Exploring Holy WeekSample

This week we’re going to follow along with Jesus in his final days before Easter, called Holy Week. While he had been teaching for a few years by this point, Jesus’ actions during Holy Week revealed what he cared about his entire life on earth: loving others and serving God. It begins on Palm Sunday when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem. He enters the city riding a young donkey. This peculiar mode of travel fulfilled a prophecy from the book of Zechariah. This prophecy said that a king would arrive on a donkey and that Jerusalem should “Shout in triumph” (v. 9).

But there were a few upside-down expectations already happening on Palm Sunday, particularly about what sort of triumph Jesus’ arrival would signal.

1. The people had just watched Jesus bring Lazarus back from the dead. They were curious about who this miracle worker was, and some might have imagined Jesus using his power to lead a rebellion against the rulers of the time, the Roman empire.
2. The Pharisees were a group of religious leaders (think pastors and professors) concerned about Jesus’ popularity. They feared that the people’s love of Jesus would weaken their own power and status.
3. The disciples. These people had followed Jesus for years, learning and growing with him on the road. But it was only as the crowds cheered that the disciples recognized how Jesus fulfilled Scripture. What could this mean? Even these close friends and followers didn’t yet understand how much Jesus would do because of his love for them.

Explore: When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, people worshipped him with palm branches like the ones shown below. What are some things that you’d like to praise God for today? Anything you’d like to thank him for or ask him about? You can talk to God about things you care about because even when things don’t work out as we’d expect, we can trust that God loves and listens to us.