Holy Week 2021

Lisa Scheffler, author

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Welcome to a special edition of the Engage God Daily. We’re going to provide a devotional every day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, as we walk through the final events in Jesus’ earthly life.

Easter is about the unexpected.

A king who has neither riches nor throne. A hero who is captured and condemned. A ruler who sacrifices himself for his people. An innocent who is executed as a criminal. An eternal deity who chooses to experience death. A crucified Messiah who is raised to life. Many of us are so familiar with the story of Jesus that we can fail to appreciate just how astonishing the events we remember and celebrate this week are.

Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, is a time when Christians all over the world are reflecting on Jesus’s betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion and then rejoicing in his glorious resurrection. The historical events we remember this week remind us of the awesome love God has for us. The story of Easter offers us hope that pain and suffering will be defeated, and that new life can come out of the grave. We need the story of Easter.

Each day we’re going to encounter the story of Easter straight from the pages of Matthew’s Gospel. This is a story we all need to know and share, so if you’re not already, consider working through this week’s Engage God Daily with family or friends. Take time each day to pray and reflect on what your Savior did for you, and the hope it gives you for the future. Engage in meaningful conversations about what the stories from Holy Week mean to you.

Day 1 | Jesus’ Triumphal Entry

When Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final time, his life and ministry are coming to a climax. Jesus had created quite a stir in the outer provinces of Judea. He taught with undeniable authority, openly challenged the religious leaders, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. Many people were beginning to recognize that Jesus was more than a Rabbi or even a prophet. Could it be that he was the long-awaited messiah, king of Israel?

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, tensions were high. Two views of Jesus were in conflict. The Jewish religious leaders saw him as a trouble-making, rabble-rouser and were plotting his death. More and more, the ordinary people were expecting a great liberator who would free them from Roman oppression and re-establish the earthly kingdom of Israel. The manner of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem announced his kingship without contradicting its unexpected nature. Before the king would reign, he would choose to die.

Read

Matthew 21:1-11

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 

 

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ 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 heaven!”

 

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Reflect

All four Gospels record Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They depict him riding a donkey as the crowd lays their cloaks before him, waves palm branches and shouts “Hosanna!” What do all these symbols mean? Jesus’ arrival is being treated as a royal procession.

“Hosanna” is a Greek form of the Hebrew words translated “Save us” in Psalm 118:25. This Psalm was among those commonly used during Jewish festivals. In Jewish worship, “Hosanna” had already come to be used more as an exclamation of praise than a prayer.^[1] Also from Psalm 118 come the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The people are expecting Jesus to defeat Rome. They’ve heard of his miracles. Some have even witnessed them first hand. They’re eager for victory.

There will be victory, but it won’t be what his admirers were expecting. The King would sacrifice his life to save those oppressed by an enemy even more powerful than the great empire of Rome. He would conquer the enemy that enslaves all of humanity — sin and death.

This won’t be Jesus’ final triumphal entry. Revelation 19 tells us that when Jesus comes again, he will ride a white horse and “with justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.” (verses 11–12). No one will ask “Who is this?” Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that he is the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. When his kingdom comes in its fulfillment, all who oppose him will perish. The time to pledge allegiance to King Jesus is now.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem heralded by the crowd as Savior and King. A few days later he would be hanging from the cross in apparent defeat. God often defies our expectations, but having faith means trusting in him even when his ways are inscrutable to us. It means that we pledge ourselves to King Jesus and obey him even when it’s difficult. We worship him as God, believing that the one who designed the universe has a plan for us as well.

It’s not always easy to have that kind of faith. But Easter reassures us that our trust is not in vain. We can trust the love of a Savior who would suffer and die for us. We can trust in the power of a God who raises the dead.

^[1] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 303. 

Pray

As you begin Holy Week, ask the Father to prepare your heart to receive his Word. If it is helpful, use this prayer to guide you.

Father God, I want to worship you earnestly and fully this week. I know that there are callous places in my heart that have been toughened by rebellion and sin. Please reveal those areas and soften my heart so that I might trust you more deeply and obey you more completely. Help me respond to others with more tenderness and compassion so that I might imitate your Son in showing love and grace. I love you Father and long to know and love you more. In Jesus’ precious and holy name, I pray. Amen.