THE PASSION WEEK BEGINS

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LUKE 19:28-48
Lesson #52
THE PASSION WEEK BEGINS

• Memory verse: Luk 19:38
• We have arrived at the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry in the Gospel of Luke. There are many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled during this week that go beyond our ability to list them all in one lesson. Some of them will be listed in each lesson as we make our way through the crucifixion described by Luke.
• If we take into consideration all the Gospels, we get a composite picture of this final week that begins with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. (O.T. Prophecies: Psa 8:2 Psa 118:25-26 Zec 9:9)
  • In fact Jesus entered Jerusalem 3 times during this week, on three separate days.
  • Because He spent the night in Bethany on the other side of the Mt. of Olives with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, He entered Jerusalem on Saturday morning (the Sabbath), Sunday morning, and Monday morning.
    • =1= Saturday morning (the Sabbath), the 9^th day of the Jewish month of Nisan: (Mar 11:11) His entrance as a Priest.
      • There were no money changers in the temple on the Sabbath.
      • Jesus looked around and found nothing to object to and left to spend the night in Bethany.
    • =2= Sunday morning, the 10^th day of the Jewish month of Nisan: (Mat 21:12-13) His entrance as a King.
      • The money changers were in the temple.
      • He overthrew their tables and cleansed the temple of this evil.
    • =3= Monday morning, the 11^th day of the Jewish month of Nisan: (Luk 19:41-44, 47-48) His entrance as a Prophet.
      • He wept over Jerusalem and pronounced judgment on the Jews as he entered the city, knowing they would reject Him.
      • He taught and healed in the temple.
• Read Luk 19:28-34 Preparation for the Triumphal Entry (Zec 9:9)
  • Jewish Law said that every adult male within twenty miles of Jerusalem must come to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover celebration. An estimate of about two and half million people were in Jerusalem at this time. Many Jews came from much greater distances to participate.
  • Because of the crowded conditions in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples lodged in Bethany, a small town on the other side of the Mount of Olives. Evidently Jesus had made arrangements ahead of time regarding lodging, the use of the colt, and the use of the upper room where they ate the last supper.
  • The unusual thing about the colt was that it had never been ridden by any man before.
    • This statement indicated to the owner that it would be used for some sacred purpose.
    • We find the same indications of sacredness in the Old Testament. (Num 19:2 Deu 21:3 1Sam 6:7)
    • It also tells us that Jesus is the creator and Lord of creation. (Col 1:16)
    • He has authority over every element of His creation.
  • Another unusual thing is that because many Jews were looking for Jesus to establish his kingdom on earth at that time, the normal entry of a king would not be on a young colt but on a large, powerful horse.
    • The colt was a symbol of peace and a symbol of a servant.
    • It is interesting that at Jesus’ second coming, He will return to earth as a King to establish His Kingdom. Then He will come on a large, powerful horse. (Rev 19:11-16)
• Read Luk 19:35-44 The Triumphal Entry
  • Jewish Historical Background:
    • According to the Jewish calendar, this was the time of the celebration of the Passover. (April on our calendar)
    • On Sunday the 10^th day of the month of Nisan before Passover, the Jewish high priest would bring the Passover lamb from the Mount of Olives through the Eastern gate into the temple area in Jerusalem. Like every Passover, the people would greet the high priest with the lamb by waving palm branches and shouting praise to God.
    • The high priest would take the lamb into the temple and tie him to the altar. For four days the priests would examine the lamb for any illness or imperfection.
    • The Passover lamb was killed on Thursday, the 14^th day of Nisan at 3:00 p.m.
  • It is important to note that during Passion Week Jesus follows the same pattern exactly as the Jewish Historical Background above.
    • On this particular Sunday, Jesus is following the high priest with the lamb from the Mount of Olives.
    • When the disciples, and in turn the people, give praise to Jesus as the Messiah King, the religious leaders are upset. (38-39)
    • Why would Jesus follow the Passover lamb in this way? This was Jesus’ dramatic message:
      • In the Old Testament, God frequently impressed the prophets to emphasize their godly message by calling attention to it in some dramatic way.
      • In that way, people could not ignore God’s message to them.
