New and living hope
We are right in the middle of ‘Holy Week’. That’s the name given to the seven days from Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, to Easter Sunday – Resurrection Day!
All four of the ‘Gospels’, in the New Testament, cover the week’s events. John’s Gospel goes into a lot of detail, zooming in on some of the most dramatic scenes.
He includes the Last Supper, when Jesus re-centred the ancient Jewish Passover meal onto himself, and established ‘communion’, still observed today in churches.
John also wrote about the anguish Jesus, the man, faced as he considered what pain and suffering he would endure, dying on a Roman wooden cross. We read that Jesus yielded to God the Father, and said, ‘not my will, but yours be done’.
The Jewish leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus, so they arrested him and brought him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, as only he had the power and authority to sentence Jesus to death.
There was a fascinating conversation between Pilate and Jesus. Pilate was unsure about why Jesus had been brought to him and asked if he was a King. Jesus replied…
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
This sentence gives us an insight to how Jesus saw things. It’s clear that Jesus knew who he was, where he came from, and where he was heading. He was going to return to his home, to his heavenly kingdom.
This perspective gave him the ability and courage to face the imminent torture and horrific death on the cross.
The promise and hope of Easter is that Jesus has made it possible for all people to be part of this Kingdom he spoke of.
Jesus paid the price, by taking all our wrong ways upon himself. They died with him on that cross. God the Father was satisfied, the payment had been paid in full.
The result is a new and living hope. It starts now and goes on into eternity. Hundreds of thousands of Christians all over the world believe this and have been ‘born again’ and their lives have been changed for the better.
This Easter let me encourage you to check out the claims and actions of Jesus for yourself. There are plenty of wonderful churches near you, who will be celebrating Easter, and would love to tell you more! Why not pop along, a warm welcome awaits…
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader