A Lot Can Change in Seven Days

I’m switching thigs up a bit for this week’s blog post. As a Christian and an author, one of the things that fascinated me about the life of Christ was how quickly people changed their minds about Him in the course of one week, which we now know as “Holy Week”.

Most religious scholars agree that Jesus was on this Earth ministering to the people for three years. Many hold that he began his ministry around the age of thirty. But for me, it’s always been the final week of His life that was fascinating.

I’ve always wondered about what happened during that week. How many people heard Him speak and realized “This is the Messiah we’ve been waiting for.” By today, known to many as Maundy Thursday, the journey was coming to an end. Jesus would soon die on a cross, charged with a wish to destroy the temple and blasphemy.

In that time, many of His chosen disciples scattered and left him, most of them on Thursday, after his prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. While in the garden, He begged the Father for a way out:

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, the hour might pass from him. “Abba,  Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

(Mark 14:35-36, New International Version)

In that moment, Jesus knew pain. He knew fear and anguish. But he also knew that the Father’s will was greater than what He wanted. He also took the time later in the same chapter to heal a man with a disability– albeit one that had occurred suddenly– the servant of the high priest whose ear had been cut off by an overzealous disciple:

When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

Luke 22:49-51 (New International Version)

Can you imagine what that must have been like for the servant? One moment, you’re coming to arrest a man who you believe is a criminal guilty of blasphemy and terrorism (after all, Jesus had supposedly threatened to destroy the temple), and this same man heals you when you lose an ear? To me, as a person living with disability, this always resonated in a way that I cannot explain. To know that Jesus was healing, even with just a touch. . . it gives me hope to know that my own healing could come the same way.

That’s why, despite my pains and struggles, I’ve never completely given up hope. It’s why I still trust, and why faith remains at the center of my novels. Because I know, even as I take it one step at a time, that a lot can happen in a week.

Have a blessed remainder of your Holy Week. I’d love to hear about your favorite Bible events connected to Holy Week and how you honor this time. Let me know in the comments, and please feel free to share this post with others.

You can find more from me at https://www.facebook.com/esmclaughlinauthor.