Holy Week: The Gospel in Real Time
Holy Week, the week beginning with Palm Sunday (also known as Passion Sunday) and Easter Sunday, is a unique time in the church. The rest of the year, we move quite quickly through the life and ministry of Jesus. In December, we spend 4 weeks leading up to Christmas and Christ’s birth. A couple of weeks later, we’re at Epiphany and we move right into Jesus’ life and ministry. In a matter of a few weeks, we cover a span of 30+ years of time. After Easter, we move to Pentecost and then again to the ministry of Jesus, often moving around in the timeline of Scripture.
But in Holy Week, that all changes. Holy Week comes and we hit the brakes. Between the celebration of Palm Sunday, the institution of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, the crucifixion and death on Good Friday, and the Resurrection on Easter, the events of this one week unfold in real time – just as they did when it happened.
And why not? After all, this one week is arguably the most important week in human history. Without this week and the events of Christ’s death and resurrection, we are left hopeless and helpless, unable to save ourselves and longing for salvation. But this week changed all that. It is that important. The writers of the Gospels focus heavily on that one week – around 40% of the Gospels is about the events of Holy Week.
As we begin another Holy Week, why not take the time to spend it in the Word, reading about the events as they happen. For much of the week, we don’t have a specific time that the events happen, but when we reach Maundy Thursday, things get much more specific. Below is an infographic of the events of Holy Week with the Scripture references (HT: JoshByers.com). Give it a read this week in your devotional time and experience the Gospel in Real Time.
(Click on the image for a larger view.)
