For
Christians 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
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 faced the cross.
The
last Supper
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
It
is no longer the "Passover" but rather it is the sacrament
of "the Lord's Supper, the Communion or Eucharist representing
not only the death of Jesus, but all the more it is the introduction to
an all new relationship with God through Jesus. The past
ritualistic ordinances and ceremonies of the Old Covenant are now gone, no
longer focused on Israel but now Jesus himself.
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 our selves, 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.
"For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the
flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the
Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit." Rm:8:2-4
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
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
In 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.
The power and value of the blood is found in the
life that the blood sustained. The blood of Jesus sustained the life of God
incarnate, the Son of
God the second person of the Holy Trinity therefore , his life was of worth
more than the sum total of all humanity.
"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 these rituals 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 standing forgiven through 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 can not 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
woman 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 these 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.
"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.
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Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
"If
It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"
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