Remember Him - A reflective journey to Easter

Remember

HIM A reflective journey to Easter

Introduction You might have celebrated Easter for many years or this could be your first time, but either way, this Easter is unlike any other. Many churches aren’t gathering together in the same way as previous years, so we might be struggling to know how we can remember and celebrate such a remarkable moment in history.

In light of this, we wanted to give you a simple but thought-provoking way of journeying from Palm Sunday, through Holy Week, to Easter Sunday. Each day, we’ll read part of the Easter story and reflect on how it fits into the context of the Old Testament prophecies. Each of these reflections reveals something about who Jesus is, so to help us continue to remember these truths, you’ll find a symbol to remind us and an action to help us respond.

Whether you follow the devotional on your own, with your household or with a friend, we hope this journey gives you easy and practical ways to share the good news as you remember the Easter story afresh.

Let’s remember Jesus this Easter.

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These Easter reflections are linked to our #RememberWhen resource. #RememberWhen is a four-week sermon series and small group resource using captivating videos and biblical discussions to explore how we can all be a witness to Jesus.

It’s a chance for us to remember our stories of God’s faithfulness and gain confidence to share them with others. To find out more, head to eauk.org/rememberwhen

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Day 1: Palm Sunday READ | MATTHEW 21:1–11

REFLECT As we begin Holy Week, we remember the moment when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The way He arrived might have seemed insignificant, but Zechariah 9:9 shows us that Jesus’ arrival on a donkey was prophesied long before He was even born.

Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus was who He said He was but not necessarily who people expected. Rather than a triumphal entrance as a king, He humbly entered on a donkey, similar to the gentle way He enters into many of our own lives. It may have been many years ago or just in the last few months, but we know that Jesus’ arrival, however unassuming, is certainly never insignificant; it changes everything.

Just like the cloaks laid before Jesus as He rode on the donkey, each time you put your coat RESPOND on or hang it up, take a moment to thank God for entering into our world and into our lives.

Perhaps put a note above your coat hooks reminding you of Jesus’ presence through His Spirit in your home, and thank Him for that whenever you see it.

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Day 2: Monday READ | LUKE 4:18–19

REFLECT Having just passed the one-year mark since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK, there is much for us to reflect on from the last 12 months. Many of us have experienced hardships and we can all bring to mind others who have suffered huge loss.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He demonstrated the ways that He fulfilled the prophecies about the coming messiah, and so today we remember His mission to bind up the brokenhearted in Isaiah 61:1–2. Not only that, but Easter is a reminder that Jesus has experienced pain and sorrow Himself. You might need to remember this for yourself, or maybe this is an aspect of Jesus’ character you feel prompted to share with someone else.

Masks have become an everyday reminder that our world is not quite as it should be right RESPOND now. As you put on your mask, take a moment to remember those who also feel anxious and unsettled at this time. Perhaps message someone you know who needs Jesus’ comfort to say you’re praying for them.

Day 3: Tuesday READ | MARK 1:1–8

REFLECT Before Jesus began His ministry, the Bible tells us that God sent someone specifically to prepare the way for Him. This person was John the Baptist, who called God’s people to prepare the ground for the glory of the Lord to be revealed, as prophesied in Isaiah 40:3–5.

While no one could replace Jesus or take His place, there were lots of people who played their part in preparing the way for Him and His message. Similarly, we can all recall people who played a vital role in preparing the way for Jesus in our own lives.

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We read in scripture that John the Baptist ate locusts and honey, and while few of us have RESPOND locusts to hand, most of us have sugar or honey. How about making a sweet treat for a neighbour, reminding them they are not forgotten, and perhaps preparing the way for Jesus to enter into their life?

Day 4: Wednesday READ | MATTHEW 26:14–15

REFLECT Although the joy of Easter Sunday is drawing nearer, we know that Jesus suffered much before His triumph over death. Not only was His pain physical, but He also felt the sting of betrayal when Judas sold Him out for 30 pieces of silver, in line with Zechariah 11:12.

Judas decided there was more to gain from unfaithfulness than loyalty.

We may think we’d never be like Judas, but sadly we’ve all had moments when we have been disloyal to Jesus in thought or deed. We may even have felt betrayed ourselves, and so we can find comfort in the knowledge that Jesus knows how it feels to be sold out. But today, let’s flip the cost of betrayal on its head and, instead, consider how we could choose to be loyal to Jesus and support others.

