Get Prepared

Read Mark 11:1–9

In today’s text we see Jesus enter Jerusalem as King!

The climax of the history of God’s chosen people, Israel, was on the horizon, yet many did not perceive it. You see, Jesus entered Jerusalem on lamb selection day presenting Himself as the lamb of God, spotless and ready for the Passover sacrifice.

At the beginning of today’s text, we have the disciples present as well as those who questioned them as they untied the colt as Jesus had instructed them to.

Let’s pause here. Recap: Jesus tells his disciples to go and untie a colt (young donkey), He says they will be questioned and gives them the words that they should use if challenged.

We can be reminded here of how God speaks to us in our daily lives and instructs us to carry out acts of service (that sometimes feel insignificant). He doesn’t just instruct us though; he also equips us with His word for the journey and the task.

We have an opportunity here to ask ourselves: “When God speaks to me, do I listen to him as I ought to? Am I obedient to the will and the word of God?”

We can also reflect and ask ourselves: What are the things that might sometimes prevent us from doing what the Lord has asked?

What we see next in the text gives us some indication of what recognition of Christ as King can do in the way of invoking faith-filled action. The Bible details those in the crowd spreading branches and garments before Jesus as was traditionally done in honour of royalty.

Still, though the people recognised Christ as King on this lamb selection day, they required a revelation of who he was. “Hosanna in the highest” revealed that they were seeking salvation, but the type that was military in nature. They were looking for a King to achieve victory over systems of oppression as opposed to a peace bringing, hope giving, sin confronting King.

What are you looking for today?

Who do you say Christ is?

Do you recognise him and invite His presence so that you can achieve something that you have always wanted, or will you crown Him as King, truly seeing Him as who He is and receiving his peace, hope and love, receiving freedom from the burden of sin?

This King came lowly riding on a donkey. Today He rides into your heart to proclaim freedom in your life, restored relationship with God and favour through faith in Christ. Your job now is to Crown Him as King!

Pray:
Lord, we pray that by your Holy Spirit, we can truly see you for who you are. We recognise you as King but help us to crown you as king of our hearts by living faith filled lives of obedience, relying fully on you.

Rev Rachel Tracey
NTCG West Croydon

The day after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we encounter what appears to be, on the surface at least, a strange piece of narrative about Jesus and a fig tree.

And it is strange partly because sandwiched in-between this account of Jesus and the fig tree is another narrative. A story within a story if you will.

The sandwich filler on this occasion is of Jesus in the temple. Going full WWE, flipping tables and seats and expelling sellers and buyers alike.

At first glance, it can appear that these two instances are unrelated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Fig tree was cursed because it presented as fruitful, but on closer inspection, it was merely leafy.

It was in fact fruitless, unproductive, and barren.

The temple, a place that Jesus would later state was to be “A house of prayer for all nations” was instead condemned as being a “den of robbers”.

The place where people were to gather and seek divine exchange between God and themselves, instead became a place of manipulative exchange rates.

Profit and gain ahead of Prayer and praise.

The Fig tree, which withered from the roots, was a prophetic sign of the condemnation and judgement on the temple and Israel for their absence of spiritual fruit.

This is not the first time Fig trees have been used in reference to Israel. In Jeremiah (8:13, 24:1-10), God compared Israel’s unfaithfulness to a fig tree that bears no figs and to inedible figs that would be cast aside as useless.

Their fruitlessness becomes much clearer later in this Holy week as their denial of Jesus as Messiah ultimately results in His crucifixion.

The temple and Israel then, much like the fig tree, were presenting as one thing, but instead, was another.

It is in this moment that we should look at ourselves and ask the question:

Am I pretending or producing?

From a distance it is very possible to appear to be leafy and fruitful to friends, family, and church members.

“You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

I’m sure we can appreciate the sentiments of that quote.

More than that, God is not mocked nor fooled — we cannot pretend with Him, for he can see our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).

Prayer point

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 speaks of the Christian as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray then that our temple is not a worshipless and corrupt space, but is one that is sanctified and set apart for God. Let us walk with purpose and be fruitful in a way and a manner that is worthy of the Lord.

