Holy Week Leading Up to Easter
Jesus, the Christ, Resurrection and the Christian Faith
Palm Sunday, the Sunday prior to Easter, is the first day in the Holy Week. Throughout the world, Christians pause to recognize the events that are the root of the Christian faith.
Christ's bodily journey on earth was nearing its end on Palm Sunday. It was a time that Christ had begun to speak more frequently about with his disciples or his students.
In Matthew chapter 23 and verse 39, Christ states, “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Christ Prepares His Disciples for His Resurrection
Days prior to his trial and crucifixion, Christ spoke openly with his disciples about what was about to happen regarding him. The nearer they got to Jerusalem, the more Christ prepared his students.
Matthew chapter 20 and verses 17 through 19 record Christ as saying, “And Jesus,going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside along the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him. And the third day He shall rise again."
Palm Sunday Happened One Week Before the Resurrection
As Jesus, the Christ, made his way into Jerusalem, he was greeted by a crowd of people who were not unlike the crowds that neared him while he performed miracles, fed 5,000 men, women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish, healed the lame to walk and brought Lazarus back to life in physical form. Yet, there was something about this greeting that was different. No one asked Christ hard questions on this day. It was as if the people filling the path knew, just now, who Christ was.
As Matthew chapter 21 and verses six through nine states, “The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’"
This event, particularly the cutting down of the branches and the people ushering Christ into Jerusalem, are commemorated today as Palm Sunday.
Easter Holy Week and the Passover
Holy Week also occurs during the same week as the Passover, a holy time to recall the Jews safe keeping during the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt. On the very week that Passover occurred, Christ, God’s begotten Son was to be slain.
In fact, Matthew Chapter 26 and verses one and two state, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away — and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’"
Although there is great focus on Christ’s crucifixion in many places of worship around the world, it is Christ’s resurrection that embodies the real meaning of Easter.
The event confirmed Christ’s words when he told his disciples that he would have great accusations hurled at him that would lead to his condemnation or people turning completely away from him. But Christ would not argue his case. He knew what the people saw on Palm Sunday. He knew he was the Savior of humankind.
Christ’s Rising From the Dead on Easter Sunday
Three days after he was crucified, the body that was placed in a borrowed tomb was empty. Scriptures state that Christ’s accusers, many whom were Pharisees and Sadducees, sent word went out that Christ’s disciples stole his body out of the tomb so that people would be duped into believing that his words had been true when he foretold that he would rise from the dead.
Yet, nowhere in the scriptures is it recorded that these same people disputed Lazarus’ being raised from the dead by Christ. Perhaps it was easier to believe that one could perform for another what one could not possibly have performed for oneself.
In the American Century Dictionary, the word resurrection means, “rising from the dead” or “Christ’s rising from the dead” or “revival after disuse, inactivity or decay.” It is this new life, this undoing to redo right, that people celebrate on Easter Sunday.
For it is on that day that Jesus, the Christ, disciples came to the borrowed tomb and discovered Christ gone or no longer dead or inactive but alive and fully empowered to restore (or resurrect) to life those who believe in the work he performs.
Resurrection Sunday
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Holy Week
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