Easter is right around the corner, Trojans, which is a wonderful time to celebrate Christ’s sacrifice and ultimate victory. However, it is our tendency as Christians to begin our reflections at the climax of the story when the story truly begins this Sunday and spans across what is collectively known as Holy Week. By starting at the beginning and studying the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, we can gain a deeper appreciation for what Christ has done and a more intimate look into His character. As a result, let us begin our celebration by reflecting on the Easter story one day at a time, starting with Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday – The Humble Leader 

The Resurrection story begins with Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem upon a donkey (Matthew  21:1-11). During this time period, rulers would display their greatness and power by riding war horses, so it would have been a surprise for the Jews to see their Messianic king upon a mere donkey. However, this entry reveals a crucial aspect of Christ’s identity. By choosing to make His entrance upon a donkey, Jesus immediately separated Himself from the power-hungry rulers of this time, portraying Himself instead as a humble leader. Unlike the kingdoms of this world, God’s Kingdom will be marked by the same humility Jesus displayed as He rode into Jerusalem, and like the Jewish people who honored Christ by laying down palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”, we too will shout for joy when Christ ushers in this new kingdom (English Standard Version, Matthew 21:9).

Holy Monday – The Just Father

The next day, Jesus visited the temple and was confronted with corruption and injustice (Matthew 21:12-17). Instead of finding His house being treated reverently, the temple had become a place of exploitation with merchants taking advantage of the poor. As a result, in righteous anger, Jesus drove out the merchants and overturned their tables. Through this act, Jesus showed Himself to be a proponent of justice and an advocate for His people, and as Christ’s followers, we are called to do the same; however, as we live in a broken world where injustice often prevails, our hope must lie in the fact that we serve a God of justice who ultimately has the final say over the evil and corruption seen in our world.

Holy Tuesday – The True Authority

On Tuesday, while Jesus was teaching and proclaiming the truth, the Pharisees questioned His authority (Matthew 21:23-27). They stated, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23). As the Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus, they hoped to trap Him with their question, but Jesus responded with a question of His own, stating, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25). The Pharisees realized that there was no politically correct answer they could give to Jesus’s question, and as a result, they claimed to not know the answer (Matthew 21:27). Jesus, in His great wisdom, knew that the Pharisees were not genuinely seeking an answer to their question, and therefore, He did not provide one. The Pharisees were solely concerned with their own self-preservation and were not interested in uplifting the truth. However, humans can never outsmart or undermine God. He is the ultimate authority. His truth will always prevail, and, as Christians, we are called to uphold God’s truth no matter the cost.

Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) – The Loving Son of God

Wednesday serves as a major turning point in the Resurrection story as this is the day that Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s disciples, agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). Threatened by Jesus’s claim to be the Son of God, the religious leaders had been in search of a way to arrest Him. Although Judas’s exact motives are uncertain, his willingness to betray Jesus sets the stage for the rest of the narrative, and despite this, Christ still showed Judas such unconditional love. As the omniscient Son of God, Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would betray Him, but He still opened up His arms to Judas. God desires to shower all of His children with His love. He desires for all of us to turn away from our sin and run to Him. However, in the same way as Judas, we as Christians must make a choice. We must decide whether to remain faithful to God and reciprocate His love or turn to our own ways and reject His gift of salvation. If we choose the former, we can be confident that God will receive us with open arms.

Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) – Our Suffering Servant

For Jesus and His disciples, Thursday was a day of preparation for it was on this day that the famous “Last Supper” occurred in which Jesus sought to prepare His disciples for His coming death and resurrection as well as institute the practice of communion for His followers to do in remembrance of Him (Matthew 26:17-30). Later that night, Jesus went to Gethsemane to spend some time talking to the Father (Matthew 26:36-46). He prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus felt the weight of the sacrifice He was about to make, but, as His arrest approached, the words that left His lips were that God’s will be done. These acts clearly display Jesus’s mindset, which was to serve. Rather than spending the day before His death lamenting what was to come, Jesus spent it serving His disciples through the Last Supper and committing Himself to serve all of humanity through His death, and this servant heart is what God calls all His children to.

Good Friday – The Sacrificial Lamb

With Friday comes the climax of the Resurrection story: Jesus’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:1-61). However, Jesus’s sacrifice went beyond His physical nailing on the cross as He endured betrayal, arrest, interrogation, beating, and humiliation. As He hung upon the cross, Jesus was taunted by those around Him as they asked why, if He saved others, could He not save Himself. What they did not realize, however, was that Jesus could save Himself. He did not deserve any of the physical and emotional suffering He endured. As the righteous Son of God, Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. However, Jesus chose to endure the suffering we deserved. He was willing to bear the weight of our sins on the cross. Christ chose sacrifice, and, as His followers, we are called to do the same.

Holy Saturday – El Shaddai

It is tempting to jump straight from Jesus’s death on Friday to His resurrection on Sunday, but the sense of unease and uncertainty Saturday held must be acknowledged (Matthew 27:62-66). Saturday was a day of silence, of stillness, of waiting. Nothing occurred because there was seemingly nothing to occur. Jesus Christ was dead and with that news was a heaviness everyone could feel as well as an uncertainty. Even the religious leaders felt the weight of it all as they were anxious to take extra precautions to secure the tomb by “sealing the stone and setting a guard” (Matthew 27:66). However, these actions would prove futile on the part of the religious leaders because nothing is impossible for God. From a human perspective, a situation may seem helpless, but God is always working. No human measures can stand in His way. He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, and in Him, we can find hope amid despair.  

Resurrection Sunday – The Risen King

Finally, after days of suffering and waiting, Sunday brought the promised victory (Matthew 28:1-10). Early that morning, Mary and Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb, and, to their amazement, they found the stone rolled back by an angel of the Lord as well as the tomb empty! Sensing their fear, the angel stated, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay” (Matthew 28:6). Despite Saturday’s uncertainty, Sunday brought certain victory. By enduring the punishment we deserved, Christ defeated death once and for all. He is risen, and after appearing to Mary and Mary Magdalene as well as the disciples later that day, their response was one of worship. As Christ’s followers, our response should be the same.

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Trojans, as we look forward to Resurrection Sunday, let us not forget the importance of the days that led up to this glorious victory. When we take a step back and reflect on all of Holy Week, we realize that Christ is not only our Risen King but also our Humble Leader, Just Father, True Authority, Loving Son of God, Suffering Servant, Sacrificial Lamb, and El Shaddai. Although Christ’s sacrifice culminates on the cross, it begins on Palm Sunday. Therefore, let us not wait until Good Friday to acknowledge what Christ has done, and, instead, let us begin the glorious celebration now!