Amen

Ishmael Alexander Rose-Thompson
NTCG Dudley

As we read in Sunday’s reflection Jesus, The Lamb of God is now being inspected for sacrifice as instituted in Genesis 12:3-6, the lamb is removed from the flock on the tenth day and kept until the 14th day, it must be without fault. So God permits for the unworthy leaders of Israel to inspect the worthy lamb of God, but they must be careful, for this lamb Jesus is also a lion!

The standout incidents in these passages are the observance of the withered fig tree, the public rebuke of the hypocritical religious leaders and Jesus’ prophecy of His second coming – The Olivet Discourse.

We encourage you to read through these passages today and remember that as you contend for the faith it is this Jesus that is making intercession for you before the Father, He is filled with power and might raining down fire on the one that seeks to accuse, oppress and condemn you.

The religious leaders of the time were covered with the titles and robes of their religiosity – fig leaves, presenting as shepherds but were truly ravenous wolves.

Holy Tuesday reminds us that Jesus does not play about us, He sees through the pretence of every structure of hypocrisy, every system of oppression and reminds us that His authority is superior, His witness is more credible and His love is far greater. “It won’t always be like this”, because one day He will once again walk amidst the garden to enact righteous judgement, put an end to the show, remove the false covering of fig leaves, expose the works of darkness and gather His own unto Himself!

Because we know the lamb is worthy, perfect and without fault, let us therefore examine ourselves.

God on this holy Tuesday we join with the Psalmist and pray;

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
Psalm 139:23-24

Amen

Rev Phil Gray
NTCG Harvest Temple

The Wednesday of Holy Week is commonly known as “Spy Wednesday” and is attributed to the day when Judas decided to betray Jesus.

(NB the days of Holy Week are just a useful guide to help us in the journey leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion. The order of events may vary depending on how you piece together the four gospels.)

In chapter 14 of Mark’s gospel, he places this betrayal directly after the woman with the alabaster flask anoints Jesus at Simon the leper’s home.

John, in the 12th chapter of his gospel, shows us Judas’ indignance towards the woman’s costly gift. John also gives us an insight into Judas’ true motivations: “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:5-6)

Back to Mark…

Jesus reminded the disciples that “…you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me.” (Mark 14:7)

Jesus then memorialised this woman in verse 9 and celebrated her awesome act of service and sacrifice.

It’s after this moment that we see Judas make the decision to betray Jesus in Mark’s gospel.

John, (in chapter 13:27) shows Satan entering Judas at the last supper, and David traced out a similar betrayal in a song that he wrote centuries earlier! (Psalm 41:9)

One major theme that stands out to me this “Spy Wednesday” is GIVING.

There are so many ways that the Lord calls us to give; of our time, of our gifts, of love…

But we cannot ignore the place that monetary giving has in the Kingdom of God.

This woman gave extravagantly and Jesus highlights the many opportunities we have to give to the poor.

On this Wednesday, perhaps we can ask the Holy Spirit for where He would like us to give financially. Who do we know that is in need? Are there any charitable organisations that you may want to contribute to? Which current world events (global or local) might be stirring your heart to compassion?

How can we reflect our Lord, who gave His all, by how we give of our resources?

Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for what You have given to us. We want to reflect You in how we give. Please show us how we can give effectively, and with cheerfulness.

Amen.

Ebony Stephenson
NTCG Bristol

Thursday of Holy Week is commonly known as Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy is derived from a Latin word which means to command.

So what do we commemorate on this day?

1. Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples (Mark 14:12-20). Similar to what we saw on Palm Sunday, Jesus was already steps ahead! A man in the city, carrying a pitcher of water, led the disciples to a specific home where a room was already laid out, ready for the celebration.

2. Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper. Drinking wine and breaking bread were a part of the Passover tradition. Jesus however, adds a new slant to this ritual; He makes a connection with His body and His blood (Mark 14:22-24). This strange sentiment had caused many disciples to turn away from Jesus after He fed the 5000 (see John 6:53-59).

3. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17). Jesus knew that His time had come to be crucified but John highlights that Jesus “loved His own who were in the world… to the end” (verse 1). Initially, Peter was hesitant to let Jesus wash his feet but Jesus explained to His disciples that “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (Verse 8).

