It is the week of Easter and I would like to take you on a journey of what is taking place this holy week in regards to the life of Jesus using Matthew’s account. It is a wonderful story. A story of celebration. A story of prophecies being fulfilled. A story of righteous action. A story of fellowship. A story of betrayal. A story of death. A story of life. A story of love. A story of purpose. A story of God’s unfolding plan in regards to humanity and his only Son. But ultimately, it is a story of hope, redemption, reconciliation, justification, and salvation. So, here’s what we are going to do: we are going to go through each day of this week, using the gospel of Matthew, to explain what happened on this week over 2,000 years ago.
We’ll begin with Palm Sunday.
According to Matthew 21:1-11, on Palm Sunday, a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah 500 years before Jesus’ birth was fulfilled. That prophecy foretold the day that Jesus would make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. On that day crowds of people who were present in Jerusalem for Passover week lined the streets as Jesus entered and shouted Hosanna, which means praise.
Now, you may be wondering why all these people were lined up in the streets shouting ‘Hosanna”? Why are they praising Jesus? It’s not for the reason you might think. While some did see Jesus as the Son of God, the majority of the Jews did not. In fact, verses 10 & 11 tell us they viewed Jesus as a prophet, not the Son of God. To answer our question: the reason they were lining the streets of Jerusalem praising Jesus, according to Luke 19:37, is because of the works that Jesus did. They were not interested in Jesus because he was the Messiah, they were interested in Jesus because they perceived he was a prophet that could do miracles.
What works did Jesus do that resulted in such praise? He healed the blind, the lame, the mute, the leprous, and cast out demons; and they likely heard of all that. But, there is one specific miracle Jesus did that attracted the masses. According to John’s gospel in John 11 & 12, a few days before Jesus entered into Jerusalem, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Many who were present to witness that miracle went out and told what they had seen. And when the people found out Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, this man who raised a dead man to life, they lined the streets to see him and were shouting praise.
Next comes Holy Monday.
According Matthew 21:12-13, on Holy Monday, Jesus entered the temple, cleaning it out by turning over tables, freeing sacrificial animals, and driving out the merchants and money-changers.You may wonder why Jesus would do such a thing?
That’s because within the Jewish Temple there were merchants and money changers, which was not how it was supposed to be. As people were entering the Temple to worship God, merchants would sell animals to sacrifice at unreasonably high prices, thus taking advantage of those who traveled long distances.
Then you have the money changers who exchanged international currency for temple coins. These temple coins were the only kind of coins the merchants would accept. Knowing that, these money-changers would charge an unreasonably high exchange rate, again taking advantage of the people. And furthermore, all of this was a hindrance to why people were actually there.
So essentially, what’s happened is that the place to worship God, who is holy, had become a place of commercialism. This angered Jesus, because it interfered with people’s worship of God. Therefore, in a holy and righteous anger, Jesus set the animals free and cleaned out the temple, so that people could return to uninterrupted and unhindered worship.
Then, we have Holy Tuesday.
According to Matthew 21:18-27, on the morning of Holy Tuesday, this is the morning that Jesus cursed a fig tree as was returning to the temple. It was also on this morning, as they were on their way to the Temple, that Jesus talked to his disciples about faith and prayer.
Also on Holy Tuesday, when Jesus entered the Temple and began to teach and preach the gospel to the crowds assembled there. As he did, the chief priests and elders challenged his authority, asking him, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” To this Jesus replied, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” The chief priest and the elders could not answer the question, and Jesus established himself as the spiritual authority.
Later on Holy Tuesday, he left the Temple to be with his disciples. According to Matthew 21:28 through Matthew 25:46, it was during this time that Jesuse told his disciples many parables. He talked to them about the destruction of Jerusalem. He talked to them about the end of the age. He talked to them about his second coming. He talked to them about the final judgment. He also told them his death was soon to come.
And it was also on Holy Tuesday, according to Matthew 26:1-5, that the chief priests and the elders of the tribes of Israel gathered unto the high priest, Caiaphas, and began to plot Jesus’ death.
Following Holy Tuesday we come to Holy Wednesday.
According to Matthew 26:6-16, on Holy Wednesday, , Jesus had his feet anointed at Bethany while at the house of Simon by a woman named Mary Magdalene; and the day that Judas Iscariot, who had already been influenced by Satan (John 13:2), agreed to betray Jesus to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver. Which by the way is also a fulfillment of prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 11:12.
Next we have Maundy Thursday.
On Maundy Thursday, according to Matt. 26:17-56, Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples, that is a meal meant to celebrate their deliverance of Israel from Egypt. On this day, while they were celebrating Passover, Jesus also spoke of his betrayal and his death. This is also the day that Jesus instituted communion and commanded that we do the same.
