Holy Week Meditations - Last Week of Death

 “Last Week of Death”

Revolutionaries sing

In the last week of death.

Cries of “save us!” ring

In the last week of death.

They dream of overcoming

In the last week of death.

The sign of a donkey

In the last week of death.

People fail to see

In the last week of death.

Peace for humanity

In the last week of death.

The promise weeps

In the last week of death.

The blessed city sleeps

In the last week of death.

Revenge runs deep

In the last week of death.

A mysterious curse

In the last week of death.

Fruitless plants taste worse

In the last week of death.

Harsh words disperse

In the last week of death.

A precious body broken

In the last week of death

Blood becomes a token

In the last week of death.

Compassion is spoken

In the last week of death.

An agonized prayer

In the last week of death.

Friends fail to care

In the last week of death.

God seems unaware

In the last week of death.

Love feels an embrace

In the last week of death.

A kiss without care’s trace

In the last week of death.

A soft slap in the face

In the last week of death.

The rooster crows

In the last week of death.

Eyes full of sorrows

In the last week of death.

Regret continually grows

In the last week of death.

Power washes its hands

In the last week of death.

Mercy makes demands

In the last week of death.

Innocence understands

In the last week of death.

Traverse the skull hill

In the last week of death.

Hear the silent dove trill

In the last week of death.

See pure water spill

In the last week of death.

A lament from a tree

In the last week of death.

“Why have you forsaken me”

In the last week of death.

A breath of eternity

In the last week of death.

The holy barrier rips

In the last week of death.

A three-hour eclipse

In the last week of death.

Time quiets its lips

In the last week of death.

© 2025 TrainWreck Thoughts

Holy Week Meditations - Immense Passion

 “Immense Passion”
(John 19:25-27)

The agony of death occurred on Golgotha approximately 2000 years ago. On the hill of the skull outside of Jerusalem, the Roman government often crucified rebels, thieves, malcontents, murderers, and others who upset the delicate façade of peace known as the Pax Romana. On the eve of the Sabbath, during Passover, three men hung on the torture device. Their hands and arms were held tight by nails and ropes. They struggled to breathe as the force of gravity tried to push them down to the ground. Each time their bodies demanded breaths, they would push themselves up with weary leg muscles, breathe, and fall back into an exhausted slump. Each time they pulled themselves up the rough, bloodstained wood would splinter their back. The agony of death tore at their bodies.

One man, Jesus of Galilee, hung there amongst two others. The authorities had created charges against him because they felt threatened by the true peace he promised to bring into the world. They did not like how he challenged their status and governance with his message of love for everyone. So they condemned an innocent man to this horrific torture that only ended in death.

As he hung there, he looked at the crowd's faces. He identified strangers and friends. His heart wept for himself and those who had betrayed him. He offered peace as he prayed for forgiveness from God for those who had destroyed him. . . Love your enemies as yourself and pray for those who persecute you. He saw a small group of women with one man – people who had been his friends and companions for the last few years of his life. He saw his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, and a disciple he loved.

The women standing there each loved him dearly. They supported Jesus and his disciples during the years in which he proclaimed the peace of God to the people of Israel. Two of them are relatives. The third possibly birthed two of his closest friends, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Mary Magdalene, according to Luke, experienced miraculous freedom from evil spirits through Jesus’s ministry.

His mother stood there, torn by grief. Mary faithfully followed God her whole life. She opened her life and womb to God’s work in her life. She looked for the Messiah and willingly played a role in the Messiah’s birth. She came from a poor family. She had other sons, including James and Jude. She both looked for Jesus to begin the work of the Messiah and doubted that her son could be the promised one of God. Now, she stands at the foot of the cross, weeping and faithfully watching her beloved son die.

Jesus shows immense passion for his mother. He knows that the laws of his culture required the oldest son to care for the mother in the case of her being a widow, which was most likely the case as Jesus hung on the cross. Jesus knows that his death means he can no longer fulfill the obligation of caring for his mother. This could leave his mother in poverty, especially if the other sons did not have the means to care for her. So, he looked at his mother and said, “Dear woman, here is your son.” Then he looked to the disciple he loved and said, “Here is your mother.”

This passion for family spreads from this moment through history as Jesus, through his sacrifice and subsequent resurrection, creates a new family: the church. The new family relationship formed at the foot of the cross serves as a model for all of us who follow Jesus. All people who follow Jesus throughout the ages become, through God’s amazing grace, family with one another.[1] People can all become children of God through the agonizing death of Jesus on the cross.

