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Holy Week Prayer Guide 2022

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Jesus invites us to experience life-changing power as we see Him through the eyes of faith. Let’s prepare our hearts in prayer as we focus on the Light of Jesus and celebrate His resurrection during Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-38; John 12: 12-19 
We thank you Lord as we approach this important Passion Week, where you triumphantly rode on a colt into the Holy City not only as King of the Jews but as our coming King. Thank you that our King did not ride in the city on a stallion, but meek and lowly on a colt. Thank you for being compassionate towards hopeless people. The crowds in the Holy City were pleading for salvation from their earthly enemies. The real enemy is not flesh and blood but it is the arch-enemy, the Devil. During this week, the Devil thought he would be the victor, but Jesus crushed his head. Glory and Honor to our King! We are so thankful that the King came not to be served, but to give His life as a ransom for many.

Monday

Matthew 21:12-20; John 12:1-14; Mark 11:11-33           
Hosanna to the highest! Just as the sweet perfume Mary used to anoint your feet filled the air of their home, may our prayer be a sweet aroma of praise to you as you sit at the right hand of the Father. In this solemn resurrection season, unlike the barren fig tree that Jesus cursed, may our lives bear fruit that testifies to your indwelling Spirit in our lives. As we come together to worship you, may our church be a house of prayer that glorifies, honors, and pleases you.

Tuesday

Matthew 21:20-27; Matthew 21:28-23:39; Mark 11:20-12:44              
Thank you, Lord, that the Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. There is no other name by which man can be saved. As we navigate in this fallen world, help us to look to you as the Cornerstone of our faith. May our hearts be aligned with yours Jesus, so that by your grace, we possess a faith that can move mountains. We are humbled when we consider that you have authority over heaven and earth, and yet you choose us and call us your beloved. We praise you as we sing Hosanna to the King of Kings. You knew what awaited in Jerusalem, and yet you rode the donkey into town in obedience to the Father.

Wednesday

Luke 22:3-6; Matthew 26:14-16
Forgive us Lord Jesus as we are so easily distracted from following you. Judas, your disciple, was possessed by Satan to betray you for 30 pieces of silver. The lure of money and other selfish desires can tempt us too. This fallen world beckons us every day to go astray. Help us to keep our focus on you and to realize our great need for you. Our personal relationship with you is far more valuable than silver or gold or anything this world could offer.   

Maundy Thursday

John 13:12-17, 34; I John 3:16-19a 
To the One who knew that He had come from God and was going to God; to Him who laid aside His garments and took a towel… and began to wash the disciples’ feet; You alone are worthy to mandate, to command, your followers to love in a self-sacrificing way. You gave us an example to live by during that Passover celebration. You want your followers to love not with lip-service but with action! Good Shepherd, help us to love one another in such a way that the world will know that we are members of Your flock.  

Good Friday

John 19; Psalm 22:1-24; Hebrews 10:19-25 
Lord Jesus, God the Son, in whom the very essence of the Holy Trinity exists, you were born into this world as man so that in obedience to the Father, you could lay down your life for man. Your agony was far more than your physical suffering on the cross. You took upon yourself the wrath of God’s justice that our sins might be forgiven and our relationship with our Creator restored. We bless your name as you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life for the world. 

Saturday

Matthew 27:57-65 
Lord Jesus, we can’t begin to imagine what was taking place in the spiritual realm while the body you used in the physical realm lie cold and still behind the sealed stone. We believe that you were spreading the news of your final victory over sin and death among those who had been waiting centuries to hear that good word. While your earthly followers hid themselves out of fear and confusion, your heavenly followers had a joyful celebration because they knew what had taken place. May we, who also share that knowledge, celebrate it and declare it with like passion among those whose hearts are like that sealed stone. 

Resurrection Sunday

Mark 16:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; John 20:1-21
Father, your gift to us has been opened, complete, and today we celebrate, in awe, the finished work of Jesus. By His resurrection, death was defeated. The grave lost its sting. We have hope and life because on this day, as the angels declared to stunned disciples, and as He, himself, declared to Peter, Cleopas, Mary, Thomas, and all who gathered in a locked room, Jesus is risen. The debt has been paid. Thank you for the Spirit who inspired the writing of the Word and gives us understanding. Thank you that my shackles are gone. Thank you for an empty tomb. Thank you for the mission in the Great Commission. May we shout it from the rooftops, declare it in the streets, and live it out in our lives! Christ is risen!! We praise you for this! And may our lives say, “He is risen, indeed!” AMEN

Advent 2020 – Isaiah 8:11-15 (Dec. 10)

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Isaiah 8:12–13

[12] “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. [13] But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (ESV)

2020 could safely be called the year of conspiracies. For example: who started Covid19? Did the presidential election get stolen? Are socialists threatening to overturn our country? Is the New World Order about to overturn our world? 

