Passion Week – What is it?

Passion Week (also called Holy Week) takes place between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday (Resurrection Sunday). Why is it called “Passion Week”? This name represents the passion with which Jesus willingly went to the cross. He did this to pay for your sins—the sins of all of His people.

Below we have highlighted each day of the passion week and included scriptures to read.  You will also find a link to a daily video that corresponds to the events that were happening that help explain more context to the story. 

Our prayer is that this Passion Week will be a time we can all come face to face with the Passion of Christ in a new and fresh way.  We are praying Ephesians 3:16-19 to be true of us as we remember the life, death and resurrection of our Messiah Jesus Christ. 

Ephesians 3:16-19—“I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Passion Week – The Main Events

Palm Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday in recognition of the beginning of Passion Week and Jesus’ final agonizing journey to His crucifixion. “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!’” (Matthew 21:6-9). Palm Sunday serves as a preparation of one’s heart for the agony of His passion and the joy of His resurrection.

Read--Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19

Watch the video for Palm Sunday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Holy Monday - Following Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, He spent Sunday night in Bethany, the village at the foot of the Mount of Olives. As Jesus returned on Monday to Jerusalem, He noticed a fig tree that had produced leaves ahead of season. But since the fig tree bore leaves, He expected to find figs, yet it was fruitless. Jesus cursed the tree and it withered the next day. Another event of Holy Monday is the Temple cleaning. As part of prophesy, Jesus pronounced a symbolic judgment upon the irreverence for the Lord’s house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11).

Read—Matthew 21:10-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48

Watch the video for Monday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Holy Tuesday – On Holy Tuesday, the conspiracies to trap Jesus escalated. Israel’s religious leaders had one goal: to get rid of Jesus of Nazareth. If this meant cooperating with a lifelong enemy, any means would be justified. So the Pharisees—who opposed Rome and its intrusion on the Jewish way of life—and the Herodians, supporters of Herod the Great, joined forces. Even the Sadducees—religious liberals who denied a resurrection, angels, or spirits—attempted to discredit Jesus. Jesus warned the crowds and disciples about the hypocrisy and unbelief of the nation’s religious leaders. Jesus pronounced seven condemnations (“Woes”) addressing the false religion that was abhorrent to God (Matthew 23:13-33).

Read—Matthew 21:18-25:46; Mark 11:27-13:37; Luke 20:1-21:36

Watch the video for Tuesday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Holy Wednesday – On Wednesday, Christians remember the day Judas Iscariot first conspired with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus. 

Read--Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6; John 11:45-57

Watch the video for Wednesday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Maundy Thursday – On Maundy Thursday, believers remember the last supper Jesus Christ had with His disciples prior to His arrest and crucifixion. First, Jesus predicts what will happen on the next day. Second, Jesus gives His followers symbols of remembrance for His body and His blood sacrificed on behalf of all mankind. ”And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). Third, Jesus provides a very important principle for living a Christian life: the greatest are those who serve others, not those who expect to be served (Luke 22:26).

Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane - Then Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray as He waited for His hour to come. It was here that Jesus, having been betrayed by Judas, was arrested and taken to several sham trials before the chief priests, Pontius Pilate, and Herod (Luke 22:54–23:25).

Jesus endured six trials. Three of the trials were by Jewish leaders and three by the Romans (John 18:12-14, Mark 14:53-65, Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:6-12, Mark 15:6-15). During this time, Jesus survived painful beating, whipping, and mocking (Mark 15:16-20). Pilate tried to compromise with the religious leaders by having Jesus beaten, but this act didn't satisfy them, so Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified (Mark 15:6-15). Jesus was mocked by the soldiers as they dressed Him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns (John 19:1-3).

Read—Matthew 26:17-75; Mark 14:12-72; Luke 22:7-65; John 13:1-30

Watch the video for Thursday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Good Friday – Jesus was crucified on Golgatha, which means the Place of the Skull (Mark 15:22). The sky turned dark for three hours (Mark 15:33). Jesus cried, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit!" and He died (Luke 23:46). The disciple Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” The blood of Jesus Christ is absolutely the most precious thing God has offered us.

Read—Matthew 27:1-61; Mark 15:1-47; Luke 22:66-23:56; John 18:28-19:42

Watch the video for Friday…   https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/  

Holy Saturday – On Saturday of Passion week, we remember the time Jesus spent in the tomb.   Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb before 6:00pm Friday night, when the Sabbath began and all work stopped, and it lay in the tomb throughout the Sabbath. "So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it" (Matthew 27:66). 

Read—John 14:1-17:26

Watch the video for Saturday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

Resurrection Sunday! - The Resurrection of Jesus ends Passion week with a victorious celebration! Early in the morning the women found an empty tomb. Then Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time.  His resurrection was established as a fact.

Read—Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-53; John 20:1-21:25

Watch the video for Resurrection Sunday… https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/

https://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/passion-week.htm

https://www.crossway.org/articles/walk-with-jesus-during-his-last-days-on-earth/