Luke 19:28-23:56
A. INTRODUCTION
For many people, the Easter story is very familiar. The events come easily to mind. There’s the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate on Palm Sunday. There’s the last supper on Maundy Thursday. There’s the betrayal and crucifixion on Good Friday. And there’s the resurrection on Easter Day.
Yes, the story, for many, is familiar. And that can be a great comfort. Indeed, you don’t need assistance to remember the basics of the gospel story. But perhaps in a sense it is too familiar. For it can be hard to see anything fresh in something so well known.
It’s even harder to get the feel of the events, when you read the story in such small sections like most churches tend to do. That’s why I’d like to retell the story, not through my eyes, but from someone who was there.
Let me read you part of his story.
B. BEN’S STORY
1. Ben of Bethphage
Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Ben. Benjamin to my mother, when I’ve done something wrong. I live in a small hamlet called Bethphage, half-way between Bethany and Jerusalem, about a mile south-east of the city. And being a religious man (we all were in those days), I was looking forward to Passover.
2. Passover
Now for those of you who don’t know, people used to come from miles around to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover every year. We gathered to remind us of our captivity in Egypt in the days of Moses; to remind ourselves of the ten plagues that God sent, to force Pharaoh to let us go; and to remind ourselves particularly of the tenth plague—when the first-born of the Egyptians were slain, whilst the Hebrews were ‘passed over’ by the angel of death.
Now this last plague was important for us. As it was the one that finally persuaded Pharaoh to let us go.
Anyway I digress. You’re not interested in the history of Passover. You want to know about the events of that week.
3. The Triumphal Entry (Luke 19:28-44)
Well for me, it all started on the Sunday. It was a typical spring day, the sun was shining, and there were very few clouds in the sky.
I was enjoying the day, when I saw two strangers walk up to a colt tethered nearby, and started untying him. Well I thought the owners wouldn’t be happy, and sure enough, in no time, my friend Sam was on the case. However, he seemed to recognise these two people. He’d told me, previously, of a teacher called Jesus that he’d met. And in no time these two men went off with this colt trailing behind. Indeed, far from arguing about them taking it away, Sam seemed to be more concerned about whether this animal, which had never been ridden before, was suitable for what they needed.
Well, I’ve never been a nosey person, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I followed. And in no time at all, we were there with Jesus, cloaks were being thrown on the donkey, Jesus was placed on it. And the singing and praising God by the disciples, as we trekked along the way, attracted quite a bit of attention.
It was like a royal procession. And the crowd, who obviously knew Jesus far better than I did, started calling out, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’
Now, of course, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this was a highly provocative act—someone claiming to be king, to have come to rescue his people. Particularly, in the week where we remembered the events leading up to a previous rescue by God, which had got to be asking for trouble.
It was not surprising then, that some Pharisees quickly made themselves known. They wanted to put a stop to it. But whether they were concerned for Jesus’s safety, or not, I don’t know. They certainly wanted to tame the whole procession down.
But try as they might, they didn’t succeed. Jesus kept going. However he did stop momentarily to weep over the city.
4. Jesus at the Temple (Luke 19:45-48)
Later that day, Jesus went down to the Temple. Of course, it was a busy place, particularly at that time of year. Lambs being sold hand over fist ready for the Passover sacrifices.
And what did Jesus do? He drove the traders out—the very people who were supposed to sell animals without blemish to be used as sacrifices. He accused them of cheating the people, selling at extortionate prices, even selling less than perfect animals and consequently defiling the Temple. And by doing so, he effectively removed a lot of the sacrificial lambs from sale.
5. The Daily Routine (Luke 20:1-21:38)
For the next few days, I watched as Jesus taught in the Temple in the morning, and then returned with his disciples to the Mount of Olives at night.
Talk about being popular though. He always had quite a crowd around him, as they gathered in the Temple. And they listened to his every word. And it was a good job he was popular, because trouble was—as is so obvious to me now—about to bubble over.
Priests and teachers were seething at Jesus—this upstart. After all, he was giving them a bad name. They wanted to get rid of him, but they didn’t want to start a riot. And the more Jesus spoke, the more desperate they became. They tried trickery, they tried to trip him up, they tried everything.
And perhaps that’s not surprising, After all, Jesus spoke about their failure as leaders; their inability to recognise the Messiah; their failure to understand the things of God; and as a consequence they were often caught up in petty squabbles. He even accused them of plotting against him, and he prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the world, and his own death.
6. The Last Supper (Luke 22:7-38)
Now I’m not sure of all the events that happened on the Thursday. For one thing I was just an observer of events. I, for one, was not invited to join in the evening meal. And with the tensions of the week, it was obvious there was something going on behind the scenes.
Jesus and the disciples, however, did celebrate what came to be known as the Lord’s Supper that night. Indeed, Peter and John had been sent to the city earlier to organise it
7. Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46)
However after that it was back to the Mount of Olives as usual. Only this time, things were very solemn. Jesus was in a serious mood. There was a lot of quietness, and from Jesus, at least, a lot of prayer.
It had been a busy week for all concerned, and the disciples were exhausted. So they slept most of the time.
8. Jesus Arrested (Luke 22:47-53)
That is until Judas, who I hadn’t realised had been missing, came out of the middle of nowhere and kissed Jesus.
And from then on, it was on. There was a scuffle, with people everywhere. And someone even got hurt. But in no time it was over, and Jesus was carted away.
The religious leaders had finally succeeded, without a riot. And without too much fuss, they had got their irritant out of the way.
9. Jesus’s Trials (Luke 22:54-23:25)
Of the rest of the events leading up to the crucifixion the details are a little confused.
After Jesus was taken away that night, apart from a brief appearance with Pilate early on the Friday, very little was seen of him. Pilate did his customary thing at Passover and offered amnesty to one of his prisoners—only this time he got the crowd to choose. Peter, who followed Jesus for a short time after the arrest, was found sobbing his heart out. And the crowd’s response to Pilate hardly seems creditable, except for the fact that they probably