We’ve focused on the depths of God’s love for us and the sacrificial love of Jesus throughout this Lenten season. Following the steps of Jesus through that Holy Week, these are the major events that occurred from Palm Sunday through Resurrection Sunday. Feel free to read one a day this week or to read them all at once.
Day 1: Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday
On the Sunday before his death, Jesus set off toward Jerusalem, knowing that soon he would lay down his life as our substitute, in payment for our sins. Nearing the village of Bethphage, he sent two of his disciples ahead to look for a donkey and its unbroken colt, and to bring the animals to him.
Sitting on the young donkey, Jesus made a slow and humble triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling the ancient prophecy in Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Crowds welcomed him, waving palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
Jesus and his disciples stayed that night in Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem. This is where Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. They were close friends of Jesus, and probably hosted Him and His disciples during those final days in Jerusalem.
Jesus' triumphal entry is recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19.
Day 2: On Monday, Jesus Clears the Temple
The following morning as Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem, he cursed a fig tree that had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this curse represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.
The Temple courts were full of corrupt money changers. Jesus overturned their tables and cleared them out, saying "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" (Luke 19:46).
Jesus stayed in Bethany again that evening, probably in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Monday's events are recorded in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17.
Day 3: On Tuesday, Jesus Goes to the Mount of Olives
Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem on Tuesday morning. Passing the withered fig tree, Jesus taught his companions the importance of faith.
Back at the Temple, religious leaders were upset that Jesus established himself as a spiritual authority. They organized an ambush, intending to place him under arrest. Evading their traps, Jesus pronounced harsh judgment on them, saying:
"Blind guides!...For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?" (Matthew 23:24-33)
Later, at the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse, prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. He used symbolic language about the end times, including His Second Coming and the final judgment.
Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was also the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16).
After a tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany for the night.
The tumultuous events of Tuesday and the Olivet Discourse are recorded in Matthew 21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38.
Day 4: Holy Wednesday
The Bible is silent about what the Lord did on Wednesday of Passion Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples rested in Bethany in anticipation of Passover.
Just a short time previously, Jesus had revealed that he had power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave. Seeing this incredible miracle, many in Bethany believed that Jesus was the Son of God and put their faith in him. Also in Bethany just a few nights earlier, Lazarus' sister Mary had lovingly anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.
Day 5: Passover and the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday
Holy Week took a somber turn on Thursday.
From Bethany, Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover Feast. After sunset, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet as they prepared to share in the Passover, demonstrating how believers should love one another.
Jesus shared the Passover feast with his disciples, saying: "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT)
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover, giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in our place, freeing us from the penalty of our sin and death. As he observed this last Passover meal, Jesus established the Lord's Supper, our Communion, with instructions to continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine (Luke 22:19-20).
After the meal, Jesus and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony to God the Father. Luke's Gospel says that "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44, ESV).
Late that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot, and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to make their case against Jesus.
In the early morning hours, as Jesus' trial was getting underway, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed at daybreak.
Thursday's events are recorded in Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-62, and John 13:1-38.
Day 6: Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial on Good Friday
Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.
According to Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.
Before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus endured false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. After multiple unlawful trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, a most horrible and disgraceful method of capital punishment at the time.
Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and pierced his head with a crown of thorns. Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary where he was mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross.
On the cross, Jesus' first words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34, NIV). His last words were, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46, NIV)
At about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Jesus took his last breath and died.
By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb.
Friday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and John 18:28-19:37.
Day 7: Saturday in the Tomb
Jesus’ body lay in that tomb, guarded by Roman soldiers throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 5 p.m., his body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus: “He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.” (John 19:39-40, NLT)
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were members of the Sanhedrin, the court that condemned Jesus to death. For a time, they were secret followers of Jesus, afraid to publicly profess their faith because of their prominence in the Jewish community. Both were deeply affected by Christ's death. They boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and lives because they realized that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. Together they cared for Jesus' body and prepared it for burial.
While physically dead in the tomb, Jesus paid the penalty for sin by offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice. He conquered death, both spiritually and physically, securing our eternal salvation: "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19, NLT)
Saturday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.
Day 8: Resurrection Sunday
On Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, we reach the culmination of Holy Week. The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event of the Christian faith. All of Christian doctrine hinges on the truth of this account.
Early Sunday morning, several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James) went to the tomb, where the large stone covering the entrance had been rolled away. An angel announced: "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen." (Matthew 28:5-6, NLT)
On the day of his resurrection, Jesus Christ made at least five appearances. Mark's Gospel says the first person to see him was Mary Magdalene. He also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas, who were gathered in a house for prayer.
Eyewitness accounts in the Gospels provide undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ did indeed happen. Two millennia after his death, followers of Jesus still flock to Jerusalem to see the empty tomb.
Sunday's events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49, and John 20:1-23.
Adapted from: Fairchild, Mary. "Holy Week Timeline: From Palm Sunday to the Resurrection." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/holy-week-timeline-700618.