Jesus of the Gospels
Jesus of the Gospels
The beginning of Jesus' final week on earth began with Palm Sunday. This is where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to celebrate passover. People welcomed Jesus by throwing palms under his donkey. This was so that the donkey would not touch the ground. This was kind of the 'red carpet' treatment even though a donkey was equivalent to a poor man's car nowadays. Even though Jesus is all powerful, he chose to ride on a donkey. This juxtaposition shows Jesus’ humility and his dedication to his people. As in many other cases throughout Holy Week, you can learn from Jesus’ actions. In this example, Jesus is humble and even though he’s able to do things in a more elegant way, he chooses to not boast. Christians can do the same, by not boasting an being humble.
On Holy Monday, Jesus went to the temple to pray. When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts full of corrupt money changers and merchants ‘cashing in’ on unfair exchange rates and prices. Jesus disapproved of this and began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” The common people were impressed by Jesus' teaching, but the chief priests and scribes feared him because of his popularity - they thought he was a threat to their power as he challenged their authority. They began to plot Jesus’s demise. Many people, including christians, have encounters where they find unjust things being done. As Jesus did, we should stand up for what is right regardless of what other people will think.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Jesus continued to preach. Following this, on Thursday evening, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how they were to love one another. Then Jesus shared the feast of Passover with his disciples. During this feast (the last supper) Jesus established communion,
The beginning of Jesus' final week on earth began with Palm Sunday. This is where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to celebrate passover. People welcomed Jesus by throwing palms under his donkey. This was so that the donkey would not touch the ground. This was kind of the 'red carpet' treatment even though a donkey was equivalent to a poor man's car nowadays. Even though Jesus is all powerful, he chose to ride on a donkey. This juxtaposition shows Jesus’ humility and his dedication to his people. As in many other cases throughout Holy Week, you can learn from Jesus’ actions. In this example, Jesus is humble and even though he’s able to do things in a more elegant way, he chooses to not boast. Christians can do the same, by not boasting an being humble.
On Holy Monday, Jesus went to the temple to pray. When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts full of corrupt money changers and merchants ‘cashing in’ on unfair exchange rates and prices. Jesus disapproved of this and began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” The common people were impressed by Jesus' teaching, but the chief priests and scribes feared him because of his popularity - they thought he was a threat to their power as he challenged their authority. They began to plot Jesus’s demise. Many people, including christians, have encounters where they find unjust things being done. As Jesus did, we should stand up for what is right regardless of what other people will think.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Jesus continued to preach. Following this, on Thursday evening, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this act of service, Jesus demonstrated by example how they were to love one another. Then Jesus shared the feast of Passover with his disciples. During this feast (the last supper) Jesus established communion,