Holy Week starting in Palm Sunday to Resurrection
Follow
along with the steps of Jesus Christ during Holy Week
Day 1: Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday
On the
Sunday before his death, Jesus began his trip to Jerusalem,
knowing that soon he would lay down his life for our sins. Nearing the village
of Bethphage, he sent two of his disciples ahead, telling them to
look for a donkey and its unbroken colt. The disciples were instructed
to untie the animals and bring them to him.
Then Jesus
sat on the young donkey and slowly, humbly, made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
fulfilling the ancient prophecy in Zechariah 9:9:
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
The crowds
welcomed him by waving palm branches in the air and
shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
On Palm
Sunday, Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany, a town about two
miles east of Jerusalem. This is where Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead,
and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. They were close
friends of Jesus, and probably hosted Him and His disciples during their final
days in Jerusalem.
Jesus'
triumphal entry is recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44,
and John 12:12-19.
Day 2: On Monday, Jesus Clears the Temple
The
following morning, Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the
way, he cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some
scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the
spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism
extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward
religiosity; true, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.
When Jesus
arrived at the Temple, he found the courts full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their
tables and clearing the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My
Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of
thieves" (Luke 19:46).
On Monday
evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his friends,
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Monday's
events are recorded in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John
2:13-17.
Day 3: On Tuesday, Jesus Goes to the Mount of
Olives
On Tuesday
morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. They passed the
withered fig tree on their way, and Jesus spoke to his companions about the
importance of faith.
Back at the
Temple, religious leaders were upset at Jesus for establishing himself as a
spiritual authority. They organized an ambush with the intent to place him
under arrest. But Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced harsh judgment on
them, saying:
"Blind guides!...For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on
the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of
impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts
are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will
you escape the judgment of hell?" (Matthew 23:24-33)
Later that
afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with his disciples to the Mount of
Olives, which sits due east of the Temple and overlooks Jerusalem. Here Jesus
gave the Olivet Discourse, an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of
Jerusalem and the end of the age. He speaks, as usual, in parables, using
symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment.
Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was
also the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of
ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16).
After a
tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, once again, Jesus
and the disciples returned to Bethany to stay the night.
The
tumultuous events of Tuesday and the Olivet Discourse are recorded in Matthew
21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38.
Day 4: Holy Wednesday
The Bible doesn't say what the Lord did on
the Wednesday of Passion Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting
days in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in
anticipation of Passover.
Just a short
time previously, Jesus had revealed to the disciples, and the world, that he
had power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave. After
seeing this incredible miracle, many people in Bethany believed that Jesus was
the Son of God and put their faith in him.
Also in Bethany just a few nights earlier, Lazarus' sister Mary had lovingly
anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume.
Day 5: Passover and Last Supper on Maundy Thursday
Holy Week
takes a somber turn on Thursday.
From
Bethany, Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the Upper Room in Jerusalem
to make the preparations for the Passover Feast. That evening after sunset,
Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as they prepared to share in the
Passover. By performing this humble act of service, Jesus demonstrated by
example how believers should love one another. Today, many churches practice
foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.
Then, Jesus
shared the feast of Passover with his disciples, saying:
"I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before
my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again until
its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT)
As the Lamb
of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving his body
to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death. During this Last Supper, Jesus established the Lord's
Supper, or Communion, instructing his followers to
continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine (Luke 22:19-20).
Later, Jesus
and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in
agony to God the Father. Luke's Gospel says
that "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the
ground" (Luke 22:44, ESV).
Late that
evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and
arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole
council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus.
Meanwhile,
in the early morning hours, as Jesus' trial was getting underway, Peter denied
knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed.
Thursday's
events are recorded in Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-62, and John
13:1-38.
Day 6: Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial on
Good Friday
Good Friday is the most difficult day of
Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in
these final hours leading to his death.
According to
Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome
with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.
Meanwhile,
before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus endured the shame of false accusations,
condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. After multiple unlawful
trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and
disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.
Before
Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and
pierced him with a crown of thorns. Then Jesus carried his own
cross to Calvary where, again, he was mocked and insulted as Roman
soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross.
Jesus
spoke seven final statements from the cross.
His first words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what
they are doing." (Luke 23:34, NIV). His last words were, "Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46, NIV)
Then, about
the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Jesus breathed his last breath and died.
By 6 p.m.
Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down
from the cross and lay it in a tomb.
Friday's
events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and
John 18:28-19:37.
Day 7: Saturday in the Tomb
Jesus' body
lay in its tomb, where it was guarded by Roman soldiers
throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m.,
Christ's body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by
Nicodemus:
"He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made
from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial
custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen
cloth." (John 19: 39-40, NLT)
Nicodemus,
like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court
that had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived
as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith
because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.
Similarly,
both were deeply affected by Christ's death. They boldly came out of hiding,
risking their reputations and their lives because they had come to realize that
Jesus was, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah. Together they cared for Jesus' body
and prepared it for burial.
While his
physical body lay in the tomb, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by
offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice. He conquered death, both spiritually
and physically, securing our eternal salvation:
"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty
life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere
gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the
sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19, NLT)
Saturday's
events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.
Day 8: Resurrection Sunday
On Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, we reach the
culmination of Holy Week. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most
important event of the Christian faith. The very foundation of all Christian doctrine hinges on the truth of
this account.
Early Sunday
morning, several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the
mother of James) went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering
the entrance had been rolled away. An angel announced:
"Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was
crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would
happen." (Matthew 28:5-6, NLT)
On the day
of his resurrection, Jesus Christ made at least five appearances. Mark's Gospel says the first person to
see him was Mary Magdalene. Jesus also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus, and later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas, while they were gathered in a house
for prayer.
The
eyewitness accounts in the Gospels provide what Christians believe
to be undeniable evidence that the resurrection
of Jesus Christ did indeed happen. and John 20:1-23.Two millennia after his
death, followers of Christ still flock to Jerusalem to see the empty tomb.
Sunday's
events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49,
