I. Palm Sunday
The week begins with Jesus beginning his journey to Jerusalem near Bethphage and Bethany. Jesus instructs two of his disciples to go and get him a colt that is untied. This action will lead to Jesus fulfilling the prophecy foretold in Zechariah 9:9, "Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Once riding in to the city, there are cries of "Blessed is the King who come in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"(Luke 19:37) How quick these people were to cheer for Jesus and not really knowing the true purpose of his visit as these same people would later be calling for his death by the end of this week.
II. Clearing the Temple Monday
The next day we find Jesus coming to the temple and seeing it overrun by the corrupt money changers. He then begins to turn over the tables and clear the temple saying, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers." (Luke 19:46) After this he began his teaching in the temple with the chief priests and scribes looking to destroy or arrest him, but could not find a reason.
III. Mount of Olives Tuesday
This day included many of the teachings that Jesus did in his last days at the Mount of Olives as well as the challenging of the Jewish leaders of the authority of Jesus. The challenging of Jesus starts with the scribes and chief priests sending spies to ask him about taxes. "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" (Luke 20:22) To which Jesus did not directly answer, but asked for a coin and from this asked whose face was on it. They replied with Caesar, to which Jesus responded by saying, "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Luke 20:25) This means that we are to pay secular (worldly) duties to those of the world and to God, what is his.
After this, Jesus is questioned by the Sadducees about the resurrection. "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother." (Luke 20:28) They were confused and wondered who the woman would marry when she was dead. Jesus ended up responding to them saying, "those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage" (Luke 20:34) This means that the woman would not be married to any other person after she has died.
Jesus was also questioned on which commandment that he thought was the greatest. "Which commandment is the most important of all?" (Mark 12:28) Jesus ended up responding to this question by stating that there are two commandments, which both consist of love. These are love for God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and love for your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).
These questions were asked to try and stump Jesus or get him to admit to spreading false information, but in turn they were unsuccessful in their attempts and had to walk away without anything else to say.
IV. Betrayal Wednesday
The mid day of the week was one where everything seemed quiet, but there was many things going on since this is where Judas went to deceive Jesus and got to the chief priests and scribes. These Jewish leaders were still looking for a way to arrest Jesus and have him put to death for blasphemy. "He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them." (Luke 22:4).
V. Passover Thursday
After the betrayal of Judas happens the day before, the downturn towards the death of Christ continues on this day. During this day the Passover occurs which happened on the day of Unleavened Bread, for which the Passover lamb was sacrificed. There was also the Lord's Supper which occurred. During the Lord's Supper, Jesus breaks bread and shares wine. The representation of Christ's body is by the bread, "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19) and his blood is by the wine, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." (Luke 22:20).
During this night Jesus also foretells of the denial of Peter as well as their being a dispute among the disciples as to which once was the greatest. Jesus also goes during this time to the garden of Gethsemane where he prays to God. It is here where he wrestles with the coming events and asks the Father to remove the cup of wrath from him, although he knows that that will not be the Lord's will. An angel from heaven comes to help give him strength during this time because it is during this time that also because of the agony he was going through that, "he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44). The temptation to not go through with the death became so great that he was literally sweating blood, but came to the contentment that it was God's will for him to die for the sins of the world.
This day was the hardest day in the life of Jesus and it dealt with the final hours of his life leading to death on a cross at the end of the day. The events begin with Judas Iscariot coming to Jesus in the garden with the Jewish leaders and betraying Jesus with a kiss, "The one I will kiss is the man." (Mark 14:44). After this action, though, Judas ends up feeling remorse and goes and hangs himself on a tree.
After this Jesus had to deal with false accusations, condemnation, mockery and abandonment. He ended up going through many trials, which seemed fixed and only ended up condemning him more. He was delivered to Pilate who brought him in front of the Jewish people, who all cried out, "Crucify, crucify him!" (Luke 23:21). He was then led to away after being condemned to a capital punishment of crucifixion. During this, he is tormented, mocked and spit upon. He also had to carry his own cross to the site where his death would occur. Once, at Calvary, he was again mocked and nailed to the old, rugged cross. On the cross during the mockery, Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
From the sixth hour to the ninth hour, there was a darkness over the land and it was here that the temple was torn in two and Jesus called out to the Father, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46). After this, Jesus took his last breath and died. After his death, Joseph of Arimathea, took his body and had it laid in a tomb.
VII. Buried in the Tomb Saturday
During this day, many of the people rested because it was the Sabbath. The body of Jesus was guarded by Roman Soldiers during the day on Saturday. After the Sabbath was over, women came with Joseph to the tomb to treat the body of Jesus with spices and ointments.
VII. Resurrection Sunday!
This is the day where everything changed. The final day of the Holy Week has come and the resurrection of Jesus Christ has occurred. This is the part that is the most important, as because if Christ has not risen then our faith is in vain. The truth, though, is that he has risen and our faith is secure in Jesus Christ if we just believe in him. This truly is great news!
When the women went to go back to the tomb to put more spices and ointment on the body of Christ, they end up finding out that the body is gone. An angel said to them while they were confused, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen" (Luke 24:5)
During his resurrection, Christ appeared at least five different times to his followers. The gospel accounts of the eyewitnesses that occurred show undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened. Many of the followers of Christ right after this time, ended up dying very gruesome deaths for their faith and willingness to not deny Christ when they were forced to. The empty tomb is one of the strong cases for the actual resurrection of Christ, that still today people flock to the area to get a chance to see the exact tomb that he was buried in, even some 2,000 years later.
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