When the history of this world is finally written up with an eternal perspective, many events will vie as being worthy to be included. However, because of their significance to every person who has ever lived on this earth or who will ever live on it, the events of the last week of the Savior’s life—from the Sunday morning of his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem to the Sunday morning of the resurrection—will undoubtedly be acclaimed as the greatest week in history. Without the events of that week, particularly those which took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the time of the resurrection, everything else is virtually meaningless.
Obviously an article such as this could barely list, let alone discuss, all the week’s events that are recorded in the scriptures. Thus, the article will discuss in some detail only one or two events from each day, and it will mention only briefly some of the others.
Thursday and Friday
Thus finding no fault in him, Pilate was about to let the Savior go free when one of the priests claimed that Jesus had been teaching treason “beginning from Galilee to this place.” (Luke 23:5.) As soon as Pilate was reminded that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent the Savior to be tried by Herod, the vassal ruler of the province of Galilee, who was also in Jerusalem for the Passover season. However, when the Savior refused to answer any of the questions put to him by Herod, he was taken again before Pilate by the members of the Sanhedrin, who were determined to have a death sentence pronounced against him.
Pilate could still find no fault in the Savior and so declared, saying, “I will … chastise him, and release him.” (Luke 23:16.) Pilate also reminded the Jews that it was the custom during the Passover season to release one of the prisoners from prison and that he was willing to invoke this precedence for the release of Jesus. However, the people cried, “Release … Barabbas” (Luke 23:18); thus a murderer and one guilty of sedition was released, while the innocent one was retained.
When finally Pilate asked the people what they wanted him to do with Jesus, their awful cry was, “Crucify him, crucify him.” (Luke 23:21.)
Pilate’s reply was that he found no fault in the man, and that he washed his hands of his blood. And then came the awful condemnatory cry, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” (Matt. 27:25.) Even then, Pilate was about to let the Savior go with just a scourging and a chastisement, when a person cried out the barb, “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend; whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” (John 19:12.) This taunt proved to be too much for Pilate, who had received what power he had from Caesar.
Thus Pilate finally agreed to the crucifixion and turned Jesus over to his soldiers to be scourged.
Then followed the torturous walk to Golgotha, where the tired, physical body of the Savior was given the assistance of Simon of Cyrene in carrying the cross.
Pilate had earlier ordered that the words “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” should be inscribed on the cross in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin characters. When the Jewish leaders tried to get him to change the inscription from “The King of the Jews” to “he said, I am King of the Jews,” Pilate replied: “What I have written I have written.” (John 19:21–22.)
It was about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) of the sixth day (Friday) when the Savior was nailed to the cross. Despite the pain of the nailing, the Savior later could still look upon the Roman soldiers and say, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34.)
About noon a great earthquake occurred, which among other things rent the veil of the temple. The light of the sun was also obscured, and “there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” (Luke 23:44.)
It was about three in the afternoon when the Savior cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46.) Then he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Thus, the one who had been given power over death by his Father voluntarily gave up his life so that physical death could be conquered and all of us might live eternally.
According to religious law, it was not proper to leave a body unburied on the Sabbath day. Thus, as sundown approached, the followers of the Savior took his body from the cross and quickly and incompletely prepared it for burial. The body was then laid in the tomb offered by one of his disciples, Joseph of Arimathaea.
And thus ended Friday, the sixth day, perhaps the darkest day in the history of the world.
Daniel H. Ludlow, “The Greatest Week in History,” Ensign, Apr 1972, 34
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