The Week Before

I paused this week to focus on those days leading up to Calvary, thinking about what Christ was experiencing and feeling before going to the cross. 

I focused on what our Lord, His followers, and all those wanting a king to save them may have been thinking.

As I revisited things I thought I knew, new insights emerged and the words to this poem quickly flowed:

“The Week Before”

It’s hard for us to fathom,
the depths of Your despair,
that week before betrayal
from him who said he cared,
and yet You went on healing,
saving those who were still lost,
knowing the torturous journey,
leading to the ultimate cost.

You wept over the city,
You grieved the vast blindness,
yet You met all their hatred
with Your own divine kindness.
You knew what priests were plotting,
accusations of heresy,
yet You went forth still willingly
to fulfill the prophecy.

Through miracles and teachings,
most still would not believe
You were the true Messiah,
foretold for centuries.
From Moses to Isaiah,
they spoke of One to come,
and with divine revealing,
You still were not welcome.

In ridicule and rejection,
You just responded with love,
and though You always gave Your all,
it never was enough.
For those in power felt threatened,
and had to end it all,
but being blind they would not know,
Your kingdom could not fall.

The week started triumphant,
leading up to You on trial,
You rode in to “Hosanna!”,
but it led to Peter’s denial.
You washed the feet of loved ones,
and served the bread and wine,
You agonized what lay ahead,
You knew the bottom line.

The weight of sin was crushing,
the debt was coming due,
the only path to holiness
would come now straight through You.
You went ahead, then, willingly,
into Your suffering,
for all of us who would believe,
You’d be the offering.

That week before You showed us how
to love and serve like You,
it’s hard for us to fathom though,
a love so pure, so true.
For You knew we’d still fail You, Lord,
and yet You paid the price,
to bridge the gap from us to You,
You were the sacrifice.

In that week before, so many things stand out to me:

• The vastly different expectation and understanding of “triumph” – from shouts of “hosanna!” to the cry of “it is finished”
• The span of betrayal – from those closest to Christ to those who would do anything to protect their power and positions
• The definition of unconditional love – even knowing the suffering to come, still sharing, teaching, serving till the very end – modeling love for all of us
• The dramatic range of emotions for His followers – from celebration to perceived tragedy; from excitement to despondence; from great hope to total despair
• The profound sadness from Christ in the burden for the lost even while He knew the path to eternal jubilation He was delivering for those who would believe – a loving desire for all even though a choice in faith by only some

Soon after that week, for His followers, smiles would replace the tears, and rejoicing would replace the mourning!

So thankful we know the rest of the story!