Michael F. BirdI will never forget 2004, the year when Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ came out at the cinemas. Before its release, Jewish groups protested the film on the grounds that it would contain anti-Semitism and amplify anti-Jewish rhetoric from the...
Blake AdamsFor Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestants, Holy Week is the most sacred time of the year. Traditionally, it is more important than Christmas, as it focuses on the central event of the gospel: the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the way it...
Matthew Y. EmersonJesus’s crucifixion and resurrection rightly get the emphasis in both academic and pastoral treatments of Christ’s work. The cross and the empty tomb are the crux of God’s work of salvation, the fulcrum on which everything else included in that...
Karen EngleThe significance of Palm Sunday was lost on me as a child. I suspect it’s lost on most Christian adults, too. My first memories of Palm Sunday were of sitting patiently in Sunday school next to my friends, holding palm fronds.
Lexham PressIn this excerpt from Suffering & Glory: Meditations for Holy Week and Easter, J. I. Packer takes readers on a journey with Jesus on the Emmaus road and explores how like the two disciples, we too can find help in our time of need.* *** On Friday...
Palm Sunday (also known as the Triumphal Entry) is the first day of Holy Week and the day Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time before he was crucified. When the Jews heard Jesus was approaching the city, they cut palm branches, waved them to...
Mark WardSome of the angriest comments I’ve ever received came on a post I wrote about Easter. I honestly forgot that some Christians are very upset about the use of a(n allegedly) “pagan” word to describe the preeminent Christian holiday. Here’s what one...
Jennifer GrishamThis week we pause to remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and for many of us, that means attending special church services. Many—if not most—churches have Good Friday services in addition to special Easter gatherings, but some churches...
Logos StaffThe final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry are surrounded in truth and eternal significance from which we’ll never stop learning. In his devotional And the Angels Were Silent from the Chronicles of the Cross Collection, Max Lucado presents an Easter...
Miles CustisEaster Sunday is coming up this week, and churches all over the world will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection is the central event of the New Testament—an event that is still transforming the world and calling for a...
Paul BurkhartThis week is Holy Week. And though we are in the final days before the highest annual joy of the Christian Calendar–Easter–these days are meant to be marked by the deepest and most difficult times of meditation on suffering and death...
Ray Deck IIIThe last week of Jesus’ ministry, often called Passion Week, was packed with action—powerful teaching, bold confrontation, intrigue, and prophecy both fulfilled and made anew. Explore it all with the free Faithlife Study Bible app. Passion...
What Happened to Peter? Like Steve Runge, I identify with Peter. Not only am I encouraged by Peter’s missteps, foibles, and failures, but I’m also challenged by the post-resurrection dynamo that Peter becomes. For Peter, Jesus’...
Psalm 22 stands out among the Psalms in its depiction of the psalmist’s agony and suffering. It is no wonder that Jesus quoted the psalmist’s anguished cry of “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?” as he died on the cross. However, this is not...
Steve RungeExpectation Expectations play a huge role in how we process life. Whenever I’m frustrated that God’s plan doesn’t match my expectations, the Apostle Peter’s experience gives me renewed hope. During Jesus’ last Passover...
Rick BrannanThe last week of Jesus’ life is also known as Holy Week. On the first day of the week prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, he and his disciples entered Jerusalem and spent the night in Bethany (Mark 11:11). Jesus knew that he would be arrested...
Guest AuthorEverybody wants glory, but not everyone is willing to pay the price required to attain it. Jesus’ path to glory was not through teaching, preaching, healing, or any of the works he did during his earthly ministry. His path to glory led through the...