HOLY WEEK ONE DAY AT A TIME

Wednesday is the fourth day of Holy Week. On Tuesday Jesus told the Disciples that they had just two more days until the Feast of the Passover.


Matt 26:1-2
1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
(KJV)

I wonder if any of the disciples heard Him say that He was going to be betrayed and then be crucified in two days. If they did, they did not give it any real thought or they would not have been so surprised when it happened just like He said.

Jesus returned to Bethany Tuesday night and was still there Wednesday. I think Jesus just hung out with His Disciples and friends on this fourth day of Holy Week. We know for sure He went to a supper at the house of Simon the leper, and it was there that Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed His head with very expensive ointment. Martha served, and Lazarus was there also, and many people came to get a look at this man whom Jesus had raised from the dead.


Matt 26:6-12
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
(KJV)

This act of love as witnessed in the pouring out of her very best for Jesus is a great example for all of us to follow. There were other women who went to the tomb three days after He was buried, but they were too late to anoint His body. Mary evidently believed Jesus when He said that he was going to die in two days and she prepared his body for burial. (At least that is what Jesus says was the reason for this action of selflessness.)

As best as I understand, this fourth day of Holy Week is one of serious preparation. Judas was so upset when He saw what he considered the "wasting of this expensive ointment" that he went to the Pharisees and made the deal to betray Jesus. This was just the very thing the Pharisees were waiting for. They had tried to find a way to arrest him and Judas gave them the how and the way and the when to do it.

Matt 26:14-16
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
(KJV)

I believe Jesus totally immersed Himself in the presence of His Disciples and followers and showered them with love and tenderness. He knew very well what the next few days had in store for both Him and them and He filled them with many teachings that they would not be able to understand until after the Day of Pentecost when they were born again as the members of His Body, the Church in the earth. There were those from long distances who came to town for the Passover and when they heard that Jesus was in the Temple, they went to see and to hear Him and to learn from Him.

He spent these days in Jerusalem but at night He returned to the Mount of Olives. I am so glad that we have the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John so that we can read and understand just what occured that final week. (Well, at least we can read about what happened.)

Tomorrow, Thursday, will be a very long day. Get your rest tonight. And get ready for the conclusion of a WEEK UNLIKE ANOTHER.....THIS IS TRULY A HOLY WEEK AND WE WILL TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME.