At Easter, we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, how he was betrayed by close friends, and rose again after he died in the most humiliating way. These Bible passages and religious quotes by Christian writers of many generations help us see those events in all their drama, glory, and surprise.
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10 Religious Quotes about Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday starts Holy Week off dramatically: Jesus comes into Jerusalem on a donkey, gets a grand public reception but then shocks everyone by cleansing the temple.
1. “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ … Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘“My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it “a den of robbers.”’” (Matthew 21:7-9, 12)
2. Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The savior comes. But will I welcome him?” —Malcolm Guite, Sounding the Seasons
3. “In times of war, conquerors would ride in chariots or upon prancing stallions. But in times of peace, the king would ride a colt to symbolize that peace prevailed. So, for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem upon a colt is to declare that He is a King proclaiming peace.” —Melvin Newland
4. “Our Lord Jesus traveled much, and his custom was to travel on foot from Galilee to Jerusalem, some scores of miles, which was both humbling and toilsome… Yet once in his life, he rode in triumph; and it was now when he went into Jerusalem, to suffer and die, as if that were the pleasure and preferment he courted.” —Matthew Henry
5. “He came to Save others, and not to be made a king himself in the sense in which they understood him.” —Charles Spurgeon
6. “By crying and saying Hosanna to him, which was done with loud acclamations, and the united shouts of both companies, before and behind; they ascribe all praise, honor, glory, and blessing to him, and wish him all prosperity, happiness, and safety.” —John C. Gill
7. “There was a vast multitude crying ‘Hosanna’ … But Christ at that time had but few true disciples; and all this was at an end when he stood bound, having a mock robe put on, and a crown of thorns; when he was derided, spit upon, scourged, condemned, and executed. Indeed, there was a loud outcry respecting him among the multitude then, as well as before; but of a very different kind: it was not ‘Hosanna, hosanna,’ but ‘crucify him, crucify him.’” —Jonathan Edwards
8. “As a Son, he purged the temple of his Father.” —J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel
9. “When his body was about to be broken, he promised to restore the demolished temple in three days. And indeed, he who had risen alive from the dead on the third day sent his Holy Spirit, who gave the new temple to the believing church: “The temple of God is holy; you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3:17). In the quickening Spirit, Christ and the Father want to come to believing people and make their dwelling in them, in a new house of God.” —Eberhard Arnold, Fire and Spirit
10. “Instead of looking at books and pictures about the New Testament, I looked at the New Testament. There I found an account, not in the least of a person with his hair parted in the middle or his hands clasped in appeal, but of an extraordinary being with lips of thunder and acts of lurid decision, flinging down tables, casting out devils, passing with the wild secrecy of the wind from mountain isolation to a sort of dreadful demagogy; a being who often acted like an angry god — and always like a god.” —G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Further Reading: 30 Uplifting Religious Easter Quotes to Celebrate the Ultimate Miracle
10 Religious Quotes about Holy Wednesday
Holy Wednesday shows us the slow start of the terrible events that will lead to Jesus’ death.
1. “While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. (Mark 14:3-10)
2. “Note that as she brought all, so she poured it all upon Jesus. She had no fear of the black looks of Judas, for the act was not meant for Judas—it was all for Jesus.” —Charles Spurgeon
3. “The pouring of this ointment on the head of Christ was emblematical of his being anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows; of his having the Holy Spirit, and his gifts and graces without measure; which, like the ointment poured on Aaron’s head, that ran down to his beard, and the skirts of his garments, descends to all the members of his mystical body: and was a symbol of the Gospel, which is like ointment poured forth…” —John C. Gill
4. “All unconverted persons have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins…. Nebuchadnezzar’s beloved sin was pride, and Herod’s beloved sin was uncleanness, and Judas his beloved sin was covetousness.” —Thomas Brooks
5. “The woman’s willingness to pour on Jesus’ head a vial of oil, worth an entire year’s wages, stands in stark contrast with the greed of Judas, who betrays Jesus for what probably amounted to the average man’s earnings for about five weeks. This story poses the important question: Are we desperate—like the woman—to give? Or are we desperate —like Judas—to get?” —Kelli Worrall, Pierced and Embraced
6. “A merciful man aims at his neighbor’s good and so does “God’s will,” consciously co-operating with “the simple good.” A cruel man oppresses his neighbor, and so does simple evil. But in doing such evil, he is used by God, without his own knowledge and consent, to produce the complex good—so that the first man serves God as a man, and the second as a tool. For you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.” —C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
7. “Here is the proffer which he made to the chief priests; he went to them, and said, What will ye give me? v. 15. They did not send for him, nor make the proposal to him; they could not have thought that one of Christ’s own disciples should be false to him.” —Matthew Henry
8. “For money Judas Iscariot sold Christ, and was ruined eternally.” —J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion
9. “this man was an apostle of Christ’s whom Satan tempted to betray him; so that we see that the highest office, and greatest gifts, cannot secure men from the temptations of Satan.” —John C. Gill
10. “Those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit profit nothing without charity [love]. A man may have them and go to hell. Judas Iscariot had them, and is gone to hell.” —Jonathan Edwards
Further Reading: 25 Easter Blessings and Quotes
10 Religious Quotes about Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday may be the buildup to the crucifixion, but Jesus’ last words with his disciples and his prayers in Gethsemane are filled with powerful moments.
1. “And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’… Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’” (Luke 22:15-20, 39-42 NIV)
2. “Everything He embodied in the Last Supper - it is what would heal the body’s brokenness. Brokenness can be healed in remembering, Remembering our union, our communion... with Christ. Remembering heals brokenness.” —Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way
3 “He went boldly to the place where his enemies knew that he was accustomed to pray, for he was willing to be taken to suffering and to death.” —Charles Spurgeon
4. “Even Jesus spoke to God about the hard things of His present life on earth. In the Garden that night, praying in agony so intense He thought He might die, He asked God to deliver Him from His pain, His torment. ‘Take this cup from me,’ He said. But Christ finished His prayer by saying, ‘Yet not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42 NIV). Jesus showed us what to do when we are stuck. He told the truth but said to His Father: I trust You with the outcome.” —Sheila Walsh, In the Middle of the Mess
5. “Jesus didn’t pretend that He gladly embraced the agony of crucifixion. He didn’t spin some syrupy theological truth about the glory of suffering. Instead, He told the truth—first to His friends, then in the stillness of His Father’s presence. He was deeply troubled, distressed, anxious, and devastated, and that’s how He prayed.” —Sheila Walsh, In the Middle of the Mess
6. “Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples in an upper room (John 13). During the meal, He takes it upon Himself to wash the disciples’ dusty feet, an act of great humility and love.” —Kelli Worrall, Pierced and Embraced
7. “Christ is to us the Passover-sacrifice by which atonement is made (1 Cor 5:7); Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.” —Matthew Henry
8. “There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
9. “I am looking to you, Lord. You have said so many loving words. Your heart has spoken so clearly. Now you want to show me even more clearly how much you love me. Knowing that your Father has put everything in your hands, that you have come from God and are returning to God, you remove your outer garments and, taking a towel, you wrap it around your waist, pour water into a basin, and begin to wash my feet, and then wipe them with the towel you are wearing… You look at me with utter tenderness, saying, ‘I want you to be with me. I want you to have a full share in my life. I want you to belong to me as much as I belong to my Father. I want to wash you completely clean so that you and I can be one and so that you can do to others what I have done to you.’” —Henri Nouwen, Heart Speaks to Heart
10. “There was a table in it, and there were some benches, and a water-pot; a towel, and a basin in behind the door, but not much else- a bare, unhomelike room. But the Lord Christ entered into it. And, from that moment, it became the holiest of all, where souls innumerable ever since have met the Lord God, in High glory, face to face. And, if you give Him entrance to that very ordinary heart of yours, it too He will transform and sanctify and touch with a splendor of glory.” —Arthur John Gossip
Further Reading: 15 Amazing Religious Easter Quotes
10 Religious Quotes about Good Friday
Good Friday is Holy Week’s most dramatic moment: Jesus sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin and then the Romans, killed in the most humiliating way possible.
