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| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5628 Registered: 12-2003  |
Last year I posted a summary of Jesus' activities on each day of Passion Week. I am going to repost those entries this year. I have used A Harmony of the Four Gospels by Orville E. Daniel as my source for this summary. Below is the entry for Sunday, the day Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, hailed by people shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" It is amazing to me that, knowing what would happen, He continued to minister and teach as He moved through the intensifying spiritual agony of those days. He did not retreat or turn inward; He continued to obey His Father and to live by every word that proceeded from Him. Sunday His triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Huge popular support met Him as he rode into town on a borrowed donkey. Children waved palm branches and sang, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" When the Pharisees heard them, they demanded that Jesus shut them up. He replied, If they are quiet, the rocks will cry out. Every eye in Jerusalem was on Him as He entered the holy city for Passover week. He cried as he approached Jerusalem and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peaceóbut now it is hidden from your eyes." He went on to prophecy the destruction of the city. (Luke 19:41-44) He went to the temple, and "the whole city was stirred and asked, 'Who is this?' The crowds answered, 'This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matt 21:10-11) "He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve" (Mark 11:11). | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5634 Registered: 12-2003 |
Here is the summary of Jesus' activities on Monday of His passion week. Monday Early Monday as He and the disciples were returning to Jerusalem, Jesus saw the fruitless fig tree which was full of leaves but was fruitless. He cursed it, saying, May you never bear fruit again!" (Matt 21:18-19) Jesus entered the temple and "drove out all who were buying and selling there (Matt 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18a; Luke 19:45-48). This was the second cleansing of the temple. Also on this day some Greeks who had come to worship during Passover requested of Phillip that they see Jesus. When Jesus heard they had come to see Him, he began to speak of the significance of His death. "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?" he said. "Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. Jesus continued to talk about trusting in the light while they still had a chance, and when he finished speaking, he hid himself from them. Still the people refused to believe in him. Still, some among the Pharisees did believe but were afraid to declare their faith for fear of being put out of the synagogue. Jesus said, "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." (John 12:20-50). Jesus and his disciples returned to Bethany for the night. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5643 Registered: 12-2003 |
Richard reminded me that most of the world is already into Wednesday now...so I apologize for being a "day late" with these updates. I'll post Tuesday's Passion Week Review here and follow with Wednesday. Tuesday A lot of the small, seemingly random stories we've heard of Jesus' parables and teachings happened on this day. It's amazing to me that Jesus, who knew absolutely that he was walking into a horrific death and into becoming sin, becoming a curse, and being separated from His Father, still ministered and taught on apparently random and pedestrian topics. Yet these lessons are some of the ones we still visualize in practical ways as we live our mundane and pedestrian lives. The miracle is that while He was teaching these timeless lessons, He knew that He was about to transform our mundane and pedestrian lives into offerings of grace and mercy which we would minister by His Spirit to the lost world. On this morning, as Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem from spending the night in Bethany, they saw the fig tree Jesus had cursed the day before. (Bethany, by the way, is where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. It seems significant that during the last week of the growing spiritual battle that waged unseen but palpably around Jesus, he and His disciples went to the home of intimate friends. No doubt both Jesus and the disciples drew courage and comfort from being in their home.) The Fig Tree "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" the disciples asked. "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "If you have faith and do not doubt, you can do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Matt 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-25) John's Baptism They entered the temple courts where Jesus resumed teaching. This was the occasion when the chief priests and elders approached him and asked, "By what authority are you doing these things?" "Jesus replied, 'I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptismówhere did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!" They conferred together, saying, "If was say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet." So they said they didn't know. "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things," Jesus replied. (Matt 21:23-22:14; Mark 11:27-12:12; Luke 20:1-19) Parable of the Sons and the Vineyard Then Jesus told the parable of the man who asked his two sons to go work in the vineyard. The first said, "I will not," but later changed his mind and went. The second said, "I will, sir," but then did not go. The people acknowledged that the first one is the one who did his father's will. Then Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." (Matt. 21:28-32) Parable of Vineyard Left in the Care of Hired Workers Then Jesus told another parableóof the man who owned a vineyard and rented it to some farmers to manage, and he went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent someone to collect from the tenants some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they grabbed the emissary, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. The owner sent another representative, but they treated him the same way. They sent another, and still another. The fourth one they killed. The master sent "many others; some of them they beat, others they killed." Finally the vineyard owner decided to sent his son whom he loved. "Perhaps they will respect him," he said to himself. When the son arrived, the tenants talked the matter over. "This is the heir," they said. "Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Then Jesus said, "When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time." "When the people heard this, they said, 'May this never be!' "Jesus looked directly at them and asked, 'Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes"?' "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." (Matthew 21:28-43; Mark 11:1-12:10; Luke 20:9-17) The chief priests and Pharisees knew Jesus was talking about them and looked for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the people. Parable of the Wedding Banquet Jesus then told another parableóthe one of the king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. All those who had been invited refused to come, even when the master sent servants out to personally remind them. Then master sent out a second contingent of servants to tell the invited guests the meal was read and the best food was prepared. "Come to the wedding banquet," they urged. They paid no attention; some and went about their daily business. Others seized the kings servants, abused them and killed them. The king was enraged. "He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city." Then the king sent his servants out into the streets to invite anyone they could find. They gathered everyone they could find, "both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests." The king came into the banquet hall, and he noticed one man who was there without wedding clothes. "Friend," he asked, "how did you get in here without wedding clothes?" The man was speechless. The king told the attendants to tie