be invited in. But there may be some people you know well enough that you don’t even have to knock when you visit them. You are welcome to walk right in.

In Old Testament times there was a curtain in the Temple, and God’s presence was behind the curtain. But people could not walk right in behind the curtain. According to the rules in the Old Testament, only one person — a priest — could go behind the curtain, and he could only go in once a year. Not just anyone could go directly into God’s presence, because people’s sins separated them from God.

But that changed the day — the very moment — Jesus died. That day the Temple curtain that had separated people from God was ripped from top to bottom. It wasn’t ripped by any person, but by God himself. In that culture, people expressed their sorrow by tearing their clothes. It was almost as if the dwelling place of God was so saddened by the death of Jesus that it tore its clothing. At the same time, it was as if God was throwing open the door to his house and welcoming us in. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross in paying for our sin, there is no longer a barrier of sin between God and his people.

Jesus sacrificed everything

 JESUS SACRIFICED EVERYTHING

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

JOHN 15.13

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

ROMANS 5.7–8

Based on JOHN 19.16–30

My children knows that Jesus died on a cross, much like many of us, but with varying degrees of understanding, but they don’t yet understand the tragedy of it all. And I fear sometimes that for us as adults, biblical knowledge about Jesus becomes so familiar that it fails to move us to worship.

Imagine, instead, a completely different scenario than the one you know so well, What if Jesus had been decapitated by the sword?

What if He had been burned at the stake?

What if He had been thrown to wild animals?

How would that change our perception of His death? Would it move you with compassion? Dread? Injustice? Pity?

Each of these methods of execution is gruesome, and we shudder when we read accounts of early church martyrs killed in those ways. But crucifixion was considered a more painful and disgraceful form of capital punishment than any of the above. If slaves and criminals could choose, they would choose anything but death on the cross.

Under the Roman Empire, crucifixion was reserved for executing foreigners, lower-class Romans, violent offenders, and traitors. The condemned were often scourged until the soldier could lash out no more. They were forced to march through the city naked, stripped of dignity and pride. Other forms of torture and ridicule were common, as we read about in all the gospel accounts — the soldiers blindfolded Jesus and beat Him, demanding that He prophesy who punched Him, shoving a twisted garland of a thorny shrub onto His head, throwing an elegant robe over His tattered shoulders, striking Him with the staff they had given Him as a sceptre, kneeling before Him with mock salutations, “Hail, king of the Jews!” before rising to spit in His face.

The whole of it is too gruesome to imagine.

Pilate’s soldiers, Herod’s guards, and even the Jewish leaders tortured and humiliated Jesus, and all this was before the Roman soldiers mounted Him on a cross, driving spikes through His hands and feet, thrusting Him up to hang on a roughly hewn stake in the ground, leaving Him to pull Himself up to gasp for each breath of air. Crucified victims couldn’t chase away birds or flies from their wounds, couldn’t restrain their bodily fluids, and couldn’t protect themselves from the scorching heat of the day and the shivering cold of the night. What’s more, crosses were often hung low enough that dogs could try to eat the victim’s feet.

It’s too much.

The brutality and utter depravity of such an execution is too much for our modern sensibilities, so we turn our faces. Who could look upon such torture and not feel sick to their stomach?

But the worst moment was yet to come. Jesus’ own Father turns His face away from His Son. Every sin of every person from all time past, present, and future — even the crimes of those executing Him — were heaped upon His innocent soul. The perfect spotless Lamb of God was being slaughtered for the sins of the world in the most abhorrent and shameful way.

But unlike the two criminals hanging with Him, Jesus was not a powerless prisoner. With a single flex of His muscles He could have healed His own wounds and come down from that cross, a single whisper would have called down legions of warrior angels, a single command and the enemy would be obliterated. What, then, kept Jesus on the cross?

You know the answer, don’t you?

But feel the weight of it.

Love.

Every blow He didn’t reciprocate was love. Every moment He stood naked and mocked was love. Every step toward Golgotha was love. Every gasping breath was love. Every nanosecond from the kiss in the garden to the cessation of His heartbeat … love.

Reflection and Prayer

In lieu of a challenge and written prayer today, spend time being silent before the cross. Allow the spectacle of the cross to imprint on your soul the weight of Jesus’ love. Don’t rush this. Witness your own sins heaped on Jesus and grieve this heinous moment in history. Then reread today’s devotional, pausing wherever you feel the need to respond with sorrow, repentance, adoration, and tears.

If you want to read more 

Isa 52.13–53.12, Mt 26.67–68, 27.22–50, Mk 14.65, 15.12–37, Lk 22.63–65, 23:11–46, Jn 18.22–23, 19.1–37, 2Cor 5.21, Rev 5.12

Abandoned

 Abandoned

At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

MATTHEW 27.46

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

PSALM 22.1

No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you.

JOHN 14.18

Have you ever seen a story on the news about a baby who has been left on the doorstep of a church or a hospital or a police station? For whatever reason, the baby’s mother couldn’t take care of the baby and abandoned him or her.

It’s hard to think about parents abandoning children they were meant to love. Now imagine God the Father abandoning his own Son. It’s even more difficult to understand, isn’t it? It sounds impossible, because we know how much God loves his Son. And yet there was a painful point in time when God turned his back on Jesus. Why would he do that? we wonder. And Jesus wondered too, crying out from the cross, “My God, why have you abandoned me?”

But God had to abandon Jesus. You see, all our sin — all the jealousy, anger, and rebellion, all the lying, stealing, and having bad attitudes, all the times we say things we know we shouldn’t — it was all laid on Jesus. And because God cannot look upon sin, he had to turn away.

But Jesus was not completely abandoned by his Father. Jesus spoke to his Father again from the cross, shouting, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (Lk 23.46). Though Jesus was abandoned because of our sin, he was not abandoned forever. Once the price for sin was paid, he was welcomed into God’s presence. And because Jesus was abandoned, it means we don’t have to be. We, too, will one day be welcomed into the presence of God.

Passover

 Passover

The whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. . . . On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.

EXODUS 12.6-7,12-13

Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

1 CORINTHIANS 5.7

When you open an umbrella and walk in the rain, the rain keeps on falling, but you are protected and kept dry by the umbrella. God was preparing to “rain down” judgment on the Egyptians, causing the death of the firstborn son in every home where the true God was not feared and obeyed. But he provided a way for his people to be protected from this storm of death — a covering. He instructed the Israelites to kill a lamb and mark the doorframes of their houses with the lamb’s blood. Death would “pass over” those houses marked with blood.

