Editors’ Journal

Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. . . . But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death.—John 11:53; 12:10

Two deaths and two restorations to life form a parenthesis for the closing experiences of Jesus of Nazareth upon this earth. When he performed the miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus sealed his own death sentence. The die was cast. All that remained was for the drama to be played out to its conclusion.

So determined were the Jewish priests to arrange his death that Jesus found it prudent to withdraw until the due time for his death at the Passover celebration. "Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples" (John 11:54).

When he returned, less than a week before his crucifixion, the pace of events picked up. These days provided a roller-coaster of emotions. From the heady start with a feast in honor of the Lord and his anointing by Mary, through the triumphal entry where he was proclaimed "king of the Jews" by a throng strewing palm branches in his path, to his assertive expulsion of the money-changers from the temple precincts they were seeing Jesus take charge in an uncustomarily bold manner. Then events took a solemn turn. Mystified by his conduct at the Last Supper, where he played a servant’s role in washing their feet, they walked with him the familiar moonlit steps to the Garden of Gethsemane, only to witness there his betrayal and arrest. In uncharacteristic and illegal manner they saw a rush to judgment that ended with their Master crucified on Calvary’s hill like a common thief.

The events are only too familiar to almost every Christian. They evoke both the emotions of sadness for his cruel sufferings and joy for the redemption his death provided. Above all, the heart is filled with gratitude for the greatest gift of all time, a gift that ultimately provides the opportunity of life for every man, woman, and child who has ever lived.

The Last Week

That was "the week that was." More space is spent on the closing scenes of the Master’s life than on any other portion. The gospel accounts combine to give an immense amount of detail to the events of these few days. These are the events we commemorate in this edition of THE HERALD.

On Tuesday, April 2, many Christians will join in a simple celebration, as Jesus commanded, "in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24, 25). For some time prior they will meditate upon those events of nearly two thousand years ago. Hopefully the articles in this journal, one covering each day of that week, will be helpful in this meditation.

In Hosanna to the Son of David the author treats the appreciation shown Jesus—first by his followers at the supper in Bethany with the anointing of his feet, then in the morning by the people meeting him as he rides, like a king, into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The following day his authority is emphasized in the happenings chronicled in the article The Cleansing of the Temple. With uncharacteristic aggressiveness, he drives the profiteers from the Temple. Like the Israelites of Old Testament times, he cleanses his Father’s house of all leaven, especially that of malice and wickedness.

Final instructions for his disciples are given the next day as they begin to grope with the reality of his departure (though they knew but little of what it would mean.) In Our Lord’s Great Prophecy he answers their questions as to what signs would portend his presence and the end of the age.

These hectic activities earn a well-deserved time of quietness with his followers to prepare himself for the ordeals that lie ahead. This day is treated in A Day of Rest.

Now the intense opposition begins to solidify as we contemplate the familiar story of the Last Supper, the walk to Gethsemane, the trial, and finally, the crucifixion in This is the Day the Lord Hath Made.

The confusion, sorrow, uncertainties, and anxieties of the Sabbath day are chronicled by Fasting in the Bridechamber, in sharp contrast to the following day when the women hastening to the tomb were given the glad news, "He is risen." The author of The Day of the Resurrection shows the grand climax to the week where their intense sorrow was turned into everlasting joy.

The concluding article is the "Verse by Verse Bible Study," Jesus: Our Rock and Our Rod, looking at the seventeenth chapter of Exodus, where Christ is pictured.

May this Memorial Season be rich for each of us as we continue to contemplate, not only the death of Christ on our behalf but the privilege of sharing in his sufferings so that we may also participate in the joys of his reign.