JESUS' LAST WEEK

We're moving through Lent and approaching the most important celebration of the Christian faith!  If ever there was a time for believers to be engaged in His Word - now is the time!  

Are you aware that His last week before being crucified is the focus of the gospel writers?  Here's the breakdown:

• A third of Matthew, from Matthew 21-28
• A third of Mark, from Mark 11-16
• A quarter of Luke, from Luke 19-24
• Nearly half of John, from John 12-20

I just finished reading Matthew 18.  In this chapter alone, Jesus raised the topic of His impending death three times!  

1. After His transfiguration on the mountain, He tells Peter, James and John:  "Don't tell anyone what happened here, not until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." [v.9 All quotes from The Voice Bible unless otherwise noted]
2. Immediately after this - rather than ask about His comment about His death - the three leading apostles ask a question about Elijah - who they had just seen with Jesus on the mountaintop.  Jesus tells them that John the Baptist was Elijah, "so he was arrested and killed...for the Son of Man, too, will be arrested and killed at the hands of people who do not see Him for who He is."  [v.12]
3. After healing a young boy who had been possessed by a demon, the disciples wondered why they had been unable to heal him.  Jesus addressed their lack of faith and then says: "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill Him, and on the third day, He will be resurrected..."  [vs.22-23]

We're mystified that He could speak so clearly to them, but they simply didn't seem to hear Him!  I don't have any good answers to this query.  Was the Holy Spirit blocking them from full understanding, yet later this same Spirit would bring their memories back so that they could share it with others and us?  Or were they so enraptured with Jesus and the thrill of being His closest associates that they just didn't want to hear anything that hinted of His leaving them?  

But, really, are we any different?  In spite of the rich tradition of Lent that has come to us through the development of the ages, do we really focus on our faith as a result?  As mentioned earlier, a third of our gospels focus on Jesus' last week on earth;  are we reading these chapter during this seven week period?  

Indeed, are we doing anything to focus our faith and desire for greater understanding as we approach this high, holy day?  

If you are - and I'm certain some are - then may God bless you with deeper understanding and a growing love and depth of gratitude!  If you're a woman, then receive this Shabbat blessing:  “May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.”  

If you don't know these women, their stories are told in the book of Genesis!

If you're a man, then receive this Shabbat blessing:  "May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh."  These were Joseph's sons who became two of the most powerful tribes in Israel.  [See Genesis 48:1-9]

If you have not been making a focus on your faith this Lenten season, it's not too late!  Select one of those passages from above [the bullet points] and start reading.  Find a time and place that will allow you a few minutes of solitude and let Him grow your faith!