Holy Week | Resurrection Sunday

INTRODUCTION

Holy Week (or Passion Week) begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday). These are some of the most sacred days on the Christian calendar. I will release a blog post each day this week for you to use as a devotional guide. These posts will contain Bible readings, critical explanations of the text, devotional thoughts, and a prayer. So, please join me as we examine what Jesus was up to during Holy Week.

View previous posts in this series:  Palm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

RESURRECTION SUNDAY

You can read about Resurrection Sunday of Holy Week in the following passages: Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-53, John 20:1-21:25.

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.’ ⁸ And they remembered his words.” – Luke 24:1-7

He is not here, but he has risen! Indeed, the Son of God did precisely what he said. He gave his life up for the sins of his people. He is placed into a tomb, that was heavily guarded. But the grave could not hold him. The defeat of death has come. Jesus became the atonement for our sin. 

Jesus gave up his life. He laid it down on his own. The Jewish authorities did not force him to do it. He is not just another martyr for some holy cause. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God that was slain to take away the sins of the world. He is the promised “head crusher” of Genesis 3:15. He is the one in whom all the prophets, priests, judges, and kings find their meaning. Everything from the beginning of human history points to this moment where Jesus dies and rises again on the third day.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS AND A PRAYER

How about you, my friend, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died, to take away the sins of all who come to him, and that he rose again on the third day? Jesus is not a martyr. He is the Savior. 

And he says to all who consider following him: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul? But if you will lose your life for my sake, then you will truly live.” Jesus died so that you can live—truly live. Give your life to him and rejoice in the risen Savior this Resurrection Sunday.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving your Son to die in my place. Thank you for raising him back to life, so that I may truly live. Help me to find life—true life—in him all the days of my life. I am not worthy of such grace, but joy overwhelms my heart because of it. I love you, Lord. Amen.

For further learning, check out this video on Saturday of Holy Week by The Gospel Coalition.