Holy Week

Easter

Easter celebrates the resurrection of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ but let’s briefly cover the time leading up to that, which is called Holy Week or Passion Week:

Palm Sunday

Passover

Good Friday

Easter

There are other days included in Holy Week but we will focus on these 4 today. Let’s start with Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday:

Can anyone tell me what Palm Sunday is about?

It is the day when Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem, which fulfills the prophecy of the Triumphal Entry, foretold by Zachariah in the Old Testament approximately 500 years prior, of the Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Zachariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowd of people spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road and waved palm branches all to honor the Messiah while shouting praises.

Matthew 21:9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

The actions of the crowd that day gave the name Palm Sunday. To the Jews the palms are a celebratory symbol that God, the victorious one, tabernacles with humanity.

Prophecies being fulfilled by Jesus are very important as it gives no denial of who He is, the living Messiah. The next day in Holy Week we will go over is Passover.

Passover:

Can anyone tell me what Passover is about?

Passover celebrates the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and freed from slavery by the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Who led the Israelites out of Egypt? Moses.

God sent Moses to the Pharoah to command he let God’s people go, Pharaoh refused, God sent 10 plagues with the 10th plague being the worst.

Does anyone know what the 10th plague was?

The death of all the firstborn in Egypt. God told the Israelites on that night to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorposts with it’s blood which would cause the Lord to passover that house. Interesting fact, The blood of the lamb saved the Israelites on that night which would happen again much later on.

Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

What does this have to do with Holy Week when the Passover happened in the time of Moses?

Jesus Christ was killed during Passover time, He fulfilled the Law, including the symbolism. Jesus is our Passover. The Last Supper Jesus shared with His apostles was a Passover meal of His body and blood. By applying Jesus Christ’s blood to our lives by faith, we trust Christ to save us from death. Only the blood of the lamb makes us exempt from death. Jesus was the sacrificial spotless lamb to save us from our sins, freeing us from death.

The next day in Holy Week we will discuss is Good Friday.

Good Friday:

Can anyone tell me what Passover is about?

Good Friday is the day Jesus Christ was crucified for all of our sins, past, present, and future. It is known as the darkest day in all of history. It starts with Jesus making His last plea in prayer to God the Father, in the garden of Gethsemane, where He was so distraught that He actually sweat blood about His upcoming torture, crucifixion, and taking on of sin. He asked God the Father if there was any other way. A lot of times we don’t think about the heaviness of the taking on of sin. Remember Jesus was sinless and came from a place of perfection with no sin, so to take on the sin of all the world, would not only be devastating but also it would cause Him to be separated from God the Father, and that was nearly unbearable for Him.

Luke 22:41-44

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus accepted His fate.

Does anyone know who the one apostle was that betrayed Jesus?

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver to a large crowd including a Roman cohort, chief priests, pharisees, scribes, & elders. Jesus foretold the apostles that one of them would betray Him. Judas hung himself after his betrayal.

Now the trial & torture.

First the point of this is not to instill shock, instead it is to show that all of our sin put Jesus there, we are all of us guilty. But remember & know that He endured all of this because of His love for all of us. We have 3 different things to pass around just to show an example of the things Jesus had to endure: a thorn of crowns, a cat-of-nine-tails, and nail spikes to drive through His hands & feet.

-Jesus was mocked, beaten, blasphemed against.

-The priests spit on Him, blindfolded Him, beat Him, and struck Him with their palms.

Mark 14:61-64

61 But He kept silent and answered nothing.

Again, the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

-Roman soldiers hit Jesus in the face for telling the truth of who He is to the high priests.

-Pilate’s soldiers placed a twisted crown of thorns on His head in mockery, saluting Him saying Hail, King of the Jews. They struck Him on the head with a reed, spat on Him, scourged Him, and stripped Him.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

After all of that, Jesus was then forced to carry His own cross to where He was to be crucified. When He could carry it no longer, the Romans then forced Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way to Golgotha.

Does anyone know another name for Golgotha? Calvary.

Once there, the cross was placed on the ground, Jesus was thrown onto it, metal spikes/nails were hammered through His wrists & feet onto the cross.

Does anyone know who Jesus was raised between on the cross?

The cross was then raised between two thieves, one mocked Jesus & the other repented.  Even in His state, Jesus’s love shown through.

Luke 23:34, 39-43

34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Matthew 27:45-46

45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Matthew 27:51-54

51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Finally, Joseph, a wealthy prominent disciple of Jesus, wrapped Jesus’s body in linen & laid His body in the tomb. The women who had followed Jesus through His ministry & this entire event, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons the apostles James & John, all saw His body laid in the tomb. Pilate placed a guard outside the tomb & had a large stone rolled against the door of the tomb, sealing it shut.

Easter:

Known as the greatest day in all of history.

Can anyone tell me how many days went by, after the crucifixion, before Jesus’ disciples went to the tomb?

Three days went by after Jesus’ crucifixion. Mary of Magdala & Mary, Jesus’ mother, went to prepare His body with oils and spices but when they arrived, they found the stone had been rolled away from the door of the tomb, and when she looked in the tomb from the outside, His body was not there, only the linen cloth He was wrapped in remained.

Mary Magdalene ran to tell the apostles what happened. The apostles went to see for themselves. Mary then went inside the tomb while the apostles were outside & she saw 2 angels at the head and foot of where Jesus’ body had laid.

John 20:13-17

13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

Mary then did as Jesus instructed & told the apostles what happened & that He would meet them.

The Great Commission:

Matthew 28:16-20

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

John 20:21-23

21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

And so continued Jesus’ ministry. And now we know the greatest story ever told. Jesus came here for everyone, as a living sacrifice of a spotless lamb, endured what we all deserved in order to save us from death and eternal separation from God, by taking on all our sin, dying on the Cross, and raising from the dead 3 days later, conquering death and the world.

Now it is our turn to continue His ministry and tell as many people as we can about this absolutely wonderful and glorious love Jesus has for us all! Will you accept Jesus Christ today? Will you tell a family member or a friend about His gift? I hope & pray that you will. There is also so much more to Holy Week and I hope you will read each of the 4 apostles stories: Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John as they all give different accounts where you learn many new things.