Holy Week Devotions 2026

Shouts of Praise and Whispers of Death

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

For 36 years of my life, I served as worship pastor, and Palm Sunday is one of the pinnacle moments of the year. The song options are endless and magnificent! “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name,” “King of Kings,” and so many more!

It is the beginning of Holy Week and our walk toward Easter; the triumphant entry of Christ into the Holy City, and the reminder that God has sent His precious Son to redeem us. But Palm Sunday is also a time to remember the beginning of the greatest struggle in history. Between the shouts of “Hallelujah,” there were whispers of “Crucify Him” that grew louder with each passing moment.

We know how the glorious story ends, but those walking alongside Jesus did not. So, this week, I invite you to walk with us through the days of Holy Week, step by step. It would be easy for our celebrations to go directly from the excitement of Palm Sunday to the triumph of the resurrection, but James reminds us that it is testing that produces perseverance, and those who persevere receive the “Crown of life” (James 1:2-4, 12). If we rush to Easter, we miss the agony of Gethsemane. If we skip the cross, we cannot fully understand the crown.

Today is Palm Sunday, and we praise Him with all our being for Who He is, but let’s take a moment to reflect on the weight Christ carried into Jerusalem for you and me that day. The shouts of joy from those who did not understand His mission must have broken His heart. The whispers of death must have pierced the soul of One Who would die for His enemies.

Questions:

• Will you walk step by step with us through the exultation and sorrow of this week?
• Will you open your heart to understand the sacrifice of Christ for you, and then live in the complete joy of His resurrection and redemption this Easter?

Prayer: God, I give this week to You: the triumphs, the trials, the sorrow, and the celebration. Use these days as a reminder of Your sacrifice for me. Change me to be more like You, and grant me the fullness of joy as we arrive at Your glorious resurrection this Easter.

The Glorious Return

“But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” (Matthew 22:15-16)

Here we are following Palm Sunday, and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people are shouting and singing, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!” But now I would like to bring your attention to the day following this triumphant day: Holy Monday.

Several hundred years before the time of our Lord, in the time of Ezekiel, we find a monumental event in the history of Israel. Ezekiel records the presence of God’s glory leaving the temple. This event cannot be understated. God’s glory was not in the temple for hundreds of years; that is, until now!

Ezekiel prophesied of the glory of God coming once again into the temple: “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” (Ezekiel 43:1-5)

The presence of Yahweh has once again filled the temple in Jesus Christ. We find that Jesus came in at the East Gate, which was interestingly the same place the glory of God left temple some 600 years before Christ. God has come again. He has manifested himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

How great it is to know that the glory of God has come once again to fill the temple; that the Messiah, Himself, has come unto us. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God who empowered Moses—the true of Elijah—the God in whom the prophets of Baal had no choice but to bow and exclaim “The Lord, he is God!” Yes, this is the God who has pitched his tent among us. The one who dipped his feet in the mud of earth and walked among. This One, He is God!

The picture is clear: the glory of God has returned to the temple.

Questions:

• Is the presence of God within you? Does the Holy Spirit live within you?
• And are you the temple of the Living God?

Prayer: God Almighty, we humbly bow before you as the promise giver and the promise keeper. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus our Savior, into the world to bring your glory among men. The glory of God in human flesh dwelling among us. Help us walk as a testimony of your glory in our day and time. In Jesus name, Amen.

Heaven Counts Differently

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)

Holy Week begins with a celebrative Sunday marked by Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to cheering crowds. A manic Monday is surely made memorable by Jesus’ premeditated crafting of a whip and cleansing of the Temple. Judas the spy will make a secret agreement to betray him on Wednesday and the Last Supper will be served on Maundy Thursday as a prelude to Jesus’ agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Good Friday is the dark day of Crucifixion, called “good” only because it is “God’s Friday.” Saturday will be a day of reflection, of grieving and waiting only to lead to Surprise Sunday and a glorious Resurrection. But what of Tuesday?

