Holy Week Events and Things to Ponder - YouTube Snowmass Chapel

Sermon by Dr. Robert de Wetter Senior Pastor, Snowmass Chapel Sunday, April 13, 2014 Sermon Notes -- Holy Week Events and Things to Ponder 1. Some background to Holy Week. A. Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its history goes back thousands of years. It has a long a violent history. The city was destroyed completely twice and embattled dozens of times. King David conquered the city and made it the capital of ancient Israel. His son, Solomon, built the first temple. B. King Herod, who was in charge of the area and placed there by the Romans before Jesus' birth, was a powerful evil guy. He was responsible for expanding the area around the temple and the temple itself. In this case it was the second temple. The first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians centuries before the birth of Jesus. C. As is the case today, Jerusalem was an intense place in the time of Jesus. 2. Holy Week Events. A. Just outside of Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives, Jesus was in a town called Bethany. He sent his followers ahead to find a donkey for him to ride upon in a town called Bethphage. B. On Sunday of Holy Week Jesus rode the donkey into the City of Jerusalem. This fulfilled what the prophet Zechariah had said in Zechariah 9:9. Jesus was greeted with great enthusiasm as the people yelled out "Hosanna", which means save in Greek. C. On Monday of Holy Week, Jesus entered the market area of the temple. It was an area in which the moneychangers were located. They changed Roman currency into Jewish shekels so people could pay the Temple tax (this was an expectation that people would financially support the Temple). Many charged exorbitant exchange rates, which in part why Jesus was so upset. D. On Tuesday, after some conflict in Jerusalem, Jesus heads back to the Mount of Olives. Here he did a lot of teaching including what is known as the Olivet discourse found in Matthew 24 and 25. This is the 5th major teaching of Jesus in Matthew. E. Wednesday. We don't know much about Wednesday. F. Thursday. Jesus goes into Jerusalem. There the last supper is held. Much teaching is done at the supper. Communion and foot washing are two traditions that come from this night. Jesus travels back to the base of the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane. Here he prays, is betrayed, and arrested. While in Gethsemane, his disciples fall asleep. G. Good Friday. Jesus goes through up to six trials before and after sunrise on Friday. Taken to Annas, then Caiphas, then Pilot, then Herod, then back to Pilate. At some point the Sanhedrin or the high court of the Jewish religion likely questions him. Jesus is condemned to death by Pilate, the Roman appointed leader of Judah. Jesus is crucified and put into a tomb. 3. Things to Ponder this Holy Week A. There is no separation between God and us. The curtain of the temple was torn in two. The curtain served as a barrier between people and God. Once a year one priest would enter the Holy of Holies (in other words, go past the curtain) to make atonement for the sins of the people. At Jesus' crucifixion, the curtain was torn ridding any separation between human kind and God . Our relationship with God is direct. B. Attentive to influencers. On Sunday everyone loved Jesus. By Friday they wanted him crucified. The opinion of a given person was swayed by the crowds. It is important that we pay attention to who influences us and has an impact on our faith. Some voices we should not pay much attention to. C. Passion. The passion of Christ refers to the suffering of Christ on Good Friday. The word passion, however, means additional things like intensity. Where are we in our passion for Christ? Our love for God? D. Liberation. All of us make mistakes and fall short. True for every human being. We make decisions that don't always coincided with what God wants. Yes the cross means we are forgiven and can let go of guilt. God does not want us to live from a place of guilt, but rather with a sense of freedom from guilt. God wants us to live from a heart of gratitude, not a heart of guilt. E. Peace. One of God's great desires for us is to live with a sense of peace. Jesus spoke about this on the last night of his life. See the Gospel of John. Especially chapter 14.

Holy Week Events and Things to Ponder - YouTube
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