This week I am going to share a few posts with all of you from a dear friend, Vicki Bryant. I met Vicki through another dear friend and church. Lately Vicki has been posting on her personal Facebook page the message why we as Christians celebrate this week, Holy week. The week leading up to Easter. 

I felt that it was important to share this message.

Will I lose followers because of this? Probably. 

Does it matter? Not really.

Jesus left the glory of heaven at a predetermined time to enter history and make reconciliation between the Creator and His highest creation, man. That reconciliation was necessary because sin by our first father and mother (Adam and Eve) broke the perfect fellowship between them and the Creator. Death (as opposed to eternal life) entered the world; and man became an enemy to God. 

Later, God gave His people a set of Laws to identify sin and bring man into obedience. No man was able to perfectly fulfill every Moral, Civil and Ceremonial law. Because sin was still reigning in man’s heart, a series of ‘sacrifices’ was put into effect in which animals—bulls, lambs, rams, goats and birds—were offered in exchange for man’s sins. Someone or something had to pay the price for sin; and the animals became a shed-blood substitute to pay that price. The sacrificial system never changed the hearts of man though. The cycle of sin, sacrifice, sin, sacrifice, sin, sacrifice continued for thousands of years. 

At the predetermined time mentioned above, God became flesh and dwelt among His creation in the form of Jesus. Jesus alone lived his earthly life without sin and in full obedience to the Laws God had set before His children. Jesus called men to Himself, taught them, healed the sick, resurrected the dead and revealed the true character of God to man. As He did these things, the Jewish leaders were threatened by His teachings and His very real abilities to perform these signs and wonders. They could feel their control and power slipping away.

As we look at the events of this Holy Week, we need to understand the implications of our holy God dwelling among sinful men—in order to bring reconciliation between Creator and creation. Jesus (God in the flesh) came for one reason and one reason only—to Redeem Lost Sinners and to Reconcile them to their Heavenly Creator.

On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before the Resurrection), Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with His eyes focused fully on His coming death on Calvary’s cross. He rode into the city He loved to shouts of “Hosanna!” and celebration. The people laid palm fronds upon the street before Him and waved them at Him. Meanwhile, the Jewish leaders who despised Him were planning His demise. Jesus came into Jerusalem knowing this was the last week of His earthly life…

SCRIPTURE: And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— Colossians 1:21-22