Sermon: "Holy Week - Then and Now"
This is “Holy Week”….the name given to the week that comes before Easter Sunday. Many of you know that there are certain days during this week that have specific names designated to them. For instance today is….(Palm Sunday). The day commemorating Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem.
What are some of the other names that have been given to certain days of this upcoming week?
Good Friday…the day that commemorates the death and crucifixion of Jesus.
Maundy Thursday…the day the commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples on the night that He was betrayed.
Those are the ones I would expect some of you to get. There’s one more that I had never heard of until I starting doing a little research on Holy Week. Anybody familiar with the name that is sometimes associated with Wednesday?
Spy Wednesday…supposedly commemorates the day that Judas first conspired with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
These are some of the names that have been given to the days of Holy Week, and this morning I’d like for us to take a look at two different Holy Weeks…first, I’d like for us to look at some of the events that took place the first Holy Week, - of which much is recorded in our Bibles. The second week Holy Week that we’re going to talk about is this upcoming week for you and I…and that book has yet to be written, but Easter is next Sunday…and it’s the best day of the year for those who serve Jesus. And for those of us who serve Jesus, wouldn’t it be great to walk in here next week, knowing the celebration that’s about to take place, and be able to look back on our week and say, “Yes, I’m ready to celebrate.”
Our proposition for this morning is this: You can experience a meaningful Holy Week as you put into practice the lessons taught by Jesus during that first Holy Week.
Now we know the week begins with Palm Sunday, most remembered for the praises ringing out as Jesus made the two-mile journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. Mark’s gospel describes how it unfolded:
Mark 11:8-10 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
We can take that specific event from the first Holy Week and make it our own here this morning, in fact, many of you have already done just that over the past 15 minutes.
At the same time I know how easy it is to come in here on a Sunday morning and just be distracted by things and people and circumstances…even for those who love and serve Jesus. If you had trouble really worshipping Jesus during the opening part of this service, ask Jesus to help you stay focused on Him as we begin to worship once again during our time of communion in just a few minutes.
This morning we have the opportunity to do on this first day of Holy Week what was done on that first day of Holy Week… lift up the name of Jesus and give Him our praise.
But then what? After the last song has been sung this morning and it’s time for each of us to go our separate ways, what lessons did Jesus teach that we can put into practice this week, in order for us to experience a true and meaningful Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday?
Well, let’s turn our attention to…
1. THE NEXT DAY
Mark’s gospel tells us that after entering Jerusalem – the Triumphal Entry - Jesus went to the temple and walked around and looked around, but because it was late He and His disciples returned to Bethany for the night. Then this…
Mark 11:11-14 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went out to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
And so here we have before us one of the more interesting and thought provoking passages in the Scriptures. This passage has raised all kinds of questions and brought about numerous interpretations.
Jesus almost comes across…how shall we say it?...cold? Harsh? Why would Jesus “curse the fig tree” especially in light of the fact that it isn’t even the season for figs?
Well, there’s usually a story behind the story, and that’s true here. Did you know that in the land of Palestine that the fruit on the fig trees will actually appear before the leaves appear…and remember, there were leaves on this tree. There could have been and by rights should have been fruit on this tree. So there’s something wrong here, there’s something wrong with the tree. We’ll talk about what it is in just a minute.
But first, from here Jesus moves on the temple and begins turning over tables and benches, driving out those who –instead of using the temple for worship - were using the temple to buy and sell their merchandise.
We don’t often see Jesus get angry, but there seems to be a connection between the fruitless fig tree and what is happening at the temple. We have a tree capable of producing fruit, but it produces none. We have a temple where there should be worship, and yet there is none taking place. There’s nothing happening on the tree or at the temple.
I believe that Jesus is teaching us that if we claim to be a Christian, there needs to be something happening in our lives…there should be fruit and there should be true worship…otherwise our claim of loving the Lord and serving the Lord is an empty one.
We know today is Palm Sunday and all the elements are in place that will help us to truly worship Jesus here this morning. But what about “The Next Day”? What about our next day, what about tomorrow? What will be happening in our hearts and lives tomorrow?
I’m going to ask you this week to think about the fig tree. And starting with tomorrow (the “next day”) and going to ask you to make a concerted effort to produce fruit in your life.