The phrase pass over has a deeper meaning than just the idea of skipping over something to avoid contact. The Hebrew word used here means spreading the wings over and protecting. This word tells us that God not only passed by the houses of Israelites but that he stood on guard, protecting each family behind the blood-marked doorways. The feast of Passover celebrates God’s protection through the blood of the lamb.

God is still providing his people with the protection we need from eternal death. Out of his love and mercy, he protects those whose lives are marked by the blood of the true Passover Lamb — Jesus. He protects us when we put our faith in the power of his blood to shield us from judgment.

Jesus’ love forgives

 JESUS’ LOVE FORGIVES

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

LUKE 23.34

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

COLOSSIANS 3.13–14

Based on LUKE 23.32–34

As He hung dying on the cross, Jesus forgave His executioners. We would expect nothing less of Him — He is, after all, the Son of God.

But when we look at the prevailing cultural norms of His day, we begin to understand just how unexpected His prayer of forgiveness would have been for first-century listeners — both those standing at the foot of His cross and those hearing the account of His death.

Through Israel’s history, family members were entreated to avenge an innocent person’s death. God Himself instructed the Israelites to show no pity toward murderers but to expunge them through capital punishment. A life for a life. That seemed just.

In those cases where revenge was beyond human means, faithful worshipers pleaded with God to exact judgment and vindication when they couldn’t. In fact, there are over thirty imprecatory psalms — calling for divine judgment and vindication. It was normal to want revenge. It was biblical to ask God to enact justice. And if an innocent Jewish man were hanging from a Roman cross, you could be sure that he would be calling down God’s wrath on his executioners.

But not Jesus.

After being crucified between two criminals, Jesus’ first recorded words in Luke are this prayer of forgiveness. Typically, a person being executed was expected to confess his sins, usually posted on a charge sheet at the head of the cross. Jesus’ charge sheet read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19), the inscription bearing more truth than Pilate could even realise.

But it wasn’t His own sins that Jesus confessed on the cross. After all, He had none. Instead, He confessed His executioners’ sins and pleaded for their forgiveness.

This was the way of love He had taught His disciples to walk, when He told them to bless those who curse them and pray for those who mistreat them. Forgiveness that reflects the Father’s heart of love knows no limits.

Yet Jesus demonstrates His love for the very men who nailed Him to the cross, not just freely granting His own forgiveness but also praying to His heavenly Father for their absolution.

These words spoken from the cross would have been shocking indeed. If anyone deserved to hold a grudge, it was Jesus. If anyone was justified in calling down divine judgment on His executioners, it was Jesus. Consider the prophet Zechariah’s stoning in the Old Testament, killed for delivering God’s warning to King Joash. As he lay dying, he prayed, “May the LORD see this and call you to account” (2Chron. 24.22). On Zechariah’s mind was not forgiveness, but justice and revenge, perhaps clinging to God’s promise: “It is mine to avenge. I will repay” (Deut. 32.35).

In contrast, Jesus shows that love forgives, not because it hasn’t been wronged, but because it trusts in the One who can make all things right. Jesus didn’t want His executioners condemned as Zechariah had been — He wanted them redeemed.

And from the cross, hanging by the nails these men had pounded into His hands and feet, Jesus looks upon them with compassion and prays for their forgiveness.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, You have shown such mercy and love toward those men who didn’t deserve Your forgiveness. And You’ve shown that same love toward me. Thank You for forgiving me when I was still Your enemy. Release in me Your healing power of forgiveness, and help me love and forgive as You have done. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Gen 9.5, Deut 19.13, 21, 27.24–25, 32.35, 2Chron 24.20–22, Psa 69, 94, Lk 6.37, 11.4, 17.4, Ac 7.54–60

Jesus offers hope

 JESUS OFFERS HOPE

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

LUKE 23.42–43

Based on LUKE 23.32–43

One of the most surprising conversions in the New Testament is that of the criminal hanging beside Jesus on the cross.

To fulfil Old Testament prophecy, Jesus was hung between two criminals, though we don’t know for sure what their crimes were, we do know that crucifixion was reserved for the most heinous offenders.

These two men on Jesus’ right and left were no tender folk. In fact, Scripture records that they were both heaping insults on Jesus, joining the crowds in charging Him to get off the cross and save Himself — perhaps them too.

But at some point, one of the criminals stops jeering and realises that the man hanging next to him is, in fact, the Son of God.

He and the other man were dying rightfully for their crimes, but this man, he realises, is innocent.

When did he recognise he was wrong in his mockery? And what emotions would have flooded his soul? Shame? Humiliation? Grief? Fear?

He turns to the other criminal and rebukes him. “Don’t you fear God?” he asks. “This man has done nothing wrong.”

And with the most simple prayer of faith ever spoken, he turns to Jesus and asks Him to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. How and when that would happen, he was unsure. But he realised who the victor was, and he wanted to be on His side in the end.

It is surprising to see such an abrupt turn from scoffing to supplication.

Would Jesus acquiesce?

Each breath would have been laboured, as they pulled themselves up to fill their ragged lungs. We can imagine the criminal waited to hear Jesus’ reply — each word deliberate—each breath piercing.

“Truly … I tell you …”

What? What is Jesus going to say? Will He call down fire from heaven to burn up this criminal? Or will He show mercy even in His dying moments?

“Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus accepted the criminal’s last-minute faith, showing that as long as you have breath, it’s never too late to turn to Him.

But what’s more, the criminal had asked only to be “remembered” when Jesus begins His reign. But Jesus goes above and beyond the criminal’s request, promising that he will join Jesus in paradise, not at some distant point in the future but “today.”

Because to Jesus, no one is beyond hope of salvation. And because of Jesus, we have hope to the very end of our days.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, You are so, so good. You were merciful toward that criminal on the cross, and You are merciful with me today. Thank You for such undeserved love. I confess my sins to You and receive Your forgiveness. May I walk in the joy of Your presence today. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Isa 53.12, Mk 15.32, Eph 3.20

Really, really thirsty

 Really, Really Thirsty

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

PSALM 63.1

Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.

