By Pastor Stephen Hess –
Each year during “Holy Week” we remember the final days of Jesus’ life, starting with Palm Sunday and concluding with Easter Sunday. We often focus on what happened at the beginning and the end of the week, forgetting to stop and reflect on what happened on the days between. Below you will find a summary of the last week of Jesus’ life with corresponding Scripture readings. You are encouraged to use these readings before and during Holy Week to slow down and reflect on the person and work of our Savior.
Palm Sunday (March 29, AD 33) – Thousands of pilgrims have traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival. As Jesus rides into the city on a donkey, a crowd of his disciples and other pilgrims spread palm branches on the road and shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9). With these shouts the crowd acknowledges that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Read: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19.
Monday (March 30, AD 33) – Jesus curses a fig tree as a symbol of judgment upon the temple. Instead of being a place where people would worship and seek God, the temple had become a place of empty religion that was being used for monetary gain. Jesus enters the temple and cleanses it by driving out those who were buying and selling. With these actions, Jesus reveals that the time of the temple is coming to an end. Read: Matthew 21:12-22; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48.
Tuesday (March 31, AD 33) – Jesus spends a great deal of time teaching in the temple. He tells numerous extended parables, pronounces judgment upon the Scribes and Pharisees, and foretells events that will come both in the near future and at the end of the age. Read: Matthew 21:20-25:46; Mark 11:20-13:37; Luke 21:5-36.
Wednesday (April 1, AD 33) – Jesus continues his daily teaching in the temple (Luke 21:37-38). Meanwhile, the Jewish leaders (the “Sanhedrin”) gather in the palace of the high priest and plot to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. None of this takes Jesus by surprise, as he had already told his disciples that he would be delivered up to be crucified during the Passover (Matt. 26:1-2). Read: Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2.
Thursday (April 2, AD 33) – After instructing his disciples to prepare a room for the Passover, Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples. During the meal he predicts his betrayal, institutes the Lord’s Supper, and washes his disciples’ feet. After sharing his final teaching with them, they all depart to the Mount of Olives where Jesus predicts Peter’s denials. They end the night at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays as his disciples struggle to stay awake. Read: Matthew 26:17-46; Mark 14:12-42; Luke 22:7-46; John 13:1-17:26.
Friday (April 3, AD 33) – In the early hours of the morning, Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested. While Jesus is being questioned by the Jewish leaders, Peter denies Jesus. After being accused of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders, Jesus is handed over to Pontius Pilate—the Roman Governor. Jesus is questioned by both Pilate and Herod Antipas and they find no guilt in him. However, to please the crowd, Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified. Jesus is mocked and marched to Golgotha, where he is crucified between two thieves. After breathing his last, he is buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a new tomb. Read: Matthew 26:47-27:61; Mark 14:43-15:47; Luke 22:47-23:56; John 18:2-19:42.
Saturday (April 4, AD 33) – Aware of the fact that Jesus had predicted his resurrection and worried that the disciples will steal his body, the chief priests and the Pharisees place guards at the tomb. Pilate instructs them to seal the tomb and make it as secure as they can. Read: Matthew 27:62-66.
Sunday (April 5, AD 33) – Some women visit the tomb of Jesus hoping to anoint his body and instead find an empty tomb and an angel declaring that Jesus has risen from the dead. The women leave the tomb to tell the disciples and they encounter Jesus on the way. After hearing the report from the women, Peter and John also rush to the tomb and discover it empty. Later that day, Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus and the eleven (minus Thomas) in the evening. These would be the first of numerous encounters that people would have with the risen Jesus in the days to come! Read: Matthew 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-43; John 20:1-23.