Sunday, April 22, 2012 am
THE LIFE OF JESUS (23)
Beginning of the Week that Changed History
Last year we studied the beginning and early life of Jesus (birth,
childhood, purpose for coming, etc.), the beginning of His ministry (His
baptism, temptation, choosing His apostles, etc.) and the work He
engaged in as he taught and worked for some 3 years (including His
teachings, miracles, claims, and those He dealt with – His disciples,
enemies, etc.).
With this lesson we begin the concluding portion of our study of His life. We will deal with what is called the “Passion week” or “Holy Week”, the week that culminated in His death on the cross for our sins. In this section we are going to examine events and lessons associated with:
·
His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem
·
Early events and
teaching including the cleansing of the temple (again) and the cursing
of a fig tree.
·
Some of the teachings He
engaged in during this week – about judgment & accountability,
authority, answering questions, etc.
·
The institution of the
Lord’s Supper (and the Passover feast)
·
His betrayal and arrest
in the Garden of Gethsemane
·
His trials and
condemnation
·
The crucifixion of Jesus
– both what happened AND why it happened
·
His resurrection and its
significance to us
·
His ascension back to
heaven and his coming return
a.
I call this the week
that changed history. It
could be called, the week at the center of history or some other
description. I call it the
week that changed history because the events that occurred that week
CHANGED the direction of the hope of the world.
Up to that point, man was without hope (Eph. 2:12).
As a result of what Jesus did that week, man now has hope.
The Gentiles have hope!
The Jews have hope!
We ALL have hope of salvation.
REAL HOPE in a REAL PLAN with REAL RESULTS!
From a spiritual standpoint of faith in Jesus, we look BACK to
this week with hope!
b.
“Passion Week.”
We sometimes hear this week
described as “Passion Week” or “Holy Week.”
Why is it called “Passion Week”?
i.
The term “passion” is
from the Latin word for “suffering”.
Certainly, this week was of great stress and suffering for our
Lord Jesus. (This will be
borne out in our study) But
it was also a week of great and intense emotion for Jesus and His
disciples, filled with what we might call “passion.”
With passion Jesus willingly went to the cross.
ii.
This is not Biblical
language, but a term given centuries later to describe the week that
would lead to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
It began on Sunday (Palm Sunday, the 5th Sunday of
Lent) when Jesus entered the city with triumphant fanfare.
The term is associated with annual observances that culminate in
the celebration of Easter, a Catholic holiday that coincides with the
resurrection of Jesus. It is
a term recognized by Catholicism (though the origin of the term is
difficult to find) and the denominational world with the various special
services conducted during that time frame (e.g. Palm Sunday, Friday mass
or other special services that day, and sunrise services on Easter
Sunday).
iii.
Such services are not
authorized by scripture, even though we DO recognize the significance of
these events and memorialize His death EACH first day of the week by
partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
We will see more on this as our study of this week of culmination
in the life of Jesus develops.
c.
A substantial portion of
the gospels is devoted to the events of this one week and in hindsight
we certainly understand why.
Not counting the resurrection:
Matthew records the
events from Matthew 21-27 (6 of 28 chapters)
Mark records the events
in Mark 11-15 (5 of 16 chapters)
Luke records the events
from Luke 19:28-23:55 (5 of 24 chapters)
John records the events
from John 12-19 (8 of 24 chapters)
II.
The Triumphant entry
a.
Matt. 21:1-11 – a story
with bizarre events. This
event is one of the few recorded in all 4 gospels.
And from the combination we learn a number of details about this.
From Bethpage (and Bethany – a nearby village), His disciples instructed
to go into a village where they would find a donkey and her colt tied
up. They were to loose them
and bring them to Jesus. He
anticipated that someone would ask what they were doing to which they
were to respond, “The Lord has need of them”.
Mark 11:3 ads to this, “and immediately he will send it here” a phrase that indicated it
would be returned.
(Whether this event was the working of God or not we don’t know – it
could be that Jesus has made arrangements with a friend and that such
was a declaration of the time for people to prepare for His triumphal
entry). The disciples enter
the city and get the animals.
