The Road to Resurrection: Eight, Arrest and Punishment, a Disciple's Perspective

After I woke up in the garden everything happened so fast it nearly made my head swim. The light from torches bobbed up the hill. Men’s angry voices broke the night’s silence. Judas approached, followed by a crowd of armed men. Judas kissed Jesus, and immediately the mob seized him. Drawn swords glinted in the moonlight. It all happened so fast, and, I’m ashamed to admit, I was so frightened I fled. Through the olive grove, down the hillside and into the crowded city, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I ran into my house and bolted the door, shaking in the darkened room. At any moment I expected a heavy pounding on the door. I was sure Roman soldiers or an angry mob would come to arrest me. The next night some of the others came in the dark. They all had heard rumors of what had happened to Jesus. All we knew for sure was that he’d been arrested.

How could this be happening? I wondered. I was so sure Jesus was our promised Messiah. Surely there had been a mistake. I wept. I prayed. I was afraid to go out on the streets for fear I’d be arrested too. After one of the women came with news that Jesus had been sentenced to death, I conquered my fear and decided I’d have to see for myself.

I donned a cloak with a hood pulled low over my forehead and ventured out to the crowded city streets. Before long I heard loud voices and saw a crowd along the road. Elbowing my way toward the front, I was finally able to see who was on the road ahead. What I saw appalled me. A troop of Roman soldiers escorted three prisoners, each carrying a cross to his own execution.

I hardly recognized Him at first. A crown of thorns encircled his head, and blood dripped down his face. His knees buckled as He struggled to carry the heavy wooden cross. His face was contorted with pain. As He stumbled with His burden, soldiers and people in the crowd spit on Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews.” Others, some of whom I recognized, wept quietly.

As He staggered past, I gasped when I saw His torn back. The Roman whip had ripped the flesh from His back, leaving nothing but raw flesh. I’m not ashamed to admit that tears filled my eyes. It hurt so to see my friend suffer. I pushed away from the crowd in a daze, not knowing what the future might hold. All I knew for sure was that Jesus was headed for the hill of Golgotha and execution. I feared the same for myself.

Matthew 27: 28-30 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

Food for thought: Are you able to trust in Jesus even when times are difficult? When circumstances seem insurmountable? Can you accept how Jesus suffered for your sins?

 

The Road to Resurrection: Six, The Last Supper, a Disciple

On Maundy Thursday you celebrate by eating the bread and drinking the wine, calling it “the Last Supper.” Strange, isn’t it? To us it was just another supper. True, Jesus taught us many things at that table, but we really didn’t understand their significance. We didn’t truly understand who He was until after…but I get ahead of myself. That night Jesus drank from the cup and said He wouldn’t drink again until the “kingdom of God comes.” I caught the looks on some of the other disciples’ faces when he said that. Some looked eager, for they longed for a confrontation with their conquerors. They wanted their king to take His rightful place and overthrow the hated Romans. Others just looked confused.

All of us were confused when he broke the bread and said it was his body. We looked at each other and wondered what he was talking about. Had he been out in the sun too long that day? He really wasn’t making any sense.

But we often didn’t understand the things he told us. We shrugged it off and ate the meal while reclining by the table and talking among ourselves. If we had only listened more carefully, we would have understood, for Jesus had prepared us for the future. Instead of appreciating what we had, we chose to argue among ourselves.

“I’m greater because I followed Him first!”

“No, I’m greater because He spends more time with me!”

“No, me! I’m greater.” We argued with puffed up chests just like adolescent boys trying to impress. If we had only known, we’d have spent that last supper together differently.

I Corinthians 11: 27-29 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Food for thought: How do you approach communion? In your heart, are you comparing yourself to others? Do you hold grudges against your neighbor? Are you listening to His still, small voice? If this would be your last supper, would you have regrets?

The Road to Resurrection: Four, Washing the Disciples' Feet

It was a job reserved for servants.  Not just any servants, either. Only the lowliest of servants washed the guests’ feet. Any man wealthy enough to have servants could expect to have one wash the dust from his feet on a daily basis.

