What Happened on Wednesday?
I have been following Justin Taylor’s blog this week as he writes about the harmony/chronology of Holy Week. He has credited the ESV Study Bible to break down what happens each day. Since I have the ESV Study Bible, I wanted to share today what happened on Wednesday according to the Holy Week chart. This chart is located in the ESV Study Bible. (You can also read the entire series at Justin Taylor’s blog here.)
On Wednesday of Holy week, Jesus continues teaching daily in the temples:
And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Luke 21:37-38 ESV
On Wednesday, The Sanhedrin plots to kill Jesus:
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” Matthew 26:3-5
On Wednesday, preparations for the Passover begin:
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. Matthew 26:17-19
I have enjoyed following the events of Holy Week and thinking each day about what Jesus went through. I am humbled to study it knowing now that Jesus knew then he would be crucified at the end of the week. He knew he would bear the burden of all our sins. I am amazed that the Lord of all the Earth would send Jesus to take my place on the cross. How can I do anything else but serve Him?
As part of God’s redemptive plan, the crucifixion was not the end. As the Scriptures say, Jesus rose on the 3rd day defeating sin, death, Satan and evil. Jesus did all the work on the cross and because of his sacrifice we can live and enjoy salvation. I love this time of year – remembering the sacrifice of Christ and celebrating the resurrection with the utmost thanksgiving and gratefulness. I pray you all enjoy the remainder of this week and celebrate with great joy what our Lord and Savior did for us!
For those of you with children, I found this wonderful craft from Desiring God to do with the kids. It is creating a tomb with homemade play dough and creates such a beautiful illustration of what Jesus did for us. You can find the craft here.
I’ve been reading through my chonological study Bible (I’m still on Tuesday’s events). It has it broken down into days and I’ve really enjoyed the reading of all the Gospels together. But it didn’t have anything for Wednesday, so I was confused. Your post helped clear that up for me. I also has the ESV study Bible. I use the on-line version to link up my posts with the Scriptures.
I too like to reflect on His journey to the cross. It amazes me that even though He knew what was ahead of Him, He still taught in the temple.
Thank you so much for sharing these marvelous Scripture passages and His journey.
Thank you for posting this! We just got back from a long trip, so we haven’t been able to make our “Easter mountain” and act out the events of the week, like we have before. It’s nice to be able to read this now.
Thank you for sharing.