“The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” – MaƩhew 26:41b (NIV)
Each of our four Gospels tells the story of Jesus a little bit differently, however, there is a common understanding about the general events during the final week of Jesus’s life. Following an emotional day that we will eventually know as “Palm Sunday,” a tumultuous week took place. The mood will change from “Good News to Bad News.”
As the crowds left Jesus on Palm Sunday, word began to spread that Jesus of Nazareth was in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. A series of events will bring Jesus to the cross and Golgotha. The first event involved Jesus overturning tables in the Temple. He told those buying and selling goods to “stop making my father’s house a place of business.”
As the week moved along, at noon, on Thursday, Jesus turned to two of his disciples and told them to go into town and prepare the Passover feast, or Seder, in which he and the disciples will eat in private. At approximately 7:00 that evening then, Jesus and the other disciples joined Peter and John in the Upper Room for the meal. That night Jesus identified the betrayer, Judas, and spoke about his upcoming death.
Following the Upper Room meal, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here, Jesus prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. Jesus hoped to avoid trouble, but he knew it was coming. In rapid-fire fashion then, Judas will point out Jesus to the religious authorities and Jesus will get arrested. Bound hand and foot like a criminal, he went before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Ruling Council, and he was labeled as “guilty” for his belief that he is the Son of God.
As the sun came up on the day we know as Good Friday, Jesus will go before Pontius Pilate. He will later carry a cross to Golgotha where he will speak his final words and have his last breath. This was a challenging week for Jesus, but of course, “Bad News” did not win that day. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. In a sense then, the mood shifted once more from “Bad News to Good News.”
We look forward to sharing this story of “Good News, Bad News, Good News” with each of you. This story never gets old and it’s life-changing. We hope you can join us for worship this month!
Grace and peace, Pastor Scott