Holy Week

Holy Week seems like a misnomer to me.  That's what we call this week leading up to the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus but the circumstances of His crucifixion and death are anything but holy.

Anguish, betrayal, arrest, a sham trial, false accusations, false testimony, denied by one of His three closest friends, a violent beating and an even more violent death  . . . somehow the word holy is not the first word that jumps to mind for me.

holy (hō′lē)
adjective holier -·lier, holiest -·li·est

1. belonging to or coming from God; consecrated; sacred
2. spiritually perfect or pure; untainted by evil or sin; sinless; saintly
3. regarded with or deserving deep respect, awe, reverence, or adoration

However, when I look at the definition of the word, it becomes a little clearer to me why we call this Holy Week.  It's not what happened to Jesus that was holy, it was Him who was holy.  Not what they (and we) did to Him but what He did for us.  

"Belonging to or coming from God, consecrated, sacred, spiritually perfect, pure, sinless, saintly, regarded with or deserving of deep respect, awe, reverence or adoration."  When I apply these definitions to what Jesus did in His final week on Earth, I guess it really is a Holy Week, after all.