Have you heard anything about something called the coronavirus? Something about a pandemic? Everything disrupted? Of course you have. We all have. It is hard to think about anything else.

         Except that this is the time of year we should be focusing in on the death, burial and Resurrection of our Lord. I am greatly grieved that we will not be able to come together to worship during the last few weeks of this Resurrection season, but even without that thrill of worshiping together, we can remember the story.

         There are still four weeks until we feel the rush of triumph of His Resurrection! But what was actually happening right about now? Jesus knew how His time on earth would end and He knew when it would end. Was He preoccupied with death? Was He worried? Was He filled with hate?

         At about four weeks before His death, Jesus was teaching His disciples about the sheep and the Shepherd. Of course, as He explained the concept, the disciples failed to understand. Jesus Himself was the Shepherd, but the disciples were looking at Him to be the triumphal King, an earthly King who would set them free from foreign rule. But Jesus was talking Spiritual things.

         It was the time of the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem and Jesus and His band of men were in that ancient city. They were worshiping on the Temple grounds when a large group of Jews confronted Him. “Don’t keep us waiting! Are You or are You not the Messiah?” Jesus looked at them and said, “I have told you, but you do not believe. The things I do, I do in My Father’s name and those things say clearly who I am. But you do not believe.” It was Jesus saying HOW MUCH MORE OBVIOUS DO I HAVE TO BE??? So they picked up rocks and would have killed Him there, but the Bible says He escaped them.

         And then Jesus did a curious thing. He went from Jerusalem to the Jordan River where John the Baptizer had done so much of his baptizing at the beginning of their ministries. Here, the Bible says, Jesus stayed for a while. Many people came to see Him. We do not know what transpired there, but we do know that many believed on Him at that place. Given the time frame, He would have stayed about two weeks by the river. Apparently, He preached. He probably did some healing. But, whatever He did, many believed on Him there. He was just weeks away from death, and He went on with His Father’s business.

         What would you do in that situation? Just a short time to live. Run out of the place that was literally your father’s house. People you loved had rejected you and had already been plotting to kill you. What would you do? Your followers were so caught up in their own greed that they failed to understand the basics of your purpose. What would you do? Everywhere you turn, people were either expecting the wrong thing or rejecting you for the right thing.

         What Jesus did was to continue to love, continue to minister, continue to be there for the people who had treated Him so poorly. Of course, we can say He was Jesus. This was His mission.

         But we should never, ever forget that HE was, and is, the Son of God. HE commands the heavens. HE was with His Father at creation. Jesus was the only perfect man who ever lived. There was no spot of sin in Him. HE had all the power of God in His hands. You would have thought He would have done something different during His final days. But He kept about His Father’s business.

         Mordecai, of the Old Testament Book of Esther and a mere servant of the king, was hated by Haman, a man second in power only to the king. Years before, Mordecai had saved the life of the king. During a sleepless night, this came back to the remembrance of the king. The next day, Haman was ordered to dress Mordecai in the king's robes and place him on the king's beautiful horse and walk him through the city proclaiming in a loud voice, “This is what is done for the man the king wishes to honor!” Haman was humiliated. He felt he should be the one so honored, not the one leading the horse. When the ordeal was over for Haman, he went home and wept before his wife. This was a high honor for Mordecai, an honor anyone would think he should be proud of. What did the honored Mordecai do? He took off the king’s robes and went back to his job at the king’s gate.

         To me, the Book of Esther is inspiring for the courage of Esther, but also for the focus of Mordecai. I want to serve my King as Mordecai served his king, regardless the service or the circumstance. Jesus, in His final days, went down to the river and continued His service to His Father.

         Always remember; all of the life of Jesus, from conception to death, was a sacrifice we cannot imagine. Not just the cross, but His entire life. The One who commanded heaven went down to the riverside and quietly continued the work of His Father.

         What an awesome Savior.