Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, the name referring to the ceremonial washing of feet though few churches wash feet in a Maundy Thursday service. But it is also the day of the Lord’s Last Supper, and the night upon which a friend of three years betrayed him to be killed. It is followed by Good Friday, the day when Jesus was nailed to a cross and died a horrible death for our sins. And it is for His sacrifice for us that it is called “good,” for there was nothing good that happened to Him on that day. On Sunday, Easter, we will joyfully celebrate His resurrection from the dead, decked in our new spring finery. But as we enter these four important days to Christianity, let’s consider what was expected of Jesus throughout His life and ministry.
When He was born, the wise men stopped to ask King Herod where the new King of the Jews had been born. King Herod was shocked for he was king of the Jews. Soon after the wise men left for Bethlehem, he sent word to have all the male children two years and younger in Bethlehem killed, hoping to rid himself of this possible threat to his throne. But God warned Joseph and He escaped with Mary and Jesus to Egypt where they were safe. King Herod had expected Jesus to try to usurp his throne.
When Jesus was 12 years old, his parents took him with them to the Temple at Jerusalem. On the way home, they did not see him, but assumed that he was with other of their relatives in the group as he was apparently an obedient and well-behaved young man. But at the end of the first day, they realized he was not with the group, and so they left their relatives to return to Jerusalem to search for him. At the end of the third day, they finally found him in the Temple, sitting at the feet of the Pharisees and discussing the Law with them. In Luke we see what happens next: “ So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “’Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” Joseph and Mary had forgotten the miracle of his birth, the angels, the shepherds, the star and the wise men. They had expected Jesus to act like a normal 12 year old boy.
When Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30, He gathered together a diverse group of 12 followers, his disciples. They included Peter, James, and John who were fishermen. Matthew who was a tax collector, Simon, a zealot, or as we would say, a revolutionary who wished to overthrow Roman rule, and Judas, whom John calls a thief and embezzler (he was the treasurer of the little band), and who later betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The others we don’t know about. But as they watched the crowds He collected around Galilee, they began to see in Him a man to whom people were drawn, a leader, a man not afraid to answer back even the Scribes and Pharisees. They listened to Him talk about His kingdom and they did not realize that it was not an immediate, earthly kingdom of which He spoke. They expected Him to lead a revolt against Roman rule, and when He did not, Judas, in his fury and disappointment, betrayed Him to be crucified.
The crowds that were drawn to Jesus, who listened to His teaching were no doubt moved and changed by His messages for when the enraged Pharisees sent guards to arrest Jesus, they returned empty handed. When asked why, they answered in awe, “No one ever spoke like this man.” But many others came to Jesus, not to hear His words, but to see His deeds. They expected Him to feed five thousand with a young boy’s lunch, to change water into wine, to heal the blind, to perform miracles.
The Scribes and Pharisees feared Jesus because His messages drew crowds to Him, because He performed miracles which they could not do, and because they felt He would become the spiritual leader of the Jews, leaving them powerless. They expected Him to take their place.
After the crucifixion, Jesus’ body could only be hastily wrapped in clothes and laid in a tomb. The scents and herbs used to prepare a body for the grave could not be done until Sunday morning when the Sabbath, which began at sundown on Friday night, would have ended. So Mary Magdalene went out that morning to embalm the body of the Lord, only to find that He was not there. John 20:1-2 records what happened. “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’” Peter and John then also raced to the tomb, found the stone rolled away, found the grave clothes lying in the empty tomb and left disheartened. They expected Jesus was dead and His body had been moved.
Everybody seemed to expect something of Jesus and usually they were wrong. What do you expect of Jesus? Some Christians expect that when they pray to Him or in His name, He becomes like a giant vending machine. They put in the prayer, and out comes the thing that they prayed for. But prayers are not always answered immediately nor in the affirmative. And this is the Son of God we are talking about, not a vending machine, nor someone to be taken for granted. This is our God who came to earth to live as a man, to suffer hunger, thirst, derision, and pain, and to die a cruel death because He loved us so much. Romans 5:8 reads, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” No longer do we owe a blood sacrifice for our sins for Jesus was the sacrifice. We have only to ask His forgiveness for our sins and recognize the sacrifice that He, the Son of God made. That is all it takes and our sins are forgiven. Then we need only lead a life faithful to God and His Word. And one day, God the Father will send Him back to earth to bring all of His people to be with Him for eternity. This of all times, we should remember these things and be thankful. How could we expect anything more of Him than what He has already given?