1. “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (Luke 23:33-34 NIV)
2. “His executioners made vulgar jokes about Him, called Him filthy names, taunted Him, smacked Him in the face, flogged Him with the cat, and hanged Him on the common gibbet—a bloody, dusty, sweaty, and sordid business.” —Dorothy L. Sayers, The Man Born to Be King
3. “On the cross, Jesus was cursed. He represented the covenant-breakers who were exposed to the curse and took the full measure of the curse upon himself. As the Lamb of God, the sin-bearer, he was cut off from the presence of God. On the cross, Jesus experienced forsakenness on our behalf.” —R.C. Sproul, What We Believe
4. “Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive us? There was a debt to be paid—God himself paid it. There was a penalty to be born—God himself bore it. Forgiveness is always a form of costly suffering.” —Timothy Keller, The Reason for God
5. “If we want to know what God is like, let us look at Calvary.” —Robert E. Coleman, Written in Blood
6. “In His humanness, God became weak—Jesus as a baby in a manger; Jesus rejected; Jesus weeping; Jesus beaten; Jesus silent before His accusers; Jesus suffering on a Cross. Weakness (or surrender) is where God’s power is most visible.” —Mary Tutterow, The Heart of the Caregiver
7. “With humility, Christ faced down humanity’s worst to give us God’s best.” —Judith Couchman, The Mystery of the Cross
8. “It was the devil’s purpose that our Lord should be crucified, but in His crucifixion lay everything that’s wonderful in a civilization that you and I belong to.” —Malcolm Muggeridge
9. “You cannot find in all the books and writings of men, in all the annals and records of time, either such sufferings or such sayings as were these last words and wounds, sayings and sufferings of Jesus Christ.” —Thomas Brooks
10. “The death of Jesus Christ has rent the curtain that divided the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. From now on, God from his innermost throne wants to govern, have mastery over, commission, and equip all the forces of the church. The eternal light of the Holy of Holies shines out into the distance. Rulership from God’s dwelling flows out far beyond the boundaries of inwardness. It becomes outwardly visible. The place of worship remains in the inner recesses of the house, but the perfect life of the Spirit of Jesus Christ can no longer be limited and hidden.” —Eberhard Arnold, Fire and Spirit
Further Reading: 40 Good Friday Quotes
10 Religious Quotes about Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday culminates the season by showing how Jesus not only died for our sins but also returned from the dead.
1 “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:1-6)
2 “What is the difference between a dead Christ, whom the women went to anoint, and a living Christ? A dead Christ, I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.” —Andrew Murray, Jesus Himself
3 “To the women and men who had committed themselves to him, he revealed that his mission had been fulfilled. To those who shared in his ministry, he gave the sacred task to call all people into the new life with him.” —Henri Nouwen
4 “On the third day, the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty, and the stone rolled away. In varying ways, they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and the semblance of the garden God walking again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.” —G.K. Chesterton, Everlasting Man
5 “Rise heart; thy Lord is risen.” –George Herbert
6 “Sinners, rejoice: your peace is made; your Savior on the cross hath bled: your God, in Jesus reconciled, on all His works again hath smiled; hath grace through Him and blessing given, to all in earth and all in Heaven.” —Charles Wesley
7 “Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.” —Watchman Nee
8 “Angels, roll the rock away; Death yield up thy mighty prey! See, the Savior leaves the tomb, Glowing in immortal bloom.” —Thomas Scott
9 “After the suffering, Jesus rose from the grave into a new life.” —Judith Couchman, The Mystery of the Cross
10 “The resurrection of Christ has enough in it to ally all our sorrows, to check the streams, and dry up the fountains, of our tears.” —Matthew Henry
Further Reading: 20 Inspiring Easter Quotes to Celebrate Resurrection Sunday
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This article is part of our larger Inspiring Quotes resource meant to encourage and strengthen your faith. Visit our most popular quotes by well known Christians and theologians to find more inspiration. Remember, the Holy Spirit can work through us when we have faith and share it with others! Please pass along any quotes that touch your heart because you never know light you’ll shine on someone else’s dark day!
