HOLY WEEK
DAILY DEVO
March 29 - April 5, 2026
DAY 1
PALM SUNDAY
MARCH 29, 2026
“When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:10-11
Jerusalem was swelling with people. Passover always drew crowds, but this year the city was heaving, shoulder-to-shoulder humanity pressing into narrow streets. Ancient records tell us that around 250,000 lambs were sacrificed during Passover only a decade later. If one lamb covered ten people, the population could have reached well over two million. That’s the scene Jesus walks into. A city bursting with journeyers, anticipation, and clamor. And right in the middle of all of it, the true Passover Lamb enters.
Matthew tells us the whole city was “stirred”—literally shaken. The atmosphere is electric, but also chaotic. People are swept up in the moment, caught in the momentum of the crowd, and yet many don’t even know what they’re celebrating. It’s like someone at a big game who asks, “Wait…what are we cheering for?” The excitement is real, but the discernment of many is nil.
So the question spreads through the streets: Who is this? Some answer confidently: “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth.” Word gets around that the Messiah is here. For the curious, God is making something unmistakably clear about who had come to them. But knowing some facts about Him is not the same as receiving Him by faith.
On that day, the crowds fell into familiar categories. Some truly understood. They saw Jesus as the King of Kings who brings salvation and makes sinners right with God. Others knew His miracles, admired His power, but wanted a kingdom on earth: health, wealth, and prosperity. They wanted a Messiah who would fix their circumstances, not their hearts. And when Jesus confronted their sin, they turned on Him. And then there were the many who simply drifted with the crowd, cheering one moment, silent the next, easily swayed in either direction.
There’s always room in our world for a Jesus who fits our expectations, affirms our dreams, supports our agendas, and stays safely within the boundaries we set for Him. But the true Jesus didn’t come to give us the life our hearts sinfully crave. He came to confront what we would rather avoid: our selfmade religion, our attempts to justify ourselves, our sin that keeps us far from God. He came to reveal the judgment we deserve and to warn us, in love, to flee from the wrath to come. Jesus came to rescue us, to offer salvation, to draw us out of death and into life.
Those categories haven’t changed since then. Even during Holy Week, churches can swell with people the same way Jerusalem did thousands of years ago, but are their hearts any different? Each year since, Palm Sunday still presses that same question into our hearts: Who is this?
It is Jesus Christ, God over all, blessed forever. He so loved the sons of men that He would
rather die than they should die. He came into the world, and took our flesh, and became
Emmanuel, God with us, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and
became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. - C.H. Spurgeon
DAY 2
MONDAY
MARCH 30, 2026
“Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree
withered.” Matthew 21:19
Waving palm branches, coats spread along the road, and shouts of praise welcomed the King of Kings as He descended the Mount of Olives on the Sunday before the cross. If a reporter from the Jerusalem Daily Bugle had been there, the headline might have read:
PEOPLE WELCOME THE SAVING KING!
But the very next day, Monday, Jesus returned to Jerusalem, and the tone shifted. Hungry along the road, He noticed a fig tree full of leaves, signaling that fruit should be present. Yet when He approached it, the tree was barren. It looked alive, but it produced nothing. Jesus pronounced judgment on it, and the tree withered. Then He entered the Temple and found money changers and merchants back at their trade—profiteering during Passover just as they had earlier in His ministry (John 2:14–16). He overturned their tables, stopped their business, and declared that God’s house, meant to be a house of prayer for all nations, had become a den of thieves.
What should we learn from these two scenes on the Monday after such a celebratory Sunday?
Luke tells us that as Jesus descended the Mount of Olives the day before, He wept over Jerusalem. He knew that many cheering voices were not genuine. The fig tree becomes a living illustration: what appears vibrant on the outside can be spiritually dead on the inside. A life with leaves but no fruit is a life under judgment.
And in the Temple, Jesus exposes another danger: using spiritual activity for personal gain. Their interest in God lasted only as long as it benefited them. It was Sunday religion with a Monday agenda. Many today live the same way: a little religion on the weekend, and then a return to self-centered living the rest of the week.
And here is the sobering principle Jesus presses upon us: Profession without reality is cursed. It does no good to claim religion if there is no fruit. That is the lesson the disciples needed to learn from the fig tree, and it is a lesson with personal implications for every one of us. If your life is all leaves and no fruit—if you wear the appearance of devotion but lack the substance—you stand under the same judgment that fell on Israel. God will judge the religious. God will condemn those who have maintained a show of spirituality without the truth. If you are living a lie, masquerading as one who belongs to Him while bearing no fruit, you are under a curse.
So here is the question Holy Monday presses on us: If Jesus looked into your heart today, what headline would He write? I pray it would read: REAL FRUIT FOUND HERE.
May our lives bear the kind of fruit that brings joy to our King and honor to His name.
DAY 3
TUESDAY
MARCH 31, 2026
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:42-44
When my kids were younger, they loved joining the neighborhood foursquare games in the street. Before each serve, the same question rang out: “Are you ready?” It was a simple warning that the ball was coming, but no one knew exactly when or where. That question called everyone to attention. Be ready for action!