Holy Tuesday is packed! It is Jesus’ longest teaching day in this entire week as the Gospels slow down to record a day marked by the tension of Jesus putting forth truth in parables, challenging the religious leaders, and speaking about the end times. In the midst of this exhausting activity, where he lowlights people who look faithful on the outside but lack inward surrender, he contrasts showy performative religion with a real-life example of a poor widow whose quiet generosity reflects a whole heart.

Here is a widow who has very little. The two small copper coins or “widow’s mites” were the smallest, thinnest and least valuable Jewish coins, each roughly equal to 1/128 of a Roman denarius (the daily wage for a laborer). In today’s currency, the combined value of these would be about ¼ of a penny. As she dropped these coins into one of the thirteen trumpet-shaped chests in the loud and bustling Temple’ Court of the Women, what mattered most was not the portion, but the proportion.

In an elaborate and noisy religious culture, her humble, “all in,” quiet devotion stands as a stark contrast to image-driven religion. From Jesus’ perspective, Heaven counts differently.

Questions:

• Where is your faith real? Where is it too image-conscious and performative?
• What has God entrusted to you that you are hesitant to use?

Prayer: Lord, in a noisy world, examine my heart today and strip away anything in me that is hollow or prideful. Teach me to love you with my whole being. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Betrayal Wednesday

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’” (Luke 2247-48)

Holy Week Wednesday is typically known as the day that Judas arranged to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. This day is important to reflect on betrayal, and how as Christians, we are called to respond to it.

Betrayal, something that we have all experienced, whether that is from a friend, partner, whomever it may be, carries a deep cut with it. Someone that you cared so deeply for, turned their back on you when you needed them most. I know there have been many times in my life where I have been betrayed.

Jesus felt betrayal like no other. Betrayed by the people that He came to save, those He loved and knew everything about, one of His own disciples, yet He still chose to die for them. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him but still met him with compassion and love.

Jesus meets us with that same compassion and love. He knows every time that we are going to betray Him, hurt Him, turn our backs on Him, yet He still is there with His arms wide open when we run to Him. Jesus doesn’t tell us “No, I’m not going to save you, because you are going to hurt me.” He saves us when we call on His name.

Personally, I find it hard to be loving towards others if they have hurt me, or if I have seen them hurt others, yet as Christians, we are called to respond differently than the rest of the world. Where the world meets betrayal with hate, we meet it with love, like Jesus.

Questions:

• When you have been betrayed, what is your initial reaction?
• How can knowing that Jesus saves you, even though He knows we are going to hurt Him, change how you handle betrayal?

Prayer: Dear Lord, no one knows betrayal like You. Help me respond to hurt the way you do, replacing my hate with compassion. Not to bring myself glory, but to bring you glory and spread your love. Amen.

A Full Day

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-18)

As we continue our journey through Holy Week, we arrive at Thursday, sometimes called “Maundy Thursday.” A day filled with powerful moments that lead us toward the cross and, ultimately, the resurrection.

On this day, Jesus and His disciples gather in what we know as the Upper Room. In John chapters 13 through 17, often called the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus shares some of His final teachings. In this sacred space, He speaks purpose, promise, and prayer.

First, we are reminded of our core purpose. In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet—an act of humility that redefines greatness. The King of Kings kneels as a servant. He shows that real love is selfless, sacrificial, and willing to put others first. Then He calls His disciples to do the same, saying that the world will know they belong to Him by their love. The greatest commandment is to love God and love others, and here Jesus gives us a living picture of what that love looks like. Within hours, He will demonstrate it fully on the cross.

Second, we see promise. Jesus assures His followers that they will not be alone. He promises the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who will guide, comfort, and direct all who love and follow Him.