4. Jesus prays in the garden (Mark 14:32-42): Here we see Jesus, fallen to the ground (verse 35), praying in anguish, knowing exactly what lay ahead — momentary separation from the Father (for the first time in all eternity)!

And what did Jesus command?

1. To enter into Jesus’ New Covenant (Mark 14:24). The Jewish people were familiar with this idea from the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34. There will be “forgiveness of iniquity” and God will “remember their sin no more.” Jesus was now announcing its implementation through His death!

2. To “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38). Jesus, being aware of human weakness, encourages us to seek spiritual help through prayer.

3. To “…love one another as I have loved you…” (John 13:34-35). Sandwiched between identifying Judas as the betrayer and being denied by Peter, is Jesus’ stark command to love one another. This identifies us as Jesus’ disciples!

Prayer:
Dear Father, thank You for establishing a new covenant through Your grace. Jesus, thank You for inviting us into this covenant through Your death. Spirit, thank You for empowering us to live out this new covenant through Your power and through prayer.

Amen

Ebony Stephenson
NTCG Bristol

Surely there is nothing “good” about Good Friday — at least, that is what our instincts tell us when we are faced with such suffering. How can it be that a good man would die for those considered “bad”? Surely the exchange does not seem worth it.

Yet our record stands, written in red for all to see: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). We are perpetually broken — separated from Him by our disobedience — a record carrying a debt we cannot repay. Like a young girl, burdened and desperate, crying out, “is there anyone there? Anyone who can help clear my debt? Surely, I cannot pay this myself.”

So it was, from the kiss of His betrayer to six illegitimate trials, Jesus responds to the cry of that young girl: “is there anyone there? Anyone who can help?”. He stepped into His final hours, walking a road marked by pain and suffering, so that a lost and desperate soul might finally find the answer she had been longing for.

The night before, an emergency meeting was called by the Sanhedrin, and Jesus stood before Caiaphas, accused of blasphemy by the religious leaders. They went so far as to bring forward false witnesses to support their claims. Yet even in its injustice, no charge could stand.

As the tension mounted, Jesus broke His silence and captured the attention of all around Him: “I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Mark 14:61–62).

As dawn broke, Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate. Pilate listened and saw that He posed no threat. Yet, fearing a riot in the midst of Passover, he chose not to act with justice. Instead, he handed an innocent man over to Herod Antipas, who questioned, mocked, and ridiculed Him before sending Him back to Pilate. Then Pilate gave the crowd a choice: to release Jesus or Barabbas — a notorious criminal. You can almost hear it — the crowd shouting for the release of the criminal instead of Jesus. You guessed it, Pilate washed his hands of the matter, and Jesus was sent to be crucified.

Mockingly, the Roman soldiers placed a purple robe on Him. They wove a crown of thorns and pressed it deeply into His head, piercing His skin as blood began to fall (Mark 15:16–20). They spat on Him in contempt and struck Him without mercy — without regard for His humanity, and certainly with no reverence for His divinity. Yet even here, in His final hours, His heart remained set on that desperate cry: “is there anyone there? Anyone who can help clear my debt? Surely, I cannot pay this myself.”

The Host of heaven and all His angelic beings stood ready to answer the call for help from the Son of the living God, yet He kept silent (Isaiah 53:7). Barely able to stand, He walked the path called the Via Dolorosa — “way of suffering” — until He reached the place of crucifixion. There, He laid down His divinity, was nailed to the cross, and lifted up for all to see.

Darkness fell upon the earth, and Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” — “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). And when He had cried out again in a loud voice, He declared, “It is finished!”

To the young woman and the young man reading this today, still wondering, “Who can wash away my sins? Who can clear my debt?” — be encouraged. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

There is now a better promise for us in this age: the eternal love of God has paid the penalty for our sin, and there is nothing we cannot surrender to the Father in exchange for His perfect forgiveness. Therefore, our hope in what is “good” about this Friday rests in this — that His sacrifice will forever stand as the greatest love story ever told in history.

Christie Scott
NTCG St Judes

It is finished — Those are the words uttered by Jesus as he bowed his head and gave up his spirit on Good Friday.