In Matthew 24–25, Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives on Tuesday of Holy Week (cf. Matt. 26:2). Only two days have passed since His triumphal entry, yet the mood has shifted. Instead of the intimate comforts He will give His disciples on Thursday night, here Jesus delivers sober warnings and parables concerning His return. This entire discourse is set in motion by a private question from the disciples, spoken after Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (24:3). What follows is not man’s speculation, but divine revelation, Christ Himself interpreting history, judgment, and the consummation of all things.
Matthew 24–25, together with the parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21, and the prophecies of Daniel 9 and Revelation, deserve careful, reverent study. But for this Tuesday of Holy Week, focus on the weight of Jesus’ own exhortations:
“See that no one leads you astray.” (24:4)
“See that you are not alarmed…” (24:6)
“…if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” (24:23)
“…stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (24:42)
“…be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (24:44)
In these chapters, you see what are Jesus’ concerns for His sheep. Persecution and death are not to be surprising or feared, and that is not what is at the heart of Jesus’ warnings. The dangers He warns us about are unbelief, following false teachers and messiahs, and the sin of neglect.
When Jesus calls us to “be ready,” He is not calling us to build bunkers, stockpile supplies, or wage cultural crusades. His concern is far deeper. The warnings of Matthew 24–25 expose the an eternal danger: a careless soul. It is the peril of spiritual lethargy, of giving Jesus lip service while refusing the obedience that flows from grace. It is the peril of wasting gifts He entrusts to us, of neglecting His sheep, of drifting through life unprepared to meet the Lord of glory.
Jesus is coming at an hour we do not expect. When He returns, what will He find you doing? What will He find you saying? Whom will He find you following? Are you ready?
DAY 4
WEDNESDAY
APRIL 1, 2026
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Earlier in the week, Jesus received word that His beloved friend Lazarus was gravely ill. Yet He did not immediately go to him. That alone demands our attention. When someone we love is in danger, we instinctively rush to their side. We exhaust every resource to help. But Jesus delays, not out of indifference, but out of His divine purpose.
When He finally arrives, both Martha and Mary meet Him with the same words: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha affirms her trust in His power: “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” She knows Lazarus will rise in the final resurrection. Her theology is sound, but her understanding is incomplete.
Jesus explains His delay in verse 15: “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe.” His purpose is unmistakable. He intends to strengthen their faith by revealing His glory in a way they have not yet seen. And yet, no one seems to consider that Jesus might raise Lazarus immediately. This was not unprecedented. He had already raised Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21–43) and the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17). But like us, they struggled to apply what they knew about Christ to the crisis in front of them.
So Jesus confronts Martha, and us, with one of the most definitive statements in all of Scripture: “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is not merely One who gives resurrection; He is the source of it. Life itself is in Him, and He presses the question: “Do you believe this?”
That question reaches far beyond the scene at Bethany. Do we truly believe that Jesus has the power to raise the dead? Not only physically, but spiritually? Scripture says we were dead in our trespasses, unable to respond, unable to save ourselves, destined for judgment. Yet Christ makes the dead live. This is the very purpose of John’s Gospel: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ… and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
John also records the tenderness of Jesus at Lazarus’s tomb. He weeps. He is deeply moved. His true humanity and true deity stand side by side, sympathy joined with sovereign authority. And with a command, He calls Lazarus out of the grave. This miracle points unmistakably to what will happen only days later. The One who raises the dead will Himself rise. Lazarus’s resurrection is a preview of Christ’s own triumph over the grave.
As we prepare our hearts for Sunday, this passage calls us to examine our own lives. If Christ has made us alive, do we live as those who have been raised? Do we walk as those purchased by His blood? Peter reminds us in 1:18-19: “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold… but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” May that truth anchor your heart today. The One who wept at Lazarus’s tomb is the One who conquered His own—and the One who gives life to all who believe.
DAY 5
MAUNDY THURSDAY
APRIL 2, 2026
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1
Picture these scenes in your mind as if you were there. First, picture Peter looking down at the top of Jesus’ head as the Lord of glory kneels before him. Jesus’ hands touch Peter’s dirty feet, and He washes them with the towel wrapped around His waist. This is the eternal Son stooping lower than any of them could have imagined. John opens the Upper Room with a staggering truth: Jesus knew His hour had come. The cross was no accident slipping beyond His control. It was the purpose for which He came. And as He moved toward it, He loved His own “to the end”—to the full measure of His perfect love.
Second, recall the time in Jesus’ ministry when a sinful woman bowed over His feet, weeping. Tears fell on His feet as she wiped them with her hair in an act of unashamed love (Luke 7:36–50). She understood the man before her was worthy of this act of humble service.
Third, look ahead to Friday. God the Father will look down and see His beloved Son’s head bowed once more, this time under the weight of divine wrath. His life drains out on the cross as He offers Himself to wipe away the sin of the world (John 19:28–30).
