Title: Last 7 Days on Earth
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Passion Week. Passion Week is the last seven days of Jesus’ life on earth. If we knew when our last days were, we might spend time with family, writing a will, or doing things we haven’t done yet. However, Jesus used the last 7 days to accomplish the purpose of coming to this earth, the salvation of mankind, and finally, accomplish the work of salvation by taking all the sins of mankind on the cross.
Jesus lived 30 years of private life and 3 years of public life. If you look at the 4 gospels, among the total of 89 chapters, 25 chapters which corresponds to ¼ of the total are records of Jesus’ suffering. Out of the 274 major events that happened in Jesus’ entire life, 91 which is 1/3 are records of Passion Week. And of the 64 incidents during the Passion Week, 24 incidents correspond to about 1/3 are incidents that happened on Good Friday when Jesus was crucified.
Jesus is God incarnated. Everything has its meaning and everything in the Bible is important. The reason why the Bible has more records about the last 7 days of Jesus is because the last 7 days were the period which Jesus worked most intensely for the work of human salvation. Also, it can be said that it contains God’s wish and desire that we, who believe in Jesus, by focusing on the last 7 days of Jesus.
- Palm Sunday/Triumphal Day
AD 29, Nisan 8 (Sun)
Movement route:
Bethany› Bethphage› Mount of Olives› Temple
Temple› Mount of Olives› Bethphage › Bethany
Verses: Mat 21:1-11; Mrk 11:1-11, Luk 19:28-44; Jhn 12:12-19
- Asked to bring a colt (Mat 21:1-3)
- Spreading Palm branches and garments on the road
- Rebuking the Pharisees (Luk 19:39-40)
- He cried while looking at Jerusalem
- Jerusalem was stirred (Mat 21:10)
- In the evening, back to Bethany
- Day of Authority
AD 29, Nisan 9 (Mon)
Movement route:
Bethany› Bethphage› Mount of Olives› Temple
Temple› Mount of Olives› Bethphage › Bethany
Verses: Mat 21:12-22; Mrk 11:12-19; Luk 19:45-48
- Curse the fig tree
- Temple cleansing (Luk 19:45-46)
Jesus who purified the temple on the first Passover at the beginning of his public life, purified the temple again on the last Passover of His public life.
The chief priests/scribes/leaders of the people gathered and pondered over how to destroy Jesus (Mrk 11:18).
- Day of Argument, Day of Debate
AD 29, Nisan 10 (Tue)
Movement route:
Bethany› Bethphage› Mount of Olives› Temple
Temple› Mount of Olives› Bethphage › Bethany
Verses: Mat 21:23-46, 22-25, 26:1-16; Mrk 11:20-33, 12-13, 14:1-11; Luk 20:21, 22:1-6, Jhn 12:20-50
- Controversy over the authority of Jesus
Chief priests/scribes/elders of the people
- Controversy over tax payment
Pharisees, Herod’s party
- The Resurrection Controversy with the Sadducees
- The Greatest Commandment Controversy with the
Pharisees, lawyers
- Controversy between Christ and the Son of David
He taught with many parables.
*Breaking a jar of alabaster oil and pouring it on the head of Jesus
*Chief priests/scribes/elders of the people discuss ways to kill Jesus. Fearing that a civil rebellion would occur, he said, “Let’s not do it on the holidays’, but Judas’ betrayal after the Last Supper moved things forward.
*Judas Iscariot began looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver (Mat 26:12-16).
4. Days of Silence, Day of Prayer
AD 29, Nisan 11 (Wed)
There are no records left in the 4 Gospels. So, some theologians claim that Jesus rested because he was tired, but when we look at Jesus’ life and how He tried to fulfil God’s will even on the cross, it’s more like saying that he was praying rather than resting because he was tired.
5. Day of Agony
AD 29, Nisan 12 (Thu)
Movement route:
Bethany› Bethphage› Mount of Olives› Place of the Last Supper
Place of Last Supper› Place of Prayer in Gathsemane
Verses: Mat 26:17-46, Mrk 14:12-42, Luk 22:7-46, Jhn 13-17
*He ordered the disciples to prepare the Passover, and a large upper room was prepared
1) Notice of betrayal by Judas
2) Blessing with bread and wine
3) Predicting Peter’s 3 denials
4) Washing the feet of the disciples
5) Judas received a piece of bread and left
6) Predicted that he would go to Galilee first after his resurrection
7) Jesus’ Farewell Sermon
8) Intercessory prayer as a high priest
9) New Commandments (Jhn 13:34)
10) Late at night, around 11pm, he and his disciples arrived at the place of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
11) Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
6. Day of Suffering
AD 29, Nisan 13 (Fri)
Movement route:
Garden of Gethsemane Prayer House› Annas Residence› Caiaphas Residence› Sanhedrin› Pilate’s Residence› Herod’s Residence› Pilate’s Court› Golgotha
Verses: Mat 26:47-2; Mrk 14:43-15; Luk 22:47-23; Jhn 18:19
In AD 29, the Passover and the Sabbath overlapped, so this Sabbath was called ‘the great day’, and the Passover was brought forward one day. It is between 3:00 and 6:00, the time when the Passover lamb was slaughtered, but Jesus became the lamb of substitution and died on the cross. After his death, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and buried him in his own new stone tomb.
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 