7 Ordinary Days

Intro

Today is Palm Sunday! This means that today, two thousand or so years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem one final time. Today started the final week of His life here on this earth. Today marks the beginning of the culmination of years and generations of prophecy.

As the week continued, a shift took place in the hearts of many. As they welcomed Him in with rejoicing and Hallelujah’s, they would curse His name and kill Him by the end of the week.

Today, I want to share seven stories with you. I want you to walk with me through the final week of Christ Jesus’ life on earth leading up to the crucifixion.

You may see 7 ordinary days. But God sees perfection. All throughout Scripture 7 is the number of completion. In the last 7 days of Jesus’ life we see the will of the Father perfected in the person and work of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Start with me:

Sunday

John 12:12–13 “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

This comes right after Jesus comes into the town riding on a donkey. This story was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

Jesus, with His disciples, entered into the city of Jerusalem, one last time together, to prepare for the crucifixion.

Jesus and the disciples were not the only ones coming into Jerusalem, you see every Jew came to Jerusalem at this time of the year to celebrate the Passover feast, something we will see later in the week.

But, as Jesus entered in, He was celebrated! People covered the ground with palm leaves and even the clothes off of their backs. They recognized the authority of Jesus.

They cried Hosanna in the highest to the King!

This work Hosanna comes from the Psalms.

Psalm 118:25–26 “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.”

They are crying, save us now oh Lord!

Jesus knew, though, what awaited Him.

Luke 19:41–42 “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”

Ultimately, He knew that this was empty praise. Lasting only for the day. He knew what this week would hold.

Do we ever find ourselves worshipping God just because the crowd is? Do we ever sing Hosanna in the Highest to the King, but mean none of it? Empty praise is what met Jesus in Jerusalem. Though some worship was surely genuine, we will see later in the week, it meant nothing.

Monday

He and His disciples continue through the city.

Then comes Monday

Mark 11:12–19 “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even was come, he went out of the city.”

Jesus is preparing the disciples for His departure. He is fulfilling prophecy.

He comes into the town, near the temple, and as they were hungry, He found them a fig tree to snack from.

It is important to remember, Jesus knows everything, so He knew that this tree would bear no fruit. So, why did He go to it?

To teach us an all important lesson: Israel is a fruitless nation, they have let God.

Church, how many of us are fruitless? If Jesus came to us, would we be bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit?

I wonder.

Jesus continues though into the temple fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 42

Many of us know the story of Jesus seeing the money changers in the temple. He casts them out. He proclaims judgement on them! They have turned something holy into something for carnal gain.

Remember, this building that we worship in is not the temple, your body and mine is!

Where is your heart this morning? Is it focused on the holy or the unholy?

Is our worship, our prayers, our intentions before God pure? Or are they selfish?

Jesus may cleanse you!

Your heart needs to be cleansed, let Him do it. Be pure. Be holy!

Jesus continues His ministry into Tuesday

Tuesday

By this point, the Jewish leaders have had enough. They are ready to take Jesus and have Him killed right there on the spot. But they know that they need a plot.

Their desire for a plot is fueled as Jesus began to teach.

We would have to sit and read multiple chapters in order to get the full picture of all that Jesus taught on Tuesday.

Suffice it to say this morning, each thing Jesus taught on challenged the worldview’s of all who were listening.

The Jewish leaders who thought they had it all together were hearing that they have been wrong their whole lives.

So often we are scared of the Gospel of Jesus because of the way that it may challenge us or other people.

Can I remind you this morning, this is what the Gospel is all about! When you accepted Christ, everything you knew, believed, and thought was right went right out the door when the counter-cultural gospel of Jesus Christ came in.

People may not like the message you share, because it will, without a doubt, challenge their belief system. However, this is what Jesus did. This is what we are called to do. This is the gospel that changes lives.

The teachings of Jesus on Tuesday challenged the long held beliefs about the Law, Prophets, and even end times. They were threatened.

Surely we know by now that the gospel still challenges unbelievers and at times, our own hearts still.

So, the plot to kill Jesus thickened.

Wednesday

So on Wednesday the Jewish leaders infiltrate the inner circle of Jesus to get someone to help them.

Matthew 26:14–16 “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”

Unfortunately the Jewish leaders did not even have to try that hard! Judas came to them, filled with the spirit of wickedness, hungry for worldly gain.