The kind of fruit that is listed for us in the book of Galatians:
Galatians 5:22-23a But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
What I’m going to ask you to do is this: Right now, pick out the one from this list that doesn’t come easy for you, the one that you have the most trouble with. Look at this list of nine possibilities, and pick the one that you are weakest at. Then this week look to Jesus to help you produce this very fruit in your life. I want you to pick the one that will be the most difficult, so that when you produce this fruit, there will be no doubt that it’s Him working through you.
The Lord spoke these words to Paul…
II Corinthians 12:9b “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
His power can be and if you will let Him will be made perfect if you look to Him to work in your area of weakness.
If you know Jesus then His presence is with you and His power is with you, and He can help you to produce fruit in areas where you have struggled before. Perhaps some of you tomorrow will find yourself in the unusual position of being a peacemaker at work or at home. (Bring list back up). Some of you will you depend on the Lord to give you patience in an area where you’ve always been impatient. Maybe tomorrow you’ll look to Jesus and He will help you to exhibit self-control in an area of your life that has been out of control.
You know where you are weak. But if you know Jesus then you have His presence and you have His power. And you should look to Him to help you be more than just a barren fig tree. Remember the fig tree this week, and by doing so, begin to bear fruit in areas that have been barren before.
What are we going to remember this week? The fig tree.
What other lessons are there to be learned from Jesus from that very first Holy Week? Let’s call this next one…
2. HYPOCRITES ALL
In the two days that followed the fig tree and temple incident, Jesus was at the temple teaching…often using parables to help them understand. He would respond to questions that were asked by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, some of which were intended to trip Him up…He had enemies among the religious establishment.
At one point, He turns His attention to all the people who are gathered within earshot and speaks to them about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who did not practice what they preached. Then Jesus turned His attention directly to the religious leaders and without holding back laid it right on the line.
He spoke to them of how they were like these cups that were nice and shiny on the outside and yet dirty on the inside. He let them know that they were like these tombs that when you stood in the cemetery and looked at them, you’d say they were nice and clean, and yet inside they were full of decaying bodies.
Let’s read exactly what Jesus said here…
Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. (And then He gets right to the point:) In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
One of the main reasons that people give for not going to church is because of all the hypocrites that are there. People who take there place in church every week and then go home and verbally or physically abuse their spouse or kids. Who go out into the work place and lie and cheat and argue and put others down. I can see where that would be a turn off for lots of folks who won’t step foot in a church.
But if you stop and think about it, if a hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another, then I’m afraid I have to tell you that you’re looking at one.
I don’t always practice what I preach. Sometimes I mess up. I have stood up here and urged you to obey God’s Word and control your tongue…and not long after that lost control of mine.
I have pleaded with you to obey God’s Word and not to pass judgment on one another….and not long after that made assumptions and handed out verdicts about somebody else and what they were doing and why they were doing it…and really had no idea what I was talking about.
I’ve encouraged you to guard your hearts and then turned around and exposed my heart to the things of this world.
And suddenly the words that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees hit pretty close to home.
Matthew 23:28 “On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
This week…Holy Week…would seem to be a good week for all of us…me, you…to take a look inside and see what’s there.
You see, on the outside you and I might appear righteous…here we are in church after all. Many of you will be here on Wednesday for the Love Feast and many of you will attend the Sunrise Service and then stay or come back for the Easter Service.
We’ll say and do the right things, and on the outside look like we know and love Jesus.
But what about the hypocrisy? What about that stuff that you and I AND JESUS know about the inside of the cup?
Are we full of hypocrisy and wickedness? Or are we only half-full? And regardless of how full we are, what should we be doing about it?
It would seem to me that it’s possible to have one of two mind-sets when it comes to our hypocrisy. One mind set belongs to the person who takes good care of the outside…they try to make it to church most of the time, perhaps they get involved in serving in this or that ministry because it’s a good thing to do. But little, if any attention is paid to what’s taking place inside.
I went to a seminar up at Grantham where the main office of the Brethren In Christ is located…just a week ago Friday. The speaker talked about one of the biggest problems in the church of today is how quick Believers are to recognize how God’s Word applies to other people and their situations…and yet we have the remarkable ability to overlook the very things that God wants us to change in our hearts.
There are certain, usually subtle sins that we just continually overlook, excused, rationalized, and don’t deal with. You might say it’s hypocrisy and wickedness lying within.
That’s one mind set that you might find among Believers today.
