5 Minutes to Make Holy Week Memorable

Are you noticing Jesus in your life?  How might you simplify and slow down so you can ponder the Lamb of God?

Take just five minutes to make Easter, and the week leading up to it, a celebration worthy of the miraculous Resurrection Sunday event, Jesus’ victory over death! 

We don’t need another holiday with gifts and all the trappings of bunnies, eggs, and chicks. We need to find a small pocket of time each day to express the genuine, heartfelt joy and exultation over the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice.  Behold the Lamb can guide you and your family to grow in appreciation for that unfathomable gift.

Behold the Lamb…

{Read this with your family on Palm Sunday for a more meaningful discussion about what Messiah means and more details of the event.}

I am the Messiah.

One day Jesus met a woman at a water well, “The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he'” (John 4:25-26).

Very plainly, Jesus said to this woman, “I am Messiah.” Interestingly, He did not say this to a group, or to His disciples, but to this one lonely woman, a woman with a history of bad choices and unhealthy relationships.

Do you know what Messiah means? (Answer: It means Savior, the one who would take away our sin. When John the Baptist introduced Jesus, he called Him, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29.)

In Jesus’ day, there were two ways a king entered a city. If he was going to war, he rode in on his chariot with his soldiers all around him. But if he was coming to a city in peace, he rode in on a donkey.

The prophet Zechariah wrote, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey…” (Zechariah 9:9 NASB).

The Lamb of God arrived on Palm Sunday riding on the donkey. The people gathered around Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. They saw Him as their long-awaited king. But He was not coming to Jerusalem to declare His sovereignty but to die as their sacrifice. They thought the Messiah would rule. They didn’t see or hear the prophets’ words about Messiah becoming their sacrifice for sin.

It was the tenth day of the month of Nisan, the day prescribed by Jewish law on which, “every man shall take a lamb…for a household…” and “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old” (Exodus 12:3, 5). As Jesus rode into the city, the sacrificial lambs were also being led into the city to be purchased by each family in preparation for the Passover.

The significance was enormous, but no one noticed.

Will you take the time to notice? Will you teach your children to notice?

Admittedly Christians are at a disadvantage in celebrating Easter because schools and businesses don’t close like they do for Christmas.  All our efforts to prepare and make it special have to be sandwiched in between regular life duties and responsibilities. The entire world celebrates Christmas but only Christians make much of Easter.

That’s why it’s so important! It’s an annual opportunity to be used by God to influence your children to grow in their faith. What a privilege that is!

As Easter approaches, take the time to teach your family about the God who we await. Agree to set aside time as a family each day for learning together about Jesus the Messiah. Praying together will get you started in the right direction, even something as simple as, “Lord, help us to focus on You this week so that we can be ready to celebrate the resurrection of the Savior.”

For more help, check out Behold the Lamb, 8 simple read-aloud cards teaching Jesus’ I AM claims {the above is sneak peek from card#1}.  Also be sure to follow our blog (subscription box below) to receive our weekly Lent Lesson and upcoming daily Holy Week moments to guide family conversation.