The Road to Easter Sunday

The days of the week are more than mere time markers. God entered into the creation of the world by way of a week of six work days and a day of rest. Man’s work week has been historically, at least where the Jewish and Christian influence has been significant, a reminder of God’s creation week.

The week of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has forever changed the way we think about Friday and Sunday. It was on Friday that the Savior of the world finished His redemptive work on the cross. On Sunday morning Jesus came out of the grave. The first day of the week is a cherished day. It is a day of new beginnings, hope, and the promise of eternal fellowship with God. Sunday is a sweet day to Christians for all that it represents. The bodily resurrection of Jesus makes it so. But it would be good for every believer to go through what has come to be called the Passion Week. I recommend that we become very intentional about the way we think, live, and worship in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Consider it a road to be traveled with its God-given memories and meaning. We will walk through each day according to the traditional view that Jesus was crucified on Friday, Nisan 15.

Sunday (Palm Sunday) was the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The clouds of the death of the Servant of God were gathering over the city of Jerusalem, but to see and hear the crowds on that day you would not have known it. The Sanhedrin was plotting Jesus’ death. Jesus of Nazareth was Israel’s true King, but few, if any, seemed to grasp the meaning of His festive entrance into the holy city. The crowds did not understand. The disciples were ignorant. The religious leaders were angry. Jesus was in tears (Lk. 19:41-44). The crown rights of God’s Servant did not satisfy the expectations of the spiritually blind. His rights to the throne of David would have to be purchased through the suffering of His atoning sacrifice. On this Palm Sunday let’s reflect on the fact that the answer to the human problem is the defeat of sin and death, not political triumph.

On Monday Jesus returned to Jerusalem. He passed an unproductive fig tree and placed a curse on it. When Jesus came to the Temple courtyard He vented His anger at what religion had done to His Father’s house. The Lord of the temple took a whip and drove out the money changers. The cleansing of the temple was an exhibition of its kingdom intent (Hag. 2:9; Mal. 3:1; Isa. 2:2-3). At the second coming of the Messiah He will take His place in the millennial temple and the Word of God will go forth from Jerusalem. On Monday let’s pray in a special way, “Thy kingdom come.”

Jesus passed the withered fig tree on Tuesday and declared it an object lesson in faith-driven prayer. The disciples were given a vivid memory of the truth of the power of God demonstrated in the response to faith. A series of controversies marked Jesus’ day in the temple. He gave His last public discourse, and revealed important prophetic truth to His disciples on the Mount of Olives. In the Messiah’s teaching on authority and the colossal hypocrisy of the Pharisees a stake was driven into the heart of an apostate Judaism. Jesus was David’s Lord, but the Pharisees were blind leading the blind. The destruction of Jerusalem would serve as a paradigm of the events preceding the coming of the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory (Mk. 13:26). On Tuesday let’s ponder the shortness of time and the significance of the age in which we live.

Wednesday seems to have been a day of quiet. Jesus probably spent the day in Bethany awaiting His rendezvous with death. Thursday evening Jesus met with His disciples in an upper room on Mount Zion, preparing them for His sacrifice for sin and the days beyond. Heavy hearts were encouraged. The Holy Spirit was promised. The Passover meal was eaten and explained in startling terms. The bread and the wine were vivid symbols of the Savior’s broken body and His spilled blood. On Thursday let’s rehearse the glories of the gospel. Gather the family and give thanks to God for the all-sufficient, atoning death of Jesus Christ that brings us the forgiveness of sin.

And then it is Friday. Good Friday it has been called. It is good because of what was accomplished, but it was bad because of what sinful men did to Jesus. The King of the Jews was scourged for our redemption. He was pierced through for our transgressions. The physical suffering was excruciating. But the greatest horror was the judgment of God that fell upon Jesus for our sins. It had to be this way because He was opening a new and living way to God (1 Pet. 3:18; Heb. 10:19-22). It was Friday and He cried from the cross, “It is finished.” Where ever we are on Friday at about 3:00 p.m. let’s offer up praise to God for the Savior who has taken our sins that we might have God’s righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Then we must wait for Easter Sunday morning. You know what happened then. Let’s meet at the empty tomb.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church