It’s Easter week, and I’d love to share some meaningful Christian traditions with you.
Palm Sunday (Last Sunday) known as Palm Sunday, marked the day Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem—not as a warrior king, as some had hoped, but as a humble servant. Riding a donkey, he fulfilled the prophecy that the long-awaited king would come “righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9, written in 500 BC).
Spy Wednesday (Today) recalls Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, fulfilling Zechariah 11:12 (also ~500 BC).
Good Friday brings the tragedy of the cross: Friday is known as Good Friday. What occurred that day was tragic: the people chose to release a murderer, Barabbas, and crucified Jesus instead. It is called “Good” because this was part of Jesus’s mission. As Jesus hung on the cross, he quoted from Psalm 22 as a testament to his identity as the fulfillment of the King they had been waiting for. They hurled insults at him and gambled for his clothes, fulfilling the prophecy: “A pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.” And as he hung there, bearing the sins of the world, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22, written in 1000 BC). However, He was God and knew that He had not been forsaken to the grave, as the Psalm continues to declare: “He has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.” In quoting the Psalm, He described both his death and ultimate resurrection as a sign He was the King written about so long ago!
Resurrection Sunday Sunday is Resurrection Sunday, when the empty tomb was discovered by women first—an embarrassment to acknowledge in their culture, but they recorded it anyway, because it was the truth. Later, Jesus appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters who witnessed him (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Let us remember the profound truth that He gave His only begotten Son. I invite you to visit a local church this Friday and walk through the Stations of the Cross.
Happy Easter week! Because He died and rose again, we can have peace knowing that God loves the world—you and me—so deeply.
