Footprints On Calvary Road - Sample

FOOTPRINTS on CALVARY ROAD

Give seven minutes each day to gain a deeper appreciation of God’s love for you.

SIM KAY TEE

Through short but in-depth chapters, take a walk with Jesus as we follow His footprints on Calvary Road. Relive and reflect on the events of the final days of Jesus on earth, from His anointing by Mary, His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, His betrayal and death, to His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and see the extent to which Jesus went to show how much He loves us. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).

FOOTPRINTS on CALVARY ROAD WALKING WITH JESUS TO THE CROSS

Sim Kay Tee is a Bible teacher and writer at Our Daily Bread Ministries. Based in Singapore, Kay Tee writes for the Discovery Series Bible Study guides, the Journey Through Series devotional, and is a regular contributor to the insights for Our Daily Bread. Kay Tee has taught the Bible in various countries. He has three daughters and one granddaughter.

Z5230

SIM KAY TEE

SIM KAY TEE

FOOTPRINTS on CALVARY ROAD WALKING WITH JESUS TO THE CROSS

Footprints on Calvary Road: Walking with Jesus to the Cross © 2021 by Our Daily Bread Ministries Published by Discovery House Distributors Singapore Private Limited.

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Design by Joshua Tan ISBN 978-981-14-9782-7 Printed in Singapore 21 22 23 24 25 / 5 4 3 2 1

To my beloved wife Lay Keng, who fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.

And to Phoebe Eudora, Lydia Euphemia and Tabitha Eurydise, whose faith which first lived in your mother, now lives in you also.

Contents

Preface 7 Introduction

9

1 Preparing Jesus for Burial

15

2 The King We Want

25

3 Temper in the Temple

35

4 The Greatest Commandment

45

5 Preparations for the Passover

55

6 The Last Supper and the Lord’s Supper

63

7 An Act of Humble Servanthood

71

8 When Darkness Reigns

81

9 The Failure of a Proud Man

93

10 The Six Trials of Jesus Part 1: The Jewish Trials

105

11 The Six Trials of Jesus Part 2: The Gentile Trials

117

12 Saved at the First Opportunity

129

13 The Darkness in the Silence

139

14 Death and Burial

151

15 The Empty Tomb

159

Preface Coming from a congregational church, I wasn’t schooled in liturgy. Nor was I exposed to any of the other liturgically-based “holy days” in the ecclesiastical calendar. As a congregation, we would sombrely commemorate Christ’s death on Good Friday, triumphantly celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and joyfully cheer His birth on Christmas Day—the three most important days in the church calendar. But observances of special religious days like Ascension Day, Pentecost Sunday, the monthlong Advent, the six-week-long Lent, or the Holy Week did not feature in our church programme.

It was only after I became the pastor of a church that I was drawn towards the Lenten observance. As pastor, I wanted my congregation to remember not just the two days of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Surely the sacrifice of our precious Lord and Saviour deserves much more deliberation and tribute than just what Good Friday or Easter Sunday would offer. As a people redeemed and saved by Jesus, we are gratitude-bound and motivated by love to devote a lot more time and effort to contemplate and appreciate what Jesus did in the last week of His life, culminating in His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Preface

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The Bible does not tell us to observe or to commemorate these events. Historical documents, however, show that the name “Holy Week” was already used in the 4th century (331 AD) by Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria (293–373 AD). This indicates that the early believers commemorated this “Great Week” with a 1

feeling of profound sanctity and reverence.

It is thus good for us to take time out of our busy lives to know more about this last week of Jesus. For during this week, Jesus 2

demonstrated to us “the full extent of his love” (John 13:1 NLT) .

In this one week, Jesus gives us irrefutable proof that “he loved [us] to the very end” (13:1 NET). It is His unparalleled love that we celebrate this great and holy week.

When I look into the life of our suffering Saviour. I am awed— stumped—by the love of our Saviour, dumbfounded by the extent to which Jesus went to show how much He loves us, even to death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Let us “[fix] our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2–3).

