Matthew 26:1-5 (NIV)
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
The tone in Matthew’s gospel account has changed. Jesus is now in Jerusalem having ridden in on a donkey (ch. 21) and welcomed as King by many. He has stood up for His Father by clearing the temple of the money changers. He has been questioned over and over by the religious leaders who were looking for any reason to accuse him of hypocrisy and arrest him. Jesus silenced them with his answers and in 22:46 we see the religious leaders give up on trying to trap him in questions. In chapter 23 Jesus makes it very clear his feelings towards the religious leaders and warns the people from following these hypocrites who Jesus calls “snakes” and “brood of vipers” (v. 33). Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and how far away from God she has fallen. He gives what is known as the “Olivet Discourse” in chapters 24 and 25 preparing his disciples and followers for the second coming and making it very clear what side they need to be on.
And that is where we find ourselves as we enter chapter 26. Jesus tells his disciples to get ready for the Passover celebration while the religious leaders meet in secret planning to kill Jesus. As we, the church, enter this Lenten series, I hope to provide these weekly for two purposes. First, to prepare our hearts to once again walk with Jesus as He heads towards the cross, the tomb, and the victory of sin and death. Second, to prepare our hearts and lives for His second coming. Matthew’s tone has shifted, and lines have been drawn in the sand. While we are now 2,000 years after these vents, it can be easy to become complacent and forget the urgency in Jesus’s words such as the parables of Matthew 25. None of us want to find ourselves asleep and with no oil to trim our lamps when the bridegroom returns.
Are there disciplines you can engage in as we begin this Lenten season to prepare your heart for Holy Week? Are there disciplines you can engage in this Lenten season that will reorient your life to the coming return of our King? In her book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun has a quote from Craig Dykstra which says, “Practices are the nuclear reactors of the Christian faith, arenas where the gospel and human life come together in energizing. Even explosive ways. Practices create openings in our lives where the grace, mercy, and presence of God may be made known in us.”((Craig Dykstra in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015), 245.)) As we begin this Lenten season, while still being in a global pandemic and worldwide political instability, I cannot think of a better time to engage in disciplines that will bring us closer to the God in control of all things. Whether you choose to fast in a traditional Lenten manner, remove social media or other apps from your phone, or engage in dedicated times of prayer throughout the day; ask the Lord how He desires you to draw closer to Him in these weeks and move forward in obedience.
Suggested Reading/engagement this week
A. Matthew 23 and 24. Break these passages up into obvious sections and journal through the following questions
1. What do you want to say to me, God, through this passage?
2. How can I praise God from what I read in this passage?
3. From this passage, is there anything the Lord wants me to do/change?
4. Using this passage, what am I believing the Lord for today/this week?
(Note: Questions adapted from Matt Friedeman’s 5Q Discipleship. Available at The Francis Asbury Society)
B. Fast and pray (as led by the Lord), asking the Lord to draw you closer to Himself.
C. Ask the Lord what other discipline/practice He desires you to engage in during this Lenten season.