We are so quick to judge Judas for his behavior, and probably for the right reasons. However, I always wonder, how many of us betray Jesus everyday for worldly pleasure.. (Raise hands)

We so often look at the world or flesh and ask “What will you give me that feels better than what Jesus gives me?”

As a people filled with the Spirit of God, this should not be!

Thursday

Which leads us to Thursday, the day the disciples thought was the whole point of them coming to Jerusalem. To celebrate the Passover.

Which they did.

They found a spot, had the last supper.

Matthew 26:26–29 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

There are many lessons to be seen in this passage and those like it.

We see Jesus serve his disciples in many ways.

This is no accident.

Leading up the day before the crucifixion, we see Jesus showing a servant leadership that is to be modeled throughout the history of the Church.

John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Here is the command that we live our lives on!

It goes right along side the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:37–40 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

This is what was modeled on this Maundy Thursday 2,000 years ago!

As this day progressed into night, Jesus took his disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.

Matthew 26:36–46 “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”

Jesus prays. He prays deeply. He prays so hard that the blood vessels burst in His face.

And, in doing so, He is modeling prayer!

So often we are scared to ask God for our desires. Rather we shove them down and say “well, just your will Father!” And, that is a good prayer, but it is missing something.

Look at what Jesus said “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done!”

He is sharing intense desire with the Father, Oh Lord, Let this cup, this death, this forsaking pass from me! But, nevertheless, your will be done.

This is a model prayer. Pray for your hearts desires, but submit to the will of the Father.

This is what happened.

There are tons of tid-bits in these passages, but today we are looking at the 30,000 foot view.

This view leads us to what happens next.

Mark 14:43–50 “And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him, and fled.”

Each part of these passages is a prophecy fulfilled from Isaiah and Zechariah, even to the point of the disciples fleeing.

Friday

Which leads us to Good Friday, the darkest day in history.

I am going to attempt to summarize all that took place on this day.

6:00 AM - Trials Begin: Jesus is tried before Pilate and sent to Herod.

7:00 AM - Sentenced to Die: Jesus is returned to Pilate and sentenced to death.

8:00 AM - Led to Calvary: Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha (Calvary).

9:00 AM - Crucified: Jesus is nailed to the cross; soldiers cast lots for his clothing.

10:00 AM - Mocked: Jesus is mocked by priests and passersby.

11:00 AM - Promises: Jesus speaks to Mary, John, and the criminal beside him.

12:00 PM - Darkness: Darkness covers the land for three hours.

1:00 PM - Final Hours: Jesus cries out to God and expresses thirst.

2:00 PM - It is Finished: Jesus proclaims "It is finished" and breathes his last.

3:00 PM - Earthquake: The temple veil is torn; a centurion believes.

6:00 PM - Burial: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus lay Jesus in the tomb.

Saturday

Then on Saturday … silence.

Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

Jesus lay in the tomb. Hope seems lost. Things are quiet.

This symbolizes the period before Jesus came when the prophets were silent.

This somewhat symbolizes the church age, no God is not silent, but this is the waiting period before eternity!

Silence seems dark, it seems scary, it is unsure, it seems unsafe.

But, we know, as we will see next week, silence is just preparation for something big!

The followers of Jesus were scared, they thought they lost not only their dearest friend but their God and Savior.

They didn’t remember the prophecies told by Jesus.

And somehow, we feel the same way in today’s culture a lot of times. Abandoned by God, left to our own devices, awaiting what seems like it will never come. We feel like God is silent.

Can I encourage you this morning? God is not silent! He is still speaking through His Word and we are waiting a glorious day of resurrection that will happen!

Silence is not the end.

And, if you feel like God is silent. Don’t give up. Keep the faith, keep in the word, and you will hear God again.

Saturday is silent. But only because Sunday is coming!

SONG

Conclusion

It seems like we are left in silence. In doom and gloom. This is how the followers of Jesus felt because they forgot the wonderful truths that Jesus shared that He would come again!

We know these things. So we rejoice. We celebrate this Passion week as we look forward to the coming of Jesus not only out of the grave 2,000 years ago, but down from the clouds in our future.

We hope because we have a Savior who conquered sin, death, and the grave.

Jesus used what we see as ordinary days of the week, an ordinary 7 day period to perfect the Will of the Father.

Sometimes we feel ordinary, but God still wants to use us to accomplish great things for His Kingdom.

*salvation plea*