bunnies & holy week

We celebrate Christmas for months. The preparation and anticipation makes it many peoples' favorite time of year. Easter gets an obligatory morning of church and a nice meal and maybe some eggs filled with candy. And the Easter Bunny at the mall surrounded by giant carrots is not nearly as exciting as Santa with presents. And frankly a little scarier. My point- Christmas is a big deal. It is a big deal that Jesus was born and came to earth. But if Jesus was simply born and lived on earth like the rest of us, He really doesn't have much lasting impact on my life. The fact that He was born, lived a perfect life and then died for me is a bit of a bigger deal. The fact that He died to save me from myself and then conquered death and rose, that's pretty important. So why is Easter simply bunnies, painted eggs and chocolate? This year it is more to me than that. And in preparation for celebrating what Jesus did for me and for you, we are celebrating Holy Week in our home. I've always known that on Friday He was crucified and on Sunday He rose. I've known the vague details of the Last Supper and that maybe He rode in on a donkey with some palms or something. But I think there is more to it than just He rode into a town and was killed and then somehow wasn't dead anymore.
.
On Sunday at church while we were reading about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, I found a time line in my bible that outlines the gospel accounts of the week leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. So Matt & I are reading the gospel accounts on the day of the week that they occurred and trying to live out the day with what Jesus did on that day in mind. Today (Tuesday) Jesus taught the crowds in some pretty intense parables that directly questioned our way of living. More on that later. For now, in case you are interested in taking a bit closer look at what really went on this week in history...
.
Sunday: The Triumphal Entry
Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-19
On the first day of the week Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling an ancient prophecy (Zec 9:9). The crowd welcomed Him with the words of Psalm 118:25-26, thus ascribing to Him a Messianic title as the agent of the Lord, the coming King of Israel

Monday: Clearing of the temple
Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-18, Luke 19:45-48
Jesus returned to the temple and found the court of the Gentiles full of traders and money changers making a large profit. Jesus drove them out and overturned their benches and tables

Tuesday: Day of controversy and parables
Matthew 21:23-24:51, Mark 11:27-13:37, Luke 20:1-21:36
In the morning in Jerusalem Jesus evaded the traps set by the priests. Then in the afternoon on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem He taught in parables and warned the people against the Pharisees. He predicted the destruction of Herod's great temple and told His disciples about future events, including His own return.

Wednesday: Day of rest
Mark 14:1 and John 12:1 seem to indicate that there was a day not specifically mentioned in the gospels before the Passover. I would imagine a day of rest was quite needed at this point with the weight of what He was about to go through on His heart.

Thursday: Passover, Last Supper
Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-23
In an upper room Jesus prepared both Himself and His disciples for His death. He gave the Passover meal a new meaning. The loaf of bread and cup of wine represented His body soon to be sacrificed and His blood soon to be shed. After singing a hymn they went to the Garden of Gesthsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony, knowing what lay ahead for Him.

Friday: Crucifixion
Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 22:66-23:56, John 18:28-19:37
Following betrayal, arrest, desertion, false trials, denial, condemnation, beatings and mockery, Jesus was required to carry His cross to The Place of the Skull, where He was crucified with two other prisoners.

Friday/Saturday: In the tomb
Jesus' body was placed in the tomb before 6:00 PM Friday night, when the Sabbath began and all work stopped, and it lay in the tomb throughout the Sabbath.

Sunday: Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-49, John 20
Early in the morning, women went to the tomb and found that the stone closing the tomb's entrance had been rolled back. An angel told them Jesus was alive and gave them a message. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden, to Peter, to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and later that day to all the disciples but Thomas.