Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king
Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king
It was nearly time for the Feast of the Passover. The Feast of the Passover was a holy day for the Jews. They remembered the time when God freed them from being slaves in Egypt. This event happened at the time of Moses. They met in the temple at Passover. Each family had a special meal together.
Mary uses a special oil to prepare Jesus' body for his death
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany. Bethany was near Jerusalem. His friends there, Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, asked him to come for a special dinner. At the dinner, Mary put special oil, which had a sweet smell, on Jesus. It was very expensive oil (John 12:1-11). Judas Iscariot said that this wasted the oil. The disciples could have sold the oil and given the money to poor people. But Jesus said that Mary had done a beautiful thing. She prepared his body for his death.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem
There was a large crowd there, not only because of Jesus, but also because of Lazarus. Jesus made Lazarus alive again after Lazarus had died. The Jewish rulers were plotting to kill them both. The next day, Jesus told two disciples to bring a particular donkey [small horse]. They would find this donkey, with a young donkey, in a particular village. The disciples put their clothes on the young animal. Jesus sat on it and rode into Jerusalem on it.
By this time, everybody was very excited. The disciples thought that the Kingdom of God would appear immediately. There was a large crowd of people with Jesus. Many other people, who were coming to the feast, heard about him. Then they too came to give him a welcome. Jesus had done many wonderful miracles. He even made Lazarus alive after Lazarus died. People talked about these things. They asked if Jesus was the Son of David. (Son of David was a name for the Messiah.) The Jewish rulers believed that Jesus was not the Son of David. The crowd thought that he was. But they thought that the Messiah would come like a soldier. And they thought that he would force the Romans to leave. But Jesus came in to Jerusalem on a young animal. This was a sign of peace, and not of war. Later the disciples realised how important this was. Jesus made the prophecy about the Messiah come true. (Zechariah 9:9).
Hosanna to the Son of David
The crowd shouted out ’ Hosanna to the Son of David‘, (Matthew 21:15). These are words from Psalm 118:26. The crowd repeated these words because they are about the Messiah. The Pharisees knew what these words meant. They asked Jesus to tell the people not to say such words. But Jesus replied with words from Psalm 8:2. He said this: ’God can make even little babies able to praise him with songs‘.
There was excitement everywhere in the city. People had travelled long distances to be in Jerusalem for the feast. Because Jesus and the 12 disciples arrived late in Jerusalem, they returned to Bethany for the night.