This post is adapted from The Gospel of John Bible Study Book by Melissa Spoelstra.
Today I mailed three bills, called two businesses, drove to a restaurant to retrieve the credit card I left there last night, sorted and filed a stack of mail, stopped by a previous address to pick up a package, and answered three thousand emails. OK, maybe it only felt like three thousand. The stuff of life can feel all-consuming at times.
These tasks are often necessary—dishwashers need unloading, diapers need changing, and emails need answering! But here’s the danger, if we aren’t careful, these earthly concerns can crowd out our passion for God’s kingdom. John wrote the most detailed description of what is referred to as the Passion of Christ—the week of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It comes from the Latin word passionem which means “suffering, enduring.”1
My prayer is that in studying the Passion Week, our personal passion will be stirred. We will be moved to lift our eyes from tasks, emails, errands, and all the stuff of life and seek His kingdom first (Matt. 6:33).
To see a time line of Holy Week (Passion Week), click on the image or link below, courtesy of the Lifeway Women Easter Bible Study Book.
On Friday of Holy Week, Jesus was crucified. We can savor peace today because Jesus endured the cross for us. We may still feel conviction when we sin, but the weight of guilt is gone.
While we don’t savor that Jesus suffered, we can savor all that His suffering accomplished.
But if John’s Gospel had ended at chapter 19, Jesus would have been an exceptional character who made extraordinary claims. What sets Jesus apart from every other religious or moral teacher is His empty tomb.
Jesus first appeared in bodily form to a crying woman. When Mary heard her name, she knew it was the Lord. She likely prostrated herself at Jesus’s feet and held onto Him (Matt. 28:9). Jesus then sent her to declare His appearance to His “brothers” (John 20:17) referring to His disciples.
Jesus rose for Mary, and for you and me. Believing in Him brings us into the same kingdom family. Whether this week has included running toward Jesus or crying in confusion, we can rest our faith on the fact that Jesus is alive!
Let’s read John 20:19-21 (NLT) together.
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
Jesus commissioned the disciples in the midst of their fears. We face our own brand of fear. Maybe our finances, health, or relationships have us locking the doors of our hearts. But Jesus speaks peace over us in the midst of troubling circumstances and sends us out in the power of the Holy Spirit with the message of forgiveness. We don’t need to wait until we’re fear-free to follow Jesus.
We can move toward greater faith as we review the first followers’ responses to the empty tomb. As you reflect on Holy Week, in what ways are you planning to spend time with Jesus this week?
Work Cited
- “Passion (n.),” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed Oct. 20, 2023. Available online at etymonline.com/word/passion.
ABOUT MELISSA SPOELSTRA
Melissa Spoelstra is a women’s conference speaker, Bible teacher, and author who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about helping others to seek Christ and know Him more intimately. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Theology and is a contributor to Proverbs 31 ministries First Five app. She is the author of Isaiah: Striving Less and Trusting God More with Lifeway Women as well as eight other Bible studies and four books. Melissa makes her home in Waxahachie, Texas, with her pastor husband and has four adult-ish children.
