What Was Holy Week Like for Jesus?

What was holy week like for Jesus?

I wonder.

We celebrate Holy Week—decorations, party dresses, family reunions, plans for a special egg hunt or Easter play. We might observe the seriousness of Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, but overall, this is a week of joy culminating in Easter services.

How Did He Feel?

But how was this week for Jesus?

How did he feel as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, listening to the cheers and seeing the waving palm branches? Did waves of loneliness overwhelm him because he knew these people didn’t “get it”—because they had no clue what was about to happen?

Did sadness engulf Him when Judas betrayed him to the soldiers? Was his heart broken when Peter, the disciple upon whom He was to build his church, denied three times that he even knew Him?

How did He feel when he asked his three “besties,” Peter, James, and John, to pray with him in his hour of agony, and they fell asleep instead? Let down by his closest friends.

What emotional trauma did he experience with the difficult decision facing him? He asked His Father three times if there was any way the cup (the crucifixion) could be taken away from Him. Imagine Him wrestling with this decision. Could he go through with it? Was there no other way? He knows the agony of a difficult decision.

What about the intense physical pain He endured? Both in carrying His cross partway and then hanging on it in horrible agony, humiliated by his bare exposure.

Yet there’s more. How did he feel when he glanced down at his own mother, witnessing her pain that he knew he was causing her?

I imagine.

There Is One Who Understands

By imagining what this week was like for Jesus, we can come to a deep appreciation of two of my favorite passages: Hebrews 2:17-18 and Hebrews 4:14-16. They say essentially the same thing:

We don’t have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Have you ever been betrayed by a close friend? Been falsely accused by someone who just didn’t get the truth? Suffered excruciating physical pain that doesn’t go away? Watched someone you love experience hurt because of your actions?

Have you ever felt, no one understands, no one knows how I feel, no one gets how hard this is.

There is one who does understand. If we strap on his dirty, dusty sandals and walk with him throughout this week, we just might be comforted by the truths of Hebrews 2 and 4 and Psalm 147:5:

“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” (Psalm 147:5)

He understands all our feelings. He understands us even better than we understand ourselves. And He has experienced everything that we have or will, and most of all, He will never leave us. He is Immanuel, God with us.

In His Word

“I will never leave you or abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 CSB

In Your Life

Read one of the Gospels describing Holy Week: Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, or John 18-19. Pick out one or two scenes and imagine what might have been going through Jesus’ mind. Ask: How can what Jesus experienced make a difference in my life? It can be special to do this with your kids or grandkids and have a family discussion.

Let’s Connect

Check out Susan’s book Risky Faith (especially chapter 7) for more on this, or sign up for her blog at susanalexanderyates.com.