Holy Week is an important reminder of the work of salvation undertaken for each and all of us by and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Week is about much more than just a chronological account in the week leading up to the arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, it is about who Jesus is and the salvation that Jesus has brought to each and all who will but freely receive it.
Holy Week is noted for the observance of three important events, these three observances are called are called collectively by some more liturgical Christians as the Triduum which is Pronounced TRID-oo-um, meaning the three days. Holy or Maunday (meaning mandate) Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.
The First day of the Triduum:
Holy Thursday
As Jesus gathered with his disciples in the upper
room to eat what many call "the Last Supper" . The
reference to this gathering as the "Last supper" is
generally understood as being Jesus' last supper before this death, but
there may be more for us to understand than just a final gathering before Jesus
was to face the cross.
Jesus told his disciples that it was very
important to him personally to gather with them to share in this highly
symbolic and meaningful "Passover" meal. Jesus describes it as
a "desire" to eat with them.
"And he said to them, With desire I
have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:"Lk:22:15
This supper was held the evening before the
Jews would typically be gathering to share in the Old Covenant Passover which
commemorated Israel's liberation from Egyptian slavery, when the "Passover
Lamb's" blood was smeared upon the door posts of the houses of the
Israelite slaves preserving their lives from the death angel as it passed
through out Egypt taking the lives of the Firstborns in the land.(Exodus:11-12)
The Lord's Supper
Jesus however, during his supper with his Disciples refocuses
the whole meaning. Jesus introduces a new meaning to the gathering. There
is now a transposition, it has become simpler, yet much more profound and
when properly understood this is the moment when Jesus transposed the entire
liturgical calendar from an Israel based calendar focused upon the events in
the nation of Israel's , to a calendar which is focused upon himself.
This Old Covenant observance is redefined, not
through Israel's history, but through Jesus himself. The symbols are now
not a "Passover Lamb" which Israel ate, but now speak to us regarding
Jesus himself represented by the Bread and Wine symbolic of
his life and death that we might experience forgiveness of sin, and the
introduction of a whole New Covenant offered to us all if we will but freely
receive it.
It is simultaneously the Last Supper of the
Old Covenant and the First Supper of the New Covenant.
"While they were eating, Jesus took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples,
saying, “Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took a cup, and when he had
given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins". Matt: 26:26-28
That Passover was The Last Supper of the
Old Covenant and simultaneously the First Supper of the New Covenant.
Jesus Gave Thanks
When we see the new elevated meaning of
the "the Lord's Supper" which speaks of his very
death to accomplish the forgiveness and atonement for humanity, we notice
that Jesus gives thanks as he introduces the new symbols
or Bread and Wine representing his own body,
himself given for us in death.
This tell us that Jesus was literally thanking
the Father that he might die for us to bring to pass our salvation.
Good Friday
The Second day of the Triduum is Good
Friday.
There have been some over the years who have
questioned whether the Crucifixion took place on a Friday or not, some believe
that it was actually a Wednesday. Regardless as to what day the crucifixion
actually took place on, the fact that it occurred is the important issue not
the specific day, and the resulting "Good" that was done on
all of our behalf by Jesus.
Good Friday looks to the Cross of our Lord and what Jesus, and Jesus alone, has done for us. Good Friday is a day of sober contemplation as we are confronted with the truth about ourselves that we are all sinners and need a Savior.
We could not save ourselves,
no matter how good we are, it is simply not good enough, as the Prophet Isaiah
wrote.
"All of us have become like one who is
unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up
like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isa: 64:6
We, not even the most virtuous, upright,
moral and ethical among all of humanity could have saved us. No Patriarch,
Priest, Prophet, King, not even the Apostles. Only Jesus and alone could
and did save us.
While We Were Sinners
Jesus came to die for us, he did this out of
his love for each and all of us. Jesus did not wait until we were "good
enough" but acted on our behalf even while we lived in our sins.
Even before we knew of, or knew him, Jesus acted on our part simply because he
loves us.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rm: 5:8
The Cross
The Crucifixion shows us how far our God would go
so that we might live in an eternal relationship with him. God loves, and wants
us to the point that this perfect Holy God would come as one of us assuming up
all humanity in himself, taking on our complete humanity and then sin was
judged even though he was sinless, resulting in the eternal decree of
forgiveness and redemption being open to us and can be perceived and
experienced by any who will be freely accept it when they hear the Gospel
present to them.
"In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's
grace" Eph:1:17
At the Cross God shows us that he loves us more
than he loves himself and proved it by dyeing for us in the person of his
Son Jesus Christ.
This is what the Apostle St. Peter wrote about
in his General Epistle to the Church throughout the ages.
"Who his own self bore our sins in his
own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to
righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed." Pet: 2:24
Through His Blood
It was through the pouring out of his own very
life, symbolized in his shed blood, in order to atone for all
humanity, that is, to bring us back into the proper practical relationship
which the great God when we come to recognize who Jesus is, and what he has
done for us all.
"For the life of a creature is in the blood,
and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is
the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Lev: 17:11
Are Forgiven
Jesus does far more then we could even
imagine, he has not only dealt with our sins alone, but our very natures,
that is, we are forgiveness of who we are not just of
what we have done. As the ancient Church
Father Athanasius of Alexandria taught "that which what
is not assumed is not redeemed”.
Jesus assumed up our whole broken humanity in
the incarnation.
Through the incarnation Jesus assumed our full
humanity fully so that we could be fully redeemed. Jesus has literally
removed all of our excuses from being left out of eternal life.
Jesus did it and brought us forgiveness
once and for all.
