Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 21:25
While this is ultimately a devotional about Easter, we wanted to be thorough in this study. It is important with any topical reading in Scripture to investigate and meditate on as much of the surrounding and supporting books, chapters, and verses as possible. This is a sound biblical practice that we should incorporate whenever we study God’s Word.
So, we spent a week looking in the Old Testament for precursors and prophecies about the First Coming, what Jesus would have to endure, and what He would accomplish. Then, we fast-forwarded to an approximately 50- to 55-day window involving the final weeks of Jesus’ earthly life. This started with what we call “Palm Sunday” and the “Passion Week,” which included the Jewish festival of Passover. The Last Supper was actually the special Passover meal.
Jesus was then arrested, tortured, sentenced to death, crucified, buried, and resurrected over that weekend. He then appeared to His disciples and others over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3). This period ended with Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This word, Pentecost, means 50, as it was this length of time between Passover and the coming of the Holy Spirit. (Palm Sunday was a few days before Passover, thus the “50-something” days total.)
Jesus did fulfill feasts on their actual days of commemoration. But there is ongoing debate in some circles about what days of the week certain events happened, such as on what day of the Passion Week was Jesus actually crucified. I don’t believe it is necessary that we get legalistic on needing to know exactly which event happened on what exact day in history. People far smarter than us can’t agree either. What is far more important to me—as is true of the ministry of Jesus—is what happened and why.
Jesus’ life was incredible. John closed his Gospel with the words above, appropriately summarizing the greatness of our God and the vastness of Jesus’ ministry. We can look forward with anticipation to learning the full story that Scripture did not have room to tell.
The Messiah came, was born of a virgin, preached the good news of the Gospel, was sacrificed as an atonement for our sins once and for all, and was raised from the dead, so that death would not be our end either. It was all prophesied over many centuries before He came. The odds of Him fulfilling even a fraction of them were astronomical. So take heart that the message is true. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world! He was and is the final Lamb!
I implore you again to use this Easter season to reach out to those around you who are lost. God has given you favor with some who do not know Him. He wants to use your relationships to draw men and women to Himself. Follow the guidance of His Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, and commit yourself afresh to knowing Him and making Him known. Amen!