Mary struggled through sorrow at this moment. She faced the brokenness that now, due to humanity’s choices, defines God’s creation. She looks at her son and sees his torn flesh. She heard her son and knew he passionately cared for her. He provided for her in this moment. In the thick of his mother’s pain, Jesus provided for her.

Jesus provides for all people in the thick of our pain. As we face the trials of this world, Jesus makes us into a family that can face the trials with us. As death encroaches upon our lives and tears apart our dreams, our Lord places us within a community of broken people. We can hold one another, provide for one another, and comfort one another. God’s church, in honor of the Lord, Jesus Christ, should offer compassion to each other. Jesus calls us family. Let us live as he has named us.

Prayer: Gracious Father, thank you for adopting us as your sons and daughters through the work of Jesus Christ on Golgotha. Create in us the passion to live as your family. Give us eyes to see our brothers’ and sisters’ needs. Then enable our hands, feet, and hearts to love. In this manner, we will show the world your peace. We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

---

[1] Gerard Sloyan, Interpretation: John. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1988), 211.

Holy Week Meditations - Exhausted from Grief

 

“Exhausted from Grief” [1]
(Mark 14:32-42)

I have known the exhaustion that comes from grief. That exhaustion has trampled me to the ground for the past four years. My son died four years ago, just after Easter 2021. We thought our family had made it through the COVID-19 pandemic with little personal bruising, other than lost time with one another. Then, on April 18^th, my son, Peter Emmanuel Jackson, died due to complications during surgery. He lost his battle with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Now grief comes in waves. The waves knock me down in April. I want to skip each day or weep the time away. I am tired of the weariness that accompanies grief. I no longer view Holy Week the same way due to the loss of Peter’s proximity to the week we remember our Lord’s journey to the cross.

Before I knew grief intimately, I viewed the disciples’ activity in the Garden of Gethsemane as inattentiveness. Now, I think they grieved. One of their own had just abandoned them so he could betray their Lord. Jesus had just told them that they would deny him. He specifically pointed to Peter when he predicted their communal denial. In addition, according to the Gospel of John, he has just told them that he will soon go to his Father’s house. He told them that he must go to the one who sent him. So, they grieved. Loss of companionship, leadership, and their expectations for the Messiah caused them to dwell in sorrow. Now, they see their Lord, the one they have followed for years, fall apart.[2] I think they did not know how to keep watch amidst their grief. They did not know how to shout laments to God, as Jesus wept a short distance from where they slept.

I am tempted to think that Jesus did not have compassion on the disciples amidst their grief. He kept waking them up. Maybe he wanted them to deal with their emotions then and there. Jesus did not demand anything of them. Rather, he encouraged them to pray. Jesus calls the disciples and each of us to pray as we grieve. I attest that sometimes, as we struggle through the losses and pain of life, prayer does not come easily. God provides us with the prayers of lament and trust as we mourn. Jesus encourages people who grieve to join him in the prayers of lament.

In the text, Jesus states one reason we should pray as we grieve. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”  He knows prayer will strengthen his disciples as they deal with the hours ahead. Jesus gives the example of consistently praying to God as he grieves. Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, he wept his prayers to God. Soon, as he hangs on the cross, he will pray many prayers to God. One takes the words of David and applies them to his situation: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He honestly prays about his feelings to God.

Our compassionate Savior invites us to pray our pain to God. As our intercessor, he longs to carry our joys and sorrows to God’s throne of mercy.  When loss overwhelms us, the voices in our heads can easily tempt us to turn away from God. We might blame God or doubt the truth of God’s grace and love. When we grieve, we often feel forsaken. Jesus knows this. He encourages us to cry out to God. In this manner, we will resist the temptation to turn away from our Creator.

Jesus longed for the disciples to lament with him. When Jesus asked Peter, “Can you not watch for one hour?” he expressed a desire for the community of his closest friends to join him in lament. He did not seek the comfort they might bring him in companionship. Rather, he knew their shared laments would bolster them all as they faced the sorrows ahead.  Jesus lamented because of the suffering he would soon endure and the feelings of forsakenness he would feel on the cross. He also lamented because he knew the temptations, sorrows, and abandonment his disciples would soon feel. So, he invites them to lament with him.

