Holy Week Timeline: From Palm Sunday to the Resurrection

Day 1: Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday

On the Sunday before His death, Jesus began his trip to Jerusalem, knowing that soon He would lay down his life for our sins. Nearing the village of Bethphage, He sent two of his disciples ahead, telling them to look for a donkey and its unbroken colt. Jesus instructed the disciples to untie the animals and bring them to Him.

Then Jesus sat on the young donkey and slowly, humbly, made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling the ancient prophecy in Zechariah 9:9:

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The crowds welcomed Him by waving palm branches and shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

On Palm Sunday, Jesus and His disciples spent the night in Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem. Bethany is where Lazarus (whom Jesus had raised from the dead) and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were close friends of Jesus and probably hosted Him and His disciples during the days leading up to Jesus' death.

Jesus' triumphal entry is recorded in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19.

Day 2: Jesus Clears the Temple on Monday

The following morning, Jesus returned with His disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, He cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others think the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than outward religiosity; true, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person's life.

When Jesus arrived at the Temple, He found the courts full of corrupt money changers. He overturned their tables and cleared the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46).

On Monday evening, Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.

Monday's events are recorded in Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:15–19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17.

Day 3: Jesus Goes to the Mount of Olives on Tuesday

On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. On their way, they passed the withered fig tree, and Jesus spoke to His companions about the importance of faith.

Back at the Temple, religious leaders were upset at Jesus for establishing Himself as a spiritual authority. They organized an ambush with the intent to place Him under arrest. But Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced harsh judgment on them, saying: 

"Blind guides!...For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?" (Matthew 23:24-33)

Later that afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with His disciples to the Mount of Olives, which sits due east of the Temple and overlooks Jerusalem. Here, Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse, an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. He speaks, as usual, in parables, using symbolic language about end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment.

Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was also the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16).

After a tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, Jesus and His disciples again returned to Bethany to stay the night.

The tumultuous events of Tuesday and the Olivet Discourse are recorded in Matthew 21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38.

Day 4: Holy Wednesday

The Bible doesn't say what the Lord did on the Wednesday of Holy Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of Passover.

Just a short time earlier, Jesus revealed to His disciples and the world, by raising Lazarus from the dead, that he had power over death. After seeing this incredible miracle, many people in Bethany believed that Jesus was the Son of God and put their faith in Him. Also in Bethany, Lazarus' sister Mary lovingly anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume.

Day 5: Passover and Last Supper on Maundy Thursday

Holy Week takes a somber turn on Thursday.

From Bethany, Jesus sent Peter and John ahead of Him to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover Feast. That evening after sunset, Jesus washed His disciples' feet as they prepared to share in the Passover. By performing this humble act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how His disciples should serve the church. Today, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their ​Maundy Thursday services.

Then, Jesus shared the feast of Passover with His disciples, saying:

"I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won't eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT)

As the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving His body and his blood in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death. During this Last Supper, Jesus established the Lord's Supper, or Communion, instructing His followers to continually remember His sacrifice by sharing in the bread and wine (Luke 22:19-20).

Later, Jesus and His disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony to God the Father. Luke's Gospel says, "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44, ESV).

Late that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council of the Sanhedrin had gathered to begin making their case against our Lord.

In the early morning hours, as Jesus' trial was getting underway, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed.

Thursday's events are recorded in Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12-72, Luke 22:7-62, and John 13:1-38.

Day 6: Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial on Good Friday

Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Christ's journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to His death.

According to Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning.

Meanwhile, before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus endured the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. After multiple unlawful trials, He was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.

Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on Him, tormented and mocked Jim, and pierced Him with a crown of thorns. Then Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary, and was again mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed Him to the wooden cross.

Jesus spoke seven final statements from the cross. His first words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34, NIV). His last words were, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46, NIV)

Then, about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), Jesus breathed his last breath and died.

By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down from the cross and laid it in a tomb.

Friday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:1-62, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 22:63-23:56, and John 18:28-19:37.

Day 7: Saturday in the Tomb

Jesus' body lay in its tomb, where it was guarded by Roman soldiers throughout the day on Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., Christ's body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus:

"He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth." (John 19: 39-40, NLT)

Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court that had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.

Similarly, both were deeply affected by Christ's death. They boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and their lives because they had come to realize that Jesus was, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah. Together they cared for Jesus' body and prepared it for burial.

While His physical body lay in the tomb, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice. He conquered death, both spiritually and physically, securing our eternal salvation:

"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19, NLT)

Saturday's events are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.

Day 8: Resurrection Sunday

On Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, we reach the culmination of Holy Week. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event of the Christian faith. The very foundation of all Christian doctrine hinges on the truth of this account.

Early Sunday morning, several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James) went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering the entrance had been rolled away. An angel announced:

"Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen." (Matthew 28:5-6, NLT)

On the day of his resurrection, Jesus Christ made at least five appearances. Mark's Gospel says the first person to see him was Mary Magdalene. Jesus also appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and later that day to all of the disciples except Thomas, while they were gathered in a house for prayer.

The eyewitness accounts in the Gospels provide what Christians believe to be undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ did indeed happen. Two millennia after his death, followers of Christ still flock to Jerusalem to see the empty tomb.

Sunday's events are recorded in Matthew 28:1-13, Mark 16:1-14, Luke 24:1-49, and John 20:1-23.