Passion Week

Passion Week Preparation: This week coming up is the week of all weeks... the week that changed the destiny of all mankind. It is the week of our Lords Passion; as He looks toward His final, most important purpose in coming to this earth. He came to suffer and die as an innocent man, at the hands of sinful men. In paying the penalty of the sin of every human being to ever live; He made a way for all who believe in Him, to once again come to God. God created people to be close to Him, to walk with Him every day and talk to Him, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden. But, when they sinned they were separated from God. Tragically, all their descendants were also separated from God. That is us humans here thousands of years later. You see that when Jesus came, He was like a second Adam, to give people a whole new fresh start. He came to restore our connection with God through faith in Him and the sacrifice He made for us. As sinners we all deserve to die and be punished for our sins. He paid the price so when we turn to Him, repent of our sins we are forgiven, our innocence is restored and we can walk with Him again, in through the Holy Spirit.

I am putting up these three posts together on Sunday April 6, 2025 in an abbreviated form to inspire you to really dive in to the more in depth posts continuing through following next week; you will be ready to continue.

You can share in His Passion, share His heart by reading in one or all of the gospels towards the end of each one. You will find the various perspectives of the gospel writers versions. I have a page on the relevant scriptures.

You can also follow along with the first three short posts below. Then you can engage in the in depth posts, Saturday through the following Sunday.

Palm Sunday

Sunday Readings: John 12: 12- 15,  Matthew 21:5, Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:28-44, Revelation 19:11-16

James Tissot

Today is Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus made His Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The whole city was buzzing with excitement. They were in a festive mood with the approach of Passover. In the excitement there was talk of the miracle man, Jesus of Nazareth. He had recently raised a man, His friend Lazarus from the dead!!! Lazarus was from Bethany, a village not far from Jerusalem. It is likely that many knew him and  his family. News of this miracle spread among the people in Jerusalem and those who came afar to attend the Feast. The crowds must have wondered... "will Jesus come into Jerusalem, that we may see Him who raised a man from the dead? Will we see Lazarus, who was once dead and now is alive? Then we can see for ourselves if this is really true. Perhaps He is Messiah, the One Israel has waited for so long. Perhaps He is to be revealed in our time." Lets join Matthew as he tells us about this day:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
'Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey...'"
Matt. 21:5 NKJ

Jesus Clears the Temple 

Monday: Matthew 21:12-17, 

This occurred after His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem on either Sunday or Monday:

Merchants Chased from the Temple- James Tissot

 "Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. he knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, "The Scriptures declare, 

"My Temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" Matthew 21:12, 13 NLT

By What Authority?

Tuesday: Matt. 21:14-16, 23-46
The next day, after Jesus cleansed the temple He returned:

"Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, 

"By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" 

Matthew 21:23 NKJ

He insulted them the day before by turning over far more than just their tables. What gave Him the right to interfere with their temple business like that? Who is this man, that He should insult them and their religion? Going deeper, look back to immediately after He cleansed the temple. "Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." Right there in front of them He healed many people. When was the last time one of them had miraculously healed someone? Jesus demonstrated an authority and authenticity they did not have.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Tuesday: Matthew 21:28-46

When Jesus came into the temple the day after He drove out the money changers, the chief priest and elders question Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" 21:23 Jesus answered them with a question that ultimately would cut to the heart of their own salvation. Let's see how this plays out:

"I will tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question. 

Did John's authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?"

They discussed his question and reasoned that "'If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn't believe John. But if we say it was merely human, we'll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.' So they finally replied, 'We don't know.' And Jesus responded, 'Then I won't tell you by what authority I do these things.'" 21: 24-26

Then Jesus tells them the Parable of the Two Sons. Would they see themselves in this word picture?
What is a parable? Why does Jesus tell them? We will answer these questions.

 

The True Vine
 

Wednesday Reading: John 15:1- 13

Tomorrow, Thursday night of Passion Week, the disciples celebrated the Feast of the Passover Meal. This was the last night that Jesus would spend with His disciples before His death on the cross. All of His words in the New Testament are truth and powerful for us as believers. But I do believe there is a special significance in what he said to them that night. "Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world." He told His disciples "'Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer.'" John 13:1, 33 NLT

The book of John records this Last Supper that Jesus spent with His disciples in chapters 13-17. The following is a portion that particularly speaks to my heart. I hope you will enjoy it. 

More to come soon.