Editor's Note: Disciples Today is publishing this brief Quiet Time series for those who would like a guide to walking through "Passion Week" in the footsteps of Jesus. Please see the other days of the week for further study: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday.
To deepen your study, consider these options:
Approaching Jerusalem: Luke 18:31-34: Jesus tood the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again." The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
Jesus knew what lay ahead for him in Jerusalem. Yet with trust in God and resolve he went forward to carry out God's will.
The Triumphal Entry: Luke 19:28-44
Knowing what his future was in Jerusalem, what doyou think was going through Jesus' mind as he rode into the walled city praised by the crowds? What temptations did he have to deal with in his heart?
Application:
Why am I a Christian? When I committed to be a disciple of Jesus did I know all that would lie ahead in my walk with God? Did I confess "Jesus is Lord!" at my baptism with conditions?
We cannot know where life will take our Christian walk, but we do know who we walk with. We can not know everything that will happen in th efuture or even the next few weeks but God does know and he has a purpose for everything and for me personally.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you: declares the Lord..."
Personal decision and action: (Take time to apply this passage to your life today.)
Prayer:
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened"...