HOLY WEEK
HOLY WEEK.
Holy Week. Spanning from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, Scripture gives us a day-by-day breakdown of Jesus’ path to the cross and victory through His Resurrection. Please use this as a guide to walk alongside Christ and His disciples through the eye-witness accounts given to us in Scripture.
Palm Sunday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, John 12:9–19.)
On this day King Jesus entered Jerusalem humbly riding on a donkey. The crowds gathered around him, hoping to get a glimpse of the miracle worker they had been hearing of. They welcomed Him in, throwing coats and palm branches at His feet and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
They were looking for the long-promised Messiah who would free them from their Roman captors. Little did they know He would free them from so much more.
Monday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:12–19, Luke 19:45–48.)
If Jesus’ triumphal entry wasn’t enough to stir up the Jewish leaders, what He did on Monday did the trick. Jesus entered the Temple, a place set apart as holy before the Lord, a place of cleansing and repentance, and saw that it had become something much different. As a show of His authority over human institutions, Jesus zealously overturned tables and drove out those looking to use the Lord’s house for profit.
Although His disciples and the religious leaders didn’t fully understand what they were seeing, Jesus was giving them a taste of His authority and power. The “temple” was about to be torn down and rebuilt in a whole new and personal way.
Tuesday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 21:23–26:5, Mark 11:27–14:2, Luke 20:1–22:2, John 12:37–50.)
After cleansing the temple on Monday, Jesus returned for His last public teaching in the temple as a free man. Jesus took on the religious leaders who had the audacity to question His authority. After giving them an answer they could not respond to, Jesus left the temple that day knowing His time was soon to come.
The chief priests and scribes left the temple that day, “seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him” (Mark 14:1).
Wednesday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 26:6–16, Mark 14:3–11, Luke 22:3–6.)
On Wednesday, Jesus retreated from the intense confrontation into the home of Simon the Leper. In a beautiful display of love, humility, and honor, Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’ sister came to Jesus with a flask of expensive perfume. Pouring a year’s worth of wages out upon his feet, Mary wiped His feet with her hair.
Mary was preparing for Him for burial. Her selfless act was an intimate precursor to the awesome sacrifice Christ was going to make for her and all humanity just a few short days later.
Thursday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12–72, Luke 22:7–71, John 13:1–18:27.)
This day of the week starts with an incredibly humble act on the part of Jesus. Although a King, He knelt down like a servant and washed the feet of His disciples. As they continue eating, Jesus takes the bread and wine and gives His disciples, and now us, a symbolic picture of His body soon to be broken, and His blood soon to be shed.
As night falls, Jesus and a few of His disciples head to the Mount of Olives to pray (Mark 14:33). Soon after praying, soldiers and scribes with torches and weapons arrive to arrest Christ. Judas approaches Jesus and gives Him the kiss of betrayal that would be written down in Scripture forever.
Good Friday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 27:1–61, Mark 15:1–47, Luke 23:1–56, John 18:28–19:42.)
Although Jewish law forbid it, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin called for a secret meeting in the middle of the night. Through corrupt means they handed down a guilty verdict and sent Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect, who would have to carry out the execution.
Giving in to peer pressure, Pilate sends Jesus away to His death. He is beaten, mocked, spit upon, and finally nailed to a cross for six hours until His death. Upon His death, the world gained the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Although His disciples and family would not fully understand it, the pain and agony they just witnessed led to salvation of the world.
Saturday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 27:62–66.)
Saturday was a quiet day. The disciples huddled in a safehouse, confused and mourning the loss of their Savior. The chief priests and the Pharisees, although mocking Jesus’ claim of resurrection, feared that it would come. They hastily made arrangements for guards to be posted at the tomb. Two groups, waiting to see if the claims Christ made would come to fruition: one group fearful, one group hopeful.
Resurrection Sunday
(To read the full account of this day in Scripture, read Matthew 28:1–20, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1–53, John 20:1–21:25.)
Early Sunday morning, several of Jesus’ friends set out to anoint His body in the tomb. When they arrive, they are greeted by an angel who informs them that Jesus is not there, just as He said. He is risen!
The Messiah they longed for had come. Not as a mighty military leader. Not as a Pharisee or Scribe who would take control of the temple. No, Jesus came as a Sacrificial Lamb, laying down His life so that you and I might live. Death had no victory over Christ. The tomb couldn’t hold Him down. He had a purpose in this death and resurrection. His death and resurrection would prove once and for all that sin has no hold on those who confess Christ as Lord! Death is only the beginning of eternity with Him! Our sin, though great, was nailed to a cross, buried, and then defeated, never to haunt us through shame again!
And now, like Paul, we can say with confidence:
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
As you walk through this Holy Week, reflect on all that we’ve just read. Soak deeply in His word, allowing the reality of what Jesus did and has done sink in.
If you know Him – You. Are. Forgiven. You are set free.
So in gratitude, lift your hands to the Lord. Sing praise, even if silently in your heart, to the One who gave so much so that you might be free.
With much love,
Pastor Dave