Opening Scripture
Psalm 71:1–14 (ESV)
[1] In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
[2] In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me, and save me!
[3] Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
[4] Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
[5] For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
[6] Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.
[7] I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
[8] My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
[9] Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
[10] For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who watch for my life consult together
[11] and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
[12] O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
[13] May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who seek my hurt.
[14] But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
A Prayer for Holy Tuesday
Luke 19:41–42 (ESV)
[41] And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, [42] saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Lord Jesus, long before the Day you will wipe away our tears, you wept many of your own. You grieve the way we look for peace in all the wrong places, because lasting, deep peace can only be found in you.
The tears you shed coming into a clueless, powerless, godless Jerusalem, underscore the mercy of these words from the Apostle Paul: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
Jesus, these words are just as true of us as first-century Israel. We too are self-seeking sinners for whom you gave your life (Rom. 5:10). The only reason we have peace with God is because of your finished work on our behalf. It wasn’t about us “turning over a new leaf.” We needed to become a whole new tree. We didn’t need a new start; we needed a new heart. We were dead when you gave us life. We are forever grateful.
We’d still be looking for peace everywhere else—in people and sex, money and power—if you hadn’t opened our eyes to see the depth of our need, and the riches of your grace. Easter is a celebration of you doing for us what we could never have done for ourselves.
We long for the Day when we’ll never again be tempted to look for peace, life, and joy anywhere else but in you, Jesus. Until that Day, we trust you to be our contentment and satisfaction, our righteousness and our inheritance. We pray with gratitude and adoration, in your wonderful and merciful name, Jesus. Amen.
Scripture Reading
The Lesson from the Fig Tree- Mark 11:20-25 (ESV)
[20] As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. [21] And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” [22] And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. [23] Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [25] And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Meditation
When passing by the fig tree Jesus had cursed the day before, and at Peter’s remark that it had withered, Jesus takes the opportunity to instruct his followers to have faith in God. If they do not doubt but believe, they will be able to move spiritual mountains by way of believing prayer. While praying, they must forgive others who have wronged them, so that their own sins will be forgiven by God as well.
Prayer
Confession of lack of faith & lack of forgiveness
Prayer for faith and forgiveness/reconciliation in our lives
Scripture Reading
Jesus Teaches in the Temple- Mark 12:28-34 (ESV)
[28] And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” [29] Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [30] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” [32] And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. [33] And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” [34] And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Meditation
Now another questioner, at the instigation of the Pharisees, steps forward in order to test Jesus (Matt. 22: 34– 35). An expert in the law asks Jesus which of God’s commands is the greatest (Matt. 22: 34– 40; Mark 12: 28– 34). Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6: 4– 5 and Leviticus 19: 18, calling for love of God and one’s fellow man, and the following conversation leads Jesus to commend (and implicitly invite) the questioner: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12: 34).
Prayer
Confession & repentance for questioning Jesus' authority
Confession for our hardness of heart toward God & others
Prayer for humility & obedient submission to God & His Word
Prayer for affection and love toward God with all of our being
Prayer for loving service toward the people God has called us to
Scripture Reading
Jesus Predicts the Future- Mark 13:32-37 (ESV)
[32] “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. [33] Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. [34] It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. [35] Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—[36] lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. [37] And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Meditation
It is not always clear whether Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples concerning the destruction of Jerusalem (which would take place in AD 70) or concerning his second coming and the end of the age (which was in the more distant future from the vantage point of Jesus’s original followers and is still future from our vantage point today). In keeping with prophetic convention, the near event— the destruction of the temple— served as a type (picture or foreshadowing) of the worldwide divine judgment that will come upon the earth at Christ’s return. The main themes of Jesus’s discourse, reinforced by the parables of the ten virgins and of the talents, are clear. Followers of Jesus will experience increasing persecution and tribulation leading up to the final day of judgment, but they must remain vigilant and persist in faith.
Prayer
Prayer to trust Jesus in the midst of persecution & difficulty
Prayer for spiritual vigilance & awareness
Benediction
May the God who sent his Son so that we could be adopted
as God’s own children, send his Spirit into our hearts—
especially in this week of remembrance and renewal—
and equip us to live as God’s own children,
dearly loved and called to serve a needy world.
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