Easter: Daily Meditations On Holy Weekنموونە

Friends, we welcome you to Holy Week and invite you to embrace these crucial days. Holy Week is the most important week in the Christian calendar, and this guide is an invitation for you to take a personal journey into the passion and resurrection of our Savior. Our prayer is that we would remember, reflect on, and revel in the significance of Christ's journey to and through the grave. We want to remember the historical events of Holy Week and what Jesus and his disciples experienced as he took each step closer to the cross. We want to reflect on our own sin and the increasing agony that Jesus must have felt as his sacrificial death grew eminent. And, we want to revel in the victory over sin that is accomplished for us in His resurrection! Join us for a week of reflection, prayer, meditation, and confession and let the Gospel take deep roots in your heart this Holy Week.

How to Use This Plan

Our journey begins with Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, where he is welcomed with shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9 GW). But we know that these same people would soon turn on him shouting “Crucify him!” in less than a week. The triumphal entry of Christ marks the beginning of a week-long journey of suffering that culminates with his death on the cross. We call this journey the passion of Jesus. But, we also know that the story does not end there! On Easter Sunday, our Savior would accomplish the final victory of sin and death in his resurrection. This is a beautiful and horrific journey from death to life and we want to lean into it with our eyes and hearts wide open.

This is a guided devotional meant to take you through the eight days of Holy Week. Each day will include verses of Scripture, short explanations, prayers, and prompts. You will work through five steps: 1) Introduction, 2) Background, 3) Response, 4) Confession, and 5) Gospel. The introduction will identify the day and lead you in a prayer of preparation while the background will fill in the historical and biblical context of the event itself. The response will usually be a time for you to reflect on the character of Jesus revealed in this text, while the confession will be a time for you to mourn over and repent of your sins. Finally, each day will include a time for you to reflect on how the Gospel can be clearly seen in the events of this day and how that Gospel frees you from all the sins of which you repented.

Feel free to work through each day at your own pace, speeding up and slowing down as you feel led. If you are able, you are invited to read the prayers and the Scriptures out loud. When you come to a prompt where you are asked to pray or meditate, spend as much or as little time when you come to a prompt where you are asked to pray or meditate. You are also encouraged to open to the biblical texts in the devotional and read the surrounding context to get more out of your time in God’s Word. May Jesus reveal himself to you through his Spirit in these days.

Framing The Story 

Today you will read Mark 15. We hope that by starting your journey through Holy Week at the foot of the cross,  your heart's gaze will be able to remain there every day. 

But before jumping into the story of Jesus' death, we invite you to watch this short video on the Gospel of Mark. This will help you get the large and grand picture of why Jesus' death is good news.