Holy week is when we commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While many of us are left to our homes, we can still have a very meaningful celebration of Jesus’s finished work on the cross as we study the Scripture.

Here are some verses you would want to read each day of this holy week from Palm Sunday through Resurrection Sunday.

Bible Verses to Read this Holy Week

Read Luke 19:28-42 on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday kicks off the Passion week or holy week celebration of Christians. It commemorates the fulfilled prophecy that the Saviour King would come “gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). This is when Jesus requisitioned a donkey to make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. All Things in the Bible Encyclopedia discusses that “until the reign of
Solomon, the kings of Israel rode on donkeys. Warlike kings rode on horses;
the Prince of Peace was mounted on a donkey.”

Holy Monday: Read Luke 19:45-20:8

IVP Bible Background Commentary says: Sellers were needed in the temple so
foreign Jews could buy sacrifices to offer there. Jesus presumably would oppose not sacrifices (cf. Acts 21:26) but an emphasis on ritual without the true relationship with God that he had demanded in his own teaching (cf. Lk 19:47).

Holy Tuesday: Read Luke 20:1-40

On verse 38 Jesus would declare of God the Father: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” This was his response to Sadducees, those who do not believe in resurrection or life after death. On Holy Week’s Tuesday, study teachings of Jesus that were contrary to what others teach at His time.

Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday): Read Luke 20:41-47; Luke 22:1-6

This is where we would read Satan entering Judas Iscariot. Judas then agreed to betraying Jesus for some amount of money.

Maundy Thursday: Luke 22:7-46

This is the most famous Upper Room conversation where Christ ate with His disciples on the eve of his arrest, trial, and crucifixion, or what we commonly call The Last Supper.

It was his celebration of the Jewish ritual of the Passover —the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In memory of God’s redemption of his people from bondage in Egypt, the Jews ate unleavened bread and killed the paschal lamb for this ceremonial feast.

It was at this dinner in the “Upper Room” that Jesus explained the significance of the loaf and the cup, the loaf serving as a symbol of his body, the cup a symbol of his blood.

IVP Bible Commentary (New Testament)

Good Friday: Luke 22:47-23:43

Read on the arrest of Jesus, Peter’s denial, and Jesus’ Trial. One significant moment here was when Jesus was already on the cross, in between 2 criminals, yet still expressed love to welcome the sinner into paradise. On His last few hours, His heart was for people while bearing unbearable pain.

Black Saturday: Luke 23:44-56

Read through Jesus’ crucifixion and death. If you wonder why Jesus had to die, or the significance of His death for us, read this blog.

Resurrection Sunday: Luke 24

Jesus is Alive! He is risen, so we need to stop looking for the dead Jesus! Let’s stop living as if He had not saved us.