Following Jesus in His Last Week
Difficult times are the perfect backdrop for Holy Week. The first Holy Week followed a series of horrific plagues and began with God’s people fleeing in haste. As we enter into this holy time with hearts made vulnerable by the heartaches we feel, what a joy to remember we are on a journey to the Promised Land!
The Last Week Begins
Jesus headed for Jerusalem from Bethany. There, he had spent time with close friends who knew Him best: His disciples and Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The Friday before, in an act of love and possibly unconscious prophecy, Mary had ‘prepared His body for burial.’
In contrast to Mary’s loving act of devotion, the condemnation of Judas, declaring her worship as “waste,” cuts like a knife. Jesus felt both the warmth of shared love and the pain of betrayal. Neither determined His actions, they simply revealed the hearts of those who walked with Him.
As he descended the Mount of Olives, he paused and wept over the city below. He wept for the blindness that prevented true peace for the precious people below. Jesus descended the hill to crowds singing His praises, hailing Him as a King and welcoming Him.
The crowds thought they were worshipping Jesus – but really, there were celebrating their hope that Jesus would freedom from Roman rule. When He failed to deliver what they wanted, their worship switched to cries of ‘crucify Him.’
As you journey toward Resurrection Life, ask Holy Spirit to reveal:
Good things you desire that you might mistake for worship of Jesus.
Anything you prefer to the presence of God.
How unmet expectations and unfair trials bring eternal blessings.
Heartsong Ministries 