To the beloved saints of Grace Covenant Church of Mid Missouri and Damascus Ministries:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. As we celebrate Palm Sunday, recalling our Lord’s humble entry into Jerusalem, I write to encourage you in faith and understanding. This letter contains two reflections: Part I offers a theological meditation on Palm Sunday and the salvation we have by grace, and Part II provides a biblical timeline of Passover week leading to Christ’s Resurrection. May these words enrich your anticipation of Holy Week and our Lord’s return.

Part I: Reflections on Palm Sunday – Grace, Humility, and Hope

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a lowly donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of a humble Messianic King (cf. Zechariah 9:9). The crowds shouted “Hosanna,” meaning “Save us, we pray,” as they welcomed Him. Yet Christ’s mission in that first coming was not to conquer earthly kingdoms by force, but to save us from sin through His own humility and sacrifice. In doing so, He demonstrated that our salvation is entirely by grace. As Scripture declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” . We contribute nothing to our salvation – it is Christ’s free gift, received through faith. This truth should produce profound humility and gratitude in us, just as our Lord humbled Himself for our sake.

Jesus came the first time in meekness – born in a manger, riding a donkey, willing to suffer and die. But we remember on Palm Sunday that the same Jesus who was acclaimed as king in humility will return in glory. Revelation 5:5 calls Him “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” . Unlike His gentle entrance on a colt, His Second Coming will be in majesty and power to judge and to reign. The contrast is striking: at His first advent He was the Suffering Servant, but at His return He will be the conquering Lion of Judah and King of kings. This dual emphasis of Palm Sunday – past humility and future glory – reminds us to both rejoice in His first coming and earnestly await His second.

In light of these truths, I encourage you to reflect deeply this Palm Sunday. Reflect on the Lord’s gracious salvation: though we were dead in sins, He saved us by grace alone, and now we have peace with God. Reflect on Christ’s humility: He set aside honor, “emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7) for our sake, modeling the meekness we are called to emulate. And reflect on our readiness for His return: are we eagerly anticipating Jesus’ coming as the Lion of Judah?  Scripture urges us to live in a state of watchfulness and faithfulness, so that when He appears, we may be found prepared. Just as the Jerusalem crowd needed spiritual readiness to truly receive their King, so we today must have hearts yielded to Christ, our lives marked by faith and holiness, “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Let us not merely wave palm branches in celebration one day a year, but lay down our very lives in obedience every day, so that we will be ready to welcome Him when He comes again in glory.

Part II: The Passover Week Timeline – From Crucifixion to Resurrection

In this second part, I would like to walk through the biblical timeline of events during the Passover week that led to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. By examining Scripture closely (as highlighted by recent studies ), we gain a clearer understanding of what occurred on each day of that momentous week. This not only strengthens our faith in the truth of the Resurrection, but also highlights the importance of observing the holy days God appointed. Below is a breakdown of the timeline according to the biblical record:

• Nisan 14 – The Passover and Crucifixion: In the Jewish calendar, Nisan 14 was the day of Passover preparation. Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples after sundown (beginning Nisan 14) at the Last Supper. Later that same day (daylight hours of Nisan 14), He was crucified. By mid-afternoon Jesus died, at the very time the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple . Indeed, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” for us. His body was taken down from the cross and hastily laid in a tomb before sunset , because sunset would begin a special Sabbath. The Bible notes that “since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken” . In other words, the next day was not the ordinary weekly Sabbath, but the high holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to the Law of Moses, “in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread… On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work” . Nisan 14 (the day of Jesus’ crucifixion) is the Passover, and Nisan 15 which began that evening was a High Sabbath – the first day of Unleavened Bread, a sacred day of rest and assembly.

• Nisan 15 – The High Sabbath (First Day of Unleavened Bread): At sunset, Nisan 15 began and with it the high holy Sabbath. All work ceased as commanded . Jesus’s body remained in the tomb throughout this day and the night before. This was Night 1 and Day 1 of the “three days and three nights” He had foretold . The Gospel accounts indicate that the women who followed Jesus rested on this day in obedience to the Sabbath. They could not buy spices to anoint His body on Nisan 15 because it was a sacred day of no work. The Apostle John’s account makes special note of this Sabbath being a “high day” , distinguishing it from a regular weekly Sabbath. Thus, Thursday (daytime of Nisan 15) was a Sabbath of unleavened bread, and Jesus’s body lay in the grave all that day.

• Nisan 16 – The Intermediate Day (Friday): Nisan 16, which began Thursday at sunset and covered Friday’s daytime, was not a Sabbath. It was during this day that the women were able to purchase and prepare the burial spices. Mark 16:1 records that “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him” . The Sabbath referenced is the high Sabbath of Nisan 15 now past. Then Luke 23:56 says, “they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment” . Comparing these scriptures, we understand there were two Sabbaths that week . The women rested on Nisan 15 (the high holy day), then on Nisan 16 they bought and prepared spices, and then they rested again on Nisan 17, the weekly Sabbath . This harmonization only makes sense if an ordinary day (Nisan 16) occurred between two Sabbath days, exactly as the biblical festival calendar shows. Thus, Friday was Night 2 and Day 2 of Jesus being in the tomb, while the women made their preparations that day.

