our favorite holiday

Passion Week is my favorite yearly celebration. It wasn’t always this way until I learned to see the Bible as one big connecting LOVE STORY since the beginning. I learned some really amazing, significant facts in my grown-up years that I am excited each year to share with my children.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem to begin his journey to the cross, it was the EXACT same week over 1000 years prior that Moses began petitioning to Pharaoh to free God’s people – the Israelites from the Egyptian slaves. Lambs were slain as the atonement for their sins and the blood was painted on their doors so that death would pass by their first born son. Each year since then, God’s people would celebrate Passover, and this week was no different.

1000+ years later in April, A.D. 30, Jesus enters Jerusalem to begin his Father’s mission, the death of His first born Son on a cross as an atonement for the sins of the whole world. Only this time, death would be overcome by his miraculous resurrection 3 days later on April 17, A.D. 30. Death, sin, and shame would be defeated once and for all for all of God’s people past, present, and future! Finally a Holy God could have right relationship with those He loved.

It wasn’t a random occurrence or just a lovely time of year to redeem the whole world, it was planned before the beginning of time. It blew my mind when I first learned this. And as you can imagine, I have SO MUCH FUN explaining to my children that the old covenant has ended and the new promise of eternal life is theirs. The Gospel (“good news”). This new, wonderful, Never Stopping, Never Giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

Here’s some of the simple ways we celebrate each year:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~John 3:16