Indeed, we will be so encouraged and strengthened.

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Introduction The last week before Jesus went to the cross is popularly known as Passion Week (or Holy Week in some traditions). It falls between Palm Sunday, when a hopeful crowd crowned Jesus as their long-anticipated king, and Easter Sunday, when a victorious Jesus broke the bondage of death and rose physically from the dead.

When we hear the word “passion”, we usually think of strong powerful emotions, particularly intense love. But the English word “passion” comes from the Latin passio, which means “suffering or enduring suffering”. In many ways, this describes the profundity and intensity of the events that took place in Jesus’ last week, during which He demonstrated His immeasurable love for us when He “endured the cross, scoring its shame” (Hebrews 12:2)!

The Passion Week of Christ thus encompasses both the strong emotion of intense love and intense suffering.

Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His ministry (Luke 3:23). The earlier part of His ministry was carried out in the northern province of Galilee, where He used Capernaum, a key commercial centre on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, as His home base (Matthew 4:13). Towards the tail-end of His earthly ministry, we are told that “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).

Introduction

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Against the backdrop of Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer (Greek paschō) many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (16:21).

This same Greek word paschō is used in Acts 1:3 where Luke recounts, “After his suffering (paschō), he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive”. Interestingly, the King James Bible renders the word paschō as “passion”—“To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion (paschō) by many infallible proofs”.

Passion Week: The Main Events Most studies on Passion Week tend to begin with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. For our study, we begin our narrative a day earlier, with the story of Mary anointing Jesus for His burial “six days before the Passover” (John 12:1).

The chapters in this book are organised by days, unfolding the key events of Jesus’ last week in chronological order, starting from His arrival in Bethany and culminating in His burial and resurrection.

Each chapter will look at Jesus’ interaction with His disciples and enemies, and draw lessons and reflections for Christians today.

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Footprints on Calvary Road

The timeline for Passion Week is laid out below. Relevant Scriptures are provided for you to read the biblical record for yourself. Jesus exhorted us to “study the Scriptures diligently because . . . These are the very Scriptures that testify about [him]” (5:39–40).

Friday

John 12:1 Jesus arrives in Bethany, a little town just 3 km from Jerusalem, just before the start of the Sabbath.

Saturday (Sabbath)

Matthew 26:6–13, Mark 14:3–9, John 12:2–11 At a dinner held after the Sabbath in Jesus’ honour, Mary anoints Him with expensive perfume. I have included this story because Jesus specifically instructed us to remember what Mary did for Him (Matthew 26:13).

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–40, and John 12:12–15 Jesus rides on a donkey into Jerusalem to show He is the Messiah, fulfilling the specific messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The people proclaim Him as their long-anticipated king.

Introduction 11

Monday

Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:12–21, and Luke 19:45–46 Jesus curses a fig tree. Jesus clears the temple, a second time. The differences in the details suggest that Jesus cleared the temple twice, once at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13–17), and again at its close.

Tuesday

Matthew 21:23–25:46, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:38, and John 12:20–36 Jesus teaches His followers and faces a debate with religious leaders in the temple courts. On the Mount of Olives, Jesus speaks on the end-times events and gives us what is now known as the Olivet Discourse.

Wednesday

Matthew 26:1–5, 14–16, Mark 14:1–2, and Luke 22:1–6 The Bible doesn’t say what Jesus did on Wednesday. Some scholars speculate that Jesus continues to teach in the temple courts.

Others suggest that after three intense and exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus spends this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of Passover. On this day also, Judas Iscariot conspires with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus.

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Footprints on Calvary Road

Maundy Thursday

Matthew 26:17–56, Mark 14:12–52, Luke 22:7–53, and John 13:1–18:11 The following events take place: The Passover Meal and the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and the Upper Room Discourse and Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer Good Friday

Matthew 26:57–27:61, Mark 14:53–15:47, Luke 22:54–23:56, and John 18:12–19:42 The following events take place: Jesus prays in Gethsemane, His betrayal and arrest, three Jewish religious trials before the Sanhedrin, Peter’s denial of Christ, three Gentile civil trials before Pilate and Herod, the crucifixion, darkness, the death, and burial of Jesus Saturday (Sabbath)

Matthew 27:62–66, and Luke 23:56 Jesus is in the tomb. Because this was the Jewish Sabbath, no activities were carried out or recorded.