Am I like that woman? Do I have such gratitude from being forgiven that I could not care less if others see my repentance and my worship? Will I joyfully serve my Lord by offering my life as a sacrifice of praise to Him?
Am I like Jesus? Will I serve others in ways that appear base or unimpressive or insignificant? Mark this: When Jesus performs this significant act of great humility in order to teach his disciples he was well aware of what was right around the corner: His betrayal by Judas, his abandonment by his closest followers and the obscene treatment by the people, who a day earlier had received him with praise and showered him with honor. This is not to mention the indignity of his treatment by religious leaders followed by the abuse and sickening torture by the Romans culminating in the completely demeaning and horrific death by crucifixion.
Am I Peter? Do I respond to being served with prideful independence or self-centeredness?
And lastly, do I have a sense of the sorrow in the God-head as God pours out wrath on His Son, Jesus the Christ, as he bears and pays for the sin of the world? And yet, simultaneously with this atrocious injustice the glorious justice of God is being accomplished. That is a Glory! God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit in joyful loving harmony fulfill what was eternally planned. Jesus is the fragrant aroma, a pleasing sacrifice, the ultimate display of love.
This is our Lord Jesus. Bowing in order to clean feet, to serve. Bowing to be punished for my sin, for your sin, to willingly die. Bowing before His Father’s will in humility. And yet, receiving worship and honor and glory.
DAY 6
GOOD FRIDAY
APRIL 3, 2026
“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.” Luke 23:33
The crucifixion of our Lord stands at the very center of Christian doctrine and salvation. Paul understood this when he wrote, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
But this raises an important question: Why does the New Testament give so little attention to the physical details of Jesus’ suffering? Unlike many sermons or dramatic reenactments, the apostles do not dwell on the gore of crucifixion. Peter’s preaching in Acts never appeals to emotion by describing the brutality of the cross. Scripture presents the cross in many ways, but we must ask: What is its primary purpose? Is the cross an example of:
Sacrificial love?
“By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us…” (1 John 3:16)
Enduring suffering?
“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example…” (1 Pet. 2:21)
Humble obedience?
“He humbled Himself… even to death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:5–8)
Persevering with hope?
“…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” (Heb. 12:2)
Christ’s death includes all of these realities. But none of them is the main reason He died. They are not what Paul calls “of first importance.” Paul states it plainly:
“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:3)
He gave Himself for our sins (Gal. 1:4).
He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
He came to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28).
We were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18–19).
The cross is, above all, the place where God’s love and God’s righteousness meet. Paul writes: “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
God’s righteousness demands that sin be punished. God’s love provides the substitute who bears that punishment. He who had never known separation from the Father endured the one moment in all eternity when fellowship was broken, as He bore the wrath our sins deserved. That spiritual agony was infinitely greater than the physical torment of crucifixion.
The deepest horror of the cross is not the nails, the scourging, or the suffocating pain.
The deepest horror is that the sinless One was made sin for us. And the greatest glory of the cross is not merely its example. The greatest glory is that Christ accomplished our redemption.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life,
I know that it is finished.
DAY 7
SILENT SATURDAY
APRIL 4, 2026
“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know - this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Acts 2:22-23
On Saturday of Holy Week, the Lord Jesus lay in the tomb. To human eyes, it appeared that His mission had failed, the Messiah was silenced, His work unfinished. But Scripture leaves no room for that conclusion. Peter declares that Jesus was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” The silence of Saturday was not failure, it was finished!
Let’s trace the contours of that divine plan.
The People:
God appointed specific individuals to ensure that Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—both members of the Sanhedrin—risked their reputations and safety by publicly identifying with Christ. Mark tells us Joseph “gathered up courage and went before Pilate” to request the body (Mark 15:43). Their actions were not random. They were instruments in the hand of God.
The Place:
God also provided the exact location for Jesus’ burial. John records that “in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb” (John 19:41). Only divine wisdom could orchestrate a burial site close enough for the body to be prepared before sundown, and unmistakable enough that no one could later claim the wrong tomb had been identified. A new tomb carved in rock left no confusion: the One who rose was the One who had been laid there.
The Prophecy:
Silent Saturday fulfilled Scripture. Isaiah had foretold, “His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death” (Isa. 53:9). Criminals were not given honorable burials, much less placed in a new tomb. But God ensured that every detail aligned with His Word. Nothing was accidental. Every movement was prophetic precision.
The Protection:
Pilate ordered the tomb secured until the third day (Matt. 27:64). The seal, the stone, the guards, meant to prevent a resurrection, became the very witnesses to it. The attempt to silence Christ only amplified the testimony of His triumph.
The Provision:
The tomb itself testifies to the reality of Jesus’ death. Just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man would be three days in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40). Both events led to salvation for many. The burial of Christ was not a footnote. It declares that His death was real, His sacrifice complete, and His resurrection certain.
God’s power over the grave fills our hearts with hope. The One who entered the tomb has conquered it. And because He lives, we are raised to a newness of life that death cannot break.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!