Wednesday Holy Week DevotionalIsaiah 50:4–9a, Hebrews 12:1–3, John 13:21–32Summary of the TextsIsaiah 50:4–9a returns to the Servant Song read earlier in the Lenten season. The servant speaks of a morning-by-morning relationship with God, a trained tongue given to sustain the weary, and ears opened to instruction. He has not been rebellious. He offered his back to those who struck him, his cheeks to those who pulled his beard, and did not hide his face from mocking and spitting. Because the Lord helps him, he is not disgraced. He has set his face like flint, confident that the one who vindicates him is near.Hebrews 12:1–3 draws on the long [...]

Monday Holy Week Devotional Isaiah 42:1–9, Hebrews 9:11–15, John 12:1–11 Summary of the Texts Isaiah 42 opens with God presenting the servant: here is my chosen one, in whom I delight. God has put his Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations — not through force or noise, but with gentleness. He won't break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. He will establish justice faithfully. God then speaks in the first person: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will hold your hand and keep you. I am doing a new thing. The former things have [...]

Matthew 21:1–11 — The Triumphal EntrySummary of the TextAs Jesus and his disciples approach Jerusalem, he sends two of them ahead to a nearby village with specific instructions: find a donkey tied there with her colt, untie them, and bring them back. If anyone questions what they're doing, they're to say the Lord needs them. Matthew notes that this fulfills the prophetic word: "Say to Daughter Zion, see, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples do exactly what they're asked. They bring the animals, lay their cloaks on them, and Jesus rides toward the [...]

Philippians 2:5–11Summary of the TextPaul calls the church at Philippi to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. What follows is one of the most theologically dense and poetically rich passages in all of Paul's letters, likely an early Christian hymn he's incorporating into his argument. Christ, who was by nature God, did not consider equality with God something to exploit for his own advantage. Instead he made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself further still, becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross. Because of that, God exalted him [...]

Psalm 118 & Isaiah 50:4–9aSummary of the TextPsalm 118 opens and closes with the same refrain: give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his steadfast love endures forever. It's a psalm of celebration and confidence, moving through thanksgiving, testimony, and triumph. The section read this week includes the famous line about the stone the builders rejected becoming the cornerstone, and the declaration that this is the day the Lord has made. It's one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament, and its themes of reversal and vindication connect directly to the Isaiah passage and to the week ahead.Isaiah 50:4–9a is one of the [...]

John 11:1–45 — The Raising of LazarusSummary of the TextLazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, is sick. His sisters send word to Jesus: the one you love is ill. Jesus receives the news and stays where he is for two more days. When he finally tells the disciples it's time to go, they push back — the last time they were near Jerusalem, people tried to stone him. Jesus goes anyway. By the time they arrive in Bethany, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.Martha comes out to meet Jesus before he reaches the village. Her words are not a request — they're something closer [...]