Passion Week Day 5: On the darkest of nights, Jesus is the Light

 

This may be my favorite "I Am" statement. There are so many verses that come to mind

    "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." (Genesis 1:1, 3) God created the world with a word. And we know that Jesus was there! "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1-4; see also Colossians 1).

   And possibly my favorite -
    "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Revelation 21:23)

  From beginning to end, Jesus is the light. On the eve of the darkest of days, Jesus was the light. He was the light by loving His disciples and obeying His Father perfectly through humble surrender. Jesus is the light that pierces the ultimate darkness of sin and death through His own death and resurrection. He is the true light and the only light we need.


If you are following along on our other readings:

Today, we will read of several snapshots of events leading up to the crucifixion. Each detail is worth taking time to read and sink in. We see Jesus on the move. The cast of characters continues to expand throughout the night. There are many directly quoted speeches in these accounts...almost like you are an eyewitness to the terror of the night, reliving the vivid details of suffering and torture. We see the extreme cost of redemption through the suffering of Jesus in all these scenes. In these scenes we see some of the range of sins for which Jesus died.

     There are long passages, but short sections. Split them up over the course of the day for your children if that helps.

     Here are some of the snapshots we will see:

• The Last Supper and prediction of Peter's denial
• Agony at Gethsemane
• Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
• Jesus' trial before Caiaphas
• Peter's denial

     Many of us will begin to attend services today or have special meals in our homes remembering all the details of this night. Many of us will remember Jesus by washing one another's feet. Washing the feet of your children and explaining the Gospel to them is something that will stick in their minds for a long time. You can remind the children just as Jesus' feet were washed in the story yesterday, today, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. 

Readings

Reading: Matthew 26:17-75; Mark 14:1-72; Luke 22:1-62; John 13:1-38; 18:1-27

The Jesus StoryBook Bible: The Servant King (286-293), A Dark Night in the Garden (294-301)

The Biggest Story: Chapter 6 (79-90)

Memory passage: Matthew 28:1-10 - I am going to begin reviewing the Resurrection passage with my children. We learned the story from Matthew, but you could also work any of the other Gospels. 

Songs for meditation: Gethsemane

Activity: Make a felt banner like this one. Today, you can add a cup and bread, and we will also add a bowl and towel for washing feet. This is a Catholic site (fyi) but for you who might want to do hand prints for each day, these are good. Coloring pages that might be good for your little ones. These are just a few things. There are many wonderful ideas out there! 

Meditation: Isaiah 53; Philippians 2