Killing Jesus: A History
of the Sabbath. This will be their base throughout Passover week, and Jesus and the disciples plan to return here most nights for the promise of a hot meal and easy rest.
The Sabbath is the holiest day of the week. The Jews call it Shabbat, but the Romans name it for the planet Saturn. 2 It is a day of mandatory rest in the Jewish religion, commemorating God’s rest after creating the universe. Jesus and the apostles spend that time quietly, preparing for the week to come.
The next morning, Jesus selects two disciples and gives them a most special task. “Go to the village ahead of you,” he orders them, “and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Then Jesus and the other ten disciples set out. Knowing that they will return to Lazarus’s home this evening, they travel light, with no need for the satchel of supplies or the walking sticks most pilgrims carry.
Crowds of pilgrims press in around Jesus as he walks. Their voices carry the familiar drawl of their regions. The pilgrims are excited that their journey is almost over, and many are rejoicing that the famous Jesus of Nazareth is in their presence.
Just on the other side of Bethpage, the two disciples stand waiting. One holds the bridle of a donkey that has never been ridden. The animal is bareback. A disciple removes his square cloak and lays it across the animal’s back as an improvised saddle. The other disciples remove their cloaks and lay them on the ground in an act of submission, forming a carpet on which the donkey can walk. Following this example, many of the pilgrims remove their own cloaks and lay them on the ground. Others gather palm fronds or snap branches off olive and cypress trees and wave them with delight.
This is the sign everyone has been waiting for. This is the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy.
“Blessed is the king!” shouts a disciple.
The people join in, exalting Jesus and crying out to him. “Hosanna,” they chant. “Hosanna in the highest.”
Jesus rides forth on the donkey, and the people bow down.
“O Lord, save us,” they implore, thankful that the Christ has finally come to rescue them. “O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The words of thanksgiving are from Psalm 118, a psalm sung at Passover. This is the moment for which these simple peasants have waited so long. Of all the thousands of pilgrims who set out from Galilee, these are the lucky few who can tell their children and their children’s children that they witnessed the grand moment when Jesus the Christ rode triumphantly into Jerusalem.
But not everyone bows down. A group of Pharisees has been waiting for Jesus and now look on with disgust. They call out to him, giving the Nazarene one last chance to avoid a charge of blasphemy. “Teacher,” they yell, “rebuke your disciples!”
But Jesus refuses. “I tell you,” he informs the Pharisees, “if they keep quiet, even the stones will cry out.”
Others who have heard that Jesus is near have run out from Jerusalem, spreading palm branches across the path of the Nazarene. This is a traditional sign of triumph and glory.
The donkey stops atop the Mount of Olives. Jesus takes it all in. Tents cover the hillside, for this is where the poor Galileans camp during Passover. Jerusalem calls out to Jesus from just across the small Kidron Valley, and the Temple gleams in the midday sun. Throngs of pilgrims line the path winding down into the valley. The mud-and-limestone trail is remarkably steep, and Jesus will have to use great caution to guide the donkey downhill without getting thrown.
This is his day. Jesus’s whole life has pointed to this moment, when he will ride forth to stake his claim to the title “king of the Jews.”
Suddenly Jesus begins to weep. Perhaps it’s the thought of spending a last week with his good friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Maybe he foresees the eventual destruction of this great city. Or perhaps he looks on Jerusalem knowing that his own pageantry will be short-lived. For the Nazarene has powerful enemies within the city walls.
For the past three years, Jesus has been adored, but he has also been subject to attack and suspicion. Even his disciples, despite their deep belief in Jesus and his teachings, sometimes care more about jockeying for power than
Weitere Kostenlose Bücher