JOHN 4.14

To fulfil Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”

JOHN 19.28

Have you ever seen a movie or TV program that shows people lost at sea, baking in the sun on their raft, desperately thirsty and surrounded by salt water that they can’t drink? Drinking salt water only increases a person’s thirst and causes even more intense dehydration. So even though it looks inviting when you’re really thirsty, it will only make you thirstier.

In a sense, when we expect the things of this world — like experiences, entertainment, or success — to satisfy us, it is like we have put our heads down into salty water, only to find it causes us to dry up.

As Jesus hung on the cross he said, “I am thirsty.” It is interesting that he said this, because throughout being whipped and beaten and nailed to the cross, he never complained about the physical torture and agony. So when he said, “I am thirsty,” he probably wasn’t talking about a physical thirst, even though he must have been desperately thirsty. More likely he was speaking as our substitute, as the one who became sin for us. He was saying that he felt the agonising pain every sinner deserves to feel forever. And in our place, Jesus descended into hell — that place of unquenchable thirst and scorching fire. Jesus Christ experienced the agonising thirst of eternal punishment on behalf of those who turn to God for the living water of life.

Jesus honours His mother

 JESUS HONOURS HIS MOTHER

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

JOHN 19.26–27

Based on JOHN 19.23–27

Few things compare to the pain of watching a loved one suffer, unable to lift a finger to alleviate their agony. If you could take their place, you would. And yet, you can’t.

We can only imagine Mary’s pain as she stood at the foot of the cross, close enough to hear her firstborn Son’s every rasping breath, to see the blood coming from His broken body, to witness His humiliation as He hung naked. The anguish must have pierced her heart, and the words of the prophet Simeon may have come to mind, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2.34–35).

How did Mary first react when she heard the old man speak those words in the temple courts all those years ago? Sleep-deprived and still reeling from the birth, Mary must have been shocked by the unexpected prophecy. But having cherished all these moments in her heart, she likely remembered those words as she grieved not far from her beloved Son.

Yet despite her soul-crushing desire to alleviate her Son’s pain, the opposite actually takes place, Jesus takes her suffering on Himself and extends His loving care toward her. He sees her, and He speaks to her tenderly, “Woman, here is your son,” He says, indicating the disciple He loved who was standing nearby. “Here is your mother,” He says to John.

After hours of brutal torture and humiliating ridicule, Jesus locks His gaze on the two people He loved most, and ensures His mother would be well cared for. For yes, Jesus was a rabbi and the Messiah and the true King of Israel. But He was also a Son, and He honoured His mother even in His death, perfectly fulfilling every letter of the law. This particular instruction is especially poignant in light of Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees for neglecting to care for their parents in their self-righteous religious zeal (Mk 7.9–13). Jesus would have none of that. Honouring our heavenly Father flows into honouring one’s earthly parents as well.

From this exchange, we surmise that Mary was a widow, and as the oldest son in a Jewish family, it was Jesus’ responsibility to care for His mother. Jesus provided Mary with someone who would care not only for her physical needs, but for her spiritual and emotional needs, especially in the days following His death. She would grieve deeply, and she needed someone who loved Jesus deeply to support her in the days to come.

Hanging on the cross, Jesus fulfilled His last duty toward His mother, thus demonstrating steadfast love toward her, honouring her even moments before His death.

Prayer 

Jesus, You never cease to surprise me with Your outpouring of love. I want to love and honour my parents and those older generations You’ve placed in my life. Show me how to love older men as fathers and older women as mothers, giving proper respect and honour to those who have lived longer than me. Help me model a humble and selfless love toward them, so that younger generations may watch and learn Your love through me. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Exo 20.12, Deu 5.16, Prov 23.22, Mt 15.1–9, 1Tim 5.1–8, Jam 1.27

The silent lamb

 The Silent Lamb

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

ISAIAH 53.7

The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus remained silent.

MATTHEW 26.62-63

as anyone ever accused you of doing something you didn’t do? If so, what did you do? If you’re like most people, you probably spoke up and defended yourself, telling everyone you were innocent. When someone says we did something wrong that we didn’t do, we want people to know the truth.

But it is interesting to see how Jesus responded when he was in this situation. Even though people were lying about what he had said and done, and even though they were ready to kill him based on those false charges, Jesus didn’t speak up to defend himself. He stayed silent.

What do we learn from the example of Jesus? Jesus shows us that we don’t always have to defend ourselves or make sure we set the record straight about what we have and haven’t done. We can be content that “God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment” (1Pet 2.19).

But more important, we learn that when we are not innocent — when we have done something wrong and feel deep shame — we don’t have to live under that burden of shame. You see, when Jesus took our sin on himself, he endured all the punishment of that sin. And shame is a part of punishment. Jesus was willing to take on our sin as well as our shame, so we don’t have to bear the blame or the shame.

Jesus rejoices in the truth

 JESUS REJOICES IN TRUTH

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

John 18.37–38a

Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

EPHESIANS 4.15

Based on JOHN 18.28–19.16

Hours before His death, Jesus engages in a lengthy conversation with an unlikely man, His executioner, Pontius Pilate. For those of us who have grown up with the Easter story, it’s tempting to lump all the events of Jesus’ trial into one big narrative. But this particular exchange deserves our attention in the context of how Jesus loved people. So let’s look a little closer.

On that last morning, Jesus stood before three judges, Caiaphas the high priest, King Herod Antipas, and Pontius Pilate.

It had been Caiaphas’s idea to kill Jesus, so He stood before him first. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence to use against Jesus, but none of the false witnesses were able to build a case against Him. The whole time, Jesus remained silent before His accusers until charged under oath to respond to one final accusation. Though Jesus acquiesced, His response was brief and dismissive (Mt 26.64).

King Herod also had an audience with Jesus that day. He had been hoping to see Jesus perform some miraculous sign, so he was pleased when Jesus was brought before him, because he was looking for an entertaining spectacle. But Jesus gave Herod no answer to his many questions, and refused to put on a show, much to the king’s exasperation.

That leaves Pilate, the man who was easy to hate. He was a Gentile by birth and ceremonially unclean, even the Jewish leaders refused to enter his palace. He had slaughtered Jews on at least five occasions, until the emperor Tiberius finally called him to Rome to answer for his brutality.

As the governor reinforcing the Roman Empire’s occupation of Judea, Pilate deserved Jesus’ hatred. As the man who failed to stand up to Jewish leaders, Pilate deserved Jesus’ scorn. As the man who would condemn Jesus to death, Pilate deserved Jesus’ condemnation.