Our Lord invites us to bring our sorrows before him as his people. God’s church needs to relearn the prayers and songs of lament. We need to weep as his community. When we mourn, we need the presence of other people. As the community that reflects our Lord, we should lament together. We should invite one another to share our pain. We should seek out God together as we struggle through our losses. God will strengthen us in our shared sorrow when we bring our tears to him.

Since he cared for them, Jesus continually returned to the disciples. As the Good Shepherd, he kept returning to his disciples.[3] His sorrow could have consumed him. He could have ignored the disciples. He did not. He wanted to bolster them. He encouraged them toward faithfulness and steadfastness amidst their grief.

Jesus does the same for us. When we ache because of life’s trials, our Shepherd does not abandon us. He gently guides us along the path of life. He walks with us and sometimes carries us through the valley of the shadow of death. He equips us to enjoy fellowship with those who have hurt us because he enables us to forgive. Our Lord will consistently come to us. The man of sorrows journeys with us in our sorrows.

As we wrestle through the sorrows of this life, we become exhausted. God has given us the gift of lament so that we might share our sorrows with him. Jesus lamented in the Garden of Gethsemane and as he hung on the cross. When we face the agony of life, we should pray and sing about our pain. Even in the exhaustion that emerges with grief, Jesus comes to us and offers comfort, love, and grace.

Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for your son, Jesus, who continued the tradition of lament so prevalent in the Scriptures. His example invites us to cry out to you. We also thank you for caring when the exhaustion of grief overwhelms us. Draw us back to you when the pain of this life blinds us to the love you offer us every day. We pray these things in the name of your loving Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

---

[1] Title inspired by Michael Card, Mark the Gospel of Passion. (Downers Grove: IVP, 2011), 167.

[2] N. T. Wright, Mark for Everyone. (Louisville: WJK, 2004), 198.

[3] David E. Garland, The NIV Application Commentary: Mark. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 541.

Holy Week Meditations - Spy Wednesday

“Spy Wednesday”
(Matthew 26:6-16)

While researching this Holy Week devotions series, I discovered that some traditions call Wednesday of Holy Week Spy Wednesday. When I read this term, I immediately imagined the disciples all geared up as spies for the kingdom. James the Son of Zebedee takes the role of 007 with all the neat gadgets and spy gear. His brother, John, goes along for the ride. They act as the secret spy team – The Sons of Thunder. Or maybe Simon the Zealot carried out covert missions for his revolutionary friends. He snuck around, hid behind the pillars in the Temple, and spied on the priests because of the priesthood’s underhanded alliance with Rome.

Rather than Jesus’s disciples taking on the role of clandestine individuals, Spy Wednesday refers to the day that tradition claims Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus.[1] Matthew 26:14-16 informs us that Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus. He and the priests agree on the sum of 30 pieces of silver for his act of betrayal. From that point on, Judas looks for opportunities to turn Jesus over to the priests. This covert activity gains him the title of spy. Therefore, some traditions dub the Wednesday of Holy Week, Spy Wednesday.

The other event that likely happened on this day, or at least in proximity to Judas’s betrayal, concerns a woman who anoints Jesus with a perfume worth a year of a common laborer’s wages.[2] The unnamed woman uses pure nard, an oil harvested from the nard plant in India.[3]  In her action, she shows genuine and extreme devotion to Jesus. As N. T. Wright comments, “. . . here is an unnamed woman whose love for Jesus overflowed, quite literally, in an act of needless beauty. . .”[4] This woman honored Jesus. She, in her extravagant action, helps to prepare Jesus for burial.

Matthew most likely places these two incidents together to contrast two ways of responding to Jesus.[5] People can, like Judas, try to use Jesus for their gain. Judas showed that he valued money more than the Lord. Maybe he betrayed Jesus because something indicated he could not gain anything else from this man intent on some sacrifice. He could have been more aware than people often give him credit for. He knew continued association had less value than the 30 pieces of silver. So instead of showing devotion to Jesus and the Kingdom of God, Judas shows devotion to his pocketbook. In this action, he begins spying on his rabbi.

The woman who spilled her expensive nard upon Jesus displays a different attitude. Out of a heart focused on commitment to her Lord, she sacrificed something of great value. Some of those who observed her action considered it an extravagant waste. They thought she could have used the money from the sale of the nard to care for the poor. While they are not wrong, they misunderstood her heart. Jesus knew her heart. Jesus knew she longed to honor him. So, he declared her action as worthy, an act to prepare him for his purpose of loving sacrifice. Her actions show extravagant worship of Jesus.

