What if we could walk with Jesus through the last six months of his ministry on earth? What if we could see what He saw, experience what He experienced, and know the very movement of God in His redemption plan? We can! Jesus’ life is recorded in the Gospels; with the help of John, who marked many key events by the Feasts, we can know where Jesus was, walk with Him in his last six months, and even experience what Jesus encountered when everything got really interesting.
Beginning in John 7, we see Jesus in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles: living on purpose, being led by the Spirit, testifying to the truth, making promises, calling hearts toward Himself, and yes– challenging religion. His first promise? Rivers of living water are coming! The Holy Spirit is coming! Redemption was unfolding right before their eyes. Not a haphazard walk at all: Jesus, His face set like flint, was a man on assignment to conquer sin and death.
These six months find completion in what is often called the “Passion Week”– the week beginning at Palm Sunday and culminating on Easter, or Resurrection Sunday. This one week alone accounts for 1/3 of all of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus! John’s Gospel dedicates 1/2 of his record of Jesus to this one crucial week of His passion. And yet, we often hear the story re-told as several stories stacked upon each other, becoming a big jumble of events. We know Jesus rode in on a donkey, made people angry, went to the Cross, then rose from the dead. . .But, is that all?
The Lord has given me an assignment: Bring an account of Jesus inside of His passion week through intentional encounters with His word and His Spirit. Please pray! In order to do this, we must begin now. With eight weeks remaining until Easter, we have an opportunity to walk with Jesus into the events of His last six months on earth and the incredible passion week of His life.
Starting this coming Sunday at the 9 am service, we will use John 7 as a springboard to travel through time and discover all that the Father was doing in the Son. At the 11 am service, we will continue on into chapter 8; then John 9 on the following Wednesday, and so forth, until we are standing with Jesus in the Resurrection! It won’t always be straightforward, as we weave other Gospels together, but the path is clear, His steps have been recorded, and the journey is set.
I believe we will witness the genius, the beauty, and the intensity of the love of God as He sent His Son into the greatest liberation assault history has ever known! We will feel His determination to move all lies to one side and testify to the truth, opening eyes to see again. Jesus, the One who comes to conquer sin and death, destroys him who had the power of death, and becomes the first born of many brethren! We will experience the Father’s plan to bring many sons into glory. My prayer is that we will be there: encountering Jesus, yielding to Jesus, being liberated by Jesus.
After this, we will know the Bible like we haven’t before, and best yet, we will be transformed into the story of redemption. We won’t be outsiders, but the ransomed of the Lord in the greatest story ever told, encountering for ourselves Jesus–the Way, the Truth and the Life. JESUS: our Way, our Truth, and our Life! Amen.