It is Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, to fulfill a prophecy in the Old Testament in Zechariah 9:9. (Matthew 21:2-7) It proceeds with Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples, His betrayal by Judas, His conviction by Pontius Pilate, His being beaten and crucified to death, and ends with Resurrection Sunday (or Easter), symbolizing Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into Heaven.
It is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. It is the sixth and last week of Lent, the 40 day period of reflection, prayer and fasting, and repentance before Easter. I make it a habit to watch Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ movie every year at Easter. It’s amazing because each time, I get a new revelation from God out of it. It’s such a powerful movie that will touch your heart (you’ll probably cry like I do!).
There is supposed to be a sequel to this movie called The Passion of the Christ 2: Resurrection, released in 2024. I look forward to seeing it! The actor portraying Jesus, Jim Caviezel, is amazing and is a Christian believer.
The original movie is called “The Passion” because it is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four Gospels. It comes from the Latin word patior, “to suffer, fear, endure.”
Jesus being beaten
kenduncan.com
Holy Week is an important time to examine our hearts before God and to ask Him to reveal any sins that we have done and are doing and ask for His forgiveness.
It’s vital for us as believers to repent, which means “to turn from evil and turn to God,” “sincere regret or remorse,” and “turn around and change one’s mind.” This repentance will help us to draw closer to God and help us to become conformed more into the image of Jesus.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)
I wrote about repentance in my most recent book, The Crying of Rachel: A Call to Repentance, which is available as a Kindle eBook at Amazon. You can find out more here.
I pray that you have a blessed Holy Week and Easter with your family and friends.
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