Finally, this evening unfolds in prayer. Jesus prays for His disciples—and for us. Jesus asks the Father that we might receive the Spirit. As we reflect on John 14 and our own spaces and places, may this full Maundy Thursday remind us of our purpose, lead us to rest in His promise, and draw us into a life of prayer with the Spirit.

Questions:

• What way am I walking in the purpose of loving others, serving others?
• How can I become more attentive to the Spirit’s guidance in my life and how might deepening your prayer life strengthen your trust in God’s presence and promises?

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your sacrificial love and the reminder of purpose and promise. Help us today to be rooted in you, to have a heart ready to obey, ears open to the spirit and hands that demonstrate your love through service. Amen.

A Good Friday Meditation from a Parent’s Point of View

We see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

I love my family. My wife and I have watched three children grow and run and laugh. On Good Friday I wonder: would I be capable of sacrificing any one of them on behalf of others—and not just “others” but on behalf of my enemies. I try to imagine what I would feel if my children would suffer at the hands of ignorant and wicked men. And what if it was my idea, my request, my plan. At that point, imagination gives way to awe. Jesus did not suffer alone. On Good Friday God suffered three ways. The Father and the Spirit entered into the Son’s pain.

Every loving parent has felt something of this. A scraped knee stings us. A broken arm brings a reflexive ache. And some parents endure what words can barely name: illness, loss, even death. In moments like these, many have whispered the same prayer: Let it be me instead.

As a Good Friday meditation, consider this: God experienced the cross three-fold. The Gospels linger over the long night in the garden, the cries and tears, the betrayal by friends, the injustice of arrest, the cruelty of torture, and the slow public death of crucifixion. But the cross cannot be understood if we isolate the Son from the Father and the Spirit.

In each moment of Jesus’ suffering, the Father suffered as only a loving parent can suffer. The pain of watching, the grief of consenting, the anguish of love that does not intervene. Nor was the Holy Spirit absent or detached. The Spirit, who eternally unites Father and Son in love, bore the wound of creation’s rejection of its Creator. In the death of Jesus, the Spirit suffered the rupture of a world resisting the life it was made to receive.

Yet this Good Friday meditation also has something wonderful to teach us: godly community bears suffering together.

In perfect community our sufferings are shared. The pain is not erased, but it is shared. God, who is a sweet community in himself, did not distribute suffering to avoid it but instead entered it fully. Father, Son, and Spirit together know the grief of the parent and the abandonment of the child. God does not merely sympathize with human suffering. He has taken it into his own life. And that is why the cross is not only the place of our redemption, but the deepest assurance that we are never alone.

Questions:

• What do you see in the suffering of Christ that gives you hope in the midst of your own trials and difficulties?
• How does the promise that God will never leave you nor forsake give you strength in the days of suffering?

Prayer: Dear Lord, You watched your son die on the cross for my sin, enduring shame and disgrace. Let me live in the hope of knowing Christ Jesus died to save sinners, of which I am foremost. And there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. In His precious name I pray. Amen. 

A Saturday Season

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. (James 5:7)

Jesus is silent on a Saturday. “Silent Saturday” is the day between the crucifixion and, spoiler alert, the resurrection. It is a day meant for waiting. It is a day meant for reflection. It is a day meant for hope. This day is extremely important and a lot of people, including myself, skip over this day. The silence of Jesus is really loud.

All of us tend to walk through a “Saturday Season.” A season of waiting. A season of reflection. A season full of hope. Even through these tough seasons, God is still moving. He moves in accordance to His plan and divine nature. Silence is never abandonment; it is a time for growth in faith of the God who created you. Jesus knew the power. He knew that through the waiting, He would rise again, not on the second day, but on the third day, because that is what God had laid out from the very beginning.

There will be a “Saturday Season” that walks into your life. God has not left you at all. Even in the silence of Saturday, the resurrection is around the corner. There are probably many things that you are waiting on in your personal life. I know there are definite things in my life. Whether it is slow Wi-Fi, microwaves, relationships, or winning championships, none of us like to wait.