Introduction 13

Resurrection Sunday

Matthew 28:1–15, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1–35, and John 20:1–23 Jesus’ followers find an empty tomb. Jesus rises from the dead and appears to His disciples.

Footprints on Calvary Road In this book, we are going to take a walk with Jesus as we follow His footprints on Calvary Road, from Bethany (Friday) to the empty tomb (Resurrection Sunday).

As the Roman soldiers led Jesus to the execution grounds, He could not carry the crossbeam of the cross, having been weakened by the brutal torture and flogging. A passerby, Simon from Cyrene, was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Simon was the only man privileged to literally carry Jesus’ cross! Like Simon, we want to be able to take the cross and journey with our Lord on the Calvary Road. But unlike Simon, we want to do so voluntarily and lovingly. We want to obey Jesus’ words, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew16:24 NLT).

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Footprints on Calvary Road

1 Saturday, evening Bethany

Preparing Jesus for Burial Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.

—John 12:3

Love can make you do crazy things. I’ve come across many anecdotes of people doing really foolish, even dangerous, things, in the name of love—like a husband and wife who were so in love that they had plastic surgery so that they would look exactly alike!

Each of us have our own tales to tell, of how we did things we thought we would never do because of love. As Bob Dylan, award winning singer-songwriter and 2016 Nobel Prize Literature laureate, astutely observed, “You can’t be wise and be in love at the same time.”

Preparing Jesus for Burial 15

But why not? Dylan’s observation may be perceptive but there are exceptions. As a younger man, I was madly in love. I did a crazy thing—I married my best friend, Lay Keng. It was one of the best, and wisest, decisions I ever made!

Similarly, loving Jesus led Mary of Bethany to do the right and most needful thing that anyone could do for Him.

Setting Events in Motion Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. —John 11:1 During the last few months of His ministry, Jesus ministered to the people in and about the region of Perea (John 10:40–11:54).

This was an area north of the Dead Sea, on the east side of the Jordan River. Besides teaching the multitudes, He also healed many, including a woman who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years (Luke 13:10–13) and two blind men (Matthew 20:29–34). Luke also tells of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus the tax-collector (Luke 19:1–9).

Jesus was in the town of Bethabara (also known as Bethany on the other side of the Jordan) when He received news that His good friend, Lazarus, was sick. After a deliberate delay of four days, 3

during which time Lazarus died, Jesus came to Bethany in Judea and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1–44).

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Footprints on Calvary Road

News of the great miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead spread like wildfire. This resurrection miracle set in motion the sinister plot by the Sanhedrin to murder Jesus, for “from that day on they plotted to take his life” (v.53). So, Jesus left Bethany and withdrew to Ephraim (v.54), a village about 24 km north of Jerusalem, far enough away from the Sanhedrin for temporary safety until the time of the Father’s appointed hour.

As the time of the Passover drew close, the Jews were getting ready to celebrate the Passover and many made their way to Jerusalem.

According to Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, some three million pilgrims would come into Jerusalem to worship in the 4 temple. Many were looking forward to seeing Jesus, the great

miracle worker. However, the Pharisees had issued a warrant to arrest Him (vv.55–57), and Jesus became a wanted man. If He showed himself in public, He risked being arrested.

Jesus’ Return to Bethany Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. —John 12:1–2 After His encounter with Zacchaeus in Jericho (Luke 19:1–9), Jesus set out and arrived at Bethany before sunset on Friday,

Preparing Jesus for Burial 17

six days before the Passover (John 12:1). Bethany, 3 km from Jerusalem, was the home of Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus (11:18).