Yet of the three men Jesus stood before that day, only Pilate received the privilege of an audience with the King of kings. Jesus’ lengthy dialogue with Pilate stands in stark contrast with His sparse responses toward the others that day. Perhaps there was something special going on in their exchange — something that deserves slowing down and pondering.

Pilate’s first question demonstrates his down-to-business attitude, “Are you the king of the Jews?” If Jesus responded yes, He would be admitting treason against Rome and His confession would be grounds for execution. But Jesus responds with a question, getting to the heart of the conversation: “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” Jesus pushes past the allegation, intuiting what Pilate himself had heard and believed about Him.

Pilate tries again: “What is it you have done?” The Jewish leaders were obviously furious with Jesus, but Jesus was still drawing Pilate into a deeper conversation. He didn’t directly answer Pilate’s question, He wasn’t defensive, even though He had every right to be. He didn’t try to prove His innocence. He could have said, “I’ve walked the countryside for the past three years, calling people to love God and love one another, healing the sick, casting out demons, and bringing peace to the broken.” He could have accused the Jewish leaders of pettiness and jealousy. He could have revealed hidden sins within the Jewish leaders to Pilate that would have led to their condemnation instead of His.

Yet Jesus remains in control of the conversation, pushing past superficialities to the heart of the matter, as He had with the Samaritan woman. Jesus keeps urging Pilate to face the truth about his own heart, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” After all, Jesus is the truth, the One who defines reality itself, and He stands accused by jealous leaders who can hardly scrape together enough lies to accuse Him.

Pilate’s reaction is telling, “What is truth?” he retorts. Somehow, this prisoner bound before the governor manages to exude calm and control, while the one who’s supposed to rule is scrambling to find a way out of the predicament. Pilate tries to reason with the Jewish leaders (“I find no basis for a charge”), he tries to barter with them (“Do you want me to release [him]?”), he tries to appease them (“Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged”), he tries to convince them (“I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him”).

Yes, Jesus was committed to go to His death, but Pilate had a choice whether he would be a part of it. So Jesus draws Pilate into conversation through His quiet and calm demeanour, patiently reorienting Pilate’s quest for truth to the greater reality of God’s sovereign power and presence. He shatters Pilate’s illusion of power, revealing that any authority he thinks he has came straight from the man he is facing. And He offers Pilate yet another clear statement of His innocence in Pilate’s wife’s troubling dream, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man” (Mt 27.19).

Jesus’ invitation is extended. Pilate’s choice is clear. But Jesus would not make his choice for him, just as in the garden of Eden, love demands free agency to choose for oneself whether to respond to love or act out of fear.

Prayer 

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psa 139.23–24).

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mk 15.5, Jn 18.28–19.16, 1Jn 4.18

Spitting in His face

 Spitting in His Face

I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.

ISAIAH 50.6

They began to spit in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists. And some slapped him.

MATTHEW 26.67

God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 4.6

It is the ultimate insult, the ultimate expression of disrespect and disgust, to spit in someone’s face. Now can you imagine the arrogance and the foolishness of someone who would actually spit in the face of God? Doesn’t the very idea make you cringe?

But that is actually what people did. They spit in Jesus’ face. This is the same face that had looked on thousands of people with compassion to heal their diseases and forgive their sins. It is the same face that was striped with tears as he looked over the city of Jerusalem, wishing he could gather the people like a mother hen gathers her chicks to love and protect them. What kind of people could look that kind of love in the face and spit at it?

Our kind of people. All people. The truth is, all of us are natural God-haters. Until the Holy Spirit reveals to us the beauty and value of Christ, our hearts are set against him. Until he makes our hearts new, our natural response is to spit in God’s face. But when he reveals himself to us and changes our hearts, rather than spitting in his face, we bow before him to worship. Instead of spitting, we start submitting. He turns our hatred into love, and he forgives us for all our hateful ways.

Betrayed with a kiss

 Betrayed with a Kiss

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

PROVERBS 27:6

Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.”

MATTHEW 26:47-48

Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

LUKE 22:47-48

There are kisses — and then there are kisses. There is the quick peck on the cheek a toddler gives to his grandma. But that is nothing like the kiss a new husband gives his bride at the altar. While kisses have different meanings, we mostly think of kisses in terms of affection or romance.

In Jesus’ time, there was another kind of kiss, a kiss of greeting. Men in that culture would kiss each other on the cheek much like we shake hands today. But Judas’s kiss was different. His was a kiss of betrayal. Judas had been Jesus’ close companion for three years. And while he walked and worked with Jesus, evidently he never truly followed Jesus. And when Judas saw that Jesus was not going to bring the political kingdom he had been counting on, he wanted out. More than that, he wanted payback for what he saw as three wasted years of poverty. So for about four months’ worth of pay, he handed Jesus over to those who wanted to kill him.

Of all the pain Jesus experienced in the crucifixion, certainly this sting of betrayal cut his heart like a knife. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if just anybody had set him up for arrest. But Judas was his trusted friend. And that place of closeness gave Judas the access to be able to wound Jesus deeply. But even at this low point in his life, Jesus showed us how to live, how to love, and how to forgive. He called Judas his friend (Mt 26:50), reaching out one more time to remind Judas of his mercy.

Lent week 7 Suggestion box

 Prepare a Passover Seder to commemorate the special meal that Jesus and His disciples ate on that last night. You can make it a simple family meal or an extravagant fellowship event.

Wash each other’s feet using a large bowl, a kitchen towel, and a pitcher of water. Read John 13.1–16 and discuss how Jesus wants us to serve one another in love.

Discuss the Last Supper while breaking bread and drinking grape juice together. Take turns reading Luke 22.7–20. You can also mould play-dough into a loaf of bread and a cup to remember the elements of communion. Place them out to dry at your Lenten station.

Consider a total or partial fast on Good Friday, from Thursday dinner until Friday dinner, to commemorate the suffering of our Lord Jesus. Use the time you’d typically spend preparing food and eating to read the crucifixion account in the gospel of your choice. Invite family members to participate as they are able and willing.

Turn off the lights from 3 p.m. on Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday morning, to symbolise the spiritual darkness that covered the earth during Jesus’ death. On resurrection morning, flip on the lights in all the house to symbolise the bright glory of Jesus’ resurrection.

