Dear Christian friends:
Often we Christians begin Holy Week and live through it and Easter one-
half asleep or fully asleep. God wants us to wake up and give attention
to what happened that first Holy Week, almost 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem.
God wants us to see how we are joined with those events. God wants us to
believe and rejoice and praise Him and live for Him.
Our text for this Palm Sunday is a good one to help us wake up and live.
It will help us to prepare ourselves to live successfully through this
Holy Week.
Preparation For Holy Week
Our text tells us about two of Jesus' friends who were with Him on Saturday
before the first Palm Sunday. The one friend, a woman named Mary,
gives us a good example, the other "friend", Judas, one of the twelve
disciples, gives us a bad example.
Mary shows great faith and love for Jesus, and she, therefore, gives
encouragement and comfort to us.
How does Mary show her faith and love for Jesus? While Jesus is eating
with his friends at Simon's house she pours a pint of very expensive
perfume on Jesus' feet. Then she kneels down, lets down her hair, and wipes
His feet with her hair. (verse 3)
The disciples, especially Judas, do not appreciate what Mary has done.
They do not think she is showing faith and love for Jesus. Judas asks,
"Why not sell the perfume and give the money to the poor? Why waste it?"
(verses 4-5) But Jesus criticised Judas and praised Mary. He said, "Leave
her alone! She's doing that for My burial." (verse 7)
Jesus praises Mary because by pouring that expensive perfume on Him she
shows her faith and love to Him. Several times before Jesus had told
His disciples and all His friends that "He must go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things and be crucified and then arise from death on the third day."
(John 10:11-16, Mark 10:33-34, Matthew 20:17-19, Luke 18:31-34) Mary
believed Jesus' prophesy of His death and resurrection. So she now
anoints His body for burial. (verse 7)
Mary also believed in Jesus and loved Him because He had shown His wonderful
kindness and power when He called her dead brother, Lazarus, to arise from
death and come out of the tomb. (John 11:38-44)
The twelve disciples did not believe in Jesus and love Him yet like Mary.
Mary is a good example for us. Let us believe in Jesus and love Him like
Mary here does.
Notice! The women often show more faith and love than the men. That
was true also on Easter. We often see that in our churches today. The
women members often show more faith and love for Jesus than the men.
Since January we have been asking our members to make a special offering
for Jesus' work through Forward In Remembrance. How have the men and
women in Pilgrim congregation responded? Four married couples have
pledged or given, so they are equal: 4 men and 4 women. But thirteen
single members have given gifts. How many men? How many women? Three
men only, but ten women! Altogether, 7 men made gifts, but 14 women
gave gifts.
Here at Pilgrim we have many active men members who show their faith and
love for Jesus. We thank God for these Christian men. But we also have
many men members who do not show much faith and love for Jesus. We men
need to wake up and learn from Mary and our women members to show our
faith and love for Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us that first
Holy Week.
Mary is a big help to all of us, both men and women, in preparing us to
live through this Holy Week successfully with faith and love for Jesus.
But Judas is not a good example. He is a warning from God to all who
don't believe and love Jesus.
Judas complained and criticised Mary when she showed faith and love for
Jesus. (verses 4-5) He acted like he loved Jesus and the poor people, but
really he loved only money. If Mary had sold the bottle of perfume and
given the money to Judas, he would not have given it to the poor. He
would have used it for himself. (verse 6) Later Judas betrayed Jesus for
30 pieces of silver and then despaired and hanged himself.
All of us, like Judas, have greed in our hearts, too. We are daily
tempted to love money and all the nice things we can buy. TV Commercials,
newspaper ads, attractive magazine ads daily tempt us to value
earthly things and pleasures more than we value Jesus and His spiritual
riches and blessings.
We perhaps are hypocrites like Judas. You know that on Palm Sunday I
always ask you to buy Easter lilies or other flowers and bring them to
church to honor and praise Jesus on Easter Sunday. Then some members
say, "Why waste money for flowers? Why not give that money to the poor
or to missions?" But do these people who complain really love the poor?
Do they really want to support missions? No! They don't give for flowers
and they don't give for missions or the poor. They only want to keep
their money to spend for themselves. Like Judas, they love money rather
than Jesus.
Each one of us should honestly search our hearts today and confess our
sins. Don't be a hypocrite like Judas. Don't argue and make false
excuses.
See Jesus how He loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus and His disciples.
Here we see Jesus calmly and bravely prepare to suffer and die for our
sins and for the sins of the whole world. Jesus even loves Judas.
Jesus knew what evil and deceit was hidden in Judas' heart. Jesus tried
to warn Judas and help him see his sin. He reminds Judas that in a few
days He will die for his sins also. Jesus also warns you and me today
through Judas.
Wonderful Jesus! He is very kind and merciful. He suffers our sins and
insults without complaint. On this Palm Sunday and during this Holy
Week let us attend carefully to all the things Jesus did for us in
Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. He saw us, too, when He suffered and died
on the cross. He died for all and He died for us!
Let us be careful and not do like Judas. He is a warning to us. Let us
do like Mary. Her faith and love can encourage our faith and love and
help us have a very successful Holy Week.
Amen.