Passion Week - The Entrance
(Before we get to the Passion Week, I have one other thing to mention.)
I have often described prayer as a siege. In other words, it isn’t one prayer or one prayer strategy that will turn the tide, but many. This is especially true for America. Sustained prayer, with many people and groups involved, has been necessary; and more will be needed.
With this in mind, I want to share with you a word and strategy recently given to our friends, Tom and Jane Jamon. We are actually jumping in a few days late, but can still participate with much of it. Here is their word and plan, then I will continue to share regarding the Passion Week of Christ. Jane says:
“On March 30th, 2022, Tom and I flew into Reagan National Airport in the Washington, DC area. As we stepped off the plane, I heard the Lord say, ‘You have entered the “Belly of the Beast.”’ I could feel the darkness that sits over the city. However, I recognized God didn’t speak this to highlight the darkness, but rather to bring a strategy of hope for America.
We Need Righteous Messengers
“I knew that ‘Belly of the Beast’ was a reference to Jonah being in the belly of the whale (or great fish) when he ran from his prophetic assignment to decree judgment over Nineveh. However, when Jonah was in the belly of the fish, it became a point of turning for him. Those 3 days in the belly caused Jonah’s heart to be turned back to God and realigned with his divine purpose and assignment. Washington DC, in its earliest days of governance, was a place the message of the First Great Awakening was preached and received. But the city, and many of those governing from it, are operating as Jonahs - rebellious, misaligned, and not accomplishing their divine purpose or assignment. DC, is a dark place in a dark time, just as it was in the belly of the fish. In the midst of darkness, however, God visited the wayward Jonah, turned him back to his purpose, and renewed the assignment to preach righteousness to a land. Can He do this again? I believe He can!
God Desires to Turn the Entire Nation
“I Googled the phrase and it came up as a descriptor of ‘being in the heart of hell or the middle of trouble.’ It is also used as an analogy of ‘being in the central command of an enemy’s headquarters.’ I believe these are apt descriptors for Washington, DC these days.
“Jonah was then spat out on dry land and went to deliver the message of God’s impending judgment on the city of Nineveh. He declared the word of the Lord - that God would destroy the city in 40 days. But God takes no pleasure in judging the wicked; He always prefers mercy. And when the people of the city cried out to God and repented, turning their hearts toward righteousness, He relented of His decreed judgment. Instead, the wicked city of Nineveh became the first city in history to experience an awakening! If God could do it for Nineveh, He can move on the heart of our nation to cry out for forty days to see judgment turned to awakening.
“In Washington DC, and later in Springfield that weekend, we were led to declare April 1 to May 10 (2022) as 40 days to cry out for America’s leaders and to experience an awakening. Let’s pray for our capital to see wickedness and iniquity broken, corruption exposed, and Jezebel defeated; and let’s pray for awakening to come to America. Just as Nineveh was saved, so ‘America Shall Be Saved!’”
The Passion Week
Yesterday I wrote on the emotional turmoil that began in Christ weeks before what we call the Passion Week. It actually began when He started His journey toward Jerusalem. Then, the passion week itself began with Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday (this past weekend). On that day, tens of thousands of Israelites - some estimates say 150,000 to 180,000 people - were also making their way to Jerusalem for the observance of Passover week.
It was a very festive time as the Jews celebrated their deliverance from Egypt. Also, Messianic expectations were high, as many Jews believed the Messiah would reveal Himself at Passover. Thousands of them, having heard of the numerous miracles Christ had performed and the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead, believed that Jesus might indeed be the Messiah. This raised the celebratory mood and expectations even higher.
Each year, thousands of people lined the road into Jerusalem welcoming the travelers, and this year many more went forth in order to meet Christ as He made His way into the city. As people entered Jerusalem, they and those welcoming them chanted from Psalm 118. The familiar word they shouted to Jesus, “Hosanna,” meaning “save us now,” comes from this Psalm. They, of course, were thinking of a savior along the lines of Moses, who delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman yoke and set up His earthly kingdom. That is what they meant when they chanted “Save us now” (Hosanna).
Other portions of the Psalm are also messianic. It speaks of the gates of righteousness being opened once again (verses 19-21), binding the festival sacrifice to the altar (which to them referenced the Passover lamb they sacrificed each year) (verse 27), and the stone which the builders rejected (verses 22-23). The multitude had no idea what they were actually chanting about, that Messiah would be bound to the altar (the Cross), and become the rejected cornerstone. While they were celebrating the possibility of an earthly deliverance, Jesus, the actual Lamb, was thinking of the Cross which would produce our spiritual deliverance.
As Messiah climbed the hill to Jerusalem, He, no doubt, remembered Abraham and Isaac climbing the same hill to picture His sacrifice (Genesis 22:13-14). Isaac was spared, Christ would not be. He may have thought back to John’s announcement 3 years earlier when he saw Jesus approaching and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29).
This was the 10th day of the month, the day the Passover lamb was brought into the city and set apart for inspection until the 14th. Everything Jesus did this week would correspond to God’s calendar and the events which had been repeated for centuries to picture Him. As the Passover lamb - the animal - was being inspected for those 4 days, THE Passover Lamb was, as well. He was questioned, examined, and cross-examined by the religious leaders who were trying to find a flaw in Him. But they could find no blemish - He was the Spotless Lamb.
At the end of the day on which He entered the city, Jesus again spoke of His impending death and the emotional strain it was causing Him (John 12:20-36). “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour,” (Verse 27). “Troubled” is the Greek word tarasso, which also means “agitated, stirred up.” This strong word was used to describe roiling water, internal commotion, becoming anxious or distressed, and being struck with fear or dread.
Jesus knew He was approaching the time. The Cross and all of its violence were near. He was able to press through the anxiety, but not without feeling its hideous effects. But He, the Father, and Holy Spirit had waited 4000 years for this, and nothing would deter Him from accomplishing our redemption.
Think about these things today…and give Him some praise.
Pray with me:
Father, we thank You for the Passover lamb, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Thank You for sending Him to take away the sin of the world. We know the anguish it caused You and Your Son. We are so grateful. We receive all that it purchased for us. We accept being made righteous, given health, and being welcomed back into Your family.
And based on the fruit of this, we ask You to send revival to America and the nations of the earth. We ask You to turn hearts in DC, just as You did Jonah’s heart. We ask that this nation be turned back to You, just as Nineveh did. Deliver us from our evil ways. Shake everything that must be shaken, and send the greatest revival to our land we have ever experienced. May it go from these shores to Asia, Europe, Africa, Central & South America, Australia, North America, and all the islands of the sea.
Send the fire of revival!
In Christ’s name alone we pray these things. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that the Lamb has come, we have received His sacrificial work, and will preach this message to the ends of the earth.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
You can find out more about Tom and Jane Hamon here.