"When you were dead in your sins and in
the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us
all our sins", Col:2:13
The work of the Cross is a complete sacrifice,
Jesus did not leave something undone for which we are now responsible
to finish. Jesus' was a complete and perfect sacrifice which saves us
completely and perfectly.
Some of Jesus' final words from the Cross of
"it is finished" alluded to the accomplishment of our
forgiveness and all that God has for any who will but freely receive it. In the
Greek the word for finished means "paid in full",
completed.
No More Sacrifices
All the sacrifice offered at the Temple under
the Levitical Priesthood made no atonement for us, the sacrifices only showed
what our real need was, to have sin dealt with once and for all. Those
ceremonies could never take away our sin. Jesus did forever on the
cross what this ritual could not do.
"Day after day every priest stands and
performs his religious duties; again, and again he offers the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time
one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that
time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice,
he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."Heb:10:11-14
We are now stand forgiven by the complete
work of Jesus on the Cross, this has made it a Good Friday for us all.
Easter or Resurrection Sunday
The third and final day of the Triduum is Easter or Resurrection
Sunday.
The name Easter, is generally
understood as referring to the east, and the sunrise, it however, when
understood does not speak regarding direction, but rather to the time of day
when the Resurrected Jesus was first encountered.
Jesus in the Tomb
After Jesus' death on the Cross a Pharisee,
who was a member of the ruling Council of the Jewish people name
Joseph of Arimathea and who began to follow Jesus covertly, asked the
Roman Governor Pilate if he might take Jesus' body and place it in a tomb.
Pilate agreed to Joseph's request and Jesus was placed in Joseph's tomb.
"As evening approached, there
came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple
of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it
be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and
placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big
stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb" Matt: 27:57-61
Posting of a Guard Unit
When the religious leaders heard
that Jesus was now entombed and they went to Pilate themselves asking that
a Roman guard be placed there at the tomb to prevent the Disciples from
removing Jesus' lifeless body and therefore claiming that the Resurrection had
occurred.
Pilate agreed to their request and ordered a
guard to be made available and placed on watch at the tomb itself.
"The next day, the one after Preparation
Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we
remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I
will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until
the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell
the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be
worse than the first.”“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as
secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a
seal on the stone and posting the guard" (62-66)
A Roman guard unit typically consisted of
twelve soldiers, six slept while six stayed on active duty. The penalty for
falling asleep while on active duty or being negligent was death.
This Roman guard unit representing the power
of Rome, were the first to actually witness the supernatural events
surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus. Rome, which was the very embodiment of
the world system at that time in history, could not prevent the Resurrection of
Jesus.
This tells us that the world cannot keep Jesus
in the Tomb, that Jesus has defeated the world. Jhn: 16:33
"There was a violent earthquake, for an
angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the
stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were
white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like
dead men." Matt: 28:28:2-4
the Empty Tomb
The Gospel of St. John records that a group of
women went early in the morning to the Tomb of Jesus before sunrise.
This actually places his Resurrection sometime before the sunrise while it
was still dark yet with the hint of the rising of the sun still below the
horizon. It was the women's plan to prepare Jesus' body to be entombed which
they had not time to do earlier.
"When the Sabbath was over, Mary
Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they
might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just
after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other,
“Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mk: 16:1-3
When the group of women arrive at the tomb,
they find that Jesus is not there and they are greeted by an angelic messenger
who then tells them that Jesus is risen and no longer in the tomb among the
dead and that they should go tell the others Disciples that Jesus is risen.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking
for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See
the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is
going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.
"(6-7)
Again, regardless as to the what the actually time of the bodily resurrection of Jesus was the main point is the truth that Jesus was and is Resurrected and had been seen by many of his Disciples. First, by Mary as she encountered Jesus outside the tomb while still in the burial garden thinking that Jesus was the grounds keeper, to Jesus' post resurrection appearances to his Disciples, and then to a crowd of at least five hundred who witness the resurrected Jesus, to the Apostle St. Paul who met Jesus on the Road to Damascus.
The point is , Jesus is Resurrected because he
is the Resurrection.
"I am the resurrection and the life" Jhn: 11:25a Jesus
speaks this word even before his own bodily Resurrection occurred, this tells
us that his Resurrection only shows us what is, and eternally is true; that
Jesus is the Resurrection.
The Resurrection is central to the Gospel
Proclamation.
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called
to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he
promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his
Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the
Spirit of holiness was declared the Son of God in power by his resurrection
from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord"Rm"1:1-4
The Resurrection of Jesus declares for all
time and eternity that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is not the Son of God
because he was Resurrected, but rather, Jesus was Resurrection because He is
Son of God.
If Christ Be Not Raised
The Easter event of the Resurrection is
also an ongoing reminder of the faithfulness of God to each and all of us, that
the Great God, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is faithful to
each and all of us.
That the Resurrection of Jesus is God's verification that all he has promised us will be ours and that our faith is not in vain. The Resurrection is the central event in all time and eternity, for without the Resurrection the Cross has no meaning or power. The Resurrection identifies Jesus as the Son of God and verifies the power of the Cross.
"And if Christ has not been raised,
our preaching is useless and so is your faith"1Cor:15:14
As Christians commemorate Holy Week and the
keeping of the Triduum, which reminds us all of the
saving acts of God through his Holy Son Jesus Christ for each and all of us,
let our faith be refreshed and strengthen as we look only to our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Benediction: May we each and all be ever grateful of the
salvation which we have in Jesus, today, tomorrow and forevermore, Amen.
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
Topinabee Community Church
Topinabee Michigan
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