him "hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said, "For many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matthew 21:45-22:14) Jesus on Taxes The Pharisees then tried to trap Jesus. They asked him if was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus knew they were trying to trap him and asked for a coin. He asked who image was on the coin, and when they replied, "Caesarís!", he responded, "Give to Caesar what is Caesarís, and to God what is God's. They were amazed and became silent. (Matt 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26) A The Saducees Ask a Question about Resurrection Later that same day the Sadducees (who did not believe in the resurrection) came and asked about a hypothetical woman who had been married successively to seven brothers, the first six of whom had all left her a widow. Whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Then he commented about the dead rising: "Even Moses showed that the dead rise, for God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' " God "is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." No one dared ask him any more questions. (Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40) The Greatest Commandment The Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, and they got together and asked him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second one is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." His questioner responded, "Well said, teacher." He then summarized what Jesus had just said, concluding, "To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus "saw that he had answered wisely" and said, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." From then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Matt 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34) Jesus spent the night on the Mount of Olives. (Luke 21:37) | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5644 Registered: 12-2003 |
Wednesday (Some harmonies of the Gospels place these events also on Tuesday, saying that Jesus rested in Bethany all day Wednesday. Other scholars say that Jesus concluded his ministry in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning with the following events.) The people gathered early at the temple to hear Jesus teach. Jesus asked the Pharisees what they thought about the Christ. "Whose son is he?" "David's", they replied. Jesus asked in return why David called the Messiah "Lord" if he was his son. Then He quoted Psalm 110:1: "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." "If David Himself calls him 'Lord', how can He be his son?" No one could say a word. (Matt 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37a; Luke 21:38- 20:41-44) Seven "Woes" to the Pharisees Following is one of the most impassioned of Jesus' declarations. As he taught in front of the temple, with Pharisees listening, he warned the people to obey the Pharisees because they sit in Moses' seat, but they are to do everything they tell them to do, not copy what they actually do. Then Jesus began His "Woe to you..." cry to the Pharisees. In this denouncement he says seven times, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!" He lists all their self-serving, greedy habits. They "shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces," neither do they enter it. "You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." They swear by the gold on the altar, ignoring that it is God who is holy, not the lavish externals of their ceremonial trappings. They tithe scrupulously, but they neglect justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They clean up the outside of themselves, but inside they're full of greed and self-indulgence, dead men's bones, and everything unclean. They appear righteous to others, but inside they are "full of hypocrisy and wickedness." They make a show of honoring the ancient prophets, claiming they wouldn't have participated in their deathsóyet they testify against themselves that they are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" He told them they would kill, crucify, flog, and chase the wise men, prophets, and teachers he would send to them. "And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earthÖI tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her sings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'." (Matt 23:1-39; Mark 12:37b-40; Luke 20:45-47) The Widow's Mite Jesus sat opposite where people put their money into the temple treasury and watched the widow who gave her two mites. "This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others," he said. (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4) Jesus Prophesies Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the Age In the afternoon, Jesus gave a discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came and asked when the destruction of the temple would happen. Then Jesus delivered his famous teaching that elides the description of the destruction of Jerusalem with the end of the age. He explains that "in those days, following the days of distress when false Christs and false prophets would appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive even the electóif that were possibleó "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens." No one but the Father knows the day or the hour of His coming. Jesus then used the days of Noah as an illustration of what the world would be like at the time of Christ's return. "Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." The Ten Waiting Virgines Then Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom. Five foolish ones ran out of oil and allowed their lamps to go out. Five wise ones brought extra oil, and though the bridegroom tarried, the wise virgins had enough oil for their lamps to be able to meet him. The foolish ones did not. Those who "were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." The unprepared banged on the door, shouting to be admitted, but the Bridegroom replied, "I tell you the truth, I don't know you." Parable of the Three Servants and Their Talents Jesus further illustrated His coming by telling the parable of the talents. Three servants were given 5, 2, and 1 talent respectively before the master left on a long journey. The first two invested their talents and yielded double what they had cared for. The third buried his talent. When the master returned, he complimented the first two and said, "You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master's happiness!" The man with the one talent said he had been afraid of the master and went and hid his talent in the ground, and now he returned it. The master angrily had that wicked servant thrown out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus gave His "sheep and goats" talk. The sheep are those who served Him by serving others, and the goats will be thrown "into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 24 and 25; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-36) Then Jesus told his disciples that Passover was in two days, and the "son of Man would be handed over to be crucified." (Matt 26:1-5; Mark 14: 1-2; Luke 22:1-2) Mary Anoints Jesus' Feet That evening in Bethany, Simon the Leper held a dinner and invited Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus, recently revived from death, reclined at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took an alabaster jar of perfume and anointed Jesus' feet and hair and wiped his feet with her hair. Judas, angry, groused about why the money for the perfume hadn't been spent on the poor. In reality, he was angry that the moeny for the perfume hadn't come through the disciples' money bag so he could help himself to part of it. Jesus silenced the remonstrations by saying Mary was preparing his body in advance for his burial and added. "I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:2-8) Then "Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." He went the chief priests and officers of the temple and made arrangements to betray Jesus to them. Delighted, they sealed the deal with Judas by giving him 30 pieces of silver. "He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present." (Matt 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6) |
