I have called it, “The week that changed the world.” The events of holy week should be contemplated often by every follower of Christ. It began with Palm Sunday as Jesus publicly presented Himself as Messiah. The week concluded with His resurrection. But to rise from the dead, He first had to die. He died at the hands of Roman soldiers, at the behest of Jewish religious leaders, and He died for all of us. He died to save us from our sins.
The night before the Lord’s crucifixion was like no other. Jesus shared the Passover meal with His disciples, a meal known in history as “the last supper.” After they ate, with Judas the betrayer still in the room, Jesus did something amazing. John 13:3-5 (NASB) says, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”
“The Father had given all things into His hands… He had come forth from God, and was going back to God.” Knowing His identity as the only begotten Son of God, He took on the garb of a servant, knelt before each of His disciples, and washed their feet. He told them to treat one another with this kind of humility, love, and care.
After a brief exchange with the Lord, Judas Iscariot left to betray Jesus to religious authorities intent on Christ’s murder. Later that night, after a time of profound teaching, Jesus and His disciples went to Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray or, in the case of the disciples, to nap. It was there, in the middle of the night, that the religious leaders arrested Him. They quickly put Him on trial — the first of six trials, all held on the night of His arrest.
At 9:00 AM the next morning, they crucified the King of Glory. Roman soldiers unwittingly carried out the plan of God — His plan from before the foundation of the world. At 3:00 PM, He cried out “Tetelestai!” meaning, “paid in full.” The Lamb of God fully paid for the sins of the world. He bowed His head and said, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit,” and He died by His own will.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took the Lord’s body and prepared it for burial. John 19:40-42 says, “And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid…. They laid Jesus there.”
Those words end the 19th chapter of John. Chapter 20 begins, “Now on the first day of the week….” Sunday had come! The Lord’s disciples in various groups went to the tomb and found it empty. Mary Magdalene encountered the risen Jesus. Soon thereafter, all the disciples saw and talked with Him. In the forty days that followed, over 500 people saw Him face to face, alive and well. This is history. This is what happened. The resurrection of Jesus is supported by fuller and more believable evidence than any other event of ancient antiquity. Jesus said it would happen and it did.
He also said that after rising from the dead, He would leave the earth for a time. He did not say how long. During the teaching of the night before His crucifixion, in John 14:2-3, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Rest in that assurance and joyfully tell everyone the good news. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
