Holy Week
Our celebration of Holy Week is no Passion play where we re-enact the events of Jesus’ death. This week is designed to help us contemplate the many themes of our salvation. As we contemplate Christ’s suffering and death, we are confronted with the reason for His death—our own sinfulness. We need to see in His suffering how great is our violation of God’s holy laws. Sin is lawlessness, a missing the mark, a stepping over the line, filthiness and corruption of body and soul. Sin is punished by death.
Second, Jesus’ death shows us how much God loves us. Jesus is our Good Shepherd who gave His life for those who loved to wander. Jesus became our substitute so that God gave Him the sins of all people so that His suffering and death could pay the punishment we deserved. As both God and man, Jesus was able to suffer in our place and His suffering had merit because He is God, who died for all (1 John 2:2).
Third, during Holy Week we also see how the devil moved many people to sin against Jesus. Judas betrayed Him, the rest of the disciples deserted Him, and Peter denied Him. The members of the Sanhedrin condemned Him to death and pressured Pontius Pilate to crucify Him. The soldiers mistreated Jesus, mocked Him, and then nailed Him to the cross. We recount these evil deeds not to condemn people long dead, but to consider whether or not we also have done the same to Jesus as we deal with temptations and doubt.
Fourth, during Holy Week Jesus taught many things to the people (Matthew 21, 23), to His enemies (Matthew 22), and to His disciples (Matthew 24-25; John 13-17). His parables about God’s Kingdom of Grace, His warnings about unbelief, and His teaching about the Holy Spirit and the Last Days are important lessons for us to study as we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and Easter.
May the Holy Spirit bless us in our preparations during Lent and in our meditation of the salvation Jesus won for all people.