The most famous person in the World

 The Most Famous Person in the World

O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

PSALM 8.1

LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

ISAIAH 26.8

The Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”

ROMANS 9.17

In this world of reality TV, American Idol, and YouTube, it seems like everyone wants to be famous. Some people are famous for what they’ve done, some are famous for who they know, and some have figured out how to be famous just for being famous.

Would you believe that God wants to be famous? That sounds kind of strange to us, because it can sound like God is selfish or arrogant, just wanting to be the centre of attention.

But God’s passion for his own fame doesn’t come from an out-of-control sense of pride, it comes from his perfection. His passion to be known and honoured and worshiped isn’t an expression of his love for himself, it’s his loving us. He knows that his glory — the beauty of all he is — is the only thing that can ever make us truly happy forever. And he wants everyone to know him and to share in his eternal happiness.

What does God most want to be famous for? His mercy — his generous forgiveness of sinners. The mercy of God is the crown of his glory. He wants to be famous for showing mercy to people like you and me who deserve punishment. He gets the glory, and we get mercy.

The Big Picture

 The Big Picture

Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth.

PSALM 117.1

The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

MATTHEW 24.14

Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

MATTHEW 28.19

Have you ever seen a mosaic picture? When you look at one closely, you see hundreds or thousands of smaller pictures or photographs. But when you step back and take in the big picture, these smaller images come together to make one main image.

When we read Jesus’ final teaching, called the great commission (Mt 28.19), we hear his instruction to make disciples of all nations, and we see in our minds all the individuals who will come to Christ. But there is a bigger picture that emerges in Revelation 5.9 of Jesus’ role in all of human history, “You were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

This is the big picture that all of history is moving toward. This is the big plan of God for the whole world  — that people from all nations and tribes and languages will come to worship God through Jesus Christ. Jesus cares for all ethnic groups and will have disciples from every nation.

We sometimes think that the purpose of the gospel is individuals finding forgiveness and gaining the hope of eternal life. And it is. But that is not all it is. Making disciples is not just about winning individuals to Christ but about making communities of believers among all people groups, all around the world.

Jesus keeps no record of wrongs

 JESUS KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS

Love … keeps no record of wrongs.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.5

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

LUKE 22.31

Based on LUKE 22.54–62

What would happen if we knew people’s offences against us before they happened? How would we treat the coworker who would steal our brilliant idea next week and present it as his own? How would we view the church member who would gossip about us next month at the prayer meeting?

Even without future-telling abilities, most of us have a list of offences once committed against us that we keep lugging around — not only reciting them mentally, but bringing them up in conversations long after the initial offence. But Scripture tells us that love keeps no record of wrongs, and Jesus beautifully models this principle in His relationship with Peter.

Peter, the oldest and boldest of the disciples, is the one we can count on to say what we’re all thinking, and often got himself in trouble by acting before thinking. But no doubt about it — he was genuinely committed to Jesus. So much so, that when Jesus tells His disciples that He’s going away and they can’t follow, Peter responds, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (Jn 13.37).

What was intended to be a declaration of loyalty and love had the opposite effect on Jesus. He who knew Peter’s innermost thoughts and who also foresaw his every action certainly discerned Peter’s sincerity. But still, Jesus was pierced to the heart. “Will you really lay down your life for me?” Hear Jesus’ hurt in these words. Really, Peter? Will you? “Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Crushing. There’s no other way to put it.

Jesus’ words to Peter would have crushed him, but the reality of Peter’s denial would have crushed Jesus too. And yet the next words out of Jesus’ mouth are intended to comfort His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (Jn 14.1). Because Peter would have been very troubled indeed.

In John’s account, Peter does not say another word until chapter 18, verse 17, when he denies being a disciple of Jesus.

Yet even with the foreknowledge of Peter’s imminent denial, Jesus washed his feet, reassured him of his union with Himself (Jn 13.10), and invited him to join Him in a prayer vigil. He even prayed specifically for Peter, that his faith would not fail (Lk 22.31–32), and at the very moment of the third denial, Jesus turned to look straight at Peter (Lk 22.61).

What had Jesus communicated in that look? Certainly not judgment or condemnation, but love. Soul-piercing, undeserved, relentless love. Because Jesus did not hold Peter’s abandonment against him. He kept no record of Peter’s wrongs, He loved him to the very end.

But what’s more, after His resurrection, Jesus offers Peter a valuable gift. Three times He asks Peter “do you love me?” not because Jesus needed to be reassured of Peter’s love, but perhaps because Peter desperately needed the opportunity to reaffirm his love for Jesus — three times, once for each denial (Jn 21).

Oh, what love! Not only does Jesus refuse to blame and shame Peter, He graciously orchestrates a conversation that would allow Peter to voice the love in his heart, a love that would burn bright to Peter’s own death on a cross, in ardent devotion to his beloved Jesus.

Prayer 

Precious Jesus, You who know all things and see all things, You know the betrayals of my own heart, how I have turned from You and denied You in my affections. Forgive me. I want to love You wholeheartedly, and, in loving You, to love others too. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Job 14.16–17, Prov 10.12, 17.9, Mt 26.34, 58, Mk 14.66–72, Lk 9.28–36, 22.56–62, Jn 18.15–18, 25–27, 21.15–22, Ac 2.38–39, 1Cor 13.5

Jesus loves His enemies

 JESUS LOVES HIS ENEMIES

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

LUKE 6.27–28

One of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

LUKE 22.50–51

Based on LUKE 22.47–53

Here is the beginning of the end. Judas walks up and kisses Jesus, betraying Him with a gesture reserved for friendly greetings. The soldiers grab hold of Him. And His disciples, in a panic, whip out their two swords ready to defend their teacher.

Not waiting to be prompted, Peter slashes the ear of the high priest’s servant. Did he intend to go for the neck? He was, after all a fisherman, unskilled with a sword.

In all likelihood, mayhem ensued. The temple guards were armed and a bloodbath could have easily followed. But in the midst of a chaotic situation with lots of people, Jesus focuses on one person who desperately needs help. One person who was probably bleeding profusely. One person — who was the enemy. Or so it seemed.

In this moment, Jesus exemplifies what it looks like to love your enemy and do good to him who hurts you. This last recorded healing demonstrates the extent of Jesus’ love. Sometimes we can see Jesus’ death on the cross for all mankind and somehow gloss over the personal nature of His sacrifice. But in this encounter, we see the personal love of Jesus for His enemies. As He was being arrested, Jesus sought to bring healing and wholeness and restoration even to those who were seeking to kill Him.