Imagine this: You come home after a hard day’s work and collapse in your favorite chair. Almost immediately, a man kneels before you, setting a basin of water on the floor next to your tired, dirty feet. You look down, expecting to see your servant. Instead, you see the son of God kneeling before you. The One who created the heavens and the earth loosens your shoes. His strong, pierced hands hold your bare foot—your grimy, smelly foot!

Gently He dips your feet into the warm water and scrubs away all the dirt of the day. Then He takes a towel from around His waist and blots your clean feet dry. You feel ashamed that the God who created you has done a servant’s task. When you protest, He responds, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13: 14 & 15).

Food for thought: Following Jesus example, in what ways can you “wash other’s feet”? How do you humble yourself before God? Before others?

The Road to Resurrection: Three, Jesus is Annointed, the Story of the Woman with the Alabaster Jar

I’m not a wealthy woman. I’m not an educated woman. I’m not looked upon favorably by those in upper society. But when a man speaks the truth, I understand. This man Jesus speaks the truth. The first time I heard him teach, I knew he was special. Whenever He opened His mouth, it seemed the words of our Fathers came alive. Surely this man was the fulfillment of the Holy Scriptures. At long last, our Messiah had arrived.

In my heart I longed to bestow a very special gift on Him. But what gift could I give such a man? I was willing to sacrifice anything to give a special gift to the Master. I prayed to the Almighty and waited for an answer. As soon as I had my answer, I gathered all my worldly goods and hurried to market to sell them. Each item I sold brought the top price. Soon my purse held more money than I’d ever seen. Willingly, gladly, I gave the shopkeeper every denarius. In return, he handed me a beautiful alabaster flask. I ran my hands over its curves, knowing I would soon break it open, releasing the oil and fragrance inside. This would be my gift for the Messiah.

Carefully I hid the flask in the folds of my cloak, lest any thief might spy it and take it from me. I rushed down the crowded, dusty streets, hurrying to the house where Jesus and his disciples ate.  It wasn’t my place to interrupt their meal, but the urgency in my heart made me bold. When I entered the house, the men were at the table. Before I could lose my courage, I went straight to Jesus’ side. I broke open the lovely vase and poured the most fragrant oil on his head. Surely, I was most privileged to be allowed to anoint the Master.

Some of the men grumbled, as I knew they would, but God had allowed me to anoint our Messiah. No matter what those men might have said or done, I received such a special gift when I was allowed to anoint my King.

Food for thought: What treasures have you stored in your alabaster jar? Are you willing to break it open as a gift to pour out for Jesus? Would you be willing to sell all you own to honor Jesus?

Matthew 26: 12 "When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial."

The Road to Resurrection: Two, Jesus Clears the Temple: a Disciple's Perspective

That day in the temple I saw a different side of Jesus. Never had I seen such anger flash in His eyes. Oh, I’d seen some of it before, particularly when some of the Pharisees acted pompously, but this anger was intense. I can’t believe how quickly he fashioned a whip out of those cords and how quickly men fled when he strode their way! I have to admit I found it a little humorous, watching those money grubbers grab every coin they could as they fled the sting of the whip.

People and animals scattered in every direction while he thundered at them. He chastised them for making his Father’s house a place of merchandise. As I watched, powerless to stop him, I remembered the scripture, “Zeal for Your house has eaten me up.” All the money-making and cheating in the temple was certainly eating Jesus up with anger. I shuddered to think how the religious authorities would react to this scene of chaos in the temple.

When the Master yelled at the religious leaders about destroying the temple and raising it up again in three days, I was totally mystified. I hoped he would explain what he meant by this later after we left the temple, but he did not. It wasn’t until much later that I realized what he meant.

Later, after witnessing his death and seeing him alive again I finally understood. That’s when it dawned on me. For three days he lay in that tomb. For three days we mourned and worried. We wondered what would become of us. The temple he had referred to was his own body. Only after he was crucified and raised again did we begin to understand. He himself, his body, is God’s temple. Yes, they destroyed it. Yes, he raised it again in three days. I remember that day in the temple so vividly. Even more than that, I remember the day when the truth of it slowly dawned on me.

Food for Thought:  How do you strive to keep God’s house a house of prayer? How have you allowed the truth of Jesus’ resurrection to live in your life?

Mark 11:17 Is it not written,  "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a "den of robbers."