Passion Week

This covers the period from when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey (Palm Sunday), through the last supper, praying in Gethsemane, His betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion and death, then being resurrected early on the following Sunday, which is called Resurrection or Easter Sunday (Mt 21:1-28:1; Mk 11:1-16:1; Lk 19:29-24:1; Jn 12:12-20:1).

Passion Week is so named because of the passion with which Jesus willingly went to the cross to pay for our sins. Early in His ministry He taught that He would suffer many things and be killed (Mk 8:31, 9:12). Even the disciples to whom He repeatedly explained what was to happen did not grasp its full impact. They did not enter into Christ’s ordeal but

Aren’t you glad Jesus went to the cross for you?

deserted Him at the time of His greatest need for support in spite of their promises to remain – although some of the disciples together numerous followers were at His crucifixion (Mk 9:31,32, 10:32-34, 14:27-41,66-71, 15:40,41; Jn 19:26). Those He loved and came to save inflicted His suffering, yet this was God’s plan, so that through His voluntary sacrifice we might come into right relationship, even though the Father temporarily abandoned the Son, because sin separates from a holy God (Isa 53:10; Mt 27:46).

The passion of Christ was His suffering on the cross so we had the opportunity to be redeemed.

His suffering was completed and found its meaning and purpose in His death – Christ, in love, bearing the death penalty for all humanity that would avail themselves of His substitutionary sacrifice. Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (Gal 3:13; 1 Pet 2:24, 3:18). By looking beyond the cross to the joy of having redeemed sinners in eternity enabled Him to endure the intense agony (Heb 12:2).