A Holy Week Devotional Discovery of the Supernatural and Divine Plan of God to Bring Hope and Redemption to All Who Believe
by – steve Isaac – reunion church
Nobody expected the Messianic King, the Suffering Servant, and the Resurrected Savior (all 3), to be the same person. Yet, for thousands of years God had been revealing His plan of hope and redemption through those 3, using the number 3.
I invite you this Holy Week to devote yourself to the discovery of the symbolic and supernatural woven together strategically for those who seek to find the truth of God the Creator, as God the Savior in Christ Jesus. Like a mind-bending puzzle, Jesus brought these 3 great Messianic themes together to make one. See how Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father, by humbling Himself to each required role and persona. He was who we needed Him to be so that we might be saved from our sin and victorious over death and the grave. On Palm Sunday, Jesus is the Messianic King, on Good Friday He is the Suffering Servant and on Easter Sunday He is the Resurrected Savior. Before you begin, please read my notes from the Palm Sunday teaching. This will give you the scope of what is there for us to discover during the week. Also take some time to read or listen to words of the prophets each day as they foretell of the Christ hundreds of years before. Isaiah 7:14-16, 9:6-7, 11:1-5, 49:5-7, 52, 53, Ezekiel 34:23-24, Daniel 7:13-14, Zechariah 9:9, Malachi 3:1. I am also including the 3’s of Jesus and Holy Week, they certainly changed my life – now let them change yours.
3’s of Jesus and Holy Week
33 Years Old – Jesus was 33 Years Old when He entered Jerusalem for the Passover. Because of Jesus, no one would ever have to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem again to find forgiveness of sin, redemption from the past, and eternal salvation.
3 Years of Ministry – For 3 Years Jesus brought the ministry of love, healing and hope to all who would believe in Him. Doing the will of His Father who sent Him Jesus would say, meant that God had truly come to bring a new life through inclusive relationship not the old life of exclusive religion.
3 Predictions of Death – In the days leading up to the Passover, Jesus had indeed predicted His own death 3 times on 3 separate occasions to His disciples. Matthews gospel records the sequence of 3. The disciples are saddened that Jesus is speaking this way but do not grasp His words as reality. This is a frustrating process that still occurs today… we hear, but we do not listen. They are two different realities.
30 Pieces of Silver – The most famous betrayal known to mankind. 30 pieces of silver was the price to enable the inevitable. The prophet Jeremiah according the oral tradition foretold of this betrayal and at what price it would come.
3 Garden Wake up Calls Garden – Knowing what was to come, Jesus took His most trusted disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. 3 times Jesus found them asleep when He needed them most. Sounds all too familiar.
3 Denials from Peter – Peter, the most vocal of Jesus disciples found himself denying the man whom he loved more than life itself 3 times – Jesus told Peter he would. Never forgetting those moments, Peter became a great Apostle, and would recover from his worst moments to prove his love for Jesus with his own life and death.
3 Inquisitions and Condemnations of Jesus – From 3:00am until 6:00am Jesus was faced the inquisition of 3 Temple authorities. Annas (the former High Priest, Caiaphas (current High Priest), and the Sanhedrin Court. All 3 perjured themselves and presented false evidence, and all 3 condemned Jesus
3 Absolutions from Rome – The ultimate decision makers Pilate and Herod could not find any lawful reason to condemn Jesus, so they verbally absolved Him 3 times to the Sanhedrin, but in their complete lack of courage and leadership failed to rightfully act. Pilate tried 3 more times to release Jesus – but the mob would have none of it. Give us Barrabas they cried – Pilate washed his hands and blamed someone else.
3 Crosses on Golgotha – Certainly not irony, but rather destiny, that there were 3 crosses and 3 crucifixions on that Passover Friday
3 Final Words of Jesus – “It is Finished.” Nothing else needed to be said.
3pm Jesus Death – Scripture and secular history record that Jesus did in fact, die on Friday, the ninth hour during the week of the Jewish Passover.
3 Hours of Darkness Over the Land – The Matthew Mark and Luke gospels record that during the suffering and death of Jesus that darkness fell over the land. NASA data verifies the secular evidence of a Lunar Eclipse on the exact date [April 3rd, A.D. 33] and time [3:00pm] of Jesus death is common knowledge. The eclipse lasted 333 minutes (not fake news – a fact).
3 Days Down – On Sunday morning of the 3rd day… Christ is Risen – Risen Indeed!
Sunday, April 5th – Messianic King
Reading: [Isaiah 9:1-7, Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 27]
Content: When Jesus entered Jerusalem for Passover week, He not only entered in fulfillment of the prophets Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah and Malachi, but also to the shouts and cries of the people who (under unbearable Roman oppression and religious corruption) were desperately wanting, and anxiously awaiting the very one their ancient prophets had foretold.
When Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ (Matthew 27:11) he replied, ‘Yes, it is as you say’. The soldiers mocked Jesus, dressing him up as a king and pretending to salute him and kneel down before him, hailing him ‘king of the Jews!’ (verse 29).
‘Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS’ (verse 37). The religious leaders also mocked him, saying, ‘He’s the King of Israel!’ (verse 42).
Matthew makes clear that the only crime of which Jesus is ‘guilty’ is being ‘the King’ (verse 11), the ‘Christ’ (Messiah) (verse 22) and ‘Son of God’ (verse 43).
Meditation: How do you see Jesus in your life? Is He your King? Or, do we mock the Kingship of Jesus in our life by how we live in His Kingdom?
Answer those 3 questions for yourself and no one else today, and then process them in the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
About Reunion Community Church
Located in Peoria, AZ, we are a non-denominational Christian church. We love God and teach His Truth. We invite you, your family and friends to join us on the faith journey, growing closer to one another, the Christian community of believers at Reunion, and most importantly with God. Read more about the timeless Truth we build our lives and faith in Christ on HERE.
We are conveniently located just off the 101 on 83rd Ave and Cactus Rd. Join us on Sunday mornings, Weds. evenings, and throughout the week at our small groups, meeting in homes around the Valley, including Surprise, Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix, Goodyear, Litchfield, and more. Connect with us on Facebook and YouTube
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