His death was predestined, but couldn’t he have gone off to another city to die? Wouldn’t his death be just as significant and still mean as much if he had died in sayJericho,NazarethorCapernaum? As we observe another Easter season, it would be beneficial to our spiritual insight and edification to realize why Jesus resolutely went toJerusalem. It was his intention to be killed there – offered up as all sacrificial lambs that were offered there before.
Jerusalem! It is called the sacred city ofGod. In the time of Abraham of old, the city was calledSalem; in the era of David, the psalmist, it was calledZion. Christians around the world, at especially this time of year, usually sing: “We’re marching toZion, beautiful, beautifulZion, we’re marching upward toZionthat beautiful city ofGod.” Yes,Jerusalemis noted to be the most sacred place on earth – the “habitation” of the God of the universe. Solomon’s temple once adorned the mount there, as a house built for God’s presence.
When Jesus was there,Jerusalemhad been under Roman rule. Prior to that era, the Jews had suffered much under the hands of the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and others, who had besieged the city. But now, they were bitterly oppressed by the brutish Romans ever since Pompey captured the city in about 60 B.C. and imposed heavy, stringent tax burdens on the Jews. The Jews were desperate, by now. They were living in severe oppression and yearned for relief. They longed for precious peace of mind. Any kind of relief would do.
Some six hundred years prior to Jesus’ coming, the prophet Zechariah had written about the Messiah’s entry into Jerusalem, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Meanwhile, up in Heaven, Jesus had already made a pact with God the father agreeing that he would come to earth to die for the sins of mankind. The Father had prepared the Son a body for that very purpose. So, when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son born of a virgin. Born in the obscure little town ofBethlehemas God’s Lamb, Jesus was to be the final sacrificial offering for the iniquities of all humanity. And by the order of predestination, God had designatedJerusalem, His chosen city, as the place from which this pivotal ordeal would change the course of human history.
Now traveling to meet his death was no ordinary trip. For Jesus, this was no regular excursion toJerusalem. From his home inNazareth, he had gone toJerusalembefore, even as a child. As a Jew, himself, He would have gone to the temple on several occasions to pay first-fruit tribute during the Jewish Shavuot ceremonies and to observe the Passover. But this time, even as Passover drew near, it was different.
He had gone throughout many other cities on teaching expeditions, healing the sick and performing all manner of miracles. So it was by no mistake that while he was nearJericho, one day, Jesus turned to his twelve disciples and said: “We are going up toJerusalem, and all the things that were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished there. He will be delivered to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge him and kill him, but the third day he will rise again.” This was the intent reason for his trip this time.
So it was, at the age of thirty-three, on what we observe as Palm Sunday, that Jesus and his company of disciples, among many others, nearedJerusalemafter traveling some 15 miles southwest fromJericho. As he got close to the village of Beth-phage, near the Mount of Olives, he gave specific instructions to two of his disciples, sending them to fetch a donkey and her colt that were owned by a certain villager.
Without hesitation, the disciples went on their urgent quest to find the tethered beasts. It was not long before they discovered them, just as Jesus had said. Without permission they proceeded to move the humble creatures. After all, the Lord had given them the direction. But suddenly, the owner of the animals shouted, “Halt! Where are you going with my donkeys?” The disciples responded: “The Master have need of them.” And with that, it was o.k. The owner consented.
Now Zechariah’s prophecy had come to pass. When the two disciples brought the animals, some of the other disciples cushioned the little colt’s back with their clothes and set Jesus on it. Before he began the triumphant trot, many of the people spread their own clothes and palm branches in the way, as honor to the Christ. By this time, the crowd was thick. There were multitudes behind Jesus’ entourage, and there were many still ahead of the mob, while Jesus gradually drew near toJerusalem. The people were excited because their deliverer was coming. The news circulated quickly.
For a while, Jesus stopped to make a tearful pronouncement against the city as he came close to its entrance. Hear His bold decree as He lifted His eyes to oldJerusalem: “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things which make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. The days will come when your enemies will build an embankment around you, they will surround you and close you in on every side; they will level you, and your children within you, to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Were these the words of a King – the king of Jesusalem? The one who was expected to fight againstIsrael’s enemies and liberate her from her foes? See, up until now, the Jews had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Oh, if they had only known the purpose of his coming. The Jews in general had strongly thought that as Jesus was making his way intoJerusalem upon the back of a donkey, amidst the shouts of the people, that at last this was the time for their liberation. This was it now – the end of Roman rule. And so the crowd jubilantly shouted: “Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The city was in one excited uproar. Jesus the Messiah had come to set them free from the grip of theRoman Empire, or so they thought, as they tirelessly shouted “Hosanna,” meaning save us now Lord.
At this point, even the little children picked up the strain: “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Soon, the indignant high priest and scribes heard all the ruckus, and knowing that Jesus was the cause of what they considered to be such a disorderly disturbance, they cautioned him to keep the people quiet. But he responded, “Out of the mouth of babes and infants, praise is perfected.”
Well! Once Jesus was inJerusalem, he knew he was in the right place at the right time. He knew the time would be soon coming for him to make that perpetual sacrifice for sin, once and for all. All this time, the thing that the Jews were expecting of him was not coming to any fruition. They really thought he would valiantly defeat their political adversaries and set them free. But Jesus continued teaching his disciples by parables, and through real life experiences, as usual. He even spoke “ill” against the hypocritical practices of the scribes and Pharisees; he became closer than ever to his disciples and, with them, he instituted what we now call the Last Supper, or the sacred Eucharist of Communion, with respect to his imminent suffering.
The Jews were utterly disappointed in him. They regretted all the hype that marked the first Palm Sunday. Their hopes for deliverance were dashed. They regarded him as a blasphemer – a deceiver. How could he have taken them for such “a ride”? The same crowd who had cried out “Hosanna,” would be the same one who would yell out to Pilate for his demise. “Crucify him!” “Crucify Him,” they would now shout. But this was the reason why Jesus came toJerusalem. Didn’t they know? Yes, he would be tried there; scourged there; mocked there; and spat upon there; even as both himself and the old prophets had predicted.
Then He would be taken to the outskirts of the city on a hill calledGolgotha, and he would be hung on a cross between two thieves. By fate’s decree, the scene had to be painted in God’s chosen city.Jerusalem! But thank God, he would rise triumphantly over the grave and all his mocking enemies.
Happy Easter to all! And I will talk some more about Jerusalem next time.
