What Is Holy Week?
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. I hope everyone celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday. Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Jesus riding on a donkey as He enters Jerusalem. People are lined up on both sides of the street waving palm branches. This event is recorded in all four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the end of Jesus’ time on earth.
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday comes from a phrase spoken at the Last Supper. The word “maundy” comes from the Latin phrase “mandatum,” meaning “commandment” which was spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper. The Last Supper refers to the last meal Jesus ate with His disciples prior to His trial and crucifixion. All of this coincided with the time of the Hebrew Passover. Jesus used wine and bread to represent His body and blood, blessing it and giving it to His disciples. Jesus also washed the feet of His disciples and shared a foreshadowing of Judas’ betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is dedicated to commemorating the death of Jesus, who died for the sins of the world and was laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. Scripture says Jesus hung on the cross for about three hours, and this should remind us of God’s love and promise of eternal life. You can celebrate this day by fasting, and many attend special Good Friday Services.
Easter falls early this year. On the Gregorian calendar, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after His death. In all four Gospel accounts, some women arrived at the tomb on Sunday morning to prepare the body for proper burial. To their surprise, the stone had been rolled away, and the tomb was empty. We are all born enslaved to sin, and because of our sin, we are all under the wrath and judgement of God.
At the cross, Jesus paid the price for our freedom by taking the pain of God’s wrath and bearing the penalty of our sin. You cannot separate Jesus as Savior and Lord. He did not die just to save us from sin’s penalty. He also died to free us from slavery to sin. We are no longer under the lordship of sin, but of Christ. And Christ is both Savior and Lord! May this Easter be filled with joy and happiness as you realize what Christ has done for each of us.
Prayer – Father, thank You for saving us from sin’s penalty and sin’s power. I acknowledge that You are both Savior and Lord. Amen.
Romans 6:18 – “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: Yoksel Zok, Wim van T. Einde, Marek Studzinski & Jay Antol, courtesy of Unsplash
