Tag Archives: Holy Week

Hope in Humility

29 Mar

Guest Post

Rebekah Lyn

Reblogged from Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen

Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday, and today is the start of Holy Week. Only a few days passed before the same people who sang “Hosanna in the highest!” changed their cries to “Crucify Him!” What a difference! Yet, if we look at Jesus himself, He didn’t stop loving those around Him. He didn’t stop teaching and healing. With His disciples, He spoke plainly of His impending death and resurrection, yet even then they didn’t understand.

One notable difference, though, came in His response to the vendors and money changers in the Temple. They’d been there every other time Jesus had visited, but this time he turned over their tables and called them out for the conniving robbers they were. This wasn’t the first time Jesus had seen these vendors in the Temple courts, yet this time He rebuked them. Mark 11:18 says, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.”

As I thought about this post, pondering why this visit to the Temple was different, I realized this act of condemning those profiting off the tradition of blood sacrifice, the same tradition God Himself first began by slaying animals to provide coverings for Adam and Eve after they first sinned, foreshadowed the events to come.

The religious leaders, up to this point, have been skeptical. They’ve attempted to trip Jesus up in His teaching, and I’m sure there were some looking for ways to get rid of Him long before this event in the Temple. Despite the parables Jesus spoke in, I have a feeling they recognized when Jesus was referring to them negatively. Some may have felt shame and conviction, but most felt their power threatened.

Finally, on the first day of Passover, Jesus dined alone with His disciples. The meal had already started and yet Jesus stood up, wrapped a towel around His waist, and began to wash the feet of the disciples. This was an act performed whenever someone entered a home. If the owner was wealthy, a servant would perform this task. As you can imagine, feet got pretty dirty walking along dusty roads, dodging piles of animal droppings.

Jesus doing this for His disciples is a beautiful picture of love. One that particularly resonates with me because, as a child, I loved washing my grandmother’s feet, cutting her toenails, and bandaging her corns. I didn’t recognize the symbolism of it then, but as I’ve grown deeper in my relationship with Christ, I can imagine the compassion He felt for those men who had followed Him for three years. He had forged deep relationships with them and loved them deeply. He had created them, yet He humbled himself to serve them in a personal way. He even washed the feet of Judas, knowing this man would betray Him within hours.

Jesus chose to be born of humble parents, in the lowest circumstances, the polar opposite of what He deserved as the Almighty King. Through his three years of ministry, those closest to Him were of the working class and looked down upon by many. He walked from place to place rather than riding in an expensive carriage or on the shoulders of slaves. Despite all this, thousands flocked to listen to Him, to understand His message, and to receive His healing.

It was this humbleness, though, that kept many from believing, including the religious leaders who should have known the prophecies about the coming Messiah. With their knowledge of the Torah, they either failed to see or failed to accept that Jesus fulfilled every one of those prophecies.

If you aren’t a follower of Christ, spend time this week considering your life. Are you willing to accept this is the best you will have? When you die, you will not cease to exist, but spend an eternity in darkness and fire. All it takes to change that outcome is a change of heart, a shift in perspective that allows you to see Jesus for the conqueror He was. He entered the Earth humbly, but He lived blameless, the only perfect life. Yet He gave up His life willingly as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. Not only did He die for us, He rose again in victory. Come back next week for more of that story.

Don’t forget to check out the resources page I am developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.

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Holy Week 2024

24 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Today is Palm Sunday 2024…the beginning of what most Christians call “Holy Week.” 

Credit ChurchArt

This is the week that led up to the death and burial of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  There is something nearly every day this week that symbolizes what our Lord went through during the last week of His earthly life.

It all culminates on Friday, when Jesus hung, nailed to a cross for hours until He gave up His life – for you and me.  And be aware…He GAVE UP his life – it was not taken from Him.  And it was my sins – and yours – that nailed Him to that cross.  The entire plan of God’s salvation for mankind was completed when Jesus said “It is finished,” breathed His last, and gave up His spirit.  Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much that you would do that for me.  

In testimony in previous years, I have made the statement that, I firmly believe that if I were the only person to ever have lived on this planet, that Jesus would still have died in my place!  There would still be sin and Satan, and I’m sure that I would have dived in with both feet into that sin!  God made a way for me – and all mankind – to escape His terrible wrath of unbelief, and share in Heaven with Him for all eternity.  Thank You Lord!

But all that took a sacrifice.  God directed the ancient Jewish nation in blood sacrifices to ask God’s forgiveness for their sins, and bless them.  Jesus became that sacrifice for us – once and for all.  He didn’t have to die again and again, each time we sinned.  He took care of it on that cross.

There is a cartoon by Johnny Hart called B. C. that I have enjoyed through the years.  But one of the ones I enjoy the most is about Good Friday.  What do you think?

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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