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On the way Jesus tells His disciples that He was about to be scourged and crucified
(Mark 10:32-34) And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying," Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles. "And they will mock Him and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."
Jesus stops off in Bethany on His way to Jerusalem to see His good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. (See John 12)
It is only 6 days until the Passover..... People were speculating... WOULD JESUS SHOW HIS FACE IN JERUSALEM??
(John 11:55-57)
Everyone knew that the Jews were looking to kill him.
Lazarus had already been raised from the dead.
Jews were even seeking to kill Lazarus (see John 11:10)
We can only imagine the discussion before & after dinner... About Lazarus being with them..... . About this being the last time they would be together.
Mary takes some very expensive ointment and anoints Jesus' feet ( seeJohn 12)
It is here that the true nature of Judas is revealed.
Finally, on the Saturday before His crucifixion, He arrives in Jerusalem.
1. Not in secret... openly
2. To fulfill prophecy Jesus had a colt brought to Him and he rode into Jerusalem....
(Mat 21:8-11) And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road. And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the multitudes were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
3. Imagine the anger of the leading Jews!!
While in Jerusalem these last few days
Jesus declared His Sonship and Divinity openly.. (The anger of the leading Jews boiled)
Jesus drove the money changers out from the temple... (Again..."Who did He think He was...Their anger even hotter)
In Matthew 21...Jesus' authority openly challenged
Jesus tells parables to magnify that the Jews had failed God (see Matt 21:28ff....Parable of the two sons)
Jesus compared the Jews to the Gentiles.
The Jews are the son ion the parable who said he would go into the vineyard and didn't.
Matt 21:33... Wicked tenants of the vineyard
Pictures the Jews as left in charge of God's vineyard and they killed the prophets and even the Son to receive the fruits of the vineyard....they killed the prophets and even the Son.
How could they miss the point?
In Matt. 22 He tells the parable of the Guests at the Wedding Feast
And He openly answers questions from the Pharisee and Sadducees
1. About the Government & Paying taxes
2. About the resurrection
3. About what is the greatest commandment
(All asked to prejudice the listeners and to find fault with Him.... His answers only puts them to shame..)
It is during these last few days that He pronounces woes upon them and prophesies about their end....
(Mat 26:1-5) And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His
disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be
delivered up for crucifixion." Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered
together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize
Jesus by stealth, and kill Him. But they were saying, "Not during the festival, lest a riot occur
among the people."
THURSDAY NIGHT
....IT IS NOW 6:00 IN THE EVENING......FROM 6:00 TO ABOUT
9:00 PM JESUS RECLINES AT THE TABLE WITH HIS
CHOSEN ONES TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER
The Last Supper
(Luke 22:14-20) And when the hour had come He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes." And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
It is during this occasion that Jesus washes the disciples feet.
Jesus knew what was about to happen to him.
(Mat 26:36) Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
In the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus in prayer, the Disciples asleep
(Luke 22:40-50) And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done." Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" And when those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
It is well past midnight.... The Jews came at a time that they knew the large number of followers would be asleep.
From Gethsemane to the Palace of the High Priest
(Mat 26:57-68) And those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. (NOTE IT IS ABOUT 2 AM ON FRIDAY.... BUT THEY WERE WAITING FOR HIM TO BE BROUGHT IN) But Peter also was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death; and they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, "This man stated, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.'" And the high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You make no answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?" They answered and said, "He is deserving of death!" Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"
From the Palace of Caiaphas to Pontius Pilate's Judgement Hall
(Luke 23:1) Then the whole body of them arose and brought Him before Pilate.
From Pilate to Herod's Palace
(Luke 23:7-11) And when he learned that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
From Herod's Palace to Pilate
(Luke 23:11) And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.
In Pilate's Judgement Hall; Jesus receiving sentence
(Mat 27:26) Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified
From Pilate's Judgement Hall to Golgotha, or Calvary
(Luke 23:33) And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Himand the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
Throughout the night Jesus was beaten, blasphemed, humiliated, mocked.... and there was no one standing with Him
(Mark 15:24-32) And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified Him. And the inscription of the charge against Him read, "THE KING OF THE JEWS." And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with transgressors." And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, " He saved others; He cannot save Himself. "Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!" And those who were crucified with Him were casting the same insult at Him.
(Mat 27:45-50) Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?" And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, "This man is calling for Elijah." And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him." And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
John 19:31-37... The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED."
(Mat 27:51-54) And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the
earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection
they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with
him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were
happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
THE WORLD CONTROLLED BY SATAN CLAIMED THEIR VICTORY.... THE
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS WERE LEFT CONFUSED AND DISAPPOINTED... GRIEVING
FOR THE ONE THEY HAD PLACED ALL OF THEIR LOVE AND CONFIDENCE IN... Early the following Sunday Morning....
(Mat 28:1-8) Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white as snow; and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. And the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.