Labels

A Journey Through Holy Week

As I sat in church today, holding my palm branch in my hand and waiting for the service to begin, I thought to myself, "For some reason it just doesn't feel like Holy Week." Palm Sunday sort of sneaked up on me this year. But as we entered our time of worship, singing songs of Hosanna and reading the familiar story of Jesus in the Word, I felt anew the mystery and wonder of the last week of the life of Christ. And once again, I longed for more. So in case I am not alone - in case you, too, are longing to dive into the events of the week before Easter, to relive the joys and troubles and sorrows and triumphs, and to experience anew the truth of the love of God to us - or if, perhaps, the story is unfamiliar to you, and you want to know more - here is a day-by-day look at the events of the week, complete with scripture links for each day (simply click on the scripture to read it). I invite you to walk through the week with me, and anticipate the coming celebration of the risen Christ.

*The exact order of events during Holy Week is not necessarily known; here I've done a compilation of events in what we think could be the order of major events for the week based on what we can see in the scriptures, although exact order is debated. The events of the week cover a large portion of the four gospels, and each writer includes most of the events in his story; in order to avoid repetition, I have not listed all of the scripture references for each event.

Palm Sunday
Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The Pharisees want Jesus to rebuke the crowds who are praising Him and waving palm branches, but Jesus refuses. Then, as Jesus looks over Jerusalem, he weeps at their unbelief and at what will come. He then arrives at the temple to find corrupt money changers in the courts; he overturns their tables and drives them out. After this, Jesus heads to Bethany, where he most likely stays during the coming days whenever he is not in Jerusalem.

Monday
Jesus heads back to Jerusalem. Along the way, he curses a fig tree (which seems to be a representation of judgement on the people of Israel for their unbelief). The Pharisees question Jesus' authority once more, and Jesus addresses them and the crowds of people with a series of parables and teachings.

Tuesday
Jesus addresses the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and then gives them a strong public warning of judgement, known as the "seven woes." Jesus also gives extensive prophecy about the end times. As it appears that Jesus was teaching in the temple on both Monday and Tuesday, some of the stories from our Monday selection may have actually been told on Tuesday. 

Wednesday
Some believe that there were no important events on Wednesday, calling this day "silent Wednesday," while others debate that this was the day when Jesus was anointed and when Judas and the religious leaders made arrangements for the betrayal. 

Maundy Thursday
Jesus and his disciples celebrate Passover together (we now call this event the "Last Supper" as it was their final meal together before his death). During this time, Jesus washes his disciples' feet, announces that he will be betrayed and denied, spends meaningful time with his disciples telling them the final things he wants them to know (saying "good goodbyes"), and finally heads to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prays and eventually is arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish high council) in the early hours of Friday.
  • Preparations are made for the Passover, and supper is eaten; the betrayal is announced - Mark 14:12-25
  • Jesus washes his disciples' feet - John 13:1-17
  • Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny him - Matthew 26:31-35
  • Jesus encourages his disciples and tells them the Holy Spirit will come - John 13:31-38, John 14, John 15, John 16
  • Jesus prays for his disciples and for those who will believe in him in the future - John 17
  • Jesus prays alone in the Garden of Gethsemane - Matthew 26:36-46
  • Jesus is arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin, and Peter denies Jesus - Mark 14:43-72

Good Friday
Early in the morning, Jesus is taken to Pilate. Pilate's wife, having had a strange dream, warns him not to have anything to do with Jesus. Pilate offers to release Jesus, but the crowd demands his crucifixion. Pilate relents and hands him over to be crucified. When Judas realizes that Jesus is going to be killed, he goes back to the chief priests and tries to undo what he has done, but it is too late. He goes out and hangs himself. Jesus is mocked and beaten before being taken to Golgotha and crucified on a cross between two criminals. After several hours, darkness falls over the earth, and as Jesus takes his last breath, the earth quakes and the veil in the temple is torn in two. Jesus' body is removed from the cross and given to Joseph of Arimathea for burial.
Saturday
The chief priests, worried that the disciples will come steal Jesus' body to make it look like he has come back to life, ask Pilate to set a guard on the tomb.

Easter/Resurrection Sunday
Early in the morning, the women arrive at the tomb to put spices on the body (something they had not been able to do previously because of the Sabbath). They are amazed to find the tomb rolled away and are greeted by an angel, who tells them that Jesus has risen. Alarmed, the women run from the tomb and get the disciples, who race back to the tomb in disbelief and find it empty. Mary Magdalene is the first to see the risen Savior, at first mistaking him for the gardener.  Jesus appears to followers on the road to Emmaus. Later, Jesus also appears to the disciples in a locked room where they have gathered. Thomas, not present for this gathering, doubts the truth of the resurrection until he sees Jesus for himself.  Soldiers report to the chief priests all that has happened, and the priests offer the guards money to say that they fell asleep while on guard duty and that while sleeping, the disciples came and stole the body of Jesus.
 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Recent Posts