FRIDAY

First Fairhope

FRIDAY

Matthew 27:1–61, Mark 15:1–47, Luke 23:1–56, John 18:28–19:42

(For a full account of the events of this day, see Matthew 27:1–61, Mark 15:1–47, Luke 23:1–56, John 18:28–19:42.)

On Thursday night in Gethsemane, Jesus was arrested—betrayed by one of His disciples and abandoned by the others. The chief priests and the Sanhedrin called for secret trials in the dead of night, and the verdict handed down was that Jesus would be crucified. This is something the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate, has to execute. And reluctantly, he does.

After a severe beating, Jesus is nailed to a cross where He remains for six hours until dead. Never before or since has more been lost and gained at the same time. The world gained the atoning sacrifice of Christ. But for those present, either the significance of the moment is lost on them or their hearts break as the One they thought to be the Savior of the world dies at the hands of Rome. They can’t stop it, and they don’t realize it’s for them. They hoped in Him, and though He’d told them He would suffer many things and rise three days later (Mark 8:31), how could they have possibly known this was what He meant?

(Fr. Thegospelcoalition.org)

MONDAY

MONDAY For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2021%3a12%e2%80%9322/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2011%3a12%e2%80%9319/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2019%3a45%e2%80%9348/.) If Jerusalem was a beehive, with his triumphal entry Jesus had hit it with a stick. You could hear the buzz grow as the anger within got organized. His kingly arrival was a strong declaration about His authority over all the conventions of man. On Monday, Jesus returns for more—this time to declare the failure of God’s people to live up to their covenant mandate to be a blessing to the world. Much of what the Gospels tell us about Monday centers on the theme of Jesus’s authority—both over the created world and his right to judge it. Everything Jesus did, He did with authority. So when He awoke His disciples Monday saying He wanted to go back into Jerusalem to teach, as risky as it sounded it wasn’t surprising. Everyone sensed something stirring, as if Jesus had rounded a corner and His end was coming fast. He was a marked man. (fr. http://thegospelcoalition.org)

TUESDAY

For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2021%3a23%e2%80%9326%3a5/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2011%3a27%e2%80%9314%3a2/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2020%3a1%e2%80%9322%3a2/, https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a37%e2%80%9350/.) If Monday’s arrival in the temple was an all-inclusive, living parable of cleansing God’s house, Tuesday’s entrance is a direct, verbal confrontation with the appointed leadership. After Jesus clarifies He doesn’t regard these leaders as having any authority over Him, He spends the rest of the day right there in the temple to teach the people God’s Word. But Tuesday afternoon is the last time Jesus publicly teaches in the temple as a free man. His words on this day are His closing argument, His manifesto. When Jesus leaves the temple on Tuesday, the chief priests and scribes are “seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill him” (https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a1/). But they can’t take His life from Him solely on the strength of the charges they plan to bring—not if He defends himself. But He won’t. Instead, by His silence, He’ll offer up His life for a world of blasphemers and traitors and liars. This was what He has come to do, and as He exits the temple that Tuesday afternoon, He knows He will do it soon. (fr. http://thegospelcoalition.org)

WEDNESDAY

(For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2026%3a6%e2%80%9316/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a3%e2%80%9311/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2022%3a3%e2%80%936/.) The past several days have been a rush of tension and anger for Jesus’ opponents—and of unflinching resolve for Jesus. Words have been His currency, and He’s spent piles of them. But on the Wednesday before His death, Jesus is still. He is in the home of Simon the Leper, a man known by what’s wrong with Him. During their meal together, Mary of Bethany—Lazarus’s sister (https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a3/)—comes to Jesus with an alabaster flask of perfume. She’s been saving this perfume, worth a year’s wages, for this exact occasion (https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a7/). She begins pouring it on Jesus’ head and feet, which requires breaking open its container (https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a3/). Like popping the cork on a $20,000 bottle of champagne, this was a deliberate act. She is offering Jesus everything she has. By giving her most valuable possession to Him, she is expressing her knowledge that what He’s about to give of Himself is for her. What Mary does is beautiful, and Jesus wants everyone to know it. She is preparing Him for burial. There is honor and kindness in her gesture. Jesus returns the honor by saying history will never forget her act of beauty. And we haven’t.