IT'S Holy Week!
"What do we mean by that?"
Day 1: Palm Sunday
On the first day of Holy Week, just as prophesied in Zechariah 9.9, more than 600 years before Jesus was born, He entered Jerusalem on a donkey while crowds welcomed Him by waving branches and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
By saying this, the crowds are calling Jesus the Son of God. Jesus rides on a donkey, fulfilling a Jewish prophesy. This dramatic entry and growing crowds heighten the existing tensions between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem can be found in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19.
Day 2: Monday, Jesus Clears the Temple
On Monday, Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit. The curse may have been a metaphor for God’s judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders or a warning for all believers against a life that looks religious on the outside but isn’t genuine on the inside.
Jesus goes on to visit the main temple in the city and finds the courts full of corrupt people. As He flipped tables and cleared out the Temple, Jesus proclaimed, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46).
You can read more about Jesus cleaning out the temple in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17.
Day 3: Tuesday, Jesus Goes to The Mount of Olives
The religious leaders feel increasingly threatened by the way that mass crowds are recognizing Jesus as a spiritual authority and even as the Son of God.
Jesus left the city to a place called the Mount of Olives. He delivered a famous speech called the Olivet Discourse, a prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the “end of the age.” He spoke in parables, which are stories or metaphors that have hidden meanings.
You can read more about the events that occurred with Jesus on the Mount of Olives 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
There are no records of what Jesus did on the Wednesday of Holy Week. It is expected that they rested after two exhausting days in Jerusalem. For that reason, Wed. of Holy Week is called "Silent Wednesday" by some people.
At this point, tensions are reaching a boiling point, where the religious leaders want to avoid causing an uproar in the city during the festival, but Jesus knows He’ll be killed on Passover, taking His place as the sacrificial lamb and God’s provided rescue for mankind.
It is also believed that on Wednesday, Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, agreed to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders for a price. (Matthew 26:14-16).
Day 5: Passover and Maundy Thursday
As tensions mount between Jesus and the religious leaders, Jesus and His disciples prepare to share in the Passover meal, celebrating God bringing them out of Egypt. At this dinner, Jesus washes His disciple's feet, an act of selflessness and foreshadowing what He would do on Friday.
Jesus changes the conversation at the Passover meal, telling the disciples that He will suffer.
He takes items from this important Jewish meal and gives them new meaning, saying of the bread, “Take, eat; this is My body.” He says of the wine, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
In doing this, Jesus sets up the new Christian tradition of Communion, which is when Christians remember this Passover meal and the sacrifice He made.
After the meal, the group goes to a garden called Gethsemane, where Jesus' disciple Judas betrays Him, hands Him over to the Jewish leaders, and Jesus is arrested and taken to the High Priest for trial.
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: Good Friday
On Friday morning, Jesus went to trial for the accusations from the Jews. But He did not defend Himself. Instead, He outrages the religious leaders by calling Himself the Son of God.
Jesus was given a crown of thorns and made to carry a massive cross through the city and up the mountain called Calvary, where He was nailed to the cross alongside two criminals.
Then, at the ninth hour, on Passover, the day of the most sacred Jewish festival,
Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:38-42 NASB 1995)
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
Saturday was the Sabbath, a day when Jewish people were commanded to do no work. Later, after the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., people went to the tomb to do the ceremonial preparation for burial.
Knowing that Jesus said He was going to rise again after 3 days, chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pontius Pilate to request that the tomb be guarded so that no one would steal the body and lie about His resurrection.
Pilate put a seal on the stone and a guard at the tomb.
Saturday’s events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.
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Day 8: Easter, Resurrection Sunday
This Sunday was unlike any Sunday before or since. We see the culmination of the entire week and the most important event of the Christian faith.
Early Sunday morning, several women who were close to Jesus go to the tomb and find the stone rolled away and an angel who announces, “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).
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
On Sunday, the Bible reports that Jesus appeared to at least five people. There is considerable evidence from secular scholars that many people genuinely believed they saw the Risen Jesus.
Today, on Easter or Resurrection Sunday, Christians celebrate this foundation of their faith, the belief that Jesus was risen on the third day after His death, fulfilling prophecies included throughout the Old Testament. In conquering sin and death itself, He offered forgiveness and redemption for our lives and the world.
Sunday’s events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49, and John 20:1-23.
Join Us
Easter Sunrise Sunday Worship Service,
In-person only
Day: This Sunday, March 30th
Time: 7:00 AM
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Our service will be held outdoors in front of the church.
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Bring lilies in memory of your loved ones.
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Children's Easter Egg Hunt
Click here to view previous worship services.