Good Morning Friends,
Blink and Easter can feel like it comes and goes—but it was never meant to be a one‑day event. We do not need to rush it. Like Advent or Lent, Easter is a season meant to be lived and savored. Soon enough Florida will quiet as the tourist season comes to an end and church staff exhales after Holy Week. But that time has not yet come. Today’s lectionary keeps us moving toward the cross. John’s Gospel begins closing Jesus’ public ministry with a scene that prepares us for His death and Judas’ betrayal. Isaiah gives us a “bookend” to the passage Jesus used to launch His ministry in Isaiah 61. And Isaiah 42 is a guidepost. Together, I think these texts prompt us to ask: How can we be all‑in, glorifying the Suffering Servant beyond this Passover?
Scripture Summaries:
Isaiah 42:1–7 (NRSV)
God presents His chosen Servant—gentle, Spirit‑filled, bringing justice, opening blind eyes, and freeing captives. A portrait of Christ’s mission.
Isaiah 61:1–2 (NRSV)
The Spirit‑anointed Servant proclaims good news, healing, liberty, and God’s favor—the very text Jesus used to announce His ministry.
John 12:1–11 (NRSV)
Six days before Passover, Mary anoints Jesus with costly perfume; Judas objects; Lazarus sits alive beside Jesus. A moment of love, worship, and rising tension.
Message: Isaiah’s four Suffering Servant Songs (42, 49, 50, 52–53) shapes our understanding of Jesus’ mission. They reveal why He acted as He did—especially in His passion—and why the Kingdom’s fullness awaits His return. These songs were His guideposts, and they comfort us with God’s steady plan. Taken as a whole, the Servant Songs reveal Christ’s character as gentle, faithful, obedient, His mission: justice, restoration, global salvation, His posture: humble, listening, self‑giving, His work: bearing sin, healing wounds, reconciling humanity, His timing: suffering first, glory after. For Christians, these songs form the Old Testament’s clearest portrait of Jesus’ identity and passion—His calling, His suffering, and His victory. Paired with Mary of Bethany’s extravagant devotion, today’s readings remind us that the Body of Christ shares a corporate identity: we belong to one another in Him. Yet we are easily distracted by the noise of the world. Mary shows us intentional, generous worship—honoring Jesus now, not later. In Bethany, Lazarus reclines alive, Martha serves with joy, and Mary pours out love in the shadow of the cross. Judas quietly positions his betrayal. The scene asks us to choose our intention: Will we live with a generous spirit that glorifies God, even when the gift costs us something? The early Church saw Jesus as the Suffering Servant who bears our shame and redeems our sin. Whether Isaiah speaks of Israel or an individual, the Servant points us to Christ. When these images converge, we hear a new song for this season.
And So, Holy Week always carries both burden and rest—the weight of the cross and the hope of resurrection. The sounds of this week—hosannas, laments, hallelujahs—invite us into the story. We imagine the colt’s footsteps, the crack of the whip, the hammer striking nails, Mary’s hair brushing Jesus’ feet, Martha bustling in service, Lazarus laughing in new life. So too in our lives now, silence and sorrow mingle with praise. We ask Jesus to sort our senses so we may glorify Him—even in the quiet, even in the longing—as we await resurrection joy.
Pray God hear us. Pray God help us. Pray we learn that how we love and what we love matters. Pray we recognize sin’s destruction and God’s readiness to redeem. Pray we cherish the Servant’s mission of justice and mercy. Pray we accept God’s call to bear one another’s burdens. Pray we become instruments of peace. Pray we serve to glorify God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 