How much time have you invested in the news or alternate news, worrying about conspiracies or speaking about them with family members, neighbors and friends?

Conspiracies are nothing new. Back in the early ministry of Isaiah the prophet, conspiracies about foreign powers aligning together against Judah caused the hearts of the people to melt with fear. God spoke to Isaiah and said, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy” (12). It was central to God’s way that His people not waste their energy on conspiracy theories. Instead they are to live their lives in the fear of the LORD, or, as God said, “Let [the LORD of Hosts] be your dread” (13). 

We don’t typically think of responding to the Lord God with dread. That seems inappropriate somehow. But for some reason we think that dread of foreign powers invading or foreign powers sending a virus our way is somehow a responsible action. No, the only thing that makes sense is to put those conspiracies on the scale with the LORD of Hosts and responding to the Lord as the Sovereign King and Master of our lives. To dread Him is to live in awe of Him and respond to His way in this world. He says He will be a sanctuary to all who fear Him. 

For those who do not respond by fearing the LORD, God says He will be a rock of offense, a stone of stumbling, a trap and a snare to them. If any of us disregard God, thinking we can ignore Him, we’ll find ourselves tripping over Him to our own destruction. 

When Paul refers to Isaiah 8:11-15 in Romans 9:32-33, or when Peter refers to the “rock of offense” in 1 Peter 2:8, both men are referring to Christ. And here’s how all this relates to Advent: Christ did not go from the cradle to Paradise. No, He went from the cradle to the cross. Most of the world finds celebration of the baby Jesus just fine. Sentimental, culturally acceptable, traditional. But the cross is offensive. It deals with the scandalous, unacceptable news that our sin cannot be ignored. It must be punished. Advent reminds us of the hard truth that Jesus came to die for our sin. If you run to that stone of solid ground, you’ll be safe. If you try to ignore the Christ on the cross, you’ll trip over it eventually and be crushed. 

These things may be hard to understand, so we’ll look at them again over the next two days of devotions. But what is clear is this: Christ came to die for sinners. This is God’s way.

Do you know that you are a sinner?  

Do you trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone for your salvation?

Following Jesus Through Holy Week – Saturday

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“How can we follow Jesus when He lies dead in a tomb?” must have gone through the minds of the disciples after Good Friday.

Recorded events are few and far between of that Saturday, the Sabbath in between Christ’s death and resurrection. What is recorded reveals things about the people still living and challenges us today.

Here is the record of what happened on Saturday:

  • A group of women disciples prepare spices and ointments for the body of Jesus (Luke 23:54-56)
  • The Chief Priests and Pharisees plot to guard the tomb of Jesus (Matt. 27:62-66)

Luke 23:54–56

[54] It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. [55] The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. [56] Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (ESV)

Matthew 27:62–66

[62] The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate [63] and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ [64] Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” [65] Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” [66] So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (ESV)

What can we learn from these texts?

So many people in Jerusalem were affected by the death of Jesus. As Saturday dawned they were still shaken by all that He had endured. Basically, two groups of people emerge on that Saturday, just like two groups still emerge today:

The Enemies of Christ – Matthew alone records a secret meeting that occurred between the religious Pharisees and Pilate, the Roman ruler who tried Jesus as guiltless yet sent Him to the cross. The Pharisees feared not that Jesus would rise from the dead but that His disciples would steal His body from the tomb it had been placed in and so fool everyone that Jesus was alive. In their view, Jesus was only a fraud, and they would not permit more fraud in the wake of His death. Pilate told them to take their own Temple guards and set them up at the tomb. They sealed the stone around Jesus’s tomb, established guards to watch and then wiped their hands of the whole affair.

The Followers of Christ – Just as Jesus had predicted, the Shepherd was struck down dead and the sheep scattered. Yet two scenes reveal disciples who had remained in the background due to various reasons yet now seem emboldened with courage and faith.

  • Joseph of Arimathea was said to be a follower of Jesus, but a “secret” disciple for fear of what the Pharisees would think (John 19:38). His life up to this point has been ruled by a mixture of fear of man and faith in Jesus. He’s been a slave to allure of image and the approval of people. Nicodemus, who accompanied Joseph, is no better. This is perhaps why he had waited until the cloak of night to approach Jesus initially (John 3). Yet in a surprising move, Joseph and Nicodemus go into the court of Pilate to request the body of Jesus, remove the body from the cross, cover and fill the body with 75 pounds of ointment then place the body into a new tomb in a beautiful garden.
  • The women, identified as Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joses, followed Joseph and Nicodemus to see where the tomb was located, then went home to prepare more ointment and burial spices for the body. The gospel records them as resting on the Sabbath yet ready to go to the tomb early Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus.

