After a grueling trial and gruesome crucifixion, the beaten, lifeless body of Jesus hung on the cross. With Friday sundown and the approaching Sabbath, there was a rush to dispose of the deceased. Determined to honor their rabbi, some of Jesus' followers arranged for Jesus to receive a proper burial. But they didn’t know that the borrowed tomb would only be needed for a very short time. Jesus would not be dead for long. God was about to make His most powerful move yet to fulfill His promise to rescue His people.

In Luke 23, only a handful of hours into His last day before death, Jesus had already been falsely accused and wrongly condemned to death. He was flogged by officials, forsaken by His followers, and left so weak that He could not even carry His cross as He marched to the place of His execution. Yet the emotional anguish and physical pain He bore could not keep Him from obediently fulfilling the Father’s purpose. Christ came to be a ransom for sinners so that those who believed could become part of the forever family of God.

As Jesus and His disciples left the upper room, Jesus embarked on the final leg of His journey to the cross. He entered the garden of Gethsemane, knowing all His disciples would fail to stand and watch and pray. He knew Peter would deny Him three times. He was utterly alone, but He never wavered. In the garden, Jesus did what Adam could not do. He stood against the devil and bowed His will to the Father’s. By doing so, He brought many sons and daughters to glory.

Matthew 26:6-13 tells the story of a woman anointing Jesus with expensive perfume, an act of deep love and honor. While others criticized her, Jesus praised her, saying she had done a beautiful thing, preparing Him for burial. This moment shows that true worship is discovering that the Lord is worthy to love and follow. Worship starts in the inner person, is often costly, and is honored by Him even when we are criticized or dismissed as foolish.

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about a master who entrusts his servants with different amounts of money before leaving on a journey. Two servants invest and multiply what they’re given and are rewarded, while one hides his talent out of fear and is rebuked. Jesus uses this story to show how He invests in us by giving us gifts and opportunities to use for His glory. He entrusts to us opportunities, blessings, resources, and places of influence. He expects growth and faithfulness. He also promises His joy when we are faithful.

Matthew 23:1-26 shows Jesus confronting the hypocrisy of religious leaders who burden people with rules but neglect justice, mercy, and faithfulness. he invites us to a genuine relationship with God, freeing us from empty religion and outward appearances.

After Jesus entered Jerusalem with the crowds cheering, Jesus had various encounters with the Pharisees and Sadducees throughout that week. Their goal was almost always to discredit Jesus; His goal was to teach about God and His kingdom. Jesus both answered and asked questions that showed that He had a mastery of the Word of God and that He also stood in authority over the Word of God. Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 22 showed that He truly was the Messiah and foreshadowed His death and resurrection for the salvation of humanity.

From His conception, Jesus’s life was a steady drumbeat of fulfillment in Old Testament prophecy. As He fulfilled prophecy, He also prophesied about His future. Jesus came to save the world from sin and death. The Jews were expecting a worldly military king, but what they got in Jesus was a humble servant who taught His people, healed His people, and raised them from the dead.

Though Jesus continued to prove He was the Messiah, the people of God were expecting something different, so they missed what was right in front of them.