What is Holy Week?

The pastors have been talking about "Holy Week". It is obvious they mean "the week between Palm Sunday and Easter." But what is "Holy Week" all about? Do we really know what happened every day of Holy Week?

• Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry
• Monday: Cursing of the Fig Tree, Cleaning of the Temple
• Tuesday: Jesus taught in the Temple
• Spy Wednesday: Judas makes the deal to sell out Jesus
• Maundy Thursday: The Last Supper & Gethsemane
• Good Friday: Jesus's Trials and Crucifixion
• Holy Saturday: Jesus lay in the tomb, the disciples hid in fear
• Easter/Resurrection Sunday The Resurrection!

Good Friday

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Luke 23

Maundy Thursday

What Does "Maundy" Mean?

Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice.

Palm Sunday Facts

Every Quiz Teamer probably knows that yesterday was Palm Sunday, the celebration of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. But here are some fun facts about Palm Sunday that you might not know.

• Palm Sunday celebrations started off in the churches of Jerusalem, before the third or fourth century AD.
• The Palm Sunday falls on any one of the 35 dates ranging from 15 March to 18 April.
• Hosanna is actually a Hebrew word that means "Save us! Please!"
• The Palm Sunday is known as the “Pussy Willow Sunday” in Latvia
• In Kerala, South India, flowers are sprinkled about into the safe haven on Palm Sunday when the gospel is read out.
• "Hosanna" is a reference to Psalm 118:25, a messianic psalm

Holy Week Schedule & Luke

As we come into Holy Week (Easter Week), I thought it would be good to remind us about the outline Jim went thru at the Trumbull Quiz Meet, so that you can be reminded of how our week lines up to the events of the week leading up to Christ's crucifiction.

Sunday: Triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
Monday: Cleansing of the Temple
Tuesday: Conflict with the Religious Authorities
Wednesday: Silence
Thursday: Passover, the last supper (Maundy Thursday)
Friday: Crucifiction (Good Friday)
Saturday: Jesus in the Tomb
Sunday: Resurrection! (Easter)

As we go through this week, you may wish to review Luke 22, 23, and 24 to follow along in the story for each day. It's a good way to really remind yourself of just how much action there was in the last week of Jesus's pre-resurrection life.