Jesus observed the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), and on Saturday evening, a supper was given in His honour.5 John does not tell us where this dinner was hosted. But Matthew and Mark say this dinner was held in the home of a man called Simon the Leper (Matthew 26:6; Mark 14:3). The three siblings—Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—were related to Simon the Leper somehow, but the exact nature of their relationships is not clear. Some scholars suggest Simon was Martha’s husband, since Martha was the serving host.

Simon the Leper Leprosy at that time was an infectious and deadly disease (2 Kings 5:7, Luke 4:27). Lepers were isolated from their families and communities to live outside the city gates (Leviticus 13:45–46). Lepers lived a miserable existence and died a lonely death. Scholars say Jesus had healed Simon of his leprosy, but he retained the nickname “the Leper” to remind him of this miracle.

This was a dangerous time for anyone to be seen with Jesus. The religious leaders had ordered for Jesus to be arrested. Anyone with 18

Footprints on Calvary Road

information on His whereabouts was expected to report it. We can safely assume that anyone associated with Jesus would be collateral damage, because later, the chief priests “made plans to kill Lazarus as well” (John 12:10).

Why would Simon invite Jesus, a wanted man, into his home?

Why would this family take such a foolish risk?

It was love—for Jesus. Jesus had impacted their lives dramatically.

Simon was healed of leprosy. Lazarus was brought back to life. Out of deep gratitude and love, this family wanted to honour the one who had impacted their lives. Even if it risked their lives, everyone gathered in that home counted the cost and were prepared to pay the price to show their love and devotion to Jesus. He was that valuable and precious to them.

Mary’s Crazy Act of Love While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. —Mark 14:3 Simon opened his home to Jesus. Lazarus reclined at the table to have fellowship with Jesus. And Martha served Jesus with her best meal. It is here that the Gospel writers turn their attention to Mary.

Preparing Jesus for Burial 19

Mary took about a half a litre of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. —John 12:3 Mary’s extravagant action evoked strong negative responses from those who were at the dinner. They rebuked her harshly, “Why this waste of perfume?” (Mark 14:4). Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Jesus, was one of those who criticized Mary. He said, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?

It was worth a year’s wages” (John 12:5).

Nard is an aromatic oil from a plant root grown only in the Indian Himalayas. During Jesus’ time, this was a rare imported perfume.

This explains its costliness—300 denarii, which was a year’s wages 6 of a common labourer. Pure nard or spikenard, the most exotic 7 and expensive perfume in the Bible, is a highly-prized fragrance

that a bride will wear on her wedding day (Song of Solomon 1:12 NKJV). Scholars believe that Mary gave her most precious possession—her personal dowry—to Jesus.

Judas argued that this perfume could have been put to better use.

He was being practical. And I would count myself among the many who would certainly support Judas’ altruistic intention to help the poor. Why waste it on just one person?

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Footprints on Calvary Road

But, does love have a price tag? To Judas, Mary’s act of love was worth a year’s wages. To Mary, her love for Jesus was not to be measured with material wealth! How about us—do we place a price tag on our acts of love?

Upon Judas’ censure of Mary, Jesus spoke up to defend Mary’s actions and to remind them again of His impending death.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” —John 12:7–8 There will always be poor people in our midst who need our help. Jesus did not say that we need not help the poor. We are to help them anytime we can (Deuteronomy 15:7–8, 24:19–21).

But Mary’s anointment of Jesus with the expensive perfume was a matter of timeliness. It had to be done at that very moment.

Once the dinner was over, Mary would have lost the opportunity to do so.

It was also a matter of necessity. If we fast forward to the moment of Jesus’ death on Good Friday (Mark 15:42–46), we are told that because of the Sabbath, Jesus’ body was hastily prepared for burial. It was only on the morning after the Sabbath that a group of women went to the tomb “to anoint Jesus’ body” (16:1).

Preparing Jesus for Burial 21

The women never got to anoint Jesus’ body because by that time, Jesus had already risen. But back here at the dinner in Simon’s house, six days before Jesus’ death, Mary anointed Jesus’ body with expensive oil “to prepare for [his] burial” (14:8).

