Happy Palm Sunday

HAPPY PALM SUNDAY,

I put this little essay together a long time ago and like to share it with as many folks as I can during this time each year. I encourage you to read and study it and please feel free to also share.Not only the Scriptures quoted in the body but also the ones that are listed!??

The Amazing Story of The Holy Week!

Praise Be to Our God and Savior,?

“The Lord Jesus Christ”?

Who Through His Death, Burial and Resurrection,

Gave to Us Eternal Life and Forever Forgiveness!?

DAY ONE of The Holy Week,

The Palm?Sunday,

The Triumphal Entry.?

Matthew 21-1-11

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to?Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;

Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.?

The Lord Jesus Christ was on his way to Jerusalem, knowing full well that his trip would end in his sacrificial death for the sin of humanity.

He sent two disciples ahead to the village of?Bethpage, about a mile away from the city at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

He told them to look for a donkey tied by a house, with its unbroken colt next to it.?

Jesus instructed the disciples to tell the owners of the animal that "The Lord has need of it."?

Luke 19:31

The men found the donkey, brought it and its colt to Jesus, and placed their cloaks on the colt.

Jesus sat on the young donkey and slowly, humbly, made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

In his path, people threw their cloaks on the ground and put palm branches on the road before him.

Others waved palm branches in the air. Large Passover crowds surrounded Jesus, shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David,

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!?

By that time the commotion was spreading through the entire city. Many of the Galilean disciples had earlier seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.

Undoubtedly they were spreading the news of that miracle. The Pharisees, who were jealous of Jesus and afraid of the Romans, said:

"'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."?

When he told the disciples to get the donkey, Jesus referred to himself as, The Lord,' a definite proclamation of his divinity.

By riding into Jerusalem on a the colt of a donkey, Jesus fulfilled an ancient prophecy in Zechariah 9:9:

This was the only instance in the Gospels in which Jesus rode an animal.

Throwing cloaks in the path of someone was an act of homage and submission. The people were recognizing Jesus as the promised Messiah.?

The people's cries of 'Hosanna' came from Psalm 118:25-26. Hosanna means "Save Now."

Despite what Jesus had foretold about his mission, the people were looking for a military Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and restore Israel's independence.?

The crowds refused to see Jesus as he truly was, placing their personal desires on him instead.

But The Lord Jesus Christ is someone whom we want as our Lord and Savior!?

I know that by Faith and I have by Faith Trusted Him as mine,?

Sunday's events are recorded in Matthew. 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke. 19:29-44, John. 12:12-19

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DAY TWO of The Holy Week,

The Holy Monday,

The Clearing of The Temple.??

Luke 19:46

“Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.”?

On Monday morning, Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, Jesus cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit.

Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel.

Others believe the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward religiosity.

True, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.?When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts full of corrupt money changers.

He began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple. On Monday evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.?

Monday's events are recorded in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17?

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DAY THREE of The Holy Week,

The Teaching Tuesday,?

The Mount of Olives.?

On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem.

They passed the withered fig tree on their way, and Jesus taught them about faith.

At the Temple, the religious leaders aggressively challenged Jesus' authority, attempting to ambush him and create an opportunity for his arrest.

But Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced harsh judgment on them:?

Matthew 23:24-33

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers,

Which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.

Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell??

Later that afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem due east of the Temple.

Here Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse, an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age.

He taught in parables using symbolic language about end times events, including his Second Coming and the final judgment.

Scripture indicates that Tuesday was the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus.?

Please read Matthew 26:14-16?

After a tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, once again, Jesus and the disciples stayed the night in Bethany.?

Tuesdays' events are recorded in Matthew 21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38?

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DAY FOUR of The Holy Week,

The Silent Wednesday,?

The Quite Anticipation.?

The Bible doesn't say what the Lord did on Wednesday of Passion Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem,

Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of the Passover. Bethany was about two miles east of Jerusalem.

Here Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha lived. They were close friends of Jesus,

And probably hosted him and the disciples during these final days in Jerusalem.

Just a short time previously, Jesus had revealed to the disciples, and the world, that he had power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave.

After seeing this incredible miracle, many people in Bethany believed that Jesus was the Son of God and put their faith in him.

Also in Bethany just a few nights earlier, Lazarus' sister Mary had lovingly anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume.?

While we can only speculate, it's fascinating to consider how our Lord Jesus spent this final quiet day with his dearest friends and followers.?

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DAY FIVE of The Holy Week,

The Maundy Thursday,

The Passover & Last Supper.?

Holy Week takes a somber turn on Thursday.?

From Bethany Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to make the preparations for the Passover Feast.

That evening after sunset, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as they prepared to share in the Passover.

By performing this humble act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how believers are to love one another.

Today, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.

Then Jesus shared the feast of Passover with his disciples saying,?

Luke 22:15-16

And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:

For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.?

As the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of the Passover,

By giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice,

Freeing us from sin and death. During this Last Supper, Jesus established the Lord's Supper, or Communion,

Instructing his followers to continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine.?

Please read Luke 22:19-20?

Later Jesus and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony to God the Father.?

Luke 22:44

“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”?

Late that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin.

He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus.

Meanwhile, in the early morning hours, as Jesus' trial was getting underway, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed.?

Thursday's events are recorded in Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-62, and John 13:1-38?

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DAY SIX of The Holy Week,

The Forgiving Friday,?

The Trial, Death and Burial.?

Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.?

According to Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.?

Meanwhile, before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus endured the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment.

After multiple unlawful trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment.

Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and pierced him with a crown of thorns.

Then Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary where, again, he was mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross.

Jesus spoke seven final statements from the cross. His first words were,?

Luke 23:46

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" Luke 23:34. His last were, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:?

Then, about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Jesus breathed his last and died.

By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, took Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb.?

Friday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and John 18:28-19:37?

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DAY SEVEN of The Holy Week,

The Sacrifice Saturday,

Christ's Body Placed In the Tomb.?

Jesus' body lay in the tomb where it was guarded by Roman soldiers throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath.

When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., Christ's body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus:?

John 19: 39-40

He brought about seventy five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom,

They wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.?

Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court which had condemned Jesus Christ to death.

For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith,

Because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.?

Similarly, both were deeply affected by Christ's death.

They boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and their lives because they had come to realize that Jesus was,

Indeed, the long awaited Messiah.

Together they cared for Jesus' body and prepared it for burial. While his physical body lay in the tomb,

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice.

He conquered death, both spiritually and physically, securing our eternal salvation:?

1st Peter 1:18-19

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold,

From your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:?

Saturday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.?

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DAY OCTAVE of The Holy Week,

The Resurrection Sunday,

Victory Over Death, Hell and The Grave!?

On Resurrection Sunday we reach the culmination of Holy Week.

The resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of all eternity,

And that of the Christian faith. The very foundation of all Christian belief hinges on the truth of this account.?

Early Sunday morning several women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome,

Went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering the tomb's entrance had been rolled away.?

Matthew 28:5-6

An angel announced, And the angel answered and said unto the women,

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.?????????????????????

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On the day of his resurrection, Jesus Christ made at least five appearances.

Mark's Gospel says the first person to see him was Mary Magdalene.

Jesus also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,

And later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas, while they were gathered in a house for prayer.?

The eyewitness accounts in the Gospels provide undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ happened.

2,000 years after his death, followers of Christ still flock to see the empty tomb, one of the strongest proofs that Jesus Christ Lives Forevermore.?

Sunday's events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49, and John 20:1-23?

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Romans 10:9

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,

Thou Shalt Be Saved.”?

Bob Patterson

John 6:37