Holy Week:The Triduum

 For many Christians Holy Week is an important reminder of the work of salvation undertaken for each and all of us by and thru our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Week is about much more than just a chronological account in the week leading up to the arrest , crucifixion ,  death and resurrection of Jesus , it is about the salvation that Jesus has brought to each and all who will but freely receive it. Holy Week is noted for the observance of three important events, these three observances are called are called collectively  by some more liturgical Christians  as  the Triduum, meaning the three days. Holy/Maunday Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

 Holy/Maunday Thursday 

The First day of the Triduum is Holy/Maunday(meaning mandate)Thursday

Jesus gathered with his disciples in the upper room to eat what many call the "Last Supper" . The reference to this gathering as the "Last supper"  is generally understood as being Jesus' last supper before this death, but there may be more for us to understand than just a final gathering before Jesus was to face the cross.

The last Supper

 

Jesus told his disciples that it was was very important to him personally to gather with them to share in this highly symbolic and meaningful "Passover" meal, Jesus describes it as a  "desire" to eat with them.

"And he said to them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:"Lk:22:15

This supper was held the evening before the Jews would typically be gathering to Share in the Old Covenant Passover which commemorated from Egyptian slavery, when the "Passover Lambs" blood was smeared upon the door posts of the Houses of the Israelite slaves preserving their lives from the death angel as it passed thru Egypt taking the lives of the Firstborns in the land.(Exodus:11-12)

 The Lord's Supper

Jesus however, during his supper with the Apostles refocuses the whole meaning.  Jesus introduces new meaning to the gathering , there is now a transposition, it has become simpler,  yet much more profound.

This Old Covenant Observance is redefined , not thru Israel's history, but thru himself.  The symbols are now, not a "Passover Lamb", but Jesus himself,  represented by the Bread and Wine symbolic of his death that we might be forgiven of sin, and the introduction of a whole New Covenant offered to us all. 

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins". Matt:26:26-28

 It is no longer the "Passover" but rather it is the sacrament of  "the Lord's Supper" representing not only the death of Jesus, but all the more it is the introduction to an all new relationship with God thru Jesus, the past ritualistic ordinances and ceremonies of the Old Covenant are now gone, every everything they symbolized Jesus is. In may Respects this supper was the Last Supper of the Old Covenant and simultaneously the First Supper of the New Covenant.

Jesus Gave Thanks

When we see the new elevated meaning of the "the Lord's Supper", that it speaks of  his very death  to accomplish the forgiveness and atonement for humanity, we notice that Jesus gives thanks as he introduces the new symbols or Brad and Wine representing his death. This tell us that Jesus was literally thanking the Father that he might die for us to bring to pass our salvation.

Good Friday

The Second day of the Triduum is Good Friday.

There have been some over the years questioned whether the Crucifixion took place on a Friday or not, some believe that it was actually a Wednesday. Regardless as to what day the Crucifixion took place on, the fact that it occurred is the important issued and the resulting "Good" that was done on all of our behalf by Jesus.

Good Friday  looks to the Cross of our Lord and what Jesus and Jesus alone has done for us.Good Friday is  a  day of sober contemplation as we are confronted with the truth about our selves we are all sinners and need a Savior. We could not save our selves.No matter how good we are it is not good enough, as the Prophet Isaiah wrote.

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isa:64:6

 We,  not even the most virtuous, upright , moral and ethical among all of humanity could have saved us.  Only Jesus and alone could and did.

 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Rm:8:2-4

  

While We Were Sinners

Jesus came to die for us, he did this out of his love for each and all of us. Jesus did not wait until we were "good enough" but acted on our behalf even while we lived in our sins. Even before we knew of, or knew him Jesus acted on our part simply because he loves us.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rm:5:8

The Cross

Crucifixion shows us how far our God would go that we might live in an eternal relationship with him. God loves and wants us to the point that this perfect Holy God would come as one of us, taking on our very humanity and then accept upon himself the judgement of all of our sins resulting in our forgiveness and redemption.

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace" Eph:1:17

This God show us that he loves us more than he loves himself and proves it by dieing  for us in the person of his Son Jesus Christ.This is what the Apostle Peter wrote about in his General Epistle to the Church

"Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed." Ptr:2:24

Thur His Blood

It was thru the pouring out of his own very life, symbolized in his shed blood,  in  order to atone for all humanity, that is,  to bring us back into the relationship which the great God.  His blood was his life. The power and value of the blood is found in the live that the blood sustained, the blood of Jesus sustained the life of God intranet, the Son of God the second person of the Holy Trinity.

