The Passion of the Christ Day Four: Wednesday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
~Mark 14:3*

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
~John 12:3*

"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests  and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

~Matthew 26:14-16*

*References taken from the NKJV Bible.

The Passion of the Christ Day Three: Tuesday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, "Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away."

 And Jesus answering saith unto them:

"Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
~Mark 11:20-23

The Passion of the Christ Day Two: Monday

Rev. Hillary Dawes, PhD, SC-C

Mark 11:13-18, KJV

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

And as he taught them, he said, 

"Is it not written: 'My house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations?' But you have made it a den of robbers."

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

The Passion of the Christ Day One: Sunday

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Hosanna in the highest!" 

~Matthew 21:8-9, NIV

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, 

"If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

~Luke 19:39-44, NIV

The Sabbath before Passion Week

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, also known as Passion week,  in the Christian calendar.  I will attempt to put up a series of posts in the coming week to highlight each day's event in the life of Christ up to the crucifixion and beyond to the resurrection.  To me however, it all began today, on the Sabbath before Passion Week.    The Bible says that six days before Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, which was the town of Mary and Martha, to visit Lazarus (John 11:1; 12:1).

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead (John 12:1).

How significant that Jesus should visit the home of one who was dead, and was now resurrected, on the Sabbath, before His own death and resurrection.

Today, at church, we will be celebrating Jesus' death and ministry with a foot washing and communion service.  I can't wait!

Another Prophecy Comes True

Last year, in a blog post about pregnancy and health care reform, I predicted that health care reform will come to pass.  Now it has!  On Sunday, March 21 2010, health care reform leglisation was passed. 

Welcome Spring!

Today, March 20  is the first day of Spring.  Welcome Spring!  From here on out, the daylight hours will get longer and longer until the Summer Solstice in June. Great opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy life!  Below is a great article about this special season.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0320/Old-tradition-for-Spring-equinox-2010-burning-socks