Reflections for Holy Week

A few devotional reflections for Holy Week ...

Matthew 27:27-31 Jesus is Mocked

The heading in my Bible for this reading is, “Jesus is Mocked.” Think about that for a moment: Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the co-creator of the universe, is mocked. The one person who should have received all honor and glory and worship was mocked. He was mocked by the very sinners he came to save.

Jesus is silent as they put that ghastly robe on him, making him look like a clumsy and comical king. Then there is that crown. A crown is supposed to be a symbol of authority and dignity, but this twisted crown of thorns put on his head by twisted men is meant to demean its wearer and add injury to insult. They give him a reed in place of a royal scepter and then take that symbol of authority from him and hit him with it and spit upon him.

You cannot miss irony here. This Jesus, before whom every knee will one day bow (Philippians 2:10), took their insults quietly. The soldiers simply did not know that they were insulting a real king - the ultimate king, and that one day at his second coming they would be running for cover. 

The ridicule of Christ continues today. From a celebrity mocking him at an awards show, to scholars denying his Lordship and deity, to regular people who hear of him and reject him as Lord of their lives, the ridicule continues. But one day, at this return, we all will bow before him, right next to those Roman soldiers, and we all will acknowledge him as Lord of all. The only question is this: will that be a day of rejoicing for you and me, or a day of fear and judgment?

Matthew 27:32-44 Jesus is Crucified

For crimes he did not commit he was crucified. For crimes we did commit and will commit he was crucified.

Jesus had explained all along to his disciples that he would die in Jerusalem. And now it happens. Hung between two real criminals, the sinless son of God bore our sin. No one but God understood what was really happening, that the cross was an altar, and upon it was the perfect sacrifice, so perfect that never again would sacrifices need to be offered.

Hung naked on the cross, Jesus was mocked more, and that lie about him destroying the temple was told again. “You who would destroy the temple and rebuilt it in three days, save yourself!” O, make no mistake, he could have easily hopped off that cross and smote the mockers, but he had a mission to complete. He had to pay for our sin, and that required him to pass through shame, suffering, and death itself. And he did it for you and me.

Matthew 27:45-56 Jesus Dies

God sent darkness over the land to herald Jesus’ death. As the physical life of the Light of the World was about to be snuffed out, God made nature itself acknowledge the moment. Happy sunshine was beyond inappropriate.

And Jesus, feeling not only the physical pain of crucifixion, but also the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulders, identified with the words of the Psalmist from Psalm 22, a memory verse from his youth: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some thought he was calling for Elijah, but no, he was just crying out in pain and isolation. The weight of our sin was crushing him. And then, when the time was right, he voluntarily gave up his spirit and died. Salvation had been purchased for everyone who would believe.

And just like God marked the event with darkness, so God also marked the moment of Jesus’ death by tearing the temple curtain in two. That curtain had separated the common man from the most sacred part of the temple. But Jesus’ sacrifice had removed the barrier between the holy God and sinful man. The old rituals were now obsolete. A clear path between God and man had been opened by the cross. And then, another sign - dead saints came out of their graves! And it was then, and only then, that the Roman centurion standing there had his eyes opened. “Truly this was the Son of God!” Amen.

 

Matthew 27:57-66  Jesus is Buried

                        The God Factor
                                 by

                   Jennifer L. Veldman

 

Alone

quiet

empty

utterly still.

 

After the chanting of crowds

the pleading of the sick

the constant throng of worshipers

it has come to this.

 

The magnificent God incarnate

shrouded

silent

cold in the grave.

 

The most blessed Son of the Most High

humiliated

broken

dead in a borrowed tomb.

 

How could He fall so tragically?

End of show

over

done for.

 

God Himself defeated by death

profound failure

hopeless

sin victorious.

 

Humanly speaking, all is lost

doomed to damnation

dead as Christ Himself.

 

But God is not human.

 

This is just the intake of breath

the stunned expectant interlude

before God performs His greatest act.

His most impossible triumph.

 

Impossible and even lamentable

to consider that God Almighty

would stoop to humanity’s lowest low

and evermore remain our happy sorrow.