• Nisan 17 – The Weekly Sabbath (Saturday): Sunset on Friday began the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) of that week, Nisan 17. Jesus’s body remained in the tomb through this Night 3 and Day 3, completing the period of “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” as Jesus prophesied (just as Jonah was in the fish three days and nights) . The women, having prepared spices, “rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56) on this day. Sometime toward the end of this Sabbath, Jesus was resurrected by the power of God. He rose before sunset on Saturday, so that by early dawn on Sunday the tomb was already empty . The Gospels testify that when the women came “very early on the first day of the week” to the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and the Lord gone, for He had risen (Luke 24:1–3, John 20:1). In fact, Jesus had risen shortly before the first day of the week began, in the final moments of the Sabbath. This timing fulfills to the letter the sign He gave: our Lord was entombed for a full three days and three nights, and then He rose just as that period elapsed . The angel’s message was glorious: “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6).

To summarize, Jesus died on Passover (Nisan 14) and was buried as the High Sabbath of Nisan 15 drew near. He remained in the tomb through that high holy day and the following day, and He rose at the close of the weekly Sabbath (Nisan 17). The empty tomb on Sunday morning testifies that He had already been resurrected by then . This biblical chronology is important for several reasons. First, it proves the Messiahship of Jesus. He had declared that the “sign” of His identity would be spending three days and nights in the earth , and indeed He did. This was the one sign He gave to the skeptical Pharisees to authenticate His claim (Matthew 12:39–40). We cannot fit three days and nights between a Friday afternoon crucifixion and an Easter Sunday dawn resurrection – it’s simply impossible by any counting . Some traditions have tried to explain it away, but the plain truth of Scripture shows Jesus meant exactly what He said. By recognizing the correct timeline, we affirm Jesus was right and the Scriptures are true: He is the prophesied Messiah who rose exactly as foretold . Second, this timeline highlights the significance of God’s appointed Holy Days. Christ’s death and resurrection occurred precisely on the sacred dates of Passover and Unleavened Bread, not by accident but by God’s design. The Passover lamb foreshadowed Jesus, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), and He died to take away our sins. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began with a high Sabbath, signifies purging out sin (leaven) and living in sincerity and truth – and indeed, by His sacrifice, Jesus enabled us to “cleanse out the old leaven” of sin . Paul directly connects this feast to Christ’s work, saying, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” . The early Christians understood the importance of observing these Holy Days in light of Jesus’ fulfillment. We too should honor the High Holy Days that God established, not as empty rituals, but as sacred observances that teach us about Christ’s redemption. Nisan 14 (Passover) and the week that follows hold profound lessons for our faith. By commemorating the Lord’s Supper and reflecting on the Passover, by observing the days of Unleavened Bread with sincerity, we align ourselves with the biblical pattern and deepen our appreciation for Christ’s sacrifice and victory over death.

Dear brothers and sisters, understanding this timeline is not about mere head-knowledge – it is about drawing nearer to Jesus Christ. The more we see how God’s Word is perfectly fulfilled in Christ, the more our conviction grows. Let the truth of Christ’s three days in the tomb and His triumphant resurrection strengthen your faith. Let it encourage you that our hope rests on a solid foundation of Scripture, not on human tradition. And as we grasp the significance of these events, let us respond by consecrating our lives to God, celebrating what He has done, and preparing for what is yet to come.

Conclusion: A Pastoral Exhortation to Grow in the Full Knowledge of Christ

As we conclude this Palm Sunday letter, I offer a pastoral plea to each of you. Having received the grace of Christ and holding the knowledge of His death and resurrection, we are called to grow into a full knowledge of Him by living out our faith daily. The Apostle Peter exhorts believers to actively cultivate Christ-like character in light of God’s promises. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” These qualities are the fruits of a life that is continually transformed by Christ. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In other words, by growing in virtue and love we come to know Jesus more deeply and truly. Conversely, “whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” (2 Peter 1:9). We must never forget the great salvation Christ won for us at the cross, nor fail to respond to it. Instead, “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” By God’s grace we have been saved; now by His grace let us press on to maturity. I urge you, therefore, on this holy day, to commit anew to knowing Christ fully – not only knowing the facts of His Passion, but knowing Him in personal relationship. Add to your faith the virtues of Christ, one by one, so that your life may reflect the King who saved you. In doing so, you will remain steadfast and fruitful as we await the day of His coming.

I pray that this Palm Sunday, and the approaching Passover and Resurrection remembrance, inspire you to greater devotion. Rejoice in the Messiah who came humbly on a donkey to give you peace, and who will come again as the Lion of Judah to reign. Take heart that His Word is sure – He was three days in the tomb and rose again, just as promised, securing our hope of eternal life. And respond to His grace by growing in holiness and love, so that you may richly enter into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit and bless you abundantly. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 -24). Keep the faith and continue to stand firm in the gospel of grace we have received.

Bishop Carlton Howell Jr.

The Right Reverend Carlton Howell Jr

Senior Pastor

Grace Covenant Church of Mid Missouri

Works Cited

1. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway, 2016. (Scripture quotations marked ESV) – Ephesians 2:8–9; Revelation 5:5; John 19:31; Mark 16:1; Luke 23:54–56; Matthew 12:39–40; 2 Peter 1:5–10; Leviticus 23:5–7; 1 Corinthians 5:7.

2. Tomorrow’s World. “What Is the Real Meaning of Easter?” Tomorrow’s World video, YouTube, 8 April 2020.  (Teaching on the Passover week timeline and the fulfillment of the sign of Jonah). 3. Weston, Gerald E. Easter: The Untold Story. Charlotte: Living Church of God – Tomorrow’s World Publication, 2014.  (Explanation of two Sabbaths during Passion week and the three days and three nights in the tomb).