Passion Week 2017, “Jesus Brought Glory to God, Our Father”

On Friday, 7th of April 2017

Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter, again we celebrate high-feasts of Christianity. Such days should not be lived through without reflection on their meaning. We remember the high light of the life of Jesus. Our thoughts are directed to His entrance into Jerusalem and visit at the temple where He made a clear statement. The victory of Jesus Christ over evil and His resurrection is essential for our own resurrection day.

On Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem. It started as a joyful event. The crowd was all for Him. Yet Jesus was not impressed, knowing Glory should be given to God the Father, for which the supreme sacrifice was imminent. The access to the temple was reserved for Jewish people and business practices became the order of the day. Jesus overthrew the tables of the merchants and opened the temple for all mankind. Today’s temple is made of many faithful ones, totally different from each other. The temple is the place where God dwells and the congregation and each individual soul pray. God hears those who become one among each other (Mathew 18:19). God wants us to be a house of prayer for all mankind.

Good Friday means Christ’s victory over evil. Through His sacrificial death Jesus has overcome the devil. Already Isaiah centuries before referred to it (Isaiah 53:10). Despite pain, anxiety and suffering, Jesus remained faithful, forgave His tormentors and continued to serve men. He remained obedient into His death and fulfilled God’s will to the end. Following His example and thanks to His help, we can also resist the evil one.

Easter! Jesus resurrected. We believe it. However, in this context we also believe in our own resurrection. The disciples could not immediately understand the phenomena of resurrection, but when they remembered the words of Christ, they also believed. This faith in the resurrection has become the foundation of the congregations of the early church. Let us follow this example: believe in our resurrection, trust in Jesus’ words and His victory, entrust ourselves into His care and are willing to profess our faith and serve Jesus Christ.