Do we act more like the spy, Judas, or like the unnamed woman? Do we seek out Jesus for our designs? Do we desire material or cultural benefit because of our relationship with Jesus? Do we turn our back on him when he fails to supply our every desire and dream?

Or do we extravagantly honor him through our lives and generosity? Does our devotion overflow because we know the sacrifice Jesus made for us? Do we generously respond to his love for us? Do our actions reveal extravagant devotion to our Lord?

Prayer: Precious Lord, you have given your all for us! Thank you! We ask that you enable us to let go of our selfish reasons for living. Instead, empower us to live selflessly. Lord, we desire to show our gratefulness for your sacrifice extravagantly. Inspire us to do so with the total of our beings. Please help us sacrificially give to you so that people will know the abundant grace you have given to us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!

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[1] Spy Wednesday - It's Meaning and Importance During Holy Week, accessed April 15, 2025.

[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downers Grove: IVP, 1993), 119.

[3] Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 829.

[4] N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part 2: Chapters 16-28. (Louisville: WJK, 2004), 148.

[5] Craig S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 620.

Holy Week Meditations - Full Potential

“Full Potential”
(Matthew 25)

Most people can identify a favorite teacher from their educational journey. Mr. Stuitje fills that role for me. He taught 7^th and 8^th grade history at my Middle School. He also served as the 8th-grade homeroom advisor and basketball coach. I distinctly remember one day in class when he asked me a question. I had not been paying attention. He came right over to my desk and picked up my notebook, which did not have notes about the historical period being studied, but had doodle upon doodle in the margins. He told me to stop selling myself short. He said, “If you could focus and value your potential, you would do much better in school.” This struck me at this moment. It also challenged me and hurt a little bit. He does not gain the title of one of my favorite teachers because I remember anything from history class, but because he saw something in me and challenged me to live up to my potential.

On the third day of Holy Week, Jesus taught many things. Some of this teaching happened later in the day as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives with his disciples. The disciples encourage Jesus to look at all the buildings. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, not one of these stones will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” The disciples want to know more. Jesus shares with them the truth of some upcoming tribulation for the nation of Israel. Jesus moves on from this to discuss the coming of the Son of Man: the time when God will send his Messiah in final victory over all evil. After this discussion, Jesus tells three parables. Each parable's message builds upon the previous parable’s message. These parables help us understand how to live while we wait for God’s final victory. Collectively, they help Jesus’s followers see their potential as those redeemed by God.

In the first parable, Jesus tells of 10 virgin maids who await the arrival of the Bridegroom. A typical practice in first-century Israeli weddings included the bride and her attendants waiting for the groom to arrive at the bride’s home.[1] This waiting often came with delays because of the many preparations the groom’s family had to make for the wedding. Each maiden would come with lamps or torches because of their necessity for the procession. These lamps or torches required an abundance of oil. Therefore, the bride’s friends would have to come with abundant oil. In the parable, Jesus shares that only half of the maidens brought enough oil. The rest came unprepared. They had to get more oil. As they did so, the groom arrived and the wedding procession occurred. The unprepared maidens did not get to join in the celebration. The lesson of this first parable is to be prepared for the Lord’s return every moment. But what does it look like to be prepared?

The second parable answers this question. In this parable, a landowner entrusts pieces of his wealth to servants while he travels. He gives them each different amounts. The first two, who had received 10 talents and 5 talents respectively, invested the master’s wealth. The third, buried the wealth. Upon the master’s return, he asks them about his wealth. The two who had invested the talents show the increase they have gained. The one who had buried his talent offers an excuse as to why he did not invest the money – he feared the master. The master expresses severe disappointment in this man and takes away the talent he had given him.

Jesus tells the parable to help us know what it looks like to be prepared for his return. God has blessed each of us with an abundance of resources. He has given some of us wealth. He has blessed all of us with some sort of skill. He grants us the ability to learn and then apply that learning to create amazing things. He gives us this creation in which we reside. God expects us to invest what he has entrusted to us. We should steward all the amazing gifts he has given. We should use them for his kingdom’s purposes. This will enable an amazing increase. Do not hide or bury the gifts God has granted. Stewarding the gifts God has blessed us with enables us to be prepared for the return of Christ, whenever that might occur.

So, we have all these gifts. How then shall we invest them? Jesus tells a third story. He describes the Son of Man coming to judge. As part of that judgment, he separates people, calling some sheep and others goats. The sheep go to his right and the goats to his left. The sheep receive the inheritance of the kingdom. The goats do not. Why? The sheep, out of their natural compassion, care for those who have experienced injustice. They feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the imprisoned, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger. The goats failed at these activities of generous living.

