God has put on my heart that I should be doing more this year regarding the Lenten season and our preparation for Easter. In a few weeks, we celebrate one of the two greatest Christian events on our annual calender, the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection three days later. God then made me aware of a book published in 2013 by one of my favorite Christian authors Max Lucado. The title of the book is On Calvary’s Hill, and it stated that the book provided “40 readings for the Easter season”. The Easter season of Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends by Easter. My understanding is this time represents the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels, before beginning his public ministry. Lent is observed by many different denominations, but accounting for their specific 40 days differs among denominations. If interested, you can check out your reliable web sources for more details on the counting of the 40 days by different denominations.
I bought the book mentioned above and have read it. I have decided that I plan to use the next three TGIF messages to share with you some of the readings as presented by Max. The title of the first message I will share today is the first reading in the book, titled The Road to Jerusalem. As always, Max begins with scripture:
Matthew 20:18-19 – “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”
Max then continues The road from Jericho to Jerusalem was just 14 miles. A half day’s journey. Jesus is at the front of His band of disciples. A young soldier marching into battle. As Jesus states His mission, forget any suggestion that He was trapped and made a miscalculation. Ignore any speculation that the cross was a last-ditch attempt to salvage a dying mission. These words tell us that Jesus died … on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering.
The way Jesus marched to His death leaves no doubt. He had come to earth for this moment. The journey to the cross had begun long before leaving Jericho. As the echo of the crunching of the fruit was still sounding in the garden of Eden, Jesus was leaving for Calvary. Jesus stepped toward Jerusalem with the promise of God in His heart. The divinity of Christ assured the humanity of Christ, and Jesus spoke loud enough for the pits of hell to vibrate.
Is there a Jerusalem in your horizon? Are you on a brief journey from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache? Learn a lesson from the Master. The next time you find yourself on a Jericho road marching toward Jerusalem, put the promises of God on your lips. When the blackness of oppression settles around you, draw courage from the Word of God. ‘Tis wise to march into Jerusalem with the promise of God in your heart.
Max then concludes in prayer: Lord Jesus, I can’t begin to fathom the fact that you purposefully left Jericho, knowing full well that the cross was straight in front of you. Help me to take the Father’s promises into my life and to live courageously according to Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I hope you have enjoyed this message to make sure you are in the right mindset to properly celebrate Easter representing the crucifixion of Jesus and His resurrection three days later. I will follow up the next two weeks with other relevant (to me !) messages from Max. I hope you will enjoy them as well in your personal preparation for Easter!