This is love. He is not self-seeking, even when we would think He had every right to be.

After all, it’s fairly easy to love our friends. Even Jesus said so,

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that… But love your enemies, do good to them… Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Lk 6.32–36)

This is the way of Jesus. This is the kind of love Jesus describes in the parable of the good Samaritan, who put his own plans on hold to care for the wounded Israelite, even though they were enemies (Lk 10.25–37).

This is the kind of love Jesus’ followers have demonstrated throughout history, praying for their persecutors, serving their tormentors, and forgiving their executioners. Some stories of courageous love have been preserved and passed down through the ages, while other acts of love are known only by our heavenly Father. Yet one generation after another has followed Jesus’ example of sacrificial love toward those who hurt them.

And now it’s our generation’s turn.

Prayer 

Precious Jesus, even while I was Your enemy, You reconciled me to Yourself through Your death. Thank You for Your perfect love, for Your perfect forgiveness, for Your perfect life that brings me life. Help me love my enemies as You have loved me.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Mt 18.21–35, 26.47–56, Mk 14.43–50, Lk 6.27–36, 22.47–53, Jn 18.10–11, Rom 5.6–11, 1Cor 10.24, 32–33, 13.5

Do you love Me?

 Do You Love Me?

If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

MATTHEW 10.37

Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God.”

JOHN 8.42

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

JOHN 21.17

If you say, “I love ice cream” or, “I love riding my bicycle,” most people will know what you mean. But what does it mean to say, “I love God”? Is it a feeling, or is it an action? Is it a choice we make or a gift we’re given?

Some people say that loving God is an action, and no emotions or feelings are required. Some say loving God is the same thing as obedience to him, since Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (Jn 14.15). But while keeping Jesus’ commandments flows out of our love for him, it is not the definition of our love for him. If we love Jesus, we will want to obey him and live the life he wants us to live. Beneath these actions will be strong feelings of awe about who Jesus is, enjoyment of his presence in our lives, gratitude for his love for us. Our love for God is not limited to an emotional feeling, but it is not empty of feeling either.

Jesus is worthy of being loved, not just through coldhearted grit-your-teeth obedience (which could be defined as hypocrisy), but by warmhearted affection and admiration. Loving God is appreciating him, treasuring him, enjoying him. It’s a reflex of the heart to all he is.

Jesus protects His own

 JESUS PROTECTS HIS OWN

Love … always protects.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.7

“If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”

JOHN 18.8

Based on JOHN 18.1–13

Having wrestled with the necessity of His atoning death, Jesus willingly submits to the Father’s will. “Your will be done,” He resolves.

After Jesus finishes praying, He goes out to meet the soldiers who had come to arrest Him. Notice that they did not have to track Him down, drag Him out of hiding, and beat Him into submission. “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord,” He explains to His disciples. “I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (Jn 10.18). And then He lovingly leverages His authority to protect His disciples. Because love always protects.

Walking up to the soldiers, Jesus shields His disciples by exposing Himself, initiating the conversation, “Who is it you want?” He asks not because He doesn’t know, but because He intends to take full responsibility — a physical manifestation of the spiritual reality that would follow in Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice on the cross.

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they reply.

“I am he,” Jesus says, and at His words the crowd draws back and falls to the ground. We have no way of knowing what caused such a response, but ironically they display more fear than the One they came to arrest. Jesus steps forward with courage and majesty, taking command of the situation. For the affirmation “I am he” doesn’t just speak to His identity — it reveals His divinity. I AM, God’s own name, in Jesus’ mouth is terrifying to the enemy yet comforting to His own.

Though Jesus identifies Himself, the guards make no move to arrest Him. So He asks them again who they want, and again they repeat His name. Jesus affirms that He’s the person they’re looking for. But are they afraid? Having experienced His earth-shattering affirmation of divinity, are they terrified to lay hands on Him?

With the command of a conqueror, Jesus dictates His terms: “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” John clarifies that Jesus said this to fulfil His promise that none of those entrusted to Him would be lost (Jn 17.12).

It was not unusual for authorities to arrest all accomplices when capturing the leader of a movement. Jesus’ disciples risked being arrested, beaten, and punished. But Jesus had been entrusted with the lives of these men, and He had every intention of protecting them, even at great cost to Himself. He willingly absorbs all the guards’ attention and negotiates the disciples’ release so they may escape unharmed.

It’s such a small detail in the grander story of Jesus’ last hours, yet such an act of love! Even after His disciples had disappointed Him, falling asleep when Jesus had asked them to stay awake and pray with Him, even when He knew that everyone would desert Him and Peter would deny Him, still Jesus exchanged His life for His followers’ freedom, like a Good Shepherd laying down His life for His sheep.

Peter, ever the impulsive one, pulls out a sword and strikes out, perhaps in an attempt to protect Jesus, not understanding that Jesus was, in fact, protecting him. Jesus sternly rebukes him, willingly walking into His arrest. No one took Him by force, He gave Himself up freely.

Prayer 

Good Shepherd, even in Your arrest You cared for Your own, and to this day You stand between me and my adversary. I’m so grateful that when the accuser comes to fling his worst against me, You stand before me and protect me. There is no situation, no matter how difficult or frightening, that can assault me without Your permission, nothing that can separate me from Your love. Thank You for being my fortress and my protector. Help me rest in You. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Isa 52.13–53.12, Jn 6.39, 10.18, 17.12

Why pay taxes?

 Why Pay Taxes?

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.

MATTHEW 22.21

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.

ROMANS 13.1

Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honour to those who are in authority.

ROMANS 13.6-7

There’s something satisfying about working hard and earning money for a job well done. But there’s something annoying about having to give some of our hard-earned money to the government in the form of taxes. Nobody enjoys paying taxes.

Sometimes we dislike paying taxes because we don’t agree with how the money is used or because we find it hard to respect those who make the decisions in the government — especially if those leaders make decisions that go against what we know is pleasing to God.

So why pay taxes? Jesus taught that we should pay everyone what we owe — if we owe taxes, we are to pay them. If we owe respect, we are to give respect. God is the one who made human governments as a way of running the world. We submit to our government and pay taxes and honour our leaders, not necessarily because they are worthy of it or because they have earned that honour, but because we want to please and obey God.

