Holy Tuesday
Happy Holy Tuesday of Holy Week! Holy Week is the week on the Church Calendar building towards Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday, which is the day we remember and celebrate Jesus rising from the dead in victory and conquering sin, Satan, and death.
This week, our devotions are going to work through the days of Holy Week, each with a passage of scripture and some thoughts to meditate on to help us to prepare for the Easter Weekend.
Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.
Read:
John 12:20-36 20 “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 ‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!’
Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this “Son of Man”?’
35 Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’ When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.”
Going Deeper:
During a world-shaking time like this, many of us are beginning to realize the fragility of our lives. A global pandemic shows us that we don’t have as much control over our own mortality as we thought, and that death is a nearer reality than we had previously felt.
Jesus felt the painful reality and nearness of death during this Holy Week thousands of years ago. On “Holy Tuesday,” three days before his crucifixion, he gave some of his firmest rebukes, most passionate charges, and most sober warnings. This day is when he likely gave The Seven Woes to the Pharisees and left us with The Great Commandment. One way we can honor Jesus on this unique day is to listen to some of his last words--as hard as they might be to hear.
In this passage in John 12, Jesus recognizes that the hour of his death is coming. Yet, his heart is fixed on the ultimate purpose for his life, and he shares these words with his disciples:
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:24-25
Jesus obeyed his Father even to death on a cross, and his death produced more beauty and fruit than any other death could. Few of us will have to literally give up our lives to follow Jesus, but what does it look like for us to follow Jesus while we live, who loved his Father and us more than his own life? What does it look like to view life with Jesus, our eternal life, as so beautiful and worthy that we “hate” the idea of living a life only focused on what we want out of this world? Here are three encouragements toward following Jesus when it comes to how we view our own lives:
- Walk in newness of life.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3-4
If you are in Christ, your old self has already been put to death. You are a new creation, your life is “hidden in God,” and your old sin and failures have lost their power. You have been given “newness of life,” today and eternally. If you have given your life to Jesus, you are like the seed that died, and may God use you to draw many more to himself!
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” (Romans 6:11-12). May God give you the faith to believe that you are truly a new creation, and that you have truly been set free from your sin and made alive to God. May you experience more and more victory over evil thoughts, selfish attitudes, and cruel actions--in other words, refuse to let sin reign in you! If you have not yet decided to follow Jesus, may he lead you to be like the seed that dies, willing to give up life as you know it for a much greater life.
- Count it all as loss.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8
Another way we can honor Jesus is by growing in our understanding of Jesus’ worth. Jesus gives us sweet gifts and joys, whether it’s our homes, a good job, or peace and safety. Yet, it’s essential that we never lose sight of the giver who gave us all things--and who gave us the gift of our own lives. And of course, he’s given us the gift of an eternal, perfect relationship with God!
There may also be times in our lives where we have to willingly give up good things in order to obey Jesus. We might lose the respect of a friend when we share how important Jesus is to us. Or we might choose to go without what we want in order to support “the least of these,” who Jesus calls us to serve. In other times, like this one, many things may be taken from us without our choice or decision. May God fix our hearts on “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus,” even when we lose good things in this life.
- Testify.
“And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:22-24
We each receive our own “ministry from the Lord Jesus,” and it could be that during this pandemic, or during another time in your life, God may call you to acts of radical obedience. God often calls us to be wise and to responsibly avoid danger, and he also tells us to pray for deliverance from evil. Yet, there are other times where he calls us to take risks for the sake of his gospel of grace.
There may be times where we will have to choose between our own comfort or image of ourselves and testifying to the gospel. We might be asked a pointed question by a friend, or we might be led to share with someone at work. Do we consider others’ opinions of us as precious to ourselves? Do we see our own personal brand--our image of ourselves--as valuable? May God open our eyes to the precious value of his gospel, and lead us in boldly testifying to his goodness!
There are many ways to begin testifying to the gospel, and Restored has joined in one special effort this week. If you’d like to join us, some of us are posting 60-second videos on social media about how Jesus has changed our lives. While it’s not the only way, it’s one way to grow in regarding our own lives as less precious and the gospel as more precious.
May God continue to lead us and grow us in seeing Him as worth our entire lives. May we be like Jesus and cry out, “Father, glorify your name!”
Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.
Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?
Apply:
What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and the Spirit?