Holy Week

Have we been missing out by ignoring commemoration of some of the most important events in gospel history?

...[F]or many of us who have grown up in Baptist churches, celebrating Holy Week has not been a long-standing tradition that we have practiced. ....

Truth be known, if your experience was anything like mine, Palm Sunday was largely overlooked. Maundy Thursday was completely unknown to you. Good Friday was just another day off from work or day out of school. And Holy Saturday was nowhere on the radar. You gave very little thought to what those days were actually meant to remember. By and large, you ignored the most important days of the Christian year, writing them off as something that only “other” churches emphasized. And as a result, you came to Easter Sunday with no real sense of what you were celebrating, no real sense of the joy of the resurrection.

Personally, I’ve come to believe that our failure to celebrate Holy Week has been to our own detriment. We are missing out on commemorating the most important events in human history, and we are missing out on understanding what those events mean for us and for our salvation. So, if you want to gain a sense of the joy that the disciples had when they understood that Jesus had risen from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, then walk with them through the sorrow, pain, fear, confusion, and darkness of that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

To remind you of the significance of these days, below are brief descriptions of what is commemorated and celebrated on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. (more)

Justin Wainscott, "The Importance of Holy Week," The Center for Baptist Renewal, March 31, 2023.