Reflections Through The Passion - Day 2

by Andy Cokayne and Peter Blount 27 March 2021

We commence our time together this morning with a hymn that expresses the depth of God’s love for us, made known in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour -

Sabbath - Day of Rest

Reading:1 Peter 5 v 5b-11

This being the Saturday and hence the Jewish Sabbath, it is presumed the Lord spent the day in traditional fashion with his friends at Bethany, before setting out for Jerusalem the following day.

There is no mention of what occurred on this day recorded in the Gospels. With time to reflect before the hurly-burly of entering Jerusalem in exalted fashion, and then clearing the Temple on Monday, I wonder what went through Jesus’ mind. As Peter shared with us on Sunday, ‘Jesus the human being may struggle to come to terms with the immediate situation with all its horror, pain, and suffering as part of a much larger plan.’ Knowing full well the trauma that was before Him, it would have been natural to shrink back at the thought of what lay ahead in Jerusalem, or be paralysed by fear. I wonder how we would have felt in his position. It is one thing to be carried along by circumstance or business, not having the chance to sit and reflect, but quite another to have time to ponder and think, and yet still be committed to go through the horror of what lay ahead. Knowing that it was all part of His Fathers plan to redeem mankind.  

As Holy Week approaches, we contemplate, and seek to share in, something of that grief and pain that Jesus went through, as a sacrifice for our forgiveness.   

We may have challenges ahead to face, and when we have time to ponder and think, worry can set in on what may be on the horizon. Yet we have the encouragement of having alongside us, no matter what we face, one who has gone through far worse agony and pain than we can ever face, and He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what. Jesus made that promise to us in some of the last words that he spoke as recorded in Matthew’s gospel “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28 v20). Peter encourages us further in his first letter ‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’ (1 Peter 5 v6-7). He cares and will never leave us.