Mark 11:5-6 records that someone did ask what they were doing.
They bring the donkey and colt to Jesus.
Then Jesus mounts the colt and enters the city of Jerusalem.
ON the way, as Jesus enters, a large multitude gathered and lined
the route to Jerusalem. They
threw their garments and palm branches before Him (hence the use of the
name “Palm Sunday”).
John records that part of the crowd was there because of the raising of
Lazarus (cf. John 11, 12:9-11, esp. 17-18).
The crowds are excited and cried out, “Hosana
to the Son of David! Blessed
is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosana in the Highest.”
(cf. Psa. 118:26)
Matthew (and John) tells us this event was prophesied (Zechariah 9:9)
indicating that their King would enter the city, on a humble donkey.
With fanfare, but NOT the fanfare of a Roman dignitary.
Luke ads, (Lk. 19:39-40) as a result of the loud cheering as Jesus
approaches the city from the descent of the Mount of Olives, that the
Pharisees called to Jesus and told Him to rebuke His disciples.
But Jesus instead responds, “I
tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately
cry out.”
Luke 19:41-43 then records that as Jesus approached Jerusalem He wept
over the city and prophesied of its destruction.
This was one of 3 occasions when we read of Jesus weeping (death
of Lazarus – Jn. 11:35; In the Garden – Heb. 5:7, cf. Matt. 26:36-38;
and our text).
John concludes this event by noting the negative response of the leaders
as the people followed Jesus.
We read, “The Pharisees
therefore said among themselves, ‘You see that you are accomplishing
nothing. Look, the world has
gone after Him.’” (John 12:19)
It was this response that prompted them to take action that very week
instead of waiting for a more quiet time.
b.
Jesus declared King
– on this occasion we find Jesus is at the height of His popularity.
Bear in mind that the people have been greatly anticipating their
King (and Messiah). They
have seen all that Jesus has done and even tried to make Him king before
(cf. John 6:15).
The nature of His kingdom - we know that the people misunderstood
how Jesus was to be King as they anticipated a worldly dominion.
But that was NOT the nature of His kingdom – John 18:36, Luke
17:21 – “the kingdom of God is within you.”
He IS a King, but not by worldly standards and the events of this
week would be necessary for Him to be exalted into His kingdom.
Now with great passion and
excitement the masses are ready to crown Him, in spite of what the
religious leaders thought or said.
What is ironic is that in
just a few days, the crowds (whether it is the same crowd or not we
cannot say) with the same amount of passion will demand His execution.
c.
NOTE: Do
not forget that on this occasion, Jesus is in control.
He has chosen the time and place and circumstances for His
“coronation”.
d.
Lesson: Are we willing
to make Him King in our lives?
i.
We know that Jesus IS
King – 1 Tim. 1:17, Rev. 19:16, Matt. 21:5, etc.
And He must REIGN in our lives.
Will we let Him?
ii.
When we obey the gospel,
with “great fanfare” we are willing to become His subjects (cf. Rom. 6).
What this means that is that He is to rule in our lives.
It is my hope that when we did obey the gospel that excitement
was there.
iii.
But here is the thought:
Is He STILL your king? As I see the triumphal entry of
Jesus into Jerusalem I cannot help but recall how short lived it was.
Within just a few days the people turned against Him.
In our lives:
1.
Is that excitement for
serving Him that was there at the beginning still there? (cf. Rev. 2:4).
Have we left our first love?
Is our zeal still kindled (Titus 2:14, Gal. 4:18)
2.
What about when serving
Him involves a cost? What if serving Him means we will face
persecutions? What if we
have to give up some of our worldly possessions and passions? What if
the excitement has worn off?
Will we STILL serve Him? Will we make Him King on His terms?
John 6:66 records an occasion, after Jesus taught “hard” and “offensive”
sayings, “From that time many of
His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”
Sadly, there are many today who, like the stony ground in the parable of
the sower will fall away at the first sign of trouble (cf. Matt.
13:20-21).
iv.
IF Jesus is our King, it
must be so at all times.