by Brett Manero
Sunday, April 13 begins Holy Week in the year 2025 AD. All of human history is centered around the life of Jesus Christ, and here we are, nearly exactly two-thousand years since His Passion, still commemorating that all-important event.
Why is Holy Week called Holy Week? After all, the original Sabbath day of creation was also holy:
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation (Genesis 2:2-3).
To be hallowed is to be holy or rather, set apart. Understanding the proper definition of holy makes its meaning all the more beautiful. A holy person, a saint, is someone who is set apart from the rest. A day, such as the Sabbath, that is holy, is set apart from the rest. A week which is holy is likewise set apart from all the rest. Such is Holy Week. While the dating is different each year, its significance is all the same. It is, quite simply, the week when we commemorate the most important week in human history – a week which saw the end of the reign of death upon the human race, and the beginning of a new hope for eternal life. All of this was accomplished by Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
It begins with the entrance of Jesus into the ancient city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Almost all Christians are familiar with this day: most Christian traditions continue the tradition of carrying palms into church to recall the jubilant crowd of Jerusalem welcoming Jesus with open arms into the city. They famously shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” as a recognition of His rightful identify as the new Solomon, descendant and Son of David, heir to the Kingdom of Israel.
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:6-9)
This event is spoken of by the Prophet Zechariah, writing in c. 518 BC, over 500 years before the birth of Christ:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on an ass,
on a colt the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9).
As so often happens, something which occurs in the New Testament has tremendous roots in the Old Testament, a type or foreshadowing that points to its fulfillment in Christ. Jesus riding on a donkey to claim His kingship is a new type of Prince Solomon also riding on a donkey to be anointed as King of Israel after his father David:
King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada.” So they came before the king. And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead; and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.” (1 Kings 1:32-35).
Solomon becomes King after the death of his father David. Solomon becomes one of the wisest men ever to walk the earth. He builds the magnificent First Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus – descendant and heir of both David and Solomon – is the wisest men ever to walk the earth. He builds the New, even more magnificent Temple: the Church, which is not limited to one space, but is universal, worldwide. And on Palm Sunday, Jesus is rightfully entering into Jerusalem as the crowds welcome their new King.
As we well know, human nature can be incredibly fickle. It is quite likely that many of those who jubilantly welcome Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday are among those who call for His execution on Good Friday. But for now, it is worth remembering how glorious this day is: our King has arrived, and He has taken His throne.
It is a very common claim that all religions are the same. Others might say that all religions lead to the same place. We have all heard similar statements. But Christianity is thoroughly distinct from other religions. How so? For one, we believe that God became man. We also believe that God is a Trinity. We also believe that we do not merely belong to a religion, but to a Kingdom. That Kingdom is the universal Church, founded by Christ with His Apostles as His first princes. No other religion has such a claim (other than, of course, Judaism, upon which Christianity is built).
We are members of such a Kingdom. Our King has arrived, and let us remember the awe-inspiring and heaven-shaking act which He accomplishes for us during Holy Week.
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:6-7).