Holy Week Devotional Plan from New Life ChurchSample

DAY ONE | The Heart of Jesus

In this passage, we can see Jesus’ heart. It’s kind. It’s humble. He is gracious to people who make a big deal out of Him and sensitive to the needs of those around Him. Most of all, His heart is in tune with the Father. 

Everything about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and His anger in the temple courts comes down to His love for the Father’s heart. His life is about God’s will, never gaining glory or recognition for Himself. He likely only accepted recognition when He entered Jerusalem because the time to carry the cross and fulfill God’s promise was near. As Jesus enters the city near the time of Passover, He knows it is time to reveal who He is so the people could understand the sacrifice He would become for them. 

Sacrifice is meant to be personal and truly cost something. As Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem, He sees that this holy place had become a market—reduced to an exchange and barter system, rather than a place of prayer as the Lord intended. No wonder Jesus’ heart burns with anger when He sees this! People had cheapened this intimate and costly ritual down to a quick fix, as if it were any other day at the market. 

Though we don’t have to offer animal sacrifices in ritual anymore, we should never take for granted the high cost of our salvation. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to worship freely, but our church’s prayer is that we never use that freedom as an excuse for apathy in our approach to the Lord’s presence. Christ laid everything on the line to give us the opportunity for redemption, so we should come with our hearts open, offering up all we have to His grace and for His glory. This isn’t a flash sale kind of faith we have. Our faith is a life-long and eternal covenant.

Application: Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted for prayer so you can really soak in the moment with God. Open your time with Him in this way: 

Father, thank You for faithfully being here anytime I pray. Forgive me when I’ve tried to rush my time with You or treated it as a task rather than a treasure. There’s no better place to be than in Your grace and presence, so I bring my heart back to You today. You have my full attention.