Jesus had repeatedly told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem 8 to suffer and to die. The disciples didn’t believe Him and Peter was

sure that “this shall never happen” (Matthew 16:22). But Mary of Bethany had been sitting “at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39). She believed Jesus about His dying in Jerusalem. And six days before Passover, Mary sensed that this could well be Jesus’ last week on earth. Knowing that this was the right thing to do at this right time, Mary did what she could. She gave her very best, her most precious and priceless possession in a show of her devotion to the Lord. This was Mary’s funeral gift to Jesus.

Consider this scenario: Someone you deeply love is dying. Doctors sombrely warn this could well be his or her last week of life. You are on the clock. Surely, you would want to do something memorable and meaningful for your loved one. What would you do?

The Price of Loving Jesus Mary understood the destiny of Jesus and she lovingly ministered to Jesus in His last week here on earth. What sensitivity of heart! What faith! What devotion! What love!

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Jesus commended her heart of faith and her act of love: “[Mary] did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” —Mark 14:8–9 Amazing! You and I are fulfilling prophecy right at this moment.

We are remembering and discussing what Mary did.

It is not presumptuous for me to say that many of us are paying the price for loving Jesus. We give our time, resources, giftedness and energies to serve the Lord in church. We give our tithes and offerings. For every dollar we give to the Lord is a dollar less to spend on ourselves. Some of us have experienced opposition and persecution from family members or friends. There is a price to pay for loving and following Jesus.

So yes, we do love Jesus! But is there a limit to our love? Mary gave up her alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, a very precious and personal possession, as a gift to Jesus. She saw an opportune time to do something significant—something out of the ordinary— out of love for Him. Are our eyes open for these opportunities?

What is your alabaster jar that you can give to Jesus?

Preparing Jesus for Burial 23

1. For more information on Holy Week, see https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holy-Week and http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07435a.htm 2. Alternative rendering of John 13:1 NLT, “John 13:1,” BibleGateway, accessed September 30, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13%3A1&version=NLT 3. There are two towns with the same name at the time of Jesus. The first Bethany, located on the east of the Jordan River, is distinctively described as the “Bethany on the other side of Jordan”, and is clearly identified as the Bethany “where John the Baptist was baptizing” (John 1:28; 10:40). This Bethany is known also as Bethabara (see 1:28 NKJV). The second Bethany, located on the west of the Jordan River, is in the province of Judea, on the slopes of Mount of Olives, 3 km from Jerusalem. This is the town where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. It is also the home of Mary and Martha (11:1,18).

4. Josephus, The Jewish Wars, Book II, Chapter 14, Section 3; Book VI, Chapter 9, Section 3 https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-2.html https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-6.html 5. For a detailed discussion, see: (1) William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to John, vol. 2, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 170–173.

(2) D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W. B. Eerdmans, 1991), 427.

(3) See https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/john-intro. cfm 6. A labourer’s full day’s wage is a denarius.

7. Notes on Mark 14:3, NIV Zondervan Study Bible, D. A. Carson, Zondervan, 2019, (Olive Tree Bible Software).

8. See Matthew 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19.

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Footprints on Calvary Road

FOOTPRINTS on CALVARY ROAD

Give seven minutes each day to gain a deeper appreciation of God’s love for you.

SIM KAY TEE

Through short but in-depth chapters, take a walk with Jesus as we follow His footprints on Calvary Road. Relive and reflect on the events of the final days of Jesus on earth, from His anointing by Mary, His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, His betrayal and death, to His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and see the extent to which Jesus went to show how much He loves us. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).

FOOTPRINTS on CALVARY ROAD WALKING WITH JESUS TO THE CROSS

Sim Kay Tee is a Bible teacher and writer at Our Daily Bread Ministries. Based in Singapore, Kay Tee writes for the Discovery Series Bible Study guides, the Journey Through Series devotional, and is a regular contributor to the insights for Our Daily Bread. Kay Tee has taught the Bible in various countries. He has three daughters and one granddaughter.

Z5230

SIM KAY TEE