The Week Before Easter
The following article is written by Max Jeganathan, author and speaker at OCCA, The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.
What is Holy Week?
While the Easter break might begin on Good Friday, the events of the first Easter week started well before that. According to the biographical accounts we have of the life of Jesus – referred to in The Bible as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – the week leading up to Good Friday is known as Holy Week.
Historically, the week that Holy Week commemorates – the week leading up to the death of Jesus, in around 33 AD – speaks to much of Jesus’ identity and mission. By all accounts, it was a week of growing tensions and disaffection that culminated in the death of Jesus at the urging of religious leaders, at hands of the Roman Empire.
Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
Holy week begins with the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He enters – perhaps strangely – riding on a donkey. This moment is often referred to by Christians as the ‘Triumphal Entry.’ Crowds lined Jesus’ path, waving palm branches (hence the use of the term ‘Palm Sunday’) and shouting ‘Hosanna,’ a Hebrew word meaning ‘Save us.’
Jesus’ Teachings in Jerusalem and the Temple
However, this moment of apparent triumph and veneration doesn’t last long. In the following days, Jesus teaches publicly in Jerusalem, most prominently and importantly, in the temple courts. He speaks directly and clearly, calling out the religious hypocrisy of the day. He speaks about the Kingdom of God and tells parables about judgment and the need for repentance and forgiveness. A significant moment is when Jesus clears the temple courtyard, overturning the tables of the money-changers – with explicit anger. Here, he declares that God’s temple should be a place of prayer, not – as they have made it – a den of robbers.
Rising Tensions: Why Religious Leaders Opposed Jesus
During this time, as was the case for the three years preceding this week, Jesus draws huge crowds and enormous attention. However, his words and his actions continued to fuel and embolden his critics and opponents – primarily the religious leaders of the day. For them, Jesus represents a threat to their power and to the ‘usual way of doing things.’ They are so bound up in their own positions and the trimmings that come with their jobs, that very few of them stop to even consider that Jesus might be exactly who He says He is (The Messiah, The Son of God) and that He might be telling the truth.
Passover and its Significance in Holy Week
All of this coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover (which tracks its origins back to when the Israelites were led out of Egypt by Moses – as per the accounts given in the Old Testament of The Bible).
During the Passover festival, a woman in Bethany anoints Jesus with extremely expensive perfume. Jesus chooses to explain this – implicitly – as a symbolic preparation of Him, for His burial.
The Last Supper: The Origins of Communion
Jesus also observes the ‘Passover’ over a meal with his closest disciples – referred to by some as The Last Supper. Here, Jesus inaugurates the Christian tradition of ‘communion’ by calling on His followers to remember his body and blood given for them, by eating bread (symbolic of His body, about to be broken) and drinking wine (symbolic of his blood, about to be shed). This is a ritual that continues to be observed by Christians globally.
The Prediction of His Betrayal, Arrest and Death
During this meal, Jesus also predicts his suffering and death, understandably confusing His disciples. After the meal, Jesus goes to a garden nearby – The Garden of Gethsemane – to pray. There, Jesus’ divinity, humanity and mission are clear. However, he is in sorrow, knowing what is coming, but prays to God the Father “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Not long after Jesus prays this prayer, he is arrested – after he is betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas – and handed over to the authorities. His followers scatter and he is now in the custody of the authorities.
The Meaning of Holy Week
The important thing to notice is Jesus’ intentionality and purpose, throughout the week leading up to his arrest and through the arrest itself. The events leading up to Good Friday are not accidental. Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he was doing. He knew the importance of His mission. He knew that these events – and what came after – were the way to restore people to relationship with God. He was filled with love, mercy, purpose and compassion for humankind. This was all part of the plan.
Learning More
OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics was established in 2004 to raise up the next generation of evangelist-apologists. By 2021, around 350 emerging evangelists from around the world had studied on the OCCA one-year programme. This course equipped each of them to share and defend the gospel message and to come alongside others to help them with their intellectual objections and heartfelt concerns about the Christian faith. Subscribe to our weekly newsletters to see our latest articles from our team of speakers.
Max Jeganathan