The other mind set belongs to the person who can fully identify with the apostle Paul who wrote:
Romans 7:24 “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
You see, if your sin doesn’t bother you and if my sin doesn’t bother me, we’re not going to experience a very holy week. And there may not be a whole lot of heartfelt celebration going on next Sunday.
On the other hand, if we look inside and see where we’re messing up, and see that Jesus is our only hope of overcoming our sin, no matter how subtle, and depend on Him to help us, then I think we stand a pretty good chance of experiencing a very meaningful holy week.
And celebrating freely a week from today. So this week, as you make your way through this Holy Week, there’s another thing I’m going to ask you to do…
Matthew 23:26b First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Will you, as you dress yourself each day this week (and we’ll all get dressed, every day), as you bathe or shower and do your hair…will you think about the cup and dish and then think about how you look on the inside?
I’d like for you to consider – as you prepare your outside - what you fed your heart the previous 24 hours…how much of God’s Word, how much time spent alone with Jesus, how much time enjoying Christian fellowship. And be honest and also consider how much you allowed your heart to be touched by sinful or worldly influences.
And commit that during the next 24 hours, you are going to take care of the inside of the cup and dish, you’re going to take care of your heart…in order to know what it is to live a holy week.
So now we’ve got two images from God’s Word to think about this week…what’s the first thing? The fig tree. And the second is…the cup and dish.
One final lesson to talk about this morning…one more lesson that Jesus taught during that very first holy week. Let’s call this next one…
3. AN EXAMPLE
On the first day of holy week Jesus rode into Jerusalem and heard the praises of the people.
On the next day He taught us a lesson about the importance of bearing fruit in our lives.
Over the next two days he taught many other lessons, including the lesson about how what’s going on in our hearts trumps what’s happening on the surface.
Another day passes, and we find Jesus in the upper room with His disciples., just hours before being arrested, beaten and crucified. Before all this takes place, we read John’s account of something that happened in that upper room:
John 13:3-5 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him.
What followed was a brief exchange between Peter and Jesus as Peter had to come to grips with the fact that the Lord was going to lower Himself and wash his (Peter’s) feet. And then this:
John 13:12-15 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set for you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Jesus was and is the Lord, and yet He set for His disciples and for us an example…He stood up, wrapped a towel around His waist, and gave us an example of humility, an example of what it means to serve others.
Before the end of the week, I’m going to ask you to take Jesus’ example. Wrap a towel around you waist…not literally, but figuratively. Wrap a towel – and the towel is going to be our third and final image - and look for a way to serve someone else in a way above and beyond what you normally do.
Perhaps as you make your way through this week, as you come to Thursday, you will sit down and write a note of encouragement to someone who needs a special touch.
Or maybe you’ll pick up the phone and call someone who you haven’t seen in a while, and just tell them you were thinking about them and wanted to see how they were doing.
Perhaps you’ll open up your checkbook and write out a check to a missionary or to a ministry that you would like to support.
Those are just a couple of examples, but can you imagine the overall impact if everyone of us here today, on Thursday, took Jesus’ example and did what He says we should do? This Thursday, let’s look for an opportunity to wrap a towel around our waist.
CONCLUSION
So what do we know? We know this is Holy Week. The first one took place 2000 years ago and we know a lot about it. Another one is about to unfold, and come next week at this time, we’ll know all about how this one played out. I hope that as a follower of Jesus, you want to live a holy week.
And in order to do that, I’m asking you to think about three images throughout the week. What’s the first image? A fig tree.
And when you think of the fig tree, think about depending on Jesus to help you bear fruit in an area that doesn’t come easy for you. Let His power be visible through your weakness.
What’s the second image? A cup and dish.
Think about the cup and dish as you fix up “your outside” every day this week. Make sure you’re taking care of the inside, because that’s really what matters to Jesus.
What’s the third image? A towel.
This week, wrap a towel around your waist and follow the example Jesus set for us…serve someone else in a meaningful and significant way. And by doing so bring glory to God.
And then when Friday arrives – when Good Friday arrives – be sure to think early and often about the events that unfolded that day. Choose any of the 4 gospels and read the account of what took place on the day that Jesus was crucified and laid in a tomb.
And then come next Sunday and celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the tomb and lives today…allowing all Believers to experience His presence and power in our lives.
If you do all of these things, I believe you will experience perhaps the most meaningful Holy Week that you’ve ever had.