Thinking about the 30 silver coins Judas received, is there a charity or cause that you could RESPOND support financially? It could be an established organisation or a friend in need who God has brought to mind. Let’s choose to be people who support others whatever the cost.

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Day 5: Maundy Thursday READ | LUKE 22:19–20

REFLECT The night before Jesus was crucified, He shared a meal with those closest to Him: His disciples. This last supper mirrored much of the Jewish Passover meal, linking to Exodus 12:13–14 where the blood of a lamb was painted on the doorposts of Israelite homes to save them from harm; the angel of death ‘passed over’ their homes.

At the last supper, Jesus was saying that instead of the blood of a lamb, His own blood would be spilled to save all people. Jesus also encouraged His disciples to continue this same meal – an act of commemoration instructed by God – in remembrance of Him. It was the beginning of communion, a way for Christians to regularly remember that Jesus’ blood was shed for us, making it possible for us to become part of God’s family.

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Similar to the disciples on Maundy Thursday, gather as a household – or socially distanced with a friend outside – and eat together, using the time to remember that we too can be saved into the family of God through the blood of Jesus.

Day 6: Good Friday READ | JOHN 19:29–30

REFLECT Today is day that changed the course of history. It’s the day when Jesus, in all of His godly majesty, chose to pay the price for our wrongdoing. By taking on the brokenness of humanity and the fallen nature of creation, He traded His perfection for the imperfections of our world so that all the earth could once again by reconciled with God. In today’s passage, moments before Jesus dies, He drinks from a sponge on the stalk of a hyssop plant. This is the same plant that was used at Passover to paint lamb’s blood on the 6 | Remember Him

doorposts, as mentioned in yesterday’s reflection. This confirms to us that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb whose blood – not on a doorpost but on a cross – would save all people and all of creation from death. Just as God provided Abraham with the offering of a lamb to save his son Isaac in Genesis 22:8, God provided a sacrifice again. This time the sacrifice was His own Son, and it was for all humankind and the whole cosmos. That is why we call today ‘good’.

Why not walk to a place where you can fully see the beauty of creation? Take a moment to marvel RESPOND on the Creator becoming subject to His creation, dying on a cross made from a tree He created.

Reflect on the humility of Jesus that He would choose this death in our place.

Day 7: Holy Saturday READ | LUKE 23:44 –47

REFLECT On Holy Saturday, we sit between the darkness of yesterday and the hope of tomorrow.

This year, perhaps more than most, this day feels particularly poignant.

When darkness fell after Jesus’ death, despite all His promises that He would return, there must have been moments of doubt among His followers. We catch a glimpse of this in the “we had hoped” from the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35).

Phil Knox, head of mission to young adults, has written and performed a spoken word entitled ‘Lament’ using the words of Lamentations 3:19–24. It seeks to help us to process the events of the pandemic, while holding onto the faithfulness of God. Today, we can sit in the darkness with confidence that the story doesn’t end here.

It can be tempting to rush out of this limbo, but let’s take a moment to sit with those feelings.

God can hold the tension, and we must also learn to live in the now-and-not-yet. Light a candle, pause, and reflect on the past year with all the losses that so many of us have experienced. Remember that even in the darkness, God is present and faithful.

RESPOND

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Day 8: Easter Sunday READ | MATTHEW 28:1–10

REFLECT The earth shook, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.

Today we can celebrate because Jesus was raised from the dead; He rose again into new life, just as He said He would in John 2:19. Not only that, but He extends the same invitation of new life to all of us. As Hosea 2:23 says, we can now be called God’s people, even though we were not His people, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This is the best news ever, but we can all think of people who haven’t heard it before. As we celebrate the joy that this news brings us, we cannot forget those who haven’t yet responded to Jesus’ invitation to new life and the opportunity to be a part of His people.

The journey we’ve been on over the last few days might be the first time you’ve heard the RESPOND Easter story, or it might have prompted you to remember your own journey of faith over many years. Either way, let’s use today as a brilliant opportunity to keep passing on this good news. Whether it’s a text, a phone call or a socially distanced catch up, find a moment to tell someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus why today gives us cause for celebration.

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