What are you doing this week to reflect on Jesus’ passion?
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What are you doing this week to reflect on Jesus’ passion?
tom felten on April 5, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Have been spending some time in the Gospels . . . meditating on Jesus’ last week of life. Am once again inspired by His humility and meekness (power under control). What an amazing Savior and Lord!
daisymarygoldr on April 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm
If this question was asked some years ago, I would have been clueless, because the words “Jesus’ passion” are not there in the Bible. I heard this for the first time when my husband and I went to see the Hollywood movie along with our church. And so, to inform illiterates like me, “Passion,” means, suffering ─ physical, spiritual, and mental ─ of Jesus in the hours leading to His crucifixion.
In many places around the world passion plays are performed during the Holy week. The church here uses movie clips of graphic images in Good Friday services to meditate on the passion of Christ. Personally, for me it is emotionally disturbing to watch violence in any form. And the visuals depicting the gruesome torture of Christ makes people weep as they mourn the death of Jesus.
In Luke 23:28, Jesus turned to those who were weeping and said, “don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” What did He mean by that? Jesus was telling them to “weep for yourself because your sins will bring judgment upon you and your children”. This refers to the calamities that were about to come upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the desolation of their city by the Romans.
What does this mean to us in the church as we shed tears to remember the sufferings of Christ on our behalf? Don’t pity Christ, but pity yourself. Don’t express sorrow for His suffering because He went to the Cross with joy (Hebrews 12:2). It is pointless to pity Jesus Christ and mourn His death. We know He is risen and alive and sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
Mourn we must, not for Him but for ourselves and our children. For the sins we continue to commit─ trampling on the Son of God, treating the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, for having insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us (Hebrews 10:29). The Apostles did not use Christ’s suffering to stir emotions and empathy but simply preached “you crucified” the Messiah and these words pierced the hearts of those who heard.
Today, as we reflect on Jesus’ passion, may we consider the suffering our children, spouses, families, and friends are experiencing because of our sins. Let us weep for terrible times and judgment that are soon coming. Let us repent of our sins and turn to God. The Bible does not teach we meditate on the gory details of Christ’s suffering. Rather, that we focus on His life, the fact of his death, His resurrection, intercession for us, and His future return.