Holy Week has to be the most tumultuous, emotional time of the year for Christians. That most important time produced the deepest kind of agony for Jesus’ followers as He died on a cross. But before they could begin processing their grief, their anguish turned to exuberant joy at the news of His resurrection.
Today Christians who remember the events of that week ride a similar emotional roller coaster.
Palm Sunday ushered in the excitement of expectation and celebration as the crowds hailed Jesus as "the One who comes in the name of the Lord." It was a time of hope. Perhaps this would be the time when Jesus restored Israel, they must have thought.
No one was prepared for what happened next. On Monday, Jesus challenged the temple leaders. He accused them of allowing God’s house to become a "den of robbers" instead of "a house of prayer." Onlookers must have held their collective breath at the audacity of this Galilean to challenge the nation’s religious elite.
On Tuesday, Jesus was again confronting the priests and others in the Jerusalem hierarchy. They demanded to know by what authority Jesus acted. He refused to tell them. They tried to trap Him with questions about taxes, but His answer left them speechless. They wanted to arrest — even kill — Jesus but could not because the people still considered Him a prophet.
By Thursday, the atmosphere changed again. It was the beginning of the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Today it is called Maundy Thursday. It is a day of humility and reflection. In a place the Bible calls the "upper room," the Lord of lords and King of kings humbled Himself before His disciples. With a basin and a towel, Jesus performed the duties of a servant as He washed their feet.
There — not far from the house of Caiaphas, scholars say — Jesus taught His disciples and all Christians the truth about His mission in life. As He passed around a loaf of bread, Jesus said, "This is my body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19).
Then He passed a cup, and as it went from hand to hand, Jesus described the wine as "my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:27).
Sacrifice, spilled blood — these were not thoughts of hope and celebration for the disciples and they are not today.
Many Christian traditions gather on Maundy Thursday for a special Lord’s Supper service as they recall Jesus’ words that night and look ahead to the events that proved them true the next day.
But it is not the washing of feet or even the establishment of the Lord’s Supper that gives its name to Thursday. Instead the day is named for the command of Jesus to "love one another."
The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin word meaning commandment. Its reference is John 13:34, where Jesus said, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus announced His time had come. He wanted to make sure the disciples, and all Christians who would follow, understood they were to "love one another." Not even Peter’s denial of Jesus just hours later would be sufficient ground to keep followers of Jesus from obeying this new command.
Maundy Thursday is like a door into darkness. After the upper room, one finds Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying in such distress that blood oozes through the pores of His skin. There He was arrested and led back to the Old City to stand before Caiaphas. By daybreak, Jesus was on trial before the Sanhedrin. That was followed in quick succession by appearances before Pilate, Herod Antipas and Pilate again.
What followed brought sorrow and pain in unimaginable proportions to Jesus’ followers. Their Lord was condemned to die a vicious death. He was beaten and abused. He struggled as He was forced to carry the instrument of His own death. Iron spikes were driven through His hands and feet. He was mocked, spit upon and finally died.
It was a raw and ugly scene. The words of Jesus from the night before became reality in horrifying ways. And the words were colored with the hues of bruised flesh and open wounds.
John the Baptist had called Him "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." Now, like a sacrificial Passover lamb, Jesus "offered Himself unblemished to God to cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death" (Heb. 9:14).
Eventually the Christian movement would call this day Good Friday and celebrate that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8) because "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:19). That emphasis is symbolized by the Roman Catholic crucifix, showing Christ "giving His life a ransom for many."
For Jesus’ followers, that understanding would have to wait. Their spirits were as dark as Jerusalem’s blackened skies. Just as the sun stopped shining, the Light of their lives had gone out. It would take a miracle for that to change, and, thank God, there is a "light that shines in darkness."
The news came to the disciples as unexpectedly as the earthquake that rolled away the stone sealed to Jesus’ tomb (Matt. 28:2). "Jesus is alive." In time, many saw Him and their lives were transformed. Peter was slow to believe. But once he saw Jesus, he stood before the men of Israel gathered in Jerusalem and said, "God raised Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of that fact" (Acts 2:32).
In the resurrection, darkness gave way to light. Despair was replaced by victory. Death was swallowed up in life. The agony of Friday was replaced by the exuberance of Resurrection Sunday. Peter wrote, God "has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade" (1 Pet. 1: 3–4).
The apostle Paul added, "Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection."
The followers of Jesus knew death had been swallowed up in victory and that God gave every believer that same victory through personal faith in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).
Today Holy Week ends in joy, hope and celebration. Christians know the tomb is empty. "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" through the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, sins can be forgiven. Because of His resurrection, we, too, have the promise of eternal life.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.
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