"Holy Week"

The Christians named it Holy Week,

A long, long time ago,

Starting with when Christ rode in,

On a donkey, what a show.

And then the weeping woman,

Who poured all that perfume,

Wonder if He smelled it,

On the cross His day of doom.

Then the final supper happened,

The betrayer played his part,

Jesus washed their dirty feet,

The blood and body from His heart.

The hours of His suffering,

The torture of the cross,

The temple veil is torn in two,

He buys back what is lost.

And then the third day early,

The stone is rolled away,

Death is now defeated,

And all of us can say,

The Lord indeed is risen,

He broke the devil’s threat,

Our Savior is alive to save,

And that’s the best news yet.

Yes, they call it Holy Week,

But only if you know,

Jesus as your Savior,

And the Spirit makes it so.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NAS)

The basic “good news” or kerygma was given to Paul and then taught by him to others. The first century Christians understood that their faith in a risen Savior was a non-negotiable proclamation. It was not some generic, metaphysical, symbolic resurrection but a supernatural miracle in which God resuscitated and transformed the corpse of Jesus after He died for our sins. Traditions such as our observance of “Holy Week” are based on what happened in the closing moments of Jesus’ earthly life, and that which defines our salvation. There is nothing more important and nothing that holds more promise than the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He lives! Hallelujah.

Lord, help us realize and celebrate Your victory over death, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.