Application: 

  • The cross of Jesus is the crossroads of life. You cannot view the selfless sacrifice of Jesus and walk away the same. Either you will be hardened in your heart, not wanting the public image of what your sin has done, or you will be broken, not wanting to continue as a slave to your sin and seeing in Jesus your only hope.
  • There is power in the cross to transform fearful disciples into bold followers. Joseph and Nicodemus loved the approval of men, but Christ’s sacrifice showed them the emptiness of their lives. Ultimately by seeing what Jesus had done, Joseph and Nicodemus were emboldened to do the right thing, even if it led to their public shame or death. Look to the cross! Focus on what Jesus endured, and ask Him to continue transforming your life to resemble His.
  • There is also grace in waiting. Waiting when life is hard and going forward seems impossible. I love the example of the two Marys. They show us that faith in God (as seen in their obedience to the Sabbath command) is doing the next right thing even when their world around them is falling apart.
  • Ultimately Jesus too is resting. Six days shall we labor but the seventh is the Lord’s. Jesus all during Holy Week has worked. Now His body rests until He takes it up again on Resurrection Day.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank You for the power of Your cross. No time you spent on earth was wasted. The power of Your life on the lives of others shines forth even when all was dark. Please comfort hearts that are troubled today. Give grace for courage. Help us to remember your promise of resurrection!

Worship:

God Rested by Andrew Peterson

Following Jesus Through Holy Week – Friday

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Good Friday.

Some ask why it’s called “good.” That’s what we’ll learn and apply today.

Here’s an outline of what happened on Friday1:

  • Betrayal and Arrest (Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12)
  • Jesus tried before Jewish Authorities (John 18:13-24; Matt. 26:57-27:2; Mark 14:53-15:1; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:19-24)
  • Jesus tried before Roman Officials (Matt. 27:2-26; Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:16)
  • Jesus is Crucified – approx. 9am to 3pm (Matt. 27:27-54; Mark 15:16-39; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:16-37)
  • The body of Jesus is placed in the Tomb (Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:38-42)

Mark 15:33–39

[33] And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” [36] And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” [37] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. [38] And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (ESV)

What can we learn from this text?

For roughly six hours Jesus hung on His cross. The Gospels help us understand that from 9am to 3pm Jesus suffered on the cross between two criminals and surrounded by Roman soldiers who gambled for His clothing and a mixture of people who loved Him and hated Him.

Yet something happened at noon that intensified His suffering and lasted for the remaining 3 hours. Darkness settled over the whole land when typically light is at its brightest. What did this signify? According to God’s Word darkness like this signifies God’s judgment (Amos 8:9-10; Joel 3:15) and the lowest point of human existence. Jesus suffered not only at the hands of wicked men who judged Him unfairly and nailed Him to the cross; Jesus suffered under the almighty wrath of His Father. This was the “cup” that Jesus desired not to drink, but it was the cup He willingly drank for lost sinners. All the wrath of God for human sinfulness was poured out in full measure on Jesus.

This incomprehensible exchange, God’s wrath emptied into Christ, is the reason Jesus cried out as He did, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The reason this Friday is called “good” is due to this exchange. You can consider this day in the Holy Week good because it’s the day Jesus took all God’s wrath for your sin. Jesus was forsaken by His Father so that believers never need fear that God will turn away from them. Have you trusted in Jesus for this exchange? You must believe, not merely that He died. You must believe that He died for your sins and received the full wrath of God that you deserved. Call out to Jesus that you believe and that you turn from your sin today to follow Him.

Application:

  • Jesus endured such terrible physical pain and torture during Friday. Can you identify some of the affliction He endured in the passages for today?
  • Remember, Jesus never ran from the physical suffering. Many times He could have. He even said if He asked, God would send 12 legions of angels at once to deliver Him (Matt. 26:53). Jesus did ask if there was any other way than to drink the full cup of God’s wrath and thus be separated from His Father for the first time in all eternity. Yet even this Jesus did not run from. He endured all that wrath for sinners and loved them to the cross.
  • Jesus of course did not stay dead! But it is fitting on this Good Friday to allow the weight of what Jesus suffered to affect our hearts and our feelings. Take time to meditate on the suffering of our Lord today, knowing that Resurrection Day will come as Jesus predicted.

Prayer:

Oh, most Holy Jesus, how have You sinned to be afflicted so by Your Father’s holy wrath? Certainly, You did not sin. We are guilty. It should have been us who suffered and suffered eternally. But You took the wrath and bore the shame of our sin. Thank You for loving us so deeply. Thank You for obeying even to the point of death on the cross. Amen.

Worship: 

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted

_______________________

1. Crossway is currently offering free access to their ESV Study Bible. To access the Harmony of the Holy Week Chart, simply sign up for that resource, and even more, from Crossway.