This year I was reflecting on Resoluteness of Jesus from Palm Sunday right through to the Resurrection Sunday. Somethings that came to mind as I read the Scriptures: It was amazing to see "Jesus in full control of himself" as one pastor put it. No one forced him and he did not feel like a victim, He willingly gave his life and was obedient till death on a cross! ( a very shameful death) Only after Lord Jesus was crucified that Cross got a lot of reverence and holiness attached to it. Jesus takes what is shameful and makes it sacred. Do not be afraid to come to Jesus as you are. As you come, Jesus cleanses you and makes you holy.
I also saw that there were different scenes of his anointing before death! One was 6 days before in the home of Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus as per John 12: "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."
The second dinner was given 2 days before Passover in the home of Simon the Leper, and this is done by an unknown woman and what she had done will be told in her memory wherever the gospel will be preached. Both Mathew 26: and Mark 14th chapter narrate the story of the unknown woman! Mathew 26: 6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
So many people make mistakes on these two anointing and also on the ladies who anointed. Let us read and be sure what we present.
It was interesting to note that these two women gave their most expensive possessions, and how it is contrasted by John that Judas Iscariot took what was put into the bag. He took what was not his and he betrayed for mere 30 pieces of silver, while these women gave the best they could!
Even when Judas Iscariot is mentioning the poor, he has misplaced humanistic values, he did not really care for the poor; and you can also see that his remorse too was not deep enough to go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. His remorse was more of a self pity; it did not drive him to the foot of the cross, it led him to a rope to hang himself. The Bible says, Godly sorrows bring repentance; it brings life. Sadly Judas did not have that kind of remorse.
It was interesting to note that these two women gave their most expensive possessions, and how it is contrasted by John that Judas Iscariot took what was put into the bag. He took what was not his and he betrayed for mere 30 pieces of silver, while these women gave the best they could!
Even when Judas Iscariot is mentioning the poor, he has misplaced humanistic values, he did not really care for the poor; and you can also see that his remorse too was not deep enough to go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. His remorse was more of a self pity; it did not drive him to the foot of the cross, it led him to a rope to hang himself. The Bible says, Godly sorrows bring repentance; it brings life. Sadly Judas did not have that kind of remorse.
I also noted that next day after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple and cleared it. And for few days he preached so empowering messages. We can ask the Lord to cleanse us as we are the living temples of the Holy God. Like Jesus told Peter, he who has had a bath does not need to shower again but only clean his hands and feet. Spiritually speaking we need to do daily cleansing as well. Many things compete with the number one position of our Lord and we must be the living sacrifices, not dead but living sacrifices as Apostle Paul reminds us.
It is with deep concern that we note,next day he commanded the fig tree that did not give him fruit when he needed, to never bear fruit and it withered. We need to be ever ready for the Lord to use us when He needs us. We cannot only have the outward show and not real fruit!
It is with deep concern that we note,next day he commanded the fig tree that did not give him fruit when he needed, to never bear fruit and it withered. We need to be ever ready for the Lord to use us when He needs us. We cannot only have the outward show and not real fruit!
The feast of unleavened bread: The unleavened bread is supposed to be the pure, holy body of our Lord Jesus, a lamb without blemish that He sacrificed for us. The bitter herbs are the remembrance of the bondage of slavery in Egypt for Israelite people but also spiritually speaking, for us its a bondage of sin that Jesus gets us out of. The wine is his blood poured out for us. The fine wine is made out of crushed grapes. His life was 'a broken bread and a poured out wine'(as E Stanley Jones and Mrs C Cowman rightly puts it).
I think in physical terms the Resurrection meals that would be great to remember these events would be more of a fish, lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine, or to add to it, bean sprouts, (as Jesus said, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground, it cannot produce, but if it dies, it produces a harvest.) I do not see 'easter eggs, or easter bunnies. These do not seem to be Biblical and we must be careful what we associate Resurrection with.This day is not about easter - the goddess of fertility, nor about bunnies, nor about eggs,) it is about Lord Jesus rising from the dead and showing there is life and hope beyond earth!! Pascha is more fitting as a Passover. Jesus is our Passover lamb in spiritual terms. Fish in the meal is to remember Jesus saying about Jonah: as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights, the Son of man be too.
From Thursday morning through out the night when he was arrested, then trial after trial, mocked, beaten, insulted, abused, and then into the Friday morning without any rest:
Friday morning: Jesus was crucified at 9 A M in the morning, at 12 noon the darkness fell over all the earth and at 3 pm he gave up the spirit declaring "IT IS FINISHED". The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs were open (as Mathew reports). So we see even the sun refused to shine. Jesus hung on a cross for 6 hours and suffered shame and agony. After he died, Joseph a righteous man and a member of the council and Nicodemus asked Pilate for Jesus' body and embalmed it and put it in a new tomb in which no one had been buried.
Next day was the Sabbath. Things are quiet somehow in general but the Pharisees did not seem to be at peace though. Early in the morning they went to Pilate and asked for assistance to make the grave of Jesus secure. (Mathew 27:62) on a Sabbath!!! but on the flip side, I thought about the Genesis 1, the creation week; after completing his creation, God rested on the seventh day from all his work.
And then the Resurrection!!!!! Resurrection day changes the gloominess and gives us time to rejoice over the victory; Early morning on the day after Sabbath, when the women went to the tomb there was another earthquake.(Mathew 28) Jesus rose from dead. The empty tomb has no bones!!! Because He lives, we can too IF we believe in Him. He gives us a hope to look forward to.
And now on that hope - now and beyond now! I love the way Apostle Paul says that "as Christians if we have hope for only this life then we are to be pitied of all men." Thank God, Resurrection gives us hope beyond this life.
So dear reader, as I said it on my Facebook, I say it here, whoever you are, a nominal christian, Hindu, Muslim, atheist, Buddhist, Jain, agnostic, or Sikh, by definition of being a human being, you are a sinner under God's judgment and the only payment you can make to reconcile to GOD is the pure Blood of Jesus!!! take advantage of this offer in the grace period, admit that you are a sinner and need JESUS, believe in His death and sacrifice and be born again and HE will give you the power to live holy life. He took the gruesome, cruel, brutal punishment for you and me!!!! His back was shredded, so we can be healed, He was like a sheep before the shearers so we can be confident, His holy and pure blood pouring down like rain that we might be cleansed and He died so we might be born again and live eternally!!!
Because Jesus lives,
©Kalpana Christian Sharma (Mrs. )- KC
Scripture references are taken from NIV.
Scripture references are taken from NIV.