In this prophetic tale, Jesus reveals how we should invest the many gifts, talents, and resources God has blessed us with. We should use them to bring about justice in the world. Jesus’s kingdom people naturally live generous, hospitable, and loving lives. Through the grace he provides through Jesus Christ, God has created, in his kingdom, people with the full potential to sacrificially care for others.

The time of Christ’s return will come! When it comes, we must be prepared. We reveal our preparation by investing what God has given us for the benefit of other people. We offer justice. We give food, drink, shelter, clothing, and companionship to those in need. We continue to do this while we wait for our Lord to come, set creation right, and reign over all things.

Prayer: O Lord, we long for your return. We cannot wait until the moment when you will come and set all things right. We anticipate your kingdom in its fullness. We are impatient for resurrection. While we wait, Lord, enable our preparedness. Helps us know the generous gifts you have granted to us. Guide us as we steward those gifts in such a manner that your kingdom grows. Help us invest them in acts of justice. Open our eyes and arms so that we can embrace and care for everyone. Enliven us with your love as we wait. We expectantly pray these things in Jesus Christ’s Holy Name, Amen!

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[1] N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone: Part 2: Chapters 16-28. (Louisville: WJK, 2004), 133.

Holy Week Meditations - Fruitful Faith

 

“Fruitful Faith”
(Matthew 2118-22; Mark 11:12-24)

Over the last four years, my wife, daughter, and I have raised chickens. Well, in honesty, my wife and daughter do the majority of the chicken raising. I eat the eggs. This being the case, I get frustrated when our hens fail to produce eggs. I do understand the cycle of seasons regarding the laying of eggs. Chickens do not tend to lay eggs in the colder temperatures. Since we do not provide our hens with a heat source during the winter months, I do not expect an abundance of eggs. Sometimes, during the warmer months of the year, the hens fail to provide my breakfast. Perhaps they have their reasons. I do not fully understand the laying patterns. Nevertheless, this frustrates me. We give them food and water. They do not provide in turn. In my mind, they fail at their created purpose. I just want some eggs!

I wonder if Jesus felt similarly when he passed by the fig tree on the day following his donkey ride. He had stayed the night in Bethany. On his way back to Jerusalem, his body expressed a desire for nutrition. He wanted some breakfast. So, he approached a fig tree, hoping to find some sweet fruit. He did not find any. So, in what appears to be a vindictive moment, he cursed the tree. “May you never bear fruit again!” In Matthew’s account of this incident, the tree immediately withers.

Matthew and Mark share this story in the context of another incident—the flipping of the merchant tables at the Temple. When Jesus flips the tables, he judges the religious practices of first-century Judaism. This incident with the fig tree also offers commentary on their faithless religious practices. Jesus does not throw an out-of-character or out-of-context temper tantrum here.

The fig symbolized Israel in Old Testament prophecy. In Hosea 9:10, the prophet compares Israel to the early fruit on a fig tree. Hosea infers God’s delight in discovering the people of Israel. After this statement, the prophet emphasizes how Israel has been unfaithful through its worship of shameful idols. Israel had been like the delicious fig, but had rotted over time. Their faith in the One God had failed because they tried to depend on other gods. Jesus’s disciples knew of this prophecy and would have applied it to the current circumstance. They would know Jesus’s action toward the fig tree served as a commentary on Israel’s failure to follow God wholeheartedly.

The fig tree grew throughout Palestine. It provided shade during the summer months and fruit during the spring and then again in late August. In the spring, when this incident took place, fig trees often produced small immature figs called taksh. These small fruits were edible, but did not bring the pleasure of the juicy crop harvested in August. When Jesus saw the leaves on the tree, he also expected to see fruit. This early fruit guaranteed a later harvest.[1] The absence of this early fruit indicated that a sickness had already overtaken the tree. Jesus’s curse likely hurried along the process toward decay.