Jesus doesn’t give up

 JESUS DOESN’T GIVE UP

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

MATTHEW 26.42–44

Love … always perseveres.

1 CORINTHIANS 13.7

Based on MATTHEW 26.36–46

On the hardest night of His life, Jesus had a panic attack.

Earlier, Jesus had given the Passover meal a new meaning: it would be a remembrance of God’s miraculous deliverance — not only from the Egyptians, but also from the enemy of their souls — and it would be a herald of Jesus’ kingdom to come.

And though He knew the victory that awaited Him in the end, Jesus didn’t speed into His arrest and crucifixion like a superhero with a cape.

No. He wrestled against it. By God’s bountiful grace, He preserved for us in the Gospels this heartbreaking scene where Jesus agonises in the garden of Gethsemane, pleading with His Father to find another way. “If it is possible,” He sobs, “may this cup be taken from me.” Jesus knew full well the battle that was about to ensue. After all, He had predicted His betrayal, His rejection, and His death.

But that didn’t make it easy.

In His humanity, Jesus experienced the full spectrum of human emotions. Fear. Anxiety. Panic. Dread.

Let us be careful not to sketch a caricature of Jesus that makes Him aloft from His emotions. Because a big part of the sufferings He bore include not just the physical wounds, which were horrific, but also the emotional and social and spiritual wounds, which were dreadful.

So on this night, Jesus withdrew to His safe place and fell on His face before His Father. “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Lk 22.44). Heavy with grief, weighed down with the horror of what He knew must take place, He pleaded for an alternative. Not once, but three times.

And each time, discerning in His spirit that this was the only way forward, Jesus humbly accepted the cup of God’s wrath and committed to drink it to the dregs, “May your will be done.” As with His wilderness temptation, Jesus faced His own human frailty, and three times He revealed the mettle of His character, the truthfulness of His devotion to the Father, by choosing obedience over comfort.

His disciples, by contrast, couldn’t even stay awake. Their friend and master was enduring the darkest night of His life, and they were dozing after some good food and good wine. Yet Jesus, rather than lash out in fury and disappointment, spends His last moments as a free man praying not just for Himself, but for His fickle friends and, amazingly, for those of us who would come to believe in Him through the ages.

When Jesus would have had every right to think or pray only for Himself, Jesus pours out His emotional and spiritual energy, wrestling in prayer for those He loves, even as those very men were sleeping a few yards away and would soon abandon Him.

Prayer 

Beloved Jesus, Your love far surpasses my understanding. Thank You for never giving up on me, even when I fail You time and time again. Forgive me for becoming so easily discouraged in my love for others. Help me to persevere, to continue to love with Your perfect, unending, never-giving-up love.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Psa 88, Isa 53.3, 10, Mk 14.32–42, Jn 12.27, 17, 18.11

It’s all about me

 It’s All about Me

You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!

JOHN 5.39

Two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus. . . . Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognising him. . . .

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

LUKE 24.13, 15-16, 27

Imagine pointing to a book that doesn’t even have your name in it and saying, “It’s all about me. All of it.” It would be hard for someone else to understand how that could be true. But that’s what Jesus said.

Jesus had just risen from the dead when he started walking beside two of his followers, although they didn’t know it was Jesus. These disciples were leaving Jerusalem terribly disappointed. They had expected Jesus to start his earthly Kingdom immediately, and instead he had died on a cross. There were rumours going around that he’d risen from the dead. But these disciples just didn’t get it. They couldn’t see it. And so as he walked alongside them, Jesus started going through the Old Testament and showing them everything it said about the Messiah and how he fulfilled it perfectly. Perhaps he said something like this.

“Can’t you see that I am the promised one who was to bruise the serpent’s head, the descendant of Abraham through whom all nations were to be blessed? I am the substance of every Old Testament sacrifice commanded in the law of Moses. I am the true deliverer and King — the one all the judges and deliverers in Jewish history pointed to. I am the coming prophet greater than Moses. I am the Ark of safety from God’s judgment, the scapegoat that took on the sin of others, the bronze serpent to look upon to be saved, the Lamb that was slaughtered, the High Priest to represent you before God. On every page, it’s all about me!”

Jesus loves the unlovable

 JESUS LOVES THE UNLOVABLE

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”

LUKE 6.32

He [Judas] approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

LUKE 22.47–48

Based on JOHN 13:1–30

Because God loves justice, He must hate wickedness. But how does this square with the love of Jesus?

The writer of Proverbs lists seven things that God hates, and Judas Iscariot embodies as least four of them (Prov 6.16–19).

We don’t know many details about Judas, but as part of the Twelve, he had made a commitment to follow Jesus, he had received power and authority to preach and perform miracles, he had walked with Jesus, watched His miracles, and listened to His teachings. To onlookers, Judas was one of the chosen.

And indeed he was. Because Jesus chose to love Judas.

Even though Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would betray Him, He still invited Judas to be with Him and be part of His ministry. Jesus gave him the same opportunities as the others to choose life and obedience. Jesus protected Judas and kept him safe from harm, up to the moment Judas rejected and betrayed Him.

In John 12.1–8, we see a dark foreshadowing when Judas criticises Mary’s expensive anointing of Jesus the week before His death. He scoffs at such an outlandish offering, the little flask of perfume would have cost a year’s salary — the equivalent of £20,000 in our day. In Judas’s estimation, Jesus is not worth such a costly display of affection. In fact, Judas sells Jesus for a fraction of the cost, just four month’s wages — the redemption price for a slave.

Judas didn’t treasure Jesus. And yet, Jesus loved him.

On the last night, in the most intimate setting around the Passover meal, Jesus loved Judas to the very end. Washing the feet of His betrayer was beyond human love. It could only be divine. But it came at great cost.

Jesus was not unaffected by Judas’s intentions, “Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me’” (Jn 13.21). He declared beforehand the tragedy that would follow to reassure His disciples that He was still in control. But He was troubled.

“Who is it?” The disciples wanted to know. They were deeply troubled. Surely none of the men in their tight band of disciples would be capable of such a heinous crime.

Dipping the paschal bread, Jesus offered it to Judas, who was likely seated next to Him in a place of honour. Feeding another person bread was both an intimate act of friendship and an open display of honour. As Jesus was holding out the piece of bread, certainly Judas felt His penetrating gaze offering him one last chance to turn from his wicked plans and cling to Jesus for forgiveness and life. He had just heard Jesus’ words. He still had a choice to repent.