To the Romans, He was a mere criminal

To the Pharisees, a blaspheming heretic

But to us He is “a son that was given, a wonderful counselor, a Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and prince of peace”

Isaiah 9:6

And yet here we find the lifeless corpse of the prince of peace. Skin lashed to pieces and his brow mockingly adorned with a crown of thorns

He is dead.

Out for the count. So it would appear

As an avid fan of boxing, I’ve had many main event fight nights at my house.

Left hook, right hook, uppercut

“Man down” we would cry with arms aloft

Here in the passage of Mark, The Son of man is down and his disciples scattered in the wind, concussed with despair and grief

When John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod, his disciples came and took the body, such was their devotion

But as we can see here, Jesus’ disciples are nowhere to be seen.

The prophetic words He spoke alluding to his resurrection have escaped them (Matthew 12:40)

His many miracles (Matthew 8:23-27, John 2:1-11, Matthew 9:20-22, John 11) now but a distant memory

Let us not judge them too harshly for this.

It is very easy for us to forget the wonders God has done in our past when faced with present discomfort — But God is faithful. Remember His words “I will never leave you or forsake you”

Back to the corpse of Jesus.

Some of you may have already experienced the pangs of death of a loved one and felt that indelible pain that dulls but never leaves.

That pain left the disciples absent, but Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Sanhedrin, “took courage” to approach Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body.

Remember now, the Sanhedrin were enemies of Jesus.

Led by Caiphas, under the cover of darkness, they constructed sham trials against Him

But there was one, a secret disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, who the passage describes as “looking for the Kingdom of God”

He did not see Jesus the way the Sanhedrin did.

Coming out of secrecy, risking his reputation, and with not much time due to the pending Sabbath, Joseph retrieved Jesus’ body (with the help of Nicodemus) and prepared it for burial

We can learn from Joseph here. Joseph “took courage” or he contended for Jesus. Reputation on the line, he stood in the face of fear and took courage.

There will be times where we must take courage and contend for the faith even when it means our reputation may be on the line.

Joseph places Jesus’ linen wrapped body into an empty tomb that initially was carved out for Joseph’s family, curated out of his wealth. This action fulfilled a prophecy found in Isaiah 53:9, centuries before Jesus’ birth

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
— Isaiah 53:9

This burial puts us on the precipice of the main event of redemptive history

The Resurrection of The Anointed One.

The Redeemer of our perishing souls and the conqueror of our sin.

Like a WhatsApp message sent with no signal — Jesus’ return was pending and imminent.

The Holy one didn’t face corruption (Psalm 16:10)

He was down, but not out!

Ishmael Alexander Rose-Thompson
NTCG Dudley

He is risen from the dead! An eternal truth that we cling to. The brutal crucifixion crowned Christ the suffering servant, as both spotless sacrifice and high priest. Time spent in the tomb held loved ones in a place of uncertainty, but today we say with complete confidence that he is not there — He is alive!

(He IS!):

– The one who ascended (Acts 1:9) sending the Holy Spirit the comforter (John 16:7) – to guide us and teach us all things. We have received power to be witnesses of the good news of Christ.

– Seated at the right hand of the father (Romans 8:34) – interceding on our behalf

– The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20) – He has guaranteed resurrection for God’s people, those who believe in Him by faith.

– The Holy one of Israel who broke the power of the devil – He freed those held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15)

– The King of glory who forgives our sins – Christ was accepted as a sacrifice. Thus, our faith is fruitful and not futile, and we are no longer in our sins.

How will we respond to the truth of Christ’s resurrection?

We need only have faith in the finished work of the cross made evident by Christ’s resurrection:

Faith to believe that Christ has POWER over death.

Faith that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in as many of us as have received Him and are sons and daughters of God. (Romans 8:11; John 1:12)

Faith to be witnesses of Christ to the ends of the Earth (Matthew 28:19)

Faith that like Christ “dead things” can be once more live!!

Pray

Father, give us faith to believe in the finished work of the cross. Thank you for your selfless act of love and mercy that brings us back into right relationship with you. May we live faith filled and power packed lives that honour you. These things we ask in the name of the resurrected saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev Rachel Tracey
NTCG West Croydon