Max Lucado - On Calvarys Hill: 40 Readings for the Easter Season

2013 Max Lucado

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources: The Amplified Bible: Old Testament. 1962, 1964 by Zondervan (used by permission); and Amplified Bible: New Testament. 1958 by The Lockman Foundation (used by permission) (AMP). Contemporary English Version (CEV). 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission. The Message (MSG) by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. New American Standard Bible (NASB). The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. New Century Version (NCV). 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV (NIV). 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. (Scripture quotations are from the 1984 edition unless otherwise noted.) Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT). 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. (Scripture quotations are from the 2007 edition unless otherwise noted.) The Living Bible (TLB). 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. The New English Bible (NEB) 1961, 1970, by the Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by permission.

Literary development: Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

ISBN 978-0-8499-6422-0 (e-book)

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 CORINTHIANS 9:15 NIV

Contents

40. He Did It Just for You

Sources Index

I ts early in the final week. The props and players for Fridays drama are in position. Five-inch spikes are in the bin. A crossbeam leans against a shed wall. The players are nearing the stagePilate, Annas and Caiaphas, Judas, the centurions.

Players and props. Only this is no play; its a divine plan. A plan begun before Adam felt heavens breath, and now all heaven waits and watches. All eyes are on one figurethe Nazarene.

Commonly clad. Uncommonly focused. Leaving Jericho and walking toward Jerusalem. He doesnt chatter or pause. Hes on his final journey.

Even the angels are silent. They know this is no ordinary walk or week. For hinged on this week is the door of eternity.

He knew the end was near. He knew the finality of Friday.

Lets walk with him. Lets see how Jesus spent his final days.

Enter the holy week and observe.

Feel his passion. Sense his power. Hear his promise that death has no power.

Lets follow Jesus on his final journey. For by observing his, we may learn how to make ours.

And the Angels Were Silent

1
The Road to Jerusalem

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.

MATTHEW 20:1819

T he road from Jericho to Jerusalem was just fourteen miles. A half days journey. Jesus is at the front of his band of disciples. A young soldier marching into battle.

As Jesus states his mission, forget any suggestion that he was trapped and made a miscalculation. Ignore any speculation that the cross was a last-ditch attempt to salvage a dying mission.

These words tell us that Jesus died... on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering.

The way Jesus marched to his death leaves no doubt: he had come to earth for this moment. The journey to the cross had begun long before leaving Jericho. As the echo of the crunching of the fruit was still sounding in the garden of Eden, Jesus was leaving for Calvary.

Jesus stepped toward Jerusalem with the promise of God in his heart. The divinity of Christ assured the humanity of Christ, and Jesus spoke loud enough for the pits of hell to vibrate: And the third day He will rise again.

Is there a Jerusalem in your horizon? Are you on a brief journey from painful encounters? Are you only steps away from the walls of your own heartache?

Learn a lesson from your master. The next time you find yourself on a Jericho road marching toward Jerusalem, put the promises of God on your lips. When the blackness of oppression settles around you, draw courage from the Word of God. Tis wise to march into Jerusalem with the promise of God in your heart.

And the Angels Were Silent

Lord Jesus, I cant begin to fathom the fact that you purposefully left Jericho, knowing full well that the cross was straight in front of you. Help me to take the Fathers promises into my life and to live courageously according to your Word. In Jesus name, amen.

2
Marys Extravagant Gift

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

JOHN 12:3

S he was the only one who believed him. Whenever he spoke of his death, the others shrugged or doubted, but Mary believed. Mary believed because he spoke with a firmness shed heard before.

Lazarus, come out! hed demanded, and her brother came out. After four days in a stone-sealed grave, he walked out.

And as Mary kissed the now-warm hands of her just-dead brother, she turned and looked. Tear streaks were dry and the teeth shone from beneath the beard. Jesus was smiling.

And in her heart she knew she would never doubt his words.

So when he spoke of his death, she believed.

Now is the right time, she told herself.

It wasnt an act of impulse. Shed carried the large vial of perfume from her house to Simons. It wasnt a spontaneous gesture. But it was an extravagant one. The perfume was worth a years wages. Maybe the only thing of value she had. It wasnt a logical thing to do, but since when has love been led by logic?

Common sense hadnt wept at Lazaruss tomb. Love did, though. Extravagant, risky, chance-taking love.

And now someone needed to show the same to the giver of such love.

So Mary did. She stepped up behind him and stood with the jar in her hand. She began to pour. Over his head. Over his shoulders. Down his back. She would have poured herself out for him, if she could.

The fragrance of the sweet ointment rushed through the room.

Wherever you go, the gesture spoke, breathe the aroma and remember one who cares.

The other disciples mocked her extravagance, but dont miss Jesus prompt defense of Mary. Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me.

Jesus message is just as powerful as it was then: There is a time for risky love. There is a time to pour out your affections on one you love. And when the time comesseize it, dont miss it.