From Triumph to Travesty
To say the last week of Jesus' life on this earth was marked by highs and lows would be an understatement. He enters Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover week as a hero; crowds are following him, laying down palm branches and their cloaks as he rides in on a young donkey. They shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is he comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!" But by the end of the week, he would be mocked, spit on, beaten, and executed in the cruelest manner of the day--a Roman crucifixion.
What happened? Why did he endure all this? The bible is clear in telling us he did it willingly; he did it for us. As we saw two weeks ago, Jesus said by his death He would draw all people to Him.
This week we will walk through the last days of Jesus. It's not a pretty picture, but it is a story of God willing to give everything to bring us back to Him.