The tree’s quick decay astounds the disciples. After they express their shock, Jesus instructs them about authentic faith. They can imitate the fig tree in fruitlessness and fail to fulfill their created purpose, or they can faithfully follow Jesus as authentic disciples. Jesus encourages the latter. They can demonstrate this through empowered prayer.[2]

To help his disciples understand this, Jesus directs them to the nearby Mount of Olives. He states that genuine faith can cast a mountain like the Mount of Olives into the sea. Jesus does not imply that faithful disciples will cast mountains into bodies of water; instead, he employs a common figure of speech. Removing mountains symbolized the ability to achieve what seems virtually impossible. Jesus assures that a disciple with authentic faith, aligned with God’s will, can accomplish what appears impossible.[3]

Jesus challenges us toward authentic faith as well. Like Israel, in Jesus’s day or Hosea’s day, we commit to other ideologies or allegiances. These distract us from entering into a genuine relationship of discipleship with our Lord. Too often, Jesus looks upon us and sees no evidence of fruit. We fail to produce according to God’s purpose.  Jesus calls us to pray with power so that we can do amazing things in his name. Jesus equips us to serve with power. We need to use our various talents to worship God and bring glory to his name. Each of us has been created as unique beings to honor God uniquely. We can all produce fruit as members of his kingdom. Pray to God and allow him to reveal what mountains he desires you to move.

Prayer: Creator, you have made each of us for a purpose. That purpose comes true in all power through our humble service to you. Direct our hearts away from other allegiances. Grant your people authentic faith. Take away the rot in our lives and instead produce abundant fruit. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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[1] Robert H. Mounce, New International Biblical Commentary: Matthew. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991), 197-198.

[2] Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 694.

[3] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary. (Downers Grove: IVP, 1993), 102.

Holy Week Meditations - Palms or Peace

 

“Palms or Peace?”

John 12:12-19

This King comes with great fanfare on Palm Sunday. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the crowds wave palms and shout Hosanna. The people waving the palms expect revolution. They believe that Jesus will free them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. The waving of Palms was an act of revolutionary fervor dating back hundreds of years before Jesus walked this earth. After the Maccabean revolt, the people lined the streets of Jerusalem, waving palms because Judas Maccabeus had been victorious over the Seleucid powers that had oppressed Israel for years. Other ancient sources, such as The Testament of Naphtali, also infer that palms were seen as a symbol of Revolution in first-century Israel.

In addition, the cry, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” celebrates the expectation of a national liberator. Hosanna means, “save us.” Combined with “Blessed is the King of Israel” this song announces an expectation for deliverance and new leadership. The crowds believe that God has sent this man, Jesus, the deliver them from Roman oppression through violent means.

But, Jesus comes riding on a donkey. He does this to make a statement against revolutionary ideology. Zechariah 9, the prophetic word about a king coming on a donkey, states that this action declares peace. The great king will come and destroy all weapons of war. He will take away the chariots of Ephraim and the war horses of Jerusalem. He will break the battle bow. The king will proclaim peace to the nations.

When Jesus chose to enter on a donkey, he declared that he intended to provide God’s shalom (peace) for all people. This shalom comes true as the events of Holy Week transpire. 

As the Gospel of John recounts Holy Week, Jesus consistently performs actions of peace. In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, showing them the true meaning of love. Like Jesus, in love, we humble ourselves for others. If all followers of Jesus adopted this attitude, God’s peace would be known throughout the world.

In John 14, Jesus speaks about his coming departure. The Holy Spirit will come and guide God’s people toward right living. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s people will behave in ways that build up community and offer grace to people outside of God’s community.  God’s people will be instruments of peace.

 In John 17, Jesus prays for unity among the people through the ages who accept the truth of his message. The church should seek to live according to Jesus's prayer. We should live in unity with one another. Jesus entreats the Father to empower us to live in reflection of the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our daily prayers should ask for this as well. We should then seek out Jesus’s desire for unity within his church.

Finally, as Jesus hangs on the cross, he attempts to bring shalom for all people. The dark event that takes place on Golgotha seeks to draw all people back into proper relationship with God and with one another. Through this event, Jesus seeks to make all people into God’s holy family, living in generous grace with one another. Through this event, Jesus reconciles us with our God so that we might be made into new creations who reflect God into the world. Through the agony of the cross, Jesus repairs that which is broken and heals that which is sick. 

All events of Holy Week point to the Shalom that God has in store for people. We need to lay aside our divisive ways and our weapons and instead receive the full grace of God, letting Him reign as King of our lives.

Prayer: Holy God, we know we can only approach you because of the grace of Jesus Christ displayed at the cross. We pray that we would honor the sacrifice made on Golgotha and seek to reflect your peace, your Shalom into the world. Draw us into more loving relationships with you, our God, and with one another. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!