Now think of it for the Lord’s second coming. I know He is coming. I read the back of the book and He wins. Even through the waiting, just know, the Lord always wins.

Questions:

• In seasons of waiting, how hard is it to wait on the Lord’s timing and not your own?
• How much comfort is there in waiting on the Lord when the prayer is finally answered on the Lord’s terms?

Prayer: Dear Lord. On this Silent Saturday, we come before You in reflection and hope. Teach us to trust You in seasons of waiting—not only for answered prayers, but for the promised return of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who brings eternal life and glory with You forever. In your name. Amen.

What is the Significance of the Resurrection?

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Genuine Christians believe in Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, especially its significance for salvation. But they rarely ask about its further importance. At least four points tell us more.

First, the resurrection authenticates Christ’s claims (Romans 1:4). In Romans 1:4, Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” Christ’s resurrection marks out Christianity from all other world religions. All their founders are dead, but Jesus Christ is alive from the dead, and this shows he is the eternal sinless Son of God—He is God!

Second, the resurrection of Jesus ratifies the efficacy of the atonement (Romans 4:25). It proves that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, and then he demonstrated to the world his acceptance by raising Christ from the dead. In Romans 4:25, it says that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses, and he was raised,” not for, but “because of our justification.”

Third, the resurrection of Jesus Christ assures the believer of his own resurrection (John 14:19). That we will someday be raised from the dead is based upon the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. In John 14:19, Christ said to his disciples, “Because I live, you also will live.” Our resurrection depends on Jesus’s resurrection. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection at his second coming.

And finally, fourth, Jesus’s resurrection assures the world of certain judgment (Acts 17:31). In Acts 17, Paul appears before the Areopagus in Athens and addresses the city’s great Greek philosophers. At the end of his address in verse 30, he said that God “commands all people everywhere to repent.” Then he says in verse 31, “because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Questions:

• How does the resurrection help believers live daily for Christ (Ephesians 1:19–22)?
• Will the coming judgment show that you have trusted in Jesus for salvation (Romans 10:9)?

Prayer: Father. Thank you for Christ’s resurrection and the encouragement we have as we follow our living Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Go.

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

5. 4. Are you ready? 3. 2. Get set. 1. Go.

Psychologist and author Mel Robbins is known around the world for teaching the 5.4.3.2.1.Go. method. This method combats procrastination and anxiety around doing tasks we don’t like very much. When we feel hesitant or tempted to delay a task, you count backward "5.4.3.2.1. Go" and immediately upon “Go” you take physical action to start the task before your brain talks you out of it.

She has trained thousands of people in this method to stop thinking about it. Stop weighing out the options. Stop the paralysis of analysis. Count down from 5 and go. 5.4.3.2.1. Go.

After the resurrection of Jesus from the grave and after forty days of appearance to hundreds of people, Jesus gave the Great Commission on the Mount of Olives. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, son and holy spirit. And teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.

Go. The command to “go and make disciples” was not a farewell speech or a closing argument, it was the commissioning moment for all followers of Jesus. It was not the ending; it was the beginning.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Go. Go and make disciples. Great Commission Monday challenges us to see ourselves as part of that ongoing story. We are not spectators of a completed mission but servants of a living King who still sends, still saves, and still builds His church through faithful obedience.

Stop thinking about it. Stop weighing out the pros and cons. Go. Take action. Share the Good News of Jesus. Go into the highways and hedges and make disciples unto Christ, our savior and Lord.

Questions:

• What does it practically mean for you to live as a follower who has been “sent” by Jesus?
• Is there anything preventing you from going and making disciples as Jesus commanded?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You will graciously give your followers boldness to go, a willing heart to take the first step, and a love and compassion for others who need to hear the Good News of Jesus. Let us live as sent ones who extend the Gospel in your name. In the name of Jesus Christ, our savior, I pray. Amen.