With Easter season upon us, I want to dive into the meaning behind it. This post will look into the first five days of what is known as Holy Week and the next three will go through Good Friday and the events that follow.

Palm Sunday

““Tell the daughter of Zion (the people of Jerusalem ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Gentle and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” [Is 62:11; Zech 9:9]” Matthew 21:5

This week is full of Jesus fulfilling prophecies and it starts with His entrance. In Zechariah 9:9 it says that Jesus will come humble and riding in on a donkey with great rejoicing and shouts for the king. Nearly five hundred years later, every detail of the prophecy comes true. The use of the donkey is not just to fulfill a prophecy, but is a statement of what this coming of Jesus represents. Jesus does not ride in on a stallion or chariot to demonstrate power, rather, He rides on a donkey to demonstrate humility and submission. One key point to the day is the rejoicing of the people. Jesus already knew what was going to take place throughout the week. It must have been odd to ride in to cheers from people who would later scream out against Him, ultimately for His death. He started the week moving through a crowd of people and will end it the same way—but the uproar will shift from cheering to mocking. It is easy to think that we are always the people who shout for joy. However, we are often more like the crowd shouting, “Crucify Him.” We may we not mean to be, but whenever we choose something over Him, we are taking part in the sin that put Him on that cross. 

Holy Monday

“Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple [grounds] and began driving out [with force] the people who were selling and buying [animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the seats of those who were selling doves;” Mark 11:15

This day of Holy Week showcases a different side of Jesus that is rarely seen. On Sunday He is welcomed into the city as a loving king while today, we see Him in righteous anger. This act demonstrates the seriousness that which God takes with sin. He is not afraid of what the people think, He sees sin and distortion and takes action. We must learn from this example. When we see something wrong, it is not only okay to be angry, but if done in righteousness, it is right. In Ephesians 4:26 it says “Be angry[at sin], yet do not sin”, this verse goes right along with this story showing the righteous use of anger. When we feel anger for sin we see, we must respond in a righteous way to put an end to it. It is important to never lose sight that it is by God’s authority and never ours, that means that what we do must be aligned with God and His word.

Holy Tuesday

“When He entered the temple area, the chief priests and elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what [kind of] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority [to exercise this power]?”” Matthew 21:23

As I said this before, this week is full of prophecies. This week is also a picture of the Passover tradition. In remembering what God did to bring the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity, the Israelites would sacrifice a spotless lamb. A couple days before the day of Passover, the priests would inspect the lamb to make ensure it was without blemish. Throughout the Holy Week, they do this during the various times Jesus is in the temple. The religious leaders attempted to trap Jesus with various tactics, but He was never tricked. I think Jesus has this encountered for many reasons, one of which is for us. He is showing us He is the spotless sacrificial lamb that we read about in Isaiah 53. The priests and people of Jerusalem did not see it at the time, but the great news for you and me is that we can acknowledge Him as our spotless, sacrificial lamb now and accept Him in our place.

Silent Wednesday

“Then one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests” Matthew 26:14

This day is often referred to as silent Wednesday as this is the one day with no actions or teachings of Jesus. The focus for this day is the disciple Judas and the priests. Today is the day Judas makes a deal to give Jesus over to the priests. If you have heard the story before, it can be easy to forget how close Jesus and the disciples truly were. They spent nearly every day together for years, going through numerous significant events. I heard someone say Judas and Jesus were likely closer than most friends you have now. All the betrayal for the small price of thirty pieces of silver. We can point that out for its absurdity—and it is absurd. But we should also remember how often we are of giving up Christ for much less. Every time we choose sin over God, we participate in putting Jesus on that cross. Do not look at Judas as a poor example to feel better about yourself. Instead, see a harrowing reflection of yourself and pray God will grow you closer to Him.

Maundy Thursday

“When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. [Mark 14:17-21]” Matthew 26:20

We have arrived to Thursday, the last day before Jesus is tried and crucified. So how does He choose it? He could take it easy, knowing what is coming. Instead, He spends the day with His disciples, beginning by serving them. He does one of His most humble acts in washing the disciples’ feet, an act that masters couldn’t even ask of their servants. He serves not only the disciples who love Him, but also Judas, who is still with them. Jesus knows what Judas has done and what he is still going to do and yet Jesus washes his feet. It is an amazing showing of His kindness and mercy. After the washing of the feet, they sit down to take part of the Passover meal. It is here that is Jesus gives what will be His final teachings. He talks about the Spirit that will come after Him and how and why to love one another. The disciples are still relatively unaware to what is about to happen. However, we, with full context, can see that these are Jesus’ parting words of wisdom. In his cluelessness that Peter makes a promise. Peter oversells his loyalty and Jesus responds with the hard truth that Peter will fail three times in a short time. We will see this come to fruition on Friday. After the meal, they go to a garden to pray, as Jesus had often done throughout His ministry. This is the last time Jesus is with His disciples before His resurrection. It is here that Judas hands Jesus over to the Roman officers for His trial and crucifixion. The disciples scatter when He is taken, setting up a restless few days, the most crucial days in human history.