OHHHHHHH!!!

Passion Week, or Holy Week, is a time when many Christians observe a familiar rhythm: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. But what if our traditions—however well-intended—have slightly misaligned with and deviated from Scripture’s literary design, historical context, and theological depth?

Would you allow me to take you on a short but transformative journey through Passion Week with fresh eyes—anchored in the Gospel of Mark, shaped by a biblically and historically sound timeline, and centered on the self-giving joy of King Jesus, who set His face resolutely toward Jerusalem… for the joy set before Him???

🌿 The Anticlimax of Palm Sunday:

Mark 11 recounts the “Triumphal Entry,” but true to his literary style, it ends with a surprising fizzle:

“He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when He had looked around at everything, as it was already late, He went out…” (Mark 11:11)

No riot. No revolution. No royal decree. Just a King who enters and leaves...

Mark is famous for using the word “immediately” (Greek: εὐθὺς)—his Gospel account races forward breathlessly… only to hit moments of silence, ambiguity, or anticlimax. The fig tree is cursed before it withers. The Transfiguration is glorious—followed by confusion. An empty tomb. Women flee in fear. The end??? But this is not poor storytelling. It’s brilliant theology. The "cliffhangers" of Mark are purposeful—they press the reader to wrestle, reflect, and respond. Will you go and tell?

📜 A Biblical Timeline of Passion Week

Let’s consider a timeline based on Scripture’s internal consistency, Jewish feast days, and Jesus’ own words:

“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:40)

To harmonize this with the Gospel accounts and Mosaic Law:

• Wednesday (Maundy Wednesday): Jesus eats the Passover with His disciples.

• Thursday (Good Thursday): Jesus is crucified, removed, and buried before sundown.

• Friday: High Sabbath (Feast of Unleavened Bread)

• Saturday: Weekly Sabbath

• Sunday (before dawn): Jesus is risen!

This gives us three days and three nights in the tomb—literally—in keeping with Jewish reckoning, which begins days at sundown, and aligns with the mention of two Sabbaths (Mark 16:1 & Luke 23:56).

🕊 The Last Supper: Not a Cannibalistic Ritual

During the Last Supper, Jesus took the bread and the cup and said, “This is My body… This is My blood… Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19)

Some interpret this literally—claiming Jesus meant the bread and wine become His literal physical body and blood (transubstantiation). But this interpretation contradicts both Mosaic Law and the New Covenant ethic:

• Leviticus 17:10–14 strictly forbids drinking blood.

• Jesus, born under the Law (Gal. 4:4), would not instruct His disciples to break it.

• The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:20) reaffirmed the prohibition for Gentile believers.

• Jesus often spoke in metaphor (“I am the door,” “I am the vine,” “I am the bread of life”).

Instead, Jesus gave a symbol—a visual sermon. The bread is broken, the wine is poured, not merely to signify His sacrifice, but to call His followers into the same pattern of self-giving love:

“Do this in remembrance of Me.”

In other words, Jesus is effectively saying: Give yourselves away as I'm giving Myself away for you. The Lord’s Supper is not the mystical transformation of the bread & wine—it is the mystical and supernatural transformation of His followers through a holy memorial, proclamation, and invitation into participation in newness of life as members of the Body & Bride of Christ (1 Cor. 11:26; 10:16–17).

Some (wrongly) argue that the early church fathers all understood The Lord's Supper as the literal and mysterious transformation of the bread and wine into flesh and blood. The truth is, the early church fathers overwhelmingly emphasized that the bread and the cup are symbols—yes, sacred and mysterious—but still signs of a deeper spiritual reality. The elements remind us not just of what Christ did for us, but of what He now calls us to do and become—a repentant, regenerate, and commissioned people who give ourselves away for Him and one another as His Body & Bride.

This is the heart of the Great Commission. “Go and disciple all nations… baptizing them… teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I AM (Yahweh) with you (Immanuel) always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19–20)

It's speculative -at best- to assume King Jesus promised His abiding presence through a metaphysical change in bread and wine. There's ZERO speculation involved regarding the promise of His real and abiding presence via discipleship—in the baptizing, teaching, obeying, gathering, growing, giving, and going... i.e. serving, forgiving, loving, and bearing of one another’s burdens in Gospel-community. In other words, He PROMISED His presence would be manifest in the life of the Church—in the pattern of sacrificial community, shaped by the Cross and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So when we gather for the Lord’s Supper, we’re not summoning Jesus into the bread—we’re remembering what He did. We're renewing our shared commitment to do likewise: “This is My body… broken… given for you.” Do this—give yourselves away—in remembrance of Me.

The real presence of Christ is not locked inside a wafer. It's alive and active in His people whenever and wherever we take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him together in humble obedience. He must increase; I must diminish.

🏁 Mark’s Cliffhanger Ending: A Call to Action

Mark 16:8 is jarring:

“They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

That’s it??? The end??? No appearance of Jesus. No joyful reunion. Just fear. Silence. And an empty tomb. This isn’t narrative failure. It’s divine strategy. Mark’s original abrupt ending forces the reader to ask: What now?The women didn’t speak—will you?

The resurrection is not the end of the story; it’s the inauguration of our intentional and willful participation in His mission! We, as His redeemed Body & Bride, are now commissioned to herald the victory of the risen King to the ends of the earth... earth... earth... (Acts 1:8).

✝️ Palm Branches, Passion, and Purpose

As preached on Palm Sunday, the waving of palms wasn’t necessarily worship. It was a protest. It was political desperation and cultural hype. It was fickle. “Hosanna!” quickly became “Crucify Him!” within just a few short days. But Jesus didn’t ride in for applause—He rode in for joy.

“…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” (Heb. 12:2)

What joy? You. Us. His Church. His Body & Bride. The ones He would redeem with His blood. The ones He invites to die to self, take up their cross, and follow. Passion Week is not a religious routine. It’s divine revelation. It's a reminder. It's a divine invitation to respond. Matthew 22:5-14 reveals how the majority of people respond to His invitation: “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business... For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

💬 So How Will You Respond?

Will you wave the palm branch of your life like a fickle crowd-pleaser—there for the celebration but absent at the cross? Will you wave it in Jesus' face, barking at Him to "Save now!" and fix all your problems or you'll withdraw your vote of approval? Will you ignore His invitation, prioritizing your business over His Kingdom? Or will you wave the palm branch of your life before Him in humble repentance, total surrender, honest thanksgiving, and absolute adoration of the one who set His face resolutely for Jerusalem and willingly entered for the joy set before Him?

Will you approach the Lord’s Supper under the influence of mindless tradition and superstition—or as a covenant reminder of a self-sacrificing Savior who invites us to live lives of sacrifice and proclamation as functional and devoted members of His Body & Bride?

Will you read Mark’s Gospel (or any of God's WORD) and walk away unimpressed, unresponsive, and unchanged—or will you go and tell of your Creator and King who, before the foundation of the cosmos (Rev 13:8), reconciled to give Himself away to rescue and redeem humanity with an omnipotent and unstoppable love?

The tomb is empty. The mission is clear. Go... immediately... tell the world, "Jesus is King!"

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley

Pastor

Big Island Christian Church