This week starting on Palm Sunday is called Holy Week or Passion Week. This week leading up to Easter Sunday, is a set apart time where we take time to really enter into the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. This has been a tradition in almost all flavors of the Christian Church for over 1,000 years.
Of course, we should be giving thanks for the cross and the resurrection of Christ on a daily basis. Holy Week and especially Easter Day are special opportunities for us to set apart time to really enter into the reality that Jesus’s finished work on the Cross has set us eternally free. This week is like a jubilant wake up call to the gift of life we have received through Jesus.
Traditionally, the week has each day designated for remembrance to different events in Scripture leading up to Jesus's resurrection.
Here is an abbreviated list of the significance of each day of Holy Week.
Palm Sunday - We remember in John 12, the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city Jerusalem. As Jesus enters the city on a donkey colt, onlookers begin waving palm branches before Him and shout, “Hosanna, blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. We can remember that this week is a week of victory, that even though our God presents himself in humility, He is our King and He is victorious.
Holy Monday and Tuesday - We take time to reflect on Jesus's actions of flipping over the tables of the merchants and money changers who have perverted the temple in Matthew 21. We remember that we are a set apart people with a purpose to be Holy unto the Lord. It’s a time to self examine and allow the Lord to point the tables that need flipping in our lives. That we would be moved with grief over our own sin that leads Jesus to the cross on our behalf.
Holy Wednesday - The day of preparation. The plans had been finalized by the religious leaders to capture and kill Jesus. It would only be a few more days before the passion process where Jesus is tortured and publicly mocked before going to the cross. We again go back to John 12 to remember Jesus is anointed with expensive perfume at the home of Lazarus, perhaps not realizing it. Mary is pouring out everything she owns to prepare Jesus for His burial. We also are called to pour out all we are at the feet of Jesus, because He is the only one who is worthy of our devotion.
It’s a day to remember that everything we are and have possession of is consecrated unto the Lord.
Holy Thursday - Often referred to as ”Maundy Thursday”. Maundy which is Latin for “The Mandate”. Which mandate are we referring to? The mandate to “Love each other as Jesus has loved us” - John 13:34. In the same sacrificial love that Jesus portrayed on the night He was betrayed, by washing his disciples feet, feeding them a last supper, walking with them faithfully. We are called to remember and do the same. Jesus is the standard for how we engage with one another.
Good Friday - The name of this day seems almost ironic considering it is the day Jesus’s crucifixion process begins. The same crowd that shouted Hosanna last Sunday, is now ignorantly shouting to crucify Him on Friday as Pontius Pilot condemns Jesus to death by crucifixion. The only good displayed here is the passion of God who willingly endures the shame and torment of the crucifixion so that we may be saved.
Holy Saturday - A day of stillness and solemn remembrance, the Scriptures remind us this is the day that the enemy thought he had won the victory. We see in Matthew 27 guards are ordered to make sure Jesus's tomb is guarded and kept sealed to ensure Jesus remains in the grave. We know now this is only further preparation for the day of celebration when the grave proves to be empty forever more!
Easter Sunday - The grave is still empty! This is the day we celebrate and shout with jubilee that Jesus has risen indeed. This day is the whole reason for the week. The resurrection of our King Jesus! Through his life, death, resurrection and ascension we are made alive, new, set free and complete. We can rejoice for the finished work of the cross of Calvary and be eternally thankful for what Jesus has done for each of us.
I hope this helps you enter into the importance of the week and prepares you for the celebration we will have on Sunday. I encourage you to show up to Church Sunday with an expectation for God to encounter each one of us with His saving power. We will also be doing baptisms this Sunday. So if you would like to be baptized, please reach out to the Church office as soon as possible.
Love,
Pastor John
