Christ’s Passion

Passion Week, also called Holy Week in the Christian calendar, begins on Palm Sunday commemorating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and follows His life’s final week leading up to His crucifixion and death during Passover and His burial during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You can read about His agonizing journey in the following gospel accounts: Matthew 21-27; Mark 11-15; Luke 19-23; and John 12-19.

Wikipedia explains that in Christianity, the passion comes from the Latin verb meaning “to suffer, bear, endure.” When Jesus came into Jerusalem, a great multitude took branches of palm trees and met Him declaring, “Hosanna, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Later in the week, He would hear the words “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”!

Crucifixion is a gruesome way to die. Jesus was not only crucified (Mark 15), where His hands and feet were pierced with nails to hang on the cross (John 19:18; Psalm 22:16), but He sweats great drops of blood in the anguish of soul while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He took stripes upon His body (John 19:1; 1 Peter 2:24) and wore a crown of thorns (John 19:2). He shed His blood from His head to His feet. He became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13) and took upon Himself our sin and shame, sickness and disease, and poverty and lack.

Jesus took all the righteous vengeance of God’s wrath for the punishment of our sin on Himself at the cross (Romans 3:23; 1 Peter 3:18). It is because of God’s love that Jesus died the death we deserved and shed His blood for us to give us right standing with God (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Colossians 1:20-22). He endured the cross because of the joy He saw before Him reconciling us to the Father (Hebrews 12:2).

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains); yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way, and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:3 – 6

How do we receive the love of the Father and the benefits of Christ’s death on the cross? We accept these benefits by asking Jesus to be our Savior and Lord (Titus 2:11). Everything we receive from God comes from His grace by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved and that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9 -10, 13). If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

If you have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior, you can do that right now. You can experience God’s love, peace, and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him. Pray this suggested prayer out loud right now. You can also pray in your own words. Remember, it is not words or prayer alone that will save you. Prayer is a way to reach out to the Lord and must be done in faith (completely trusting in Him to save you). Christ will save you if you pray these or similar words in faith.

Heavenly Father,

Your Word says that whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved. I ask You to forgive me for my sins. I repent and want to turn from them and turn to You. I am calling on You and ask Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for me. I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, and He is alive today. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me the Holy Spirit to live inside of me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and Your healing power in my life. I now belong to You. Help me to live for You and obey You all the days of my life.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

If you prayed the prayer for salvation in faith, you are now a child of God and are in His family (John 1:12). Go to my website and check out some steps on how to grow in your relationship with Him! https://alexiscarucci.com/welcome-to-gods-family/

Jesus’ death and burial aren’t the end of His story, but three days later, He arose from the dead on Resurrection Sunday (Luke 24:5-9; Revelation 1:5). Let’s celebrate Jesus and what He has done for us. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16)!

Share this:

Like this: