“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two … Continue reading Easter Sunday: Seeking the Living Among the Dead

Early in my musical training, a wise, older musician taught me that equally as important as the notes one plays are the intervals—what is not played in between the notes. In the intervals is where tension builds, thoughts develop, and sublimity resides. Likewise, in the interval between Good Friday’s minor tone and the triumphant chorus … Continue reading Holy Saturday: The Glory of the In-Between

Of the various characters that appear in the Gospels’ accounts of Good Friday—Pilate, Herod, the chief priests, the soldiers, Simon of Cyrene, the thieves—one character that is often forgotten is the temple. Throughout the Gospel narratives, the temple looms as a significant player in the story. Jesus cleanses it twice (John 2:13–17; Matt. 21:12–13), teaches … Continue reading Good Friday: A House Condemned

We tend to think of Holy Week as a week that brought some small sense of dread for the Lord Jesus—from a human standpoint—based on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the willpower required to willingly submit to the cross. We do not often associate Holy Week with joyful anticipation. Yet for our … Continue reading Maundy Thursday: Passover Fulfilled

Any of us who have been in church budget meetings know something of this attitude of pious austerity that affects Christians of all stripes. For some reason, no one is more careful with money than when it is time to judge how someone else spends it, especially in the Lord’s name. Many of us have … Continue reading Holy Wednesday: Costly Devotion, Cheap Betrayal

Though Protestants don’t typically make much of Holy Tuesday, it’s a helpful way of marking time during Holy Week and preparing our hearts for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. According to some interpretations, Holy Tuesday is when—after Palm Sunday and the cursing of the fig tree—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes questioned Jesus (Mark 12; cf. … Continue reading Holy Tuesday: The Million-Dollar Question

During Holy Week, I’ll be attempting to post one new devotional each day. Enjoy. Many of us know Palm Sunday—when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem a week before his crucifixion, hailed as the coming Messiah—but what happened next? Holy Monday marks the events that followed. We’re told: “On the following day, when they came from Bethany, … Continue reading Holy Monday: Jesus the Fruit Inspector