"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Lev:17:11

Are Forgiven

Jesus does far more then we could even imagine, he just does not deal with our sins but our very natures that is we are forgiveness of who we are. 

As the ancient Church Fathers taught "what is not assumed is not redeemed" , in the incarnation Jesus assumed our full humanity that we could be fully redeemed.  Jesus has literally removed all of our excuse from being left out of eternal life . He did it  and brought us forgiveness once and for all.

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins", Col:2:13

The work of the Cross, was a complete sacrifice, Jesus did not leave something undone , for which we are no responsible to  finish. His was a complete and perfect sacrifice which saves us completely and perfectly. His dieing word on the cross of "it is finished"  alluded to the accomplishment of our forgiveness. in the Greek the word mean "paid in full" .

No More Sacrifices

All the sacrifice offered at the Temple under the Levitical Priesthood made no atonement for us, the only showed what our real need was to have sin dealt with once and for all, those ceremonies could never take away sin. Jesus did  forever on the cross what theses ritual could not.

"Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."Heb:10:11-14

We are now forgiven by the work of  Jesus on the Cross, this has made it a Good Friday for us all.

Easter or  Resurrection Sunday

The Third and Final day of the Triduum is Easter or Resurrection Sunday.

The name Easter, is generally understood as referring to the east, and the sunrise, it  , however,  when understood does not speak regarding direction , but rather to the time of day when the Resurrected Jesus was first encountered.

Jesus in the Tomb

After Jesus' death on the cross a Pharisee name Joseph of Arimathea who began to follow Jesus asked the Roman Governor Pilate if he might take Jesus' body and place it in a tomb, Pilate agreed and Jesus was placed in Joseph's tomb.

 "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb"Matt:27:57-61

  Posting of a Guard Unit

The  religious leaders heard that  Jesus was now entombed and went to Pilate themselves asking that a Roman Guard be placed  there to prevent the disciples from removing Jesus and therefore claiming that the Resurrection had occurred.

Pilate agreed to their request and ordered a guard to be made available and placed on watch at the Tomb itself.

"The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard" (62-66)

A Roman Guard unit consisted of twelve soldiers , six slept while six stayed on active duty. The penalty for falling asleep, while on active duty  or being negligent , was death.

The Roman Guard unit, representing the power of Rome was , the first to actually witness the  supernatural events surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus. Rome which was he embodiment of the world system could not prevent the Resurrection of Jesus.

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men." Matt:28:28:2-4

 the  Empty Tomb

The Gospel of John record that a group of woman went early in the morning to the Tomb of Jesus before  sunrise. This  actually places his Resurrection sometime before the sunrise while it was still dark. It was their plan to prepare his body to be entombed

"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mk:16:1-3

 When the group of woman arrive at the tomb they find that Jesus is not there and are greeted by an angelic messenger, who tells them that Jesus is risen and no longer in the tomb and that they should go tell the others that Jesus is risen.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. "(6-7)

Again, regardless as to the what the actually time of the bodily resurrection  of Jesus was, the main point is that Jesus was Resurrected and was seen by many of his disciples, first by Mary, as she encounters Jesus outside the tomb while still in the burial garden, thinking that Jesus was the grounds keeper to Jesus' post resurrection appearances to his disciples,  to a crowd of at least five hundred who witness the resurrected Jesus to the Apostle Paul who met Jesus  on the Road to Damascus. The point is Jesus is Resurrected because he is the Resurrection. 

 "I am the resurrection and the life"Jhn:11:25a

Jesus speaks these word even before his own bodily Resurrection, this tells us that His Resurrection only shows us what is, and eternally is true; that Jesus is the Resurrection. 

The Resurrection is central to the Gospel Proclamation.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord"Rm"1:1-4

The Resurrection of Jesus declares that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is not the Son of God because he was Resurrected, but rather , Jesus was Resurrection be causes He is God,  the Son of God.

If Christ Be Not Raised

The  Easter event of the Resurrection, is also an ongoing reminder of the faithfulness of God to each and all of us, that the Great God, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is faithful to each and all of us. That the Resurrection of Jesus is God's verification that all he has promised us will be ours that our faith is not in vain.

 "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith".1Crnth:15:14

As Christians commemorate Holy week and the keeping the thee days,  which reminds us of the saving acts of God thru his Son Jesus Christ for each and all of us, let our faith be refreshed and strengthen as we look only to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor 

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

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