Holy Week Meditations - The Good Shepherd

“When the hour had come...He said to them, 'With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.'”
-Luke 22:14-15

     O Jesus, how Your timing is perfect! On the night of the Passover, You looked back to the directives given to Moses so many years prior. These were to be more than mere ritualistic observances for Your people. Life and death hung in the balance before them that night, and You showed them the way to life. It was to be for the saving of their souls, their very lives. You made provision for life - the lamb's blood - a foreshadowing of another day, another Passover, another great Exodus from darkness to light, when You Yourself would be the provision.
     So "when the hour came" on that faithful night, You took the bread and cup and pointed back to that initial Passover and revealed how it actually pointed forward to its fulfillment in You! Your body, Your blood, and Your desire holding it all together, Your willingness to be the offering for our sakes - this was the good news! The time of the new covenant had come! The time for God to dwell with men was upon them - in front of them - and there was much more to the story that had yet to play out. The dawning of a new age was on the horizon, but first, blackest night precedes the dawn.

     It was all about one Man. And You said, "Remember Me." You told the children of Israel to observe the Passover before it happened, and in the same way, You told Your new covenant people to remember the Passover before it happened - when the scourge of Death swept over all of humanity and struck one single Lamb alone. 

     Jesus, what was on Your heart, and what was on Your mind when You said those words that tied You to an earlier time? What was on Your heart, and what was on Your mind when You said, "Remember Me?" 

     Passover - the great Exodus had begun - that which had long been on Your heart. Jesus, You were moments from leading Your people through the valley of the shadow of death and through the wilderness of this life - again. O great Shepherd of the sheep, You came to seek and to save that which was lost and bring them home - carrying them on Your shoulders.

 

     How similar are these positions? Your heart's motivations were the same. I move from gazing upon Your earnestly-desiring heart in the Upper Room to the ultimate place of shepherding grace, mercy, and love - the Passover - the Cross.

     And it is here that I remember Luke 15. The grand stories of Luke 15 that You told months months prior to Your suffering now have even greater significance. In the Gospel of Luke, from the stories of Luke 15 to the actual display on the Cross, Luke draws attention to Your Shepherd's heart as Savior, Deliverer, and great Destroyer of all barriers. 

   
     Each Gospel writer gives a different perspective on the Cross based on the last words of Christ that he chooses to share. What did Luke select? "...today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Lk. 23:43). But to whom was He speaking? Of the other two men present, He spoke to the thief whose eyes had been opened to his lowly estate, his unworthiness, but yet his desire not to be forgotten in the kingdom of God. He humbly requests, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Lk. 23:42). In other words, "Just don't forget me! I don't mind being on the back side of glory, but let me not be forgotten, cast out." 

     Sound familiar? To me it harkens back to Luke 15 - in the parable Jesus told about two other men - one repentant brother and the other who, in his pride, remained at a distance. I feel like Luke highlighted these last words of Jesus in his Gospel account to portray Jesus specifically as Deliverer, Savior, and even Everlasting Father (Is. 9). Here we have another prodigal who cried out for mercy with a repentant heart to be remembered as He looked upon the Just One. Like the prodigal son, he did not ask to be lavishly treated like a son (of the kingdom) or an heir. He just asked to be remembered, not thought of as one far away. 

     Paradise was not in his thinking, Jesus, but You, Good Shepherd of the sheep, You carried him from the valley of the shadow of death - imminent death - and brought him into the light of life, Paradise! He took "steps" to come to You, and in the spirit, You ran to him, fell on him, put Your arms around him, and kissed him. You gave him the robe of righteousness and Your signet ring and called him "son", "heir", "accepted", "forgiven". Oh, how You lavished Your love on him!

     So I remember You now, Jesus! I remember the fuller story - from the book of Exodus to the Gospel of Luke. You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins, not only of Israel, but the whole world! To those who remember You, You cause the scourge of death to pass over them, and there You are seen carrying them home on Your shoulders. Lost become found in You. Death becomes life in You. The hardest hearts are softened in You. And all of my lesser-than requests find an upgrade in the One who "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

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