The Easter holiday season is one of the holiest in Christianity. This year, the season will begin later than unusual, with Palm Sunday on April 13 and Easter on April 20.
Palm Sunday
During his time on Earth, Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament prophesies regarding his first coming, not the least of which is found in the book of Zechariah 9:9-12. In this scripture, followers are counseled to “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, ayour king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Biblical accounts of Passion or Holy Week are recorded in the four primary books of the Old Testament; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In all four books, Jesus is portrayed as riding into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey as the people waved palm branches before him and shouted salvos of, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” [John 12:13].
Palm Sunday kicks off Passion Week and marks the beginning of the countdown to Jesus’ last day on Earth- a day that would come before the close of the week.
Jesus is arrested
There is some dispute among scholars on what day of the week Jesus was truly arrested as well as his true crucifixion date, though Thursday of Holy Week is often designated as when most believe the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane which culminated in the arrest of Jesus to have occurred. Faithfully recorded by the disciples who were present for the events, the Lord went to the area of Gethsemane to pray. Tired from the day’s activities, the disciples fell asleep.
Finished praying, Jesus came to check on his friends, only to find them in deep slumber, and he admonished them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”
Having already predicted His betrayal by the hand of one of His own disciples, Jesus knew the struggle that was already on its way.
For at that very moment, a legion of Roman soldiers, led by Judas Iscariot, was headed to the garden to take Jesus into custody. When the soldiers arrived, Judas warned them who to arrest by a pre-arranged sign; a kiss upon the cheek.
A cherished belief in Christianity is that God consists of a trinity; the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the resurrection story Christians find a God willing to come to Earth as a man- taking it upon himself to experience life on human terms- all the struggles, toils, petty disputes and strife. As well as all the little countless in between moments of bliss and joy that make life worth living. The Biblical account shows a very human Jesus experiencing the emotional pain of a dear friend’s public, and costly betrayal.
By going peacefully with the Roman soldiers, Jesus honored his previous teachings; “Render unto Ceases what is Caesars.” Additionally, Jesus encouraged his hot-blooded disciples to back down from defending him from arrest, to be examples of peace.
Following His arrest, Jesus was questioned by the Roman Governor Pontious Pilot. When asked if He considered himself to be a King, Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Not sure how to respond, Pilate retorted, “What is truth?” He went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
According to biblical accounts, the crowd famously shouted back to release a known murderer instead of Jesus, saying “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”
During his questioning of Jesus, Pilate was sent a message from his wife warning him to “have nothing to do with that righteous man” because she had “suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” Forewarned by his wife, when the people vocalized their choice, Pilate physically and publicly washed his hands, symbolizing his public declaration of innocent for the murder of Jesus.
Crucifixion
Once the order was given, Jesus was seized by soldiers and beaten, the Bible indicates nearly beyond recognition, before a crown of thorns was roughly and mockingly shoved into the bone of His skull. Next, He was forced to carry the instrument of His own death through the streets, a wooden cross, until he would reach the place of His own murder; Golgotha, or Calvary, the Aramaic name for “Place of the Skull.”
Jesus was strung up on a cross next to two other individuals- both arrested for thievery. As the day stretched on, and the men suffered under the heat of a blazing sun, one of the thieves asked Jesus to “Remember him” when He came into his kingdom. Jesus answered, “I tell you this day I will see you in paradise.”
An important and often overlooked aspect of this exchange is how the thief on the cross needed to do nothing further than believe in the One whom God sent. He didn’t suddenly jump down from his cross and start performing mass miracles Mother Theresa style- he simply asked for and received salvation.
The Bible records Jesus as asking His Father “To forgive them for they know not what they do,” and His final words before giving up the ghost, “It is finished.”
Following the utterance of these most famous and precious words in all Christendom, accounts report the cloth in the temple, previously symbolizing the divide between God and man, was rent in two as the day turned dark as night and a great earthquake caused the ground to heave and tremor.
Resurrection
Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, took place three days later, when Mary Magdalene was first on scene at Jesus’ tomb to find the stone rolled away and his body missing from the grave. Fearing the Roman soldiers had stolen Jesus’ body, Mary rushed back to tell the other disciples of her discovery. Peter, another disciple, and Mary went back to the grave site, and while the men went inside to inspect the tomb, Mary, who had stayed behind outside the tomb, was visited by two angels she believed to be ordinary men. When they asked her why she was crying, she answered “Because they have taken my Savior’s body and I don’t know where they have taken him.” At her words, another man, Jesus, suddenly appeared and asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
When Mary failed to recognize Jesus, actually mistaking Him for a gardener; He spoke her name. At the sound of “Mary” from her savior’s lips, the scales from her eyes fell away and she knew she was standing in the presence of a resurrected and perfected Jesus.
Over the next thirty days Jesus would appear before many – believers and non-believers alike.
There are many spiritually amazing takeaways from the resurrection story to be marveled over and treasured. One of the most comforting for a follower of Christ is the hope it imparts. Because Christians believe their Savior lives, they can take solace in knowing so will their loved ones who have also put their salvation in the hands of Jesus.