Yet he took hold of the bread, and in that moment, Satan entered into him.

How Jesus’ heart must have broken at Judas’s choice!

Yet He did not rebuke him, nor lash out in anger, nor seek revenge, but simply told him to leave, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” They both knew what He was talking about, though none of the others understood. And in this intimate exchange, Jesus spared Judas public humiliation, showing incredible love.

Even when Judas walked up to Jesus to betray Him with the most intimate expression of love — a kiss — Jesus called him His friend. It’s a heart-wrenching scene. “Judas,” Jesus prods, “are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Lk 22.48). Hear Jesus’ sorrow in His words. Hear His love shattered by rejection.

Would Jesus have forgiven Judas even at this point? Without a doubt. Look no further than Saul’s conversion to see that no sin is too hideous for Jesus to pardon for those who come to Him. Jesus’ perfect love extends to the unlovable, but will never force acceptance. Love that does not allow rejection is no love at all — it is dictatorial adulation. And that is not our Jesus. Though He deserves the worship of all and commands the praise of angels, He invites us to respond in love of our own free will.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, Oh, how great is Your love! That while I was unlovable, Your love sought me still. Thank You that You love me not because of my devotion to You, but apart from my response to You. Help me love those hard to love in my life with the love You Yourself have shown me. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you want to read more 

Exo 21.32, Psa 41.9, 89.14, Prov 6.16–19, Mt 26.48–50, Lk 22.1–7, 17.12–19, Rom 5.10

The Cup

 The Cup

The LORD holds a cup in his hand that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours out the wine in judgment, and all the wicked must drink it, draining it to the dregs.

PSALM 75.8

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

MATTHEW 26.39

I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me.

PSALM 116.13

Have you ever poured yourself a glass of milk and started to drink it only to discover that it is sour? It tastes so awful you have to spit it out. No one wants to drink a cup of sour milk. Now imagine a cup that is filled not with sour milk but with the white-hot, punishing anger of God against sin. Imagine the fury of God against everything evil put into liquid form and poured in a cup. Then imagine being asked to drink it.

That is what Jesus faced when he was in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before he was crucified. He didn’t want to drink it. So he cried out to God three times, asking God to take the cup away, if possible. It wasn’t primarily the physical pain of crucifixion that Jesus wanted to avoid. It was a much more significant suffering — the agony of drinking the cup of God’s judgment and experiencing the break in relationship with his Father that would come from drinking that cup.

But drink it he did — every last drop — so that we won’t have to drink it. In fact, because he drank the cup of wrath, we are handed another cup to drink from, filled not with judgment but with salvation. This cup can never be emptied. It is always full and overflowing.

Which cup will you drink from — the cup of God’s judgment or the cup of salvation?

The King’s Arrival

 The King’s Arrival

The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.

LUKE 19.11

A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

JOHN 12.12-15

Sometimes when we’re waiting for something special, we begin to picture in our minds what it will be like. But sometimes when we finally get what we’ve been waiting for, it’s different from what we’d expected.

The Jewish people had been waiting a long, long time for the Messiah. They knew from the prophets that the Messiah would be the king of Israel and that Jerusalem would be his capital city, where he’d rule the world in peace and righteousness. And they were right. What they didn’t understand was that the victory Jesus would win over sin and Satan and death would be won by his own suffering and death. And the Kingdom they thought would be established immediately would, in fact, take thousands of years before being fulfilled completely.

Many of the people in Jesus’ day were disappointed that Jesus was not the kind of king they were looking for. But he is the King. And in time his Kingdom will bring peace to all nations. In fact, another “Palm Sunday” is coming when “a vast crowd” will be “clothed in white robes” with “palm branches in their hands” before the throne of God (Rev 7.9). And we will be part of it — welcoming and worshiping King Jesus.

Lent week 6 Suggestion box

 Lent week 6 suggestion box

Bake morning glory muffins and deliver them to neighbours with handmade tags that say “Joy comes in the morning” (Psa 30.5 ESV). 

Make clay tablets to represent the Ten Commandments. Roll out play-dough and cut shapes to resemble two tablets. Carve Roman numerals I–V on the first tablet and VI–X on the second, and leave out to dry. Read Deuteronomy 5.1–22 and discuss how the commandments show we are sinners deserving punishment, but Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law, took our punishment on the cross, and gave us His righteousness instead to bring us in a right relationship with God.

Spritz your favourite perfume or rub essential oil on each other’s feet and read Mark 14.3–9, discussing Mary’s costly display of love toward Jesus. Discuss what is a costly way you may show your love for Jesus this week.

Host a night of praise and worship, inviting friends, family, and neighbours to join you. Make enough copies of well-known song lyrics and invite your guests to bring musical instruments. Or, if you want to keep things simple, create a playlist and stream songs through a speaker. Consider setting aside time for prayer, as well as a time of communion.

Craft a hosanna banner by writing the word on a white handkerchief and tying it to a simple branch from your backyard. Read the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in John 12.12–13 and discuss how the word hosanna is a joyful cry of hope meaning “save us!” Hang your banner in a prominent place, or place it in a vase with plenty of greenery and allow it to prompt you to praise Jesus for being our Saviour.

Walking toward Jerusalem

 Walking toward Jerusalem

Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”

LUKE 18.31-33

Should I pray, “Father, save me from this hour”? But this is the very reason I came!

JOHN 12.27

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us.

EPHESIANS 5.2

If you knew that certain suffering and death was at the end of the road you were traveling on, would you keep going down that road? Most of us would turn around and go the opposite direction as fast as possible. But not Jesus.

As Jesus traveled the road that led him into Jerusalem, he knew exactly what was waiting for him there. He told his disciples that he would be handed over to the Romans, made fun of, spit on, whipped, and killed. But Luke 9.51 says that instead of turning and going the other direction to escape what was ahead for him, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

Jesus was not a victim who was caught by surprise by cruel people out to get him. He walked into the death trap laid for him fully aware of what was ahead. Jesus offered himself willingly as a sacrifice for sin. “No one can take my life from me,” said Jesus. “I sacrifice it voluntarily” (Jn 10.18). Jesus’ death was planned long before he was born in Bethlehem, so his death was not the failure of his plan, but the fulfilment of it.