Also, On Maundy Thursday, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, setting for us an example of how to humble ourselves and serve others. It was on this day, after celebrating Passover, that Jesus, along with his disciples, went to the Mount of Olives to pray, and while there Jesus foretold of Peter’s denial. And finally, it was on this night, while Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, he was betrayed by Judas with a kiss. And all of this happened to fulfill the Word of God spoken in Psalm 88:8.
Then, we have Good Friday.
On this day, according to Matthew 26:57 through Matthew 27:61, Jesus stood before Caiaphus and the Jewish council. On this day Jesus was denied by Peter three times. On this day, Judas hung himself. On this day Jesus was delivered unto Pilate for trial. On this day, as Pilate stood before the assembly in Jerusalem, the crowds selected Barabbas, a notorious prisoner, to live while electing to have Jesus crucified.
On Good Friday, Pilate submitted to the will of the people, according to the will of God, to have Jesus crucified. On this day Jesus was stripped naked, scourged, mocked, spit on, hit in the face, and had a crown of thorns placed on his head. On this day he dragged a cross weighing 150 to 300lbs to Golgotha, with the help of a man named Simon from Cyrene. On this day, Jesus was placed on the cross having nails driven through his hands and feet, and placed in an upright position until he died by asphyxiation, all the while being mocked by those he came to die for.
On this day, darkness covered the globe from the sixth hour of Jesus’ crucifixion until the ninth hour. On this day, when the ninth hour was reached, Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit and died. On this day, when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two pieces from top to bottom, indicating that man can now have direct contact with God by faith in Jesus Christ. On this day, the earth shook and the rocks split.
On this day centurions, who were responsible for watching over the body of Jesus as he hung on the cross were filled with awe and confessed, “Truly this was the Son of God.” On this day, a man named Joseph of Arimathea, took the body of Jesus, wrapped in a clean linen shroud, and laid the body of Jesus in his own tomb, and rolled a great stone at the entrance.
And it was on this day that the sins of everyone who places their trust in Christ were atoned for. For the Bible teaches that by the slain body of Jesus Christ and by the shedding of his blood, our sins have been forgiven and we have been reconciled unto God.
Following Good Friday we have Holy Saturday.
On this day, according to Matthew 27:62-66, Jesus’ body rested in the tomb. And on this day, remembering that Jesus claimed he would rise from the dead, the chief priests and Pharisees asked Pilate to place two prison guards to secure the tomb and to stand at the entrance to make sure his disciples did not attempt to steal Jesus’ body.
And lastly, but in no way is it the least of these days, we come to Resurrection Sunday.
On the morning of this day, according to Matthew 28:1-10, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, went to visit the tomb of Jesus as one would visit a deceased loved one at a cemetery. Once they were there, there was a great earthquake. Then, an angel appeared, looking like lightning and his clothes were as white as snow, and he rolled back the stone to the entrance to the tomb of Jesus. And the guards who were appointed to guard the tomb, in great fear, fell as though they were dead.
On this day, Resurrection Sunday, the angel told Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus not to fear because the the one whom they had gone to visit – Jesus – was not there, that he was risen. So on this day, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, looking in the tomb, discovered that it was empty.
That’s because on this day, Jesus, being true to his word, had risen from the dead, just as he said he would. Furthermore, on this day, as Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus departed from the tomb, they met, in person, the resurrected Jesus. And finally, on this Resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, ran back to the disciples in fear and great joy to proclaim that Jesus is risen!
And it was on this day that we were justified from all our wrongdoing by faith in him. For the Bible teaches in Romans 4:25 that Jesus was “raised for our justification”. Understand then, all of Christianity hinges on this one event. If Christ had not risen from the dead, we would remain dead in our sins.
As we close, what I want you to understand about this Holy Week is that everything that happened to Jesus this week many years ago, happened according to the will of God the Father. Peter makes it clear, in his sermon in Acts 2:23, that the chief priests and Caiaphas and the elders of Jerusalem who plotted to have Jesus killed, Judas who betrayed Jesus, the people of Jerusalem who elected to have Barnabas released instead of Jesus, Pilate who gave into the will of the people, and the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, all of them were working under God’s will to have Jesus crucified. According to Isaiah 45:10, it was God’s will to crush his one and only Son and to raise him to life again, and he used people like the chief priests and Caiaphas and Judas and Pilate and the people of Jerusalem and the Roman soldiers and more to accomplish his purpose. And God’s purpose in all of this was for his glory and to satisfy his wrath against our sin and for our salvation. Amen.