​Inevitable. Given the depth and pervasiveness of human rebellion against God, it was inevitable that God would have to step in and take upon himself the burden of putting things right. And God would do this by taking on human flesh, born a faithful Jew. Jesus would do and be for Israel, and, hence, for us all, what only God could do and be. In this Lenten series, Jesus turns his face toward Jerusalem and what awaits him there. It will be a cosmic clash between Jesus’ faithfulness and the dark powers of this world. Thus, as we progress through the series, we will see an ever-fuller portrait of Jesus and his work in this world, culminating in his humiliating death on a Roman cross. Want to know what God is? This is it.

February 26

The time has come. The hour does draw near. Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and what awaits him there. His teachings turn a bit darker, with words of warning about what is to come. There is no time to waste, no other choice to be made than to embrace Jesus and his kingdom. And he gives his disciples the gift of a prayer, from Jesus’ own mouth.

March 5

​As Jesus’ hour draws closer and closer, he begins to tell parables of a return with one over-arching question. No timetable. Just a question. Will Jesus’ disciples be ready?

March 12

​Throughout his public ministry, Jesus has referred to himself as the Son of Man. What does he mean? As the final days and hours approach, this question becomes more urgent and the answer ever clearer. Jesus is the Son of Man from Daniel, the one who comes before the Ancient of Days and is given dominion over all of God’s creation.

March 19

​Who is Jesus? What is his vocation? Important clues are revealed in the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on a mountain top. There are a couple of keys. When we are told that Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses, they spoke of Jesus’ “departure” the Greek word is exodos, for Jesus is going to Jerusalem to create a new exodus. This will not be a flight from slavery to pharaoh but from slavery to sin. Jesus will be the lamb whose blood is shed for the sake of Israel and, hence, the world. The second key is to read on in Luke and see that all the gospel writers immediately tell of a sick boy whom the disciples cannot heal while waiting below. It is tempting to stay on the mountain top, but the world beckons. There is always God’s work to be done.

March 26

​And so it comes to this. It was always going to come to this. For God so loved the world that he was willing to give his only Son over to the darkness of this world, so that we could be saved through the Son’s faithfulness, all the way to death, even death on a cross. In a word . . . it was inevitable, ever since the rebellion of the humans against their Creator. So Jesus will lead a new Exodus, not from slavery to pharaoh, but slavery to sin and darkness. Jesus would be the sacrificial lamb at this freedom party. This meal, this last meal, would be shared by Jesus’ disciples the world over forever after.

April 2

​A millennium before, God had promised King David that one from his line, his house, would sit on the throne of Israel. And now, on the Sunday before Passover, Jesus lays claim to that throne for all to see, He wraps himself in every messianic symbol—the colt, the cloaks, escorted in through the Eastern Gate—all it. There was nothing hidden now. But there was more, for in riding into Jerusalem, YHWH had returned to Zion. For God’s people, there was to be no king but God.