JESUS TURNS HIS FACE TOWARDS JERUSALEM -- The First Thursday in Lent, 2016

When we think about what was happening to the Lord during the last weeks before his crucifixion, we can read the scripture passages that tell about this time. Each one of the Gospels includes narrations of Jesus' life and ministry during the last part of his journey to the cross. One of the reasons that we think of the time frame of Jesus' ministry has been three years long, is that the Gospels include three times that he is in Jerusalem for Passover.

Passover is the most important and significant celebration in Judaism. When God delivered The children of Israel from death and brought them out of slavery in Egypt, He showed his faithfulness to those whom He had chosen to be his people. Because of the miracles that God made manifest to try to convince Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel, and because Moses convinced his people that they should trust God and do what God required for them to do so that their firstborn sons would remain alive when death came over the land and took the firstborn of the Egyptians, God was able to deliver the Children of Israel from slavery and death.

In the fullness of time, God became incarnate as Jesus Christ in order to redeem creation from sin, and so that all people would be able to be delivered from slavery to sin and death. This plan was made before anything was even created. Jesus knew that his life would be offered up as a sacrifice so that we could be free to live in loving relationship with God now and forever. During Lent, we fast because it helps us to remember that Jesus gave up his life for us. Testing is a way that we can use to identify a little bit with the sacrifice that He made for each one of us and for everyone.
When I think about Jesus coming to the point in his life when he knew it was time to go to Jerusalem for the last time, my heart goes out to Him. Even though he was the Son of God, both human and divine, he faced all that was going to happen to him the same way any other human being would have faced it. He experienced everything that happened just as if it would have happened to any other person. Therefore, it took a lot of courage to move toward Jerusalem, especially because his life had already been threatened so many times. 

Jesus' disciples were also aware of the dangers that He faced. They too, had to be brave to be able to accompany him to Jerusalem that last time. As we spend time in prayer and meditation during Lent, we, too, can accompny the Lord on this journey in a way. 

What didn't really mean for Jesus and the people who love to most to take the risks that he faced? We know that Jesus had deep face and the kind of spiritual hope that we can hardly even imagine. When Jesus, Peter, James, and John went up to the summit of Mount Tabor, Jesus was transfigured and conferred with Moses and Elijah about what was to come. On the way down the mountain, Jesus told those disciples not to speak of it until after His resurrection.

When I think about that, I wonder how Peter James and John must've felt, not only to have witnessed the Transfiguration, but also to be privileged to know that Jesus was heading toward His death. The Bible accounts do not talk about the feelings or understandings that the disciples had very much. And we can only imagine what they might have felt. But we can also put ourselves in their place, and think about what we might have felt. We, too, are the disciples of Jesus. The Holy Spirit can help us to experience what it might have been like to be with Jesus during that time.


So, Beloved, I would like you to ask you to join me and being open to the Lord about what it must've been like to be with him as he began his last journey to Jerusalem. If you want to share anything about your time in prayer meditation either on this page or in a private message, I would love to read it. 

And I will continue to pray for you as we move through this time of Lent together. May the Lord continue to bless you and yours, today and always.