Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:10-12, NASB)
I was watching The 700 Club Interactive this post Thursday. One of the hosts, Andrew Knox recounted how, many years ago, he had trouble getting excited about Palm Sunday and Holy Week. He decided to ask God for help. God pointed him to Genesis 22, to the story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Abraham had just finished the preparations to sacrifice Isaac, when the Angel of the Lord told him to stop. God then provided a ram in the thicket as a substitute for Isaac. Much the same as Jesus being OUR substitute! God later told Andrew that while He had prevented Abraham from sacrificing his only son, God did not refrain from sacrificing His only Son! God loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to cleanse us from our sins with His blood!
Our dear friends, Bart and Gail Barton, sent us the Holy Week message from their Pastor Marv Fisher (what a great name for a pastor!). Here it is in its entirety:
Dear Church Family,
This Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rides down the slopes of the Mount of Olives, and enters Jerusalem on a colt, saying,
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Palm Sunday begins what many believers refer to as holy week. This week concludes on Resurrection Sunday which we will celebrate this year on March 31st. At our Wednesday evening service on the 27th, we plan to have several of you read through the scriptures beginning with Jesus in the upper room with His disciples, to His crucifixion and burial. On Friday evening we will share the seder together, (sign up by this Sunday) and on Sunday we will celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave!
Jesus was fulfilling prophecy when He rode that colt into the holy city over 2000 years ago, declaring Himself to be King. But perhaps one of the mysteries of this prophecy is when He decares; peace in heaven, as he descends and declares His kingship. Jesus was entering the most difficult week of His 33 years on earth. On Monday, He drives out the money changers in the temple, on Tuesday His authority was challenged, and He tells a parable which described Himself as a vineyard owners son being thrown out and killed, on Wednesday Satan enters into Judas, and the chief priests and scribes plot His death, on Thursday we read of the intimate gathering in the upper room where Judas leaves to betray Him, and later that night, His trial begins under the cover of darkness. On Friday Jesus is crucified, and He spent Saturday in the grave. So, with all this betrayal about to take place, how is therepeace in heaven?
The will of the Father brings peace. Walking in the will of the Father produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Walking in the will of the Father can be very difficult. Walking in the will of the Father may require us to cry out as Jesus did in the garden; not my will, but yours be done. The will of the Father meant hardship for Jesus, but it brought peace to heaven. The prophecy of the redemption of millions of people was about to be fulfilled. This Sunday we will compare the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to the eternal judgement of Satan as he is thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 20:10. The will of the Father brings about the peaceful fruit of righteousness for the many, are you one of them?
See you soon!
Pastor Marv
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