Written by: Debi Pierson

Palm Sunday: David covered this so well in his teaching on Sunday. Jesus humbly strolled into town, feet perhaps skimming the ground due to the diminutive size of his ride. Jerusalem crowds undeterred by Jesus’ humility, greeted Him with cheers and palm branch waving-Hosanna, HOSANNA in the highest! Fulfilling ancient prophecy and giving the rightful King His due, even if it only lasted a moment… "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9

While Jesus could have basked in his own glory, waved and bowed, high-fives all around for all the miracles He had already done, He didn’t. That lowly donkey was His open declaration that He was in fact the righteous Messiah of prophecy. Even the rocks knew it.

Monday: Jesus was having a very Monday kind of Monday. His day involved cursing a failing fig tree and turning over some tables in the Temple. Relatable, right? I can personally identify with His frustration over an under-performing tree (insert employee, child, spouse…) not living up to my expectations and that righteous anger in the Temple—oh, yeah. I GET that. When I look beneath the surface of these stories—if I look for the character of God instead of justification for my own anger and frustration, I see that I AM that tree or at the very least, have the potential to be it. If I only look good outwardly as a Christ follower, but produce zero fruit, what good am I to the Kingdom?

Tuesday: You know how when you try to stretch a vacation budget, sometimes you stay with friends or family outside of the city and just travel back and forth to the events and attractions you want to see? That was basically what Jesus and the disciples were doing. Each evening, leaving Jerusalem and staying about thirty minutes east in Bethany, perhaps with Mary, Martha, and his old (LIVING!) friend, Lazarus. It is on this Tuesday morning return trip that Peter actually notices the withered fig tree and Jesus drops another faith bomb lesson, reminding us that religiosity gets us nowhere. Jesus dominates a battle of answering a question with a question when the religious leaders try to trick him. He shares a parable about an evil farmer, exposing his awareness of their plot to kill him AND laying out their eventual consequences.

In the same day, there was a field trip to the Mount of Olives and more teaching, heavy in prophecy, told in parables, covering a range of deep topics like His second coming, end times and the final judgment. Knowing the people of the future wouldn’t be able to resist a slick leader or good conspiracy theory, Jesus warns us and prepares us in Mark 13:5-37.

37“...What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Wednesday: Here we are mid-week and the scripture doesn’t go into a ton of detail about what Jesus’ agenda was for the day. Some scholars think that after two long days that Jesus and his crew may have been laying low in preparation for the Passover. Luke tells us that, “Each day Jesus was teaching at the Temple...” Luke 21:37 Matthew describes a woman anointing Jesus with expensive oil while He was in Bethany, but perhaps where we feel both dread and, sadly, kinship is when we read that Judas agrees to betray his own savior for 30 pieces of silver. We never want to see ourselves in the villains of the Bible, but if we take an honest look in the mirror today, we’ve probably already traded a little bit of faith for much less than Judas received.

Thursday: Here’s where things take a dark turn. Starting early, Passover meal prep is happening and they all gather in the upper room for what we now refer to as the Last Supper. Jesus AGAIN demonstrates true leadership and the kind of humility that makes us literally cringe with the washing of his disciples’ feet. Jesus reveals He has a betrayer and Judas dips out to prepare for the ultimate disloyalty in the Garden of Gethsemane later that evening. Apparently, Bible people never slept because Jesus was arrested and taken to the home of Caiaphas where the council had gathered to make their case against Jesus. Peter famously denies Jesus, the rooster crows, the sun rises. And then it was Friday.

Good Friday: Has there ever been more irony in a name? I remember the first time I watched The Passion of the Christ. While this movie still stirs up plenty of controversy for what many say are biblical and historical inaccuracies and its gory depiction of the 12 hours leading up to Christ’s death, I’m glad I watched it. Never have I ever felt so unworthy of a free gift. Never have I ever SO BADLY wanted to see the protagonist of a story prevail. Even knowing the end of the story and knowing that my own salvation is tied to this death, it didn’t soften the blow of seeing Jesus suffer. Watching his trials, crucifixion, and death didn’t feel good. But God so loved the world...

Saturday: Imagine how the followers felt on Saturday. Tired. Sad. Shocked. Jesus is buried and their hopes of an earthly savior with Him. It is the sabbath and they are all scared. The unexplained darkness that occurred at 3 pm Friday, surely still lingers in their hearts on Saturday. But Sunday is coming.

RESURRECTION SUNDAY: JOY comes in the morning! The tomb is empty! Physical and spiritual darkness has been lifted. What a Passion-filled WEEK—and I just skimmed the surface of what went down two millennia ago. How will you respond this week? Next week? The gospel accounts tell us how the women who first saw evidence of the risen Savior responded. They ran—in faith and boldness, THEY TOLD! Their hearts were ready. Is yours?

"Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen." -Matthew 28:5-6