Today's Reading:

Matthew 21:1-22
Matthew 22:6-13
Mark 11:1-26
Mark 14:3-9
Luke 19:28-48
John 2:13-25
John 11:55-57
John 12:1-36

After the shouts and the palms of the Triumphal Entry, Jesus did something normal. He walked the roughly two-mile path back over the Mount of Olives to Bethany. Jerusalem sat high on its mount, and Bethany lay on the far side of the ridge on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives. The way down into the Kidron Valley and up the other side was not a gentle walk; it was a hike over steep hills. During the day, the city was filled with Passover crowds. At night He left the noise to go to the home of His closest friends.

That walk is a grace moment. The same One the crowds had just hailed as their chosen King again took the path of normal human need. He was tired. He wanted quiet. He wanted the safety and warmth of people who loved Him simply for who He was, not for the miracles. In a week that would end at the cross. He received the gift of friendship, a place to rest, and the daily rhythm of going out to serve and coming home to be known.

Grace shows itself here in the hospitality of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, as they did not have to open their home. They simply did. In the middle of history’s most crowded and tense week, Jesus had a table and a room where He could breathe. Grace often arrives as a door left open by someone who loves us without agenda. A place of rest. Jesus needed the daily withdrawal. And the walk, the same path that led Him to the city, led Him back to His friends. Following Jesus can look hard at times, yet we know the promise of a safe place where we are loved and known.

The old bridge that once crossed the Kidron at the bottom of the valley is a quiet picture. Jesus crossed the bridge daily this week and would again the night of His arrest, going from life through death into resurrection. That night in Bethany was not a footnote. It was grace made touchable, showing rest for the weary, welcome for the King, and the steady friendship of those who stayed near even as the cross came closer.

After the noise and expectations of the crowds, Jesus walked the hard path back to a simple home where He could just be known and rest. Where do you find that kind of place, and who are the people who love you without an agenda when life feels heavy?

Jesus started His triumphal entry from the village of Bethphage which is across the Kidron Valley by the Mount of Olives. He had two of His disciples retrieve a young donkey in fulfillment of Scripture (Zechariah 9:9), showing that He came as a symbol of peace, not war. Bethany, the village where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived, was nearby, about two miles from the edge of Jerusalem. This was a divine interaction: knowing that the donkey and colt would be tied together, that the animals would be available for immediate use, and how the owners would respond when being told: “the Lord needs them.” In Luke 19:32, it emphasizes that the disciples found the donkey and situation just as Jesus told them. They would have brought the mama donkey with the young colt in order to keep it calm, as it had never been ridden before. Jesus demonstrated He knew the future and hidden details; He could have spent time in the village and could have pre-arranged the donkey, but in the end, He had complete control over how He would enter Jerusalem.  

The crowd shouted “Hosanna,” meaning “save us, we pray,” or “save now.” By the crowd putting their cloaks and palm branches down in the road, it was a sign of a royal welcome. They were treating Jesus as a king, yet still did not understand the deeper reason for His mission. They recognized Jesus as the Messiah, so they quoted Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ This is how we get the modern name Palm Sunday during Holy Week. This same city that welcomes Jesus will turn on Him by the end of the week. 

When Jesus came down the Mount of Olives, He paused and wept over the city (Luke 19:41-44). He could see what the crowds could not see which was the coming judgment, missed peace that they were refusing, and the destruction that would come because they did not recognize Him at the time. Even in the middle of the “Hosanna” praise, Jesus’ heart broke. He wept for those who would reject Him. He wept for those whose hearts were already turning away. He wept for those who could call for His death instead of peace. The tears were real. His grief was deep. Standing on the Mount of Olives looking at the city that was merely an arm’s length away, He wept and still walked towards them, knowing the outcome.

We read before about the Temple cleansing by Jesus about three years earlier in His ministry (John 2:13-17). This second time, which was accounted for in both Matthew 21:12-27 and Mark 11:15-17, is more of a public event at the height of His popularity. After He drove out the money changers, the crowd came to Him for healing. The children cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Jesus answered them with Psalm 8: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise” (Matthew 21:15-16). Even the small voices recognized what the leaders had refused to see.

After the Triumphal Entry, when Jesus stayed the night in Bethany, the next morning He walked back to Jerusalem. He was hungry and saw one of the fig trees the area was known for. He looked for fruit on the tree,but none was found. Now Jesus would have known it was springtime and not the season for figs. He still cursed the tree. Mark’s account spreads the cursing over two days. This was symbolic of testing in the Old Testament, where the fig tree was a common symbol for Israel. The leaves without fruit symbolized a religious outward appearance, but no spiritual fruit inside. This is why Jesus cleansed the Temple tables that week. The outward appearance of religious activity is not enough. God looks for fruit.

All four Gospels gave an account of Jesus being anointed with perfume. Luke gave an earlier anointing (Luke 7:36-50) at the home of Simon the Pharisee by an unnamed woman. Her anointing was an act of love, and Jesus declared her sins forgiven. The three accounts from Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12 appear to be about preparation in Bethany for burial at the home of Simon the Leper, with Mary anointing Jesus. The differences in these three later accounts are complementary in details such: about two days/ six days, the House of Simon Leper/ dinner with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and an unnamed person to anoint Jesus/ Mary anointed Jesus, anointed his head/ wipe His feet with her hair, the disciples were there/ Judas the thief was there, and lastly preparing His body for burial/ leave her alone, she is preparing His body.

The issue arose at the anointing because Judas and others believed the cost of the perfume would be more useful if sold and then the money could have gone to the poor. (Judas would have likely stolen some of the money, as it was noted in John that he was a thief). But by her anointing now, she chose to honor Jesus while He was still alive. It was noted after this event that Judas went to the high priest. There was a strong contrast between the woman’s extravagant love and the calculated betrayal.

In Luke 19:39-48, the Pharisees addressed Jesus as teacher, where His disciples praised Him as King. He refused the demand of the Pharisees to rebuke His disciples because their praise was fitting and necessary. Praise is so important that if the disciples did not acknowledge Him, then even the rocks and creation would. This shows the crowd was starting to accept Jesus as the King.

In John 2, we backed up to reading from the beginning of the book. John was talking about the Temple as Jesus’ body. At the start of the book, when John explained who Jesus is, it skips “temple” and explains what the true cleansing is: that Jesus Himself replaces the Temple. Jesus is the true dwelling place of God. The old system is being judged and replaced. True worship and cleansing come from His death and resurrection. John also showed that opposition to Him was actually there from the beginning of His ministry.

In John 12:9-11, the Pharisees started to plot to kill Jesus. They found out He was in Bethany, and the crowds went to see both Jesus and Lazarus, the man who was raised from the dead. The chief priests planned to kill them both. Jesus could have asked for the Father to save Him. But this is why He came (John 12:27). A voice from heaven answered Him, and Jesus explained that the ruler of this world would be cast out when He was lifted up.

Today's Discussion question:

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