This Time of Year
The spring season is a special time of year for many reasons. March-April is the time of the biblical new year- the beginning of months. It is the time of Passover which commemorates God’s instructions to the Israelites in Egypt to mark their houses with the blood of a sacrificed unblemished lamb so that the Lord would pass over their houses thereby protecting them from plague and destruction. The Lord’s Passover celebrates the Israelites’ exodus and ultimate freedom from slavery in Egypt- a foreshadowing of the ultimate passover and freedom from the slavery of sin and death through Jesus Christ.
This time of year is also the time of Holy Week which commemorates the final days of Jesus Christ who is the lamb of God and our ultimate passover lamb fulfillment. From Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt to the culmination in Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, Holy Week memorializes the passion of Jesus Christ in His momentous journey to the cross and His trial, suffering and death on our behalf.
The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
As Christians in this world we will face suffering as followers of Jesus Christ but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price by His sacrifice which delivers us out of all our earthly trials and gives us the gift of eternal life. And though we may find ourselves weak at particular point in times in our lives, as the disciples were before Jesus’ arrest in the garden at Gethsemane, we must not be caught unexpectedly off guard. Jesus said to His disciples in the garden at Gethsemane, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Jesus knows our willing spirit and wants us to be aware of the weakness of the flesh also.
As we remember the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in this special time of year, let us also remember that the temporary suffering we face in this life is nothing compared to the suffering Jesus Christ endured for us to take hold of eternity in His presence. And let us remember our suffering is also the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 ESV
