We are int he midst of Holy Week. That thought might have been lost due to the snowstorm that hit the area on Palm Sunday. The palms were covered in snow and with the snow coming and coming, especially in the St. Louis area, it is easy to forget that this is such a special week. Satan likes to do things like that - use the normal everyday things to get our eyes off that which God is doing in our midst.
Holy Week is God working in our midst. 2000 years ago there were events unfolding in Jerusalem that would impact the history of the world and would bring eternal life to all who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That is truly what this week is about - the revelation of the Savior of the world. Jesus was arrested, tried, convicted, taken to Pilate, tried again, found INNOCENT and then sentenced to death on the cross. Notice that very fact: Pilate found Jesus innocent of any crime that deserved death. Jesus was innocent. He had not done anything wrong. More than that, He had not sinned at all in His life. Let's go even further, He was also free from original sin. Not only was He innocent of any crime deserving death, He was totally and completely innocent of sin and did not have to die at all. Sinless! Remember: The wages of sin is death. Without having sinned, he did not have to die.
But He did! Why? To save you, me and all sinners. He died for the sins of all mankind. He gave His life for each and every person who has lived, who is living and who will live. His once for all death was amazing! It was life changing. It was world changing. It was eternity changing!
That is the message that we see here during Holy Week. The Savior has come. And that the message that Satan wants to obscure in our lives. He uses every tool in his toolbox - worry, fear, weather, work, busyness of life, family visits, and a whole host of other tools (some of which are not sinful at all but are used by him to cause us to take our eyes off the real reason for this week). Jesus is the way, the only way, to enter into eternal life in heaven.
It is time to remember the institution of the Lord's Supper, the giving of that special meal in which we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in, with and under the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of sin, strength to live the daily life and assurance of salvation. It is is time to remember the crucifixion, when Jesus gave up His life upon the cross (it wasn't taken from Him but he gave it willingly for you and me!). It is time to remember the burial, for it reminds us that we too shall one day die and be buried. And it is time to remember His resurrection - for there it all comes together. Jesus rose from the dead! Death and the grave couldn't hold Him. The devil couldn't defeat Him. He rose victorious from the dead. He lives even now and will come again on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.
That, my friends, is Holy Week. I have to stay focused because it is easy to get lost in the preparations of the various services and forget that this is for ME too. I can get lost in the sermons and forget the message is for ME! Jesus is my Savior, just like He is yours. Together, you and me, we will walk through this week. Perhaps we will trudge through snow or wander in the warmth of sunshine, maybe we will stop to look at the blooming crocus or daffodils or we will stroll right on by in our hurry to get home. However we go through this week, remember what it means for you - this is the week that changed all history. It is the week that changed your future and the future of the world. It is the week that the only-begotten Son of God suffered, died and ROSE again for the salvation of all who believe in Him.
See in you worship as we celebrate the wonder of Holy Week.
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