The Week Before the Resurrection

This is a summary of what happened during Jesus' last week as a man on earth as seen through the eyes of someone that was there. (This account was taken from the gospels.)

References:

The narrative:

"Hello, My name is unimportant. I'm a resident of Jerusalem. I've lived here most of my life. I have followed the ministry of Jesus, the teacher from Galilee, from its beginning."
"I was there in Cana at the wedding where Jesus turned the water to wine. I was there too when his cousin, John the Baptizer, baptized him in the Jordan River. What a day!"

"I've been ask to tell you about what happened here that last week. I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. I know your time is short."

"I guess I'll start with a week ago, last Friday. Jesus stopped in Bethany to see his friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary. While he was there, Mary took a pint of expensive perfume and after pouring it on Jesus' feet she wiped it off with her hair! Of course that tightwad Judas Iscariot objected to what he called waste. The only waste Judas could see was that he couldn't sell the perfume and keep the money for himself." (John 12:1-6)

"The word spread that Jesus was in town and you know how it is, people from all over came by to see Him and Lazarus." (John 12:9-11)

"Then last Saturday was the Sabbath. Jesus spent the Sabbath with his friends in Bethany. (While this is widely believed, there is no supporting text.)

"Sunday, wow! What a day. There was a lot of ruckus at the gate by the pool of Bethesda. Jesus came in that gate from Bethany. The people lined the street as Jesus entered. They threw down their coats some even cut palm branches to line the road. He was riding on a colt of donkey just as was prophesied by Zechariah. The people we shouting "Hosanna!" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" and "Blessed is the King of Israel!"."

"Funny thing happened. Some of the priests came out to see what all the fuss was about and when they saw it was Jesus, they demanded that he make them be quiet. I remember Jesus just smiled at them and said "I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Jesus then went to the temple and looked around. It was getting late so he gathered his disciples and went back to Bethany."

"Monday was a special day. For years the temple hierarchy had allowed merchants and moneychangers to sell their goods and conduct business in the Temple. They were selling the implements required for sacrifices, and exchanging 'pagan' money for local coins. They were turning a hansome profit too. I can't prove it but I think there was 'under the table' money involved, if you know what I mean."

"Anyway, Jesus went into the court of the Gentiles where these people were doing business and He cleaned house! He turned over their tables scattering their money all over and releasing their doves and such. He drove them out yelling at them, "It is written, 'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." This was the second time He had cleansed the Temple of these 'merchants'." (John 2:12-16)

"You know the Scribes and Pharisees were really angry now. More than once Jesus had called them out for the way they behaved. Now he had cost them money!"

"Jesus spent the rest of that day teaching in the temple. He returned again that evening to Bethany.

"Tuesday, was a wonderful day. You folks would call it "awesome" and that it was. Jesus spent the day in the temple teaching. Oh, what a time it was. I'm still trying to understand all he had to say. He taught by using parable after parable. As I think back on what He was teaching in those parables, He was preparing those that would listen for what was ahead. The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. I remember the Sanhedrin challenged his authority and he turned the tables on them. Jesus also prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and Herod's great temple."

"On Wednesday Jesus and his disciples spent the day resting." (While this is widely believed, there is no supporting text.)

"Thursday is probably the day Judas agreed to betray Jesus. Anyway, Jesus sent some of his disciples into Jerusalem to prepare the Passover meal. That evening three remarkable things happened."

"The first thing was: Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as the Passover meal was being served. Peter didn't want Jesus to wash his feet He was always quick to speak without thinking. Jesus told him straight away "If I don't wash your feet, you will have no part of me."

"Peter reconsidered his words and said "In that case, wash my hands and head too."

"Jesus told him "No, just your feet. You are clean there is no need. But not everyone is clean." Probably a reference to Judas the betrayer."

"Then, Jesus told the Twelve that one of them was going to betray him. Everybody looked around trying to figure out who it would be. Except old Judas, he knew."

"The other thing was, Jesus told the disciples of the new covenant. After supper, they sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives, to the garden of Gethsemane."

"The burden of what was about to happen must have been really weighing on Jesus. He asked his disciples to wait and pray while he prayed. It is said that He asked the Father to release Him of his destiny."

"At any rate, Judas and the soldiers of the Sanhedrin knew just where to find him. When they came to take Jesus, Simon Peter cut off one of the ears of one of the servants. Jesus stopped the fight before it began saying "Enough of this!" Then he touched the servant's ear and he was healed."

"It goes without saying the disciples all fled into the night and the soldiers took Jesus back to Jerusalem to the house of the High Priest."

"The details of what happened that night and Friday are so horrific I won't go through them."

"They held a mock trial with a bunch of bribed witnesses and decided that Jesus was to be executed. Except, they didn't have the authority to execute anyone since the Romans took over, so they took him to Pontius Pilate."

"Pilate asked some questions and refused to judge Jesus. Since Jesus was a Galileean, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. Herod abused him and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate wanted nothing to do with the situation but the chief priests and rulers insisted. Finally Pilate gave in, and sentenced Jesus to be crucified. They beat him repeatedly that day. Then the soldiers who were assigned to carry out the death sentence forced Jesus to carry his own cross. On the way to Golgotha; their usual execution site; the soldiers forced Simon from Cyrenne to carry Jesus' cross for him."

"Then they nailed Him to that cross between two thieves. One of them mocked him and the other rebuked the mocker saying "We deserve our fate but He has done nothing." Even in his pain he blessed the thief that believed, telling him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

"Just before he died, Jesus told John, to take care of his mother as if she were his mother."

"That was about noon and it got dark! It stayed dark for three hours. I was told later that the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Think about that for a minute. It wasn't by human hands! "

"I will always remember the Roman centurion, who as part of the execution squad, saying, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

"He gave up his life there that day. They didn't kill him. He gave up his life."

"That afternoon, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus body and before sundown He was placed in a borrowed tomb. The High Priests and rulers of the temple were so afraid that what Jesus had said about rising from the dead. They had Pilate place a stone in front of the tomb and put guards by it so that no one could ‘steal' the body."

"Saturday was the Sabbath and every one obeyed the commandment concerning the Sabbath."

"Early Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, Joanna, James's mother and some others went down to the tomb to prepare the body of Jesus properly. When they got there the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty! Two figures in clothes that gleamed like lightning asked them "Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here He has risen." He had told them this very thing would happen, that He would be buried and would rise on the third day."

"Jesus appeared to the disciples and others for forty days afterwards and then he was taken up into heaven."

"I could tell you so much more, but I have to go. We are having a meeting of the believers at Mary and Martha's house and I don't want to be late."

Closing:

The purpose of this narrative was to examine the last week of Jesus life on earth and to examine the gift that is Jesus. In the Garden of Eden as God cursed Satan and He laid out a plan for the reclamation of the Earth and its inhabitants. (Gen. 3:14-15)

There on that hill know as Golgotha or 'The Place of the Skull' The Lamb of God was slain.

And, there in that tomb, what had been written was fullfilled on the third day. He was resurrected.

He didn't just simply rise and assend to heaven, Oh, no! He was seen by hundreds maybe thousands before he departed. The promise is not complete though. He promised to return and set up his kingdon here once again as it was in the beginning.

For centuries before Jesus "death" the Jews had done sacrifices for atonement. Now in the new covenant, all that has passed away.
His sacrifice was the last one required.

The Word says that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

So… What did his blood buy us?

Communion:

In that last supper, Jesus the Christ established the reason for His presence on earth. That HE was the final sacrifice! That the shedding of his blood was the anonment for all of our sins.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body. which is given for you. Do this in rememberance of me."

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for you and for the many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this in rememberance of me."

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by The International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.