This year’s Holy Week – the eight days between Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday – is special. To help us enter into quiet contemplation, I have given us each a palm cross, handmade from olive trees from Israel. Holding a palm cross during prayer or meditation can serve as a tangible reminder of the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the hope of the resurrection. We are, quite literally, taking up the Cross…
This is a good opportunity to remember, reflect and respond as disciples of Jesus. I have carefully selected portions of Scriptures and prepared questions for your contemplation during these eight days. These questions will challenge you to think deeply about the sacrifice of Jesus at the Cross. Isaiah 53:3-5 reminds us:
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
In addition, I’ve included a guide on how to use the palm cross and two charts to help you trace the timeline, events, and locations with the corresponding passages in the bible at the end of this devotional guide. May your Holy Week bring you closer to God and remind you of the full penalty of our sins that Jesus bore for us to be healed.
Christ died for us,
Pastor Desmond Soh
2 April 2023