April 7th, 2020
Eddie Keith, Director of Family Ministries
For many, it was a week like any other Passover that had come before. Crowds traveled hundreds of miles to get to the temple. However, this was no ordinary week… Jesus, the King of Kings, had entered Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the crowds did not fully understand it. “He [Jesus] had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2b). When Jesus entered the city, the crowds asked, “who is this” (Matthew 21:10)?
It was a week like any other…. or was it? Our item for today is thorn (or crown if you can’t find a thorn in your yard). Take a walk outside, look around and see if you can find a thorn. What is your impression of it? It’s sharp. It’s painful. Today, it is meant to remind us of two things. First, it reminds of the sin from mankind’s fall. When Adam ate from the tree, a curse came on him. Sin had entered the world. “Cursed is the ground because of you [Adam]; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17b-18a). Second, the thorn is a symbol for pain, more specifically mocking. After putting a purple robe on Jesus, the Roman soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, placed it on Jesus’ head and began to mock him (Matthew 27:29). A crown is meant for royalty, but the Roman soldiers twisted it to be a forum for mockery.
Sin is painful. Mockery is sharp. They can keep us up at night. These sting the soul. Sharper than any double-edged sword. At the same time, they are what makes this week not like all the rest. Jesus took the sharp pain upon his head FOR us. “Surely, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 4-6).
It was the week that changed the world. Jesus, the King of Kings, had the power to remove himself from the situation, but surrendered himself to pain in order to “[bare] the sin of many.” Jesus endured the mocking to be an “intercession for the transgressors.” We have a reason to rejoice, because Jesus, the King of Kings, “poured out his life unto death” and bore our sin and pain upon his head, we now have life!
This week may not be all you thought it was going to be. It looks a lot different than we would have expected. The wonderful thing to see in the midst of the chaos, is that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords still reigns. We, as the Church, have a reason to rejoice this Easter. The power of sin no longer has a hold on us. Jesus Christ came, died for us and rose again rejoining his, and our, Father in Heaven. I leave you this morning with an Easter hymn that speaks to my heart, “Blessed Assurance“. (If you prefer contemporary music – check out My Story by Big Daddy Weave):
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story; this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
For many, it was a week like any other Passover that had come before. Crowds traveled hundreds of miles to get to the temple. However, this was no ordinary week… Jesus, the King of Kings, had entered Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the crowds did not fully understand it. “He [Jesus] had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2b). When Jesus entered the city, the crowds asked, “who is this” (Matthew 21:10)?
It was a week like any other…. or was it? Our item for today is thorn (or crown if you can’t find a thorn in your yard). Take a walk outside, look around and see if you can find a thorn. What is your impression of it? It’s sharp. It’s painful. Today, it is meant to remind us of two things. First, it reminds of the sin from mankind’s fall. When Adam ate from the tree, a curse came on him. Sin had entered the world. “Cursed is the ground because of you [Adam]; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Genesis 3:17b-18a). Second, the thorn is a symbol for pain, more specifically mocking. After putting a purple robe on Jesus, the Roman soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, placed it on Jesus’ head and began to mock him (Matthew 27:29). A crown is meant for royalty, but the Roman soldiers twisted it to be a forum for mockery.
Sin is painful. Mockery is sharp. They can keep us up at night. These sting the soul. Sharper than any double-edged sword. At the same time, they are what makes this week not like all the rest. Jesus took the sharp pain upon his head FOR us. “Surely, he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 4-6).
It was the week that changed the world. Jesus, the King of Kings, had the power to remove himself from the situation, but surrendered himself to pain in order to “[bare] the sin of many.” Jesus endured the mocking to be an “intercession for the transgressors.” We have a reason to rejoice, because Jesus, the King of Kings, “poured out his life unto death” and bore our sin and pain upon his head, we now have life!
This week may not be all you thought it was going to be. It looks a lot different than we would have expected. The wonderful thing to see in the midst of the chaos, is that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords still reigns. We, as the Church, have a reason to rejoice this Easter. The power of sin no longer has a hold on us. Jesus Christ came, died for us and rose again rejoining his, and our, Father in Heaven. I leave you this morning with an Easter hymn that speaks to my heart, “Blessed Assurance“. (If you prefer contemporary music – check out My Story by Big Daddy Weave):
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story; this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
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