Father God, let this touch someone’s heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
“I Come to the Garden Alone Lyrics”
I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known
He speaks, and the sound of his voice is so sweet
The birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He give to me
Within my heart is to ringing.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am his own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known
I stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me is falling.
But He bids me go, through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.
And He walk with me and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Jesus and His disciples did a lot in a week. Thank God the Lord Jesus is perfect.
- Palm Sunday: Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem, the people wave palm branches at him shouting “Hosanna”. Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1–11; When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead. ‘Go into the village over there,’ he said, ‘and at once you’ll find a donkey tied up, and a foal beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, say, “The master needs them, and he’ll send them back straight away.” ’He sent them off at once. This happened so that the prophet’s words might be fulfilled: Tell this to Zion’s daughter: look now! Here comes your king; he’s humble, mounted on an ass, yes, on a foal, its young. So, the disciples went off and did as Jesus had told them. They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. The huge crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road. The crowds who went on ahead of him, and those who were following behind, shouted out, Hosanna now to David’s Son! God’s blessing on the coming one, the one who comes in the Lord’s own name! Hosanna in the highest! When they came into Jerusalem, the whole city was gripped with excitement. ‘Who is this?’ they were saying. ‘This is the prophet, Jesus,’ replied the crowds, ‘from Nazareth in Galilee!’ ). As Jesus entered the holy city, He neared the culmination (Peak) of a long journey toward Golgotha. (“He had come to save the lost.” Luke 19:10), and now was the time. this was the place, to secure that salvation.
2. Holy Monday: also called Great and Holy Monday is the first Monday of Holy Week. The day commemorates the important events that occurred during Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem: the cursing the fig tree, the question of Jesus’ authority, and the Cleansing of the Temple. Jesus and his disciples go into the temple, and Jesus overturns the tables since people are selling things rather than praying there. Matthew 21:12
3. Holy Tuesday: marks the important incident of the withering of the fig tree. On Holy Monday, when Jesus approached a fig tree, he found nothing on it but leaves. Seeing this, he cursed the fig tree, and the next day on Holy Tuesday, the fig tree was withered. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
Jesus and the disciples return to the temple and teach the people many things with parables and give the people the new commandment. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). The command to love others was not new, but Jesus magnified it by adding the spirit of the law, that we be motivated to love each other with the self-sacrificing godly love that Jesus showed.
4. Holy Wednesday: What happened on Holy Wednesday? It is on Holy Wednesday when Jesus tells of His death and betrayal. Holy Wednesday is also the day that Jesus was anointed with an expensive jar of alabaster by the woman at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. “Judas agrees to hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-16; Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
5. Holy Thursday: Jesus has the Last Supper, which is the institution of the Eucharist and also the first mass. He also washes the feet of his disciples. Jesus asks his disciples to pray in the garden with him all night, and they fall asleep. John 13:1-17
6. Good Friday: What actually happened on Good Friday? Good Friday is about the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. According to many reports, it was on this day that Christ was arrested and executed. Jesus dies on the cross. All the things from the stations of the cross happen this day.
It reads in Mark 15:34-37; At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’* When some of the by standers heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’ And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’ Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
In the case of Jesus, they saw He had become unconscious and likely was already dead. To confirm, a spear was shoved into His side, likely under His ribs, that ruptured the pericardial sack, resulting in a flow of both blood and water. While this manner of death was a brutal end for Jesus, there was also prophetic significance to this event.
7. Holy Saturday: Jesus is dead in the tomb. The evening of Holy Saturday is considered the “vigil”, and Easter celebrating can begin then. Jesus’s cry, he breathes his last breath. It is finished and at last the unbearable suffering ends. The death of God is a blasphemy and the deed done is breathtaking in its bravery. Does silence fall over the area? In his death God has truly embraced the suffering of the world and taken responsibility for it. There is nothing remote about God, even in the darkest places. In Eastern Orthodoxy this day, known as Holy and Great Saturday, is also called The Great Sabbath since it is on this day that Christ “rested” physically in the tomb. But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hell and raised up to Paradise, having liberated those who had been held captive. Holy Saturday, also known as Great and Holy Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory and Black Saturday or Easter Eve, and called “Joyous Saturday”, “the Saturday of Light”, and “Mega Sabbatun” among Coptic Christians, is the final day of Holy Week, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when Christians prepare for the latter. The day commemorates the Harrowing of Hell while Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb. Christians of the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican and Reformed denominations begin the celebration of the Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday, which provides a transition to the season of Eastertide; in the Moravian Christian tradition, graves are decorated with flowers during the day of Holy Saturday and the celebration of the sunrise service starts before dawn on Easter Sunday.
8. Holy Sunday: What happened at Easter? God revealed his eternal plan. The events of Easter go back before the creation of this world and reveal God’s eternal plan to save us by sheer grace. That’s the first thing that happened at Easter. But there are two more things that happened at Easter. Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
Two: Christ Knocked Out Death. The first way to answer would be factual. What events happened at the first Easter two thousand years ago? For that we could look at the four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John for the best readings of the truth.
But lets Look at 1 Corinthians 15:3-8;
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 3:8-15; The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved, even though only as one escaping through the flames.)
It reads in Hebrews 2:14-18; Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, hat is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
{The events: Jesus rose from the dead, and many eyewitnesses saw him. I can tell you about the meaning. God revealed his eternal plan. Jesus knocked out death, and he shone the spotlight on immortality.}
Forgiveness, grace, confidence, freedom and that’s what’s available to all who trust in what Jesus did for them at Easter. Easter Sunday marks Jesus’ resurrection. The gospels record that after Jesus was crucified, his body was taken down from the cross, and placed in a cave. According to the Gospels, Jesus was seen that day by Mary Magdalene, and was seen for 40 days afterwards by the disciples.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I am in awe and humbled to my soul and being to realise that the human Son of God came to earth as a man and took upon Himself the form of a servant and learned what it was to be a man through suffering, so that He could go to the cross and pay the price for my sins by Jesus sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. I thank You and praise You for the perfect example of Jesus’s purity and faithfulness. Thank You that He was prepared to identify Himself with my humanity and to suffer so much so, that I might identify with His perfect righteousness, and live my life in and through Him. I thank You and praise You that Jesus understands my problems, pain, past sufferings and is able to come to the aid of all who are being tempted, tried or who are suffering. I thank You that by death Jesus broke the power of death in my life. I am believing for if there is anyone out there who does not believe in you or what Easter is all about. That they will know exactly what Easter is, all about today and know that Jesus loves them and has always been for them. Pierce their hearts with Your refinement and light to see their forgiveness for grace and eternal freedom in You. Walk in Your Way and rightfully stay in Jesus Precious Name Amen! I give You all the praise and glory.
{Power Verse}
Many blessings are given those who trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:4
"Only Life Changes" 