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Holy Week: Christ's Passion and Victory

Holy Week represents the climax of the Christian faith, encompassing Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, His passion, crucifixion, and glorious resurrection. This sacred period reveals the depths of God's love and the victory won through Jesus' ultimate sacrifice.

The Number Three: God's Divine Pattern

Throughout Scripture, the number three holds profound significance as a divine pattern woven into God's redemptive plan. (1-2-3, 0:40) We worship the Triune God—one God, three persons. The Bible records that Noah had three sons, Daniel prayed three times daily, Satan tempted Jesus three times, and Peter denied the Lord three times. (1-2-3, 1:05)

Most significantly for Holy Week, Jesus repeatedly proclaimed His passion predictions, declaring He would suffer, die, and "on the third day be raised." (1-2-3, 9:42) From Matthew 16:21 through Luke 18:33, Christ foretold His death and resurrection on the third day.

The Last Supper: A New Covenant

The Four Cups of Passover

The Last Supper occurred within the ancient Jewish Passover tradition, which featured four ceremonial cups based on God's covenant promises in Exodus 6:6-7: (The Cup, 0:39)

  • Cup of Sanctification: "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians"
  • Cup of Deliverance: "I will deliver you from slavery"
  • Cup of Redemption: "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm"
  • Cup of Praise: "I will take you as my people and I will be your God"

Christ's New Covenant Cup

During this final Passover, Jesus redefined these ancient cups by offering something entirely new. (The Cup, 5:42) In Luke 22:19-20, He took bread, broke it, and said, "This is my body which is given for you." Then with the cup He declared, "This cup that is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood."

This New Covenant cup represents: - Sanctification: 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation" - Deliverance: Galatians 1:4 - Christ "gave himself for our sins to set us free" - Redemption: Colossians 1:13-14 - "He has rescued us from the power of darkness" - Eternal Fellowship: Revelation 21:3 - "God himself will be with them"

The Cup of God's Wrath

As Christ drew nearer to completing His ministry, He knew the cup He was about to drink—the cup of God's wrath. (The Cup, 8:30) Psalm 75 speaks of "a cup with foaming wine well mixed" that the wicked must drain. This was the cup of judgment our sin had earned us—the cup of our denial, our betrayal, our abandonment of the Lord.

Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath for us because He is the only one who could receive the full punishment of sin. (The Cup, 10:05) While we consider the physical pain Christ endured—the bludgeoning, crown of thorns, lashes, and nails—it was drinking the cup of judgment that caused Him to cry out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (The Cup, 11:05)

He drank the cup of judgment so that we may drink the cup of salvation—the cup that was bought at the steep price of the righteous life of Jesus Christ. (The Cup, 11:49)

The Three Crosses: Mockery and Grace

Universal Mockery

On Golgotha, three crosses stood against the darkened sky. As foretold in Psalm 22:7 and Psalm 69:9, Jesus faced mockery from every direction. (Three Crosses, 3:36) The religious leaders scoffed, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he's the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers mocked Him, offering sour wine and saying, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!"

Initially, both criminals joined this chorus of derision, as recorded in Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32. (Three Crosses, 6:58)

A Heart Transformed

But something changed. Perhaps it was when Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) that God's Word took root in one criminal's heart. (Three Crosses, 13:44)

In Luke 23:40-42, one thief rebuked the other: "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he made his plea: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

The Promise of Paradise

Christ's response reveals the heart of the Gospel: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). (Three Crosses, 16:18) This criminal's awareness of sin, his repentance, and the absolution he received were all gifts of God—just as they are for us today.

Like that thief, we've been "already remembered" by Christ in our baptism, claimed as God's own children through His sacrificial love. (Three Crosses, 19:27)

From Despair to Victory: The Third Day

Friday's Darkness

When Jesus cried "It is finished" and bowed His head in death, darkness covered the land. (1-2-3, 8:49) That first Easter morning began in despair. Matthew 28:1 tells us Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb "after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning." They came expecting the worst—to anoint a dead body with spices.

How different this was from the triumphal entry, when crowds shouted "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9). (1-2-3, 7:03) It was far from the feeding of the 5,000, when people wanted to make Him king.

Houses Built on Sand

On that first Easter, so many had built their houses on the sand rather than on the solid rock of Christ's promises. (Rock and Sand, 5:47) The women expected to find a dead Jesus in the tomb. When they discovered the empty tomb and shared the news with the disciples, "these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them" (Luke 24:11). (Rock and Sand, 9:27)

Even Peter, after seeing the empty tomb, went "home amazed at what had happened"—wondering, not believing. (Rock and Sand, 10:14) They weren't acting on the solid rock of Jesus' promises but on the shifting sands of their own assessment, their own thinking, their own fears. (Rock and Sand, 12:31)

Sunday's Triumph

But when Jesus died on Friday, God began to count. (1-2-3, 11:18) Though we deserved to be counted out because of our sin, instead of condemning us, God started counting to three. And when He reached three—the third day—everything changed.

Matthew 28:2-6 records the glorious moment: "And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow... But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.'" (1-2-3, 13:25)

The Tears of Resurrection Morning

Yet even on that glorious morning, we hear tears again. Mary Magdalene stood weeping outside the tomb, having witnessed Christ's crucifixion and now finding His body gone. (Tears of Jesus, 6:43) She didn't recognize the angels positioned at the head and feet of where Jesus had lain—a scene that echoed the mercy seat from Exodus 25, where God promised to meet His people. (Tears of Jesus, 7:27)

Through her tears, Mary couldn't see that God was no longer meeting at the ark of the covenant, but was meeting there in the empty tomb of the Lord. (Tears of Jesus, 8:33) Her grief temporarily blinded her to the greatest miracle in human history unfolding before her eyes.

The Guarantee of Our Salvation

The empty tomb validates that Christ's sacrifice for our sins was accepted by the Father. (1-2-3, 15:25) When Jesus took our sin upon Himself and was raised from the dead, death was overcome. This is why we sing:

"I know that my redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead.
He lives, my ever-living head."

"The strife is o'er, the battle done,
Now is the victory's triumph won;
Now be the song of praise begun.
Alleluia!"

Through baptism, we've been washed clean in these waters of victory. (1-2-3, 16:41) God has made His decision about us and holds that decision—and us—in His hand for all eternity.

God came in His grace to a world riddled with sin, and on the cross Jesus Christ took the world's sin—including yours and mine—and paid the price for that sin. (Rock and Sand, 14:02) He was raised from the tomb, overcoming death. We are claimed in the waters of baptism, and the victory of the cross and empty tomb is applied to us. (Rock and Sand, 15:00)

Christ alone is our hope, light, strength, and song. (Rock and Sand, 16:06) When we have the tendency to keep trying to build our houses on the sand, He keeps picking us up and putting us back on the solid rock of Himself and His promises. (Rock and Sand, 17:59)

Living in the Victory

When we face our problems, challenges, and bleak times in this life, we can trust in the One who counted to three. (1-2-3, 18:07) When He got to three, everything changed—and it was Sunday.

The rains may come and the waves beat against the house, and the storms may rage, but the house that's built upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ—the house that's built upon the solid rock of His promises—that house will not fall. (Rock and Sand, 19:31) For the house built on the rock stands firm.

Holy Week reminds us