      • Jesus as the ultimate Prophet dramatizes God’s message through this incident of what we call the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
        • This was his first public testimony that He is the Messiah.
        • He had made numerous previous declarations to the disciples and those close to Him, but none publically.
      • This was to offer the Kingdom of the Messiah to the Jews, but because He knew they would reject Him, He wept over Jerusalem and the judgment that would come in 70 AD. (42-44)
        • He gave the prophecy that not one stone would remain on another in that judgment.
        • In 70 AD the Roman army set fire to the Jewish temple. The gold of the temple melted so the soldiers dismantled the temple stones to get the melted gold.
      • The Triumphal Entry was to fulfill Old Testament prophecies.
    • Jesus entered the temple area.
      • Jesus entered the temple area by means of the Eastern gate.
      • The most direct way into Jerusalem from the East (the Mount of Olives) was through the Eastern gate that led directly into the temple area.
      • The Old Testament prophecies said that the Messiah King would use this gate to enter Jerusalem and offer himself as their king. (Eze 44:1,2 Eze 43:1-2)
      • Jesus came to the temple for four days, leaving to spend each night in Bethany and returning the next day.
      • During those four days he taught and healed in the temple permitting the priests to verbally examine Him for any imperfection.
    • Jesus was crucified on Thursday, the 14^th day of Nisan at 3:00 p.m. which was the exact hour when the Passover lamb was killed and the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
  • The response of the people:
    • The people waved palm branches which were a symbol of Israel’s freedom.
    • The group of Zealots that looked for a leader to free them from Rome also adopted the symbol of the palm branch. Some of the 12 disciples were originally part of this group.
    • ^“ Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” (38)
    • The Gospel of Mark tells us, “And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” (Mar 11:9-10)
      • Jesus was greeted with, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
      • This was the standard greeting for a person entering the city for Passover. It is a prophetic statement that comes from Psa 118:26
      • Jesus was greeted with shouts of, “Hosanna”.
        • “Hosanna” means = save now
        • The people are calling for the Messiah King to come and save them.
        • “Hosanna in the highest” means = let even the angels in the highest heights of heaven cry unto God, “Save us now!”
        • This prophetic statement comes from Psa 118:25.
• Read Luk 19:45-48 Cleansing the temple – Monday 11^th day of the Jewish month of Nisan.
  • This is the second cleansing of the temple. The first cleansing of the temple occurred in Joh 2:13-22.
  • This event has a special significance that relates to a promised Messiah.
    • In 175 BC an evil Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, defiled the Jewish temple by offering a pig on the altar.
    • The Maccabee family raised an army, rebelled against him and captured the temple. The historic book of 2 Maccabees 10:7 describes the joyous festival. The description sounds just like this incident on Palm Sunday. There were palm branches used then. It was a festival of the cleansing of the temple. The Jews still celebrate it. It is called Hanukkah.
    • The Jews believe the Messiah will come and cleanse the temple before establishing His kingdom on earth.
  • Jesus’ message is that He is the King who has come to cleanse the temple of a dead religious system. We will see him throw the moneychangers out of the temple on Monday, the day following the triumphal entry which is reminiscent of the Maccabean cleansing of the temple 200 years before.
• Summary and Application:
  • Of the 333 prophetic details in the Old Testament, 196 of them were fulfilled with Jesus’ first coming.
  • Why is Bible prophecy so important?
    • Bible prophecy tells who the Messiah is and what He will do.
    • It is by Bible prophecy that man was to recognize the true Messiah when He came.
    • It is by Bible prophecy that we can know that Jesus will fulfill all the rest of the 333 details at His second coming.
    • It is by Bible prophecy that when God tells us something, we can be assured that He will fulfill all of His promises.

Homework
Luke 20:1-19

• Application of Luk 19:28-48
  • What promise have you been waiting for God to fulfill?
  • What in this lesson encourages you to have faith that God will fulfill it in His perfect time?
• Preparation for Luk 20:1-19
  • Read Luk 20:1-19
    • Read Isa 5:1-7
    • What in the parable tells us the answer to the religious leaders’ question, “Who is he that gave thee this authority?”
      
• Memory verse: Luke 20:18