Easter


Daily Devotionals for April 18-22   

  


As we continue to prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter, we will read selected passages following Jesus through the days preceding His crucifixion and resurrection. Consider the weight and gravity of these days and pray. Pray that God would open our hearts and minds as we worship and remember.

We thank Worship and Creative Arts Pastor Brian Hogan for preparing this week's devotional thoughts.

MONDAY, APRIL 18  



As we open our hearts to the reality of what Christ has done on our behalf, this week we'll follow along as the Scriptures record the events of Holy Week. Today we'll read Matthew 21:12-22. The text below is from the New International Version (©2011), but feel free to read from the translation of your choice.

12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

 

14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

16"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.

 

 "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,

 "'From the lips of children and infants

 you, Lord, have called forth your praise'?"

 

17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

 18Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

 

20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

 

21Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."


What an amazing day in Jerusalem. Jesus is focusing hearts and teaching His disciples. Let's look at a couple of important things we can learn from this passage.

First of all, Jesus taught about the priority of the temple. Often times we focus on Christ's anger in "cleansing the temple." But the beauty of this story is that Christ was removing from God's house that which was not intended to be in God's house. We learn later in Acts and in 1 Corinthians that in light of Christ's sacrifice, the Spirit of God no longer lives in temples built by human hands. Rather, He lives in the hearts of men. This begs the question then. What tables would Jesus turn over in our hearts? Confession of sin and repentance should be an important part of our preparation this week.

A second important lesson is learned from this encounter with the fig tree. The disciples were amazed at how this tree withered and Jesus taught them about the power of prayer. However, let us not miss the critical teaching about this tree. Jesus was hungry and found a tree with no fruit. He desired a fig, found nothing but leaves, and declared this tree fruitless and useless. In John 15, Jesus speaks of how followers of Him bear fruit. They must remain grafted into the vine which is Christ. You see, this encounter with the fig tree is not just about the tree and the power of prayer, it also speaks of Christ's desire for His followers to bear kingdom fruit.

Father,
The psalmist prayed, "Search me and know my thoughts," and, Father, that is what I invite You to do today. Open my eyes to the things that You want to clear out of my life. Help me to weed out the things that hinder Your work in and through me, and prepare me for what You have for me to do. Help me to live a life that is fruitful for Your Kingdom.
Amen

TUESDAY, APRIL 19   



As the events of the week progress, Jesus continues to teach about the Kingdom of God. Much of this teaching was in the face of opposition and criticism from the religious leaders. However, Jesus taught boldly and used parables to paint pictures of what it looks like to live as a follower of Christ. Today we will begin by reading Matthew 22:34-40 (NLT):

34But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?"

 

37Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."


We learn from these verses that the religious leaders were intent on "tripping Jesus up." They thought that if they could stump Him, His claims to be the Messiah would be discredited. Not only did Jesus answer their questions correctly, but His answers also exposed their own sin.

With every failed attempt, it became increasingly evident that Jesus was who He said He was. As we look at our own lives today, are there times when we doubt the validity of Jesus' claims?

Next we'll read from Luke 21:1-4, where Jesus continues His teaching using a real life example:

1While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

 

3"I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."


In this short parable, Jesus continues to challenge the accepted practices in the temple. While the rich give from abundance, this poor women gives from her sustenance. Jesus commends giving that requires sacrifice.

It will only be days now until Christ's gift will require His life. The question we often consider is how much should we give. Perhaps today, we need to consider how much we should give up.

Think back over these lessons Jesus taught and note the specific ways they eliminate the option of being half-hearted follower of Jesus.

Father,
Help me to radically love You -- with all that I am -- and to love other people as much as I love and care for myself. Help me to live and to give out of sacrificial love for You.
Amen

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20    



For the next three days we will depart from our usual format for these devotionals and invite God to speak to us through the Scripture accounts of the days leading up to Christ's crucifixion.

Today we'll be reading Matthew 26:1-16. As you read, notice each person whose words and actions are recorded here and the roles they played in fulfilling God's purpose and plan.

1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2"As you know, the Passover is two days away -- and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5"But not during the festival," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

 

6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

 

8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9"This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

 

10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.

13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

 

14Then one of the Twelve -- the one called Judas Iscariot -- went to the chief priests 15and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.


Father,
I can't comprehend how much you must love me to have made a rescue plan that cost You so very much. Thank You for giving Your own Son to be "handed over to be crucified." Thank You for the riches of Your grace that made a way for me to have a relationship with You. Thank You for the loving actions of that woman who showed such care for the One Who Would Die to become my Savior.
Amen

THURSDAY, APRIL 21    


Yesterday, we met some of the people who surrounded Jesus and played key roles in the days leading up to His crucifixion. Today we're reading in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, verses 1-30. The text below comes from The Message paraphrase, but feel free to read from the translation of your choice.

1-2Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal.

 

3-6Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?"

 

7Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later."

 

8Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet -- ever!"

 Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing."

 

 

9 "Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!"

 

10-12Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

 

12-17Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it -- and live a blessed life.

 

18-20 "I'm not including all of you in this. I know precisely whom I've selected, so as not to interfere with the fulfillment of this Scripture:

 

The one who ate bread at my table

 Turned on his heel against me.

 

"I'm telling you all this ahead of time so that when it happens you will believe that I am who I say I am. Make sure you get this right: Receiving someone I send is the same as receiving me, just as receiving me is the same as receiving the One who sent me."

 

21After he said these things, Jesus became visibly upset, and then he told them why. "One of you is going to betray me."

 

22-25The disciples looked around at one another, wondering who on earth he was talking about. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder. Peter motioned to him to ask who Jesus might be talking about. So, being the closest, he said, "Master, who?"

 

26-27Jesus said, "The one to whom I give this crust of bread after I've dipped it." Then he dipped the crust and gave it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. As soon as the bread was in his hand, Satan entered him.

 

 "What you must do," said Jesus, "do. Do it and get it over with."

 

28-29No one around the supper table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas was their treasurer, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the Feast, or that he should give something to the poor.

 

30Judas, with the piece of bread, left. It was night.


Father,
Thank You for the record of the Gospels and how I can see Your perfect plan of redemption being put into action. I praise You as my Sovereign God, Who was in control then -- no matter how the circumstances appeared -- and Who is in control today.
Amen

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, GOOD FRIDAY 


Today we are reading from John 17 in the New Living Translation, but feel free to read from the translation of your choosing.

Keep in mind that these are the words of Jesus Himself, His longest recorded prayer, a prayer that one commentary says, "provides an intimate glimpse into His heart." Listen as he talks to His Father about what's ahead, and as he prays specifically for us, the church -- those who believe. What does He ask on our behalf?

1After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3And this is the way to have eternal life -- to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

 

6"I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything I have is a gift from

you, 8for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

 

9"My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

 

13"Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

 

20"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one -- as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

 

22"I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

 

25"O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them."


Just before He was betrayed, just before He would submit Himself to death by crucifixion, Jesus had this important conversation with His Father about those who He would be leaving behind -- and all those who would ever believe in Him. As you prepare for this evening's Good Friday service, let His petitions fill your mind, and remember that His concern, even with all that was just ahead for Him, was for His disciples -- all who would ever believe in Him -- including you and me.

Father,
How can I respond to this prayer -- and to the amazing expression of love that took Jesus to the cross -- but to offer myself to You. Open my eyes to the reality of Your Kingdom, and let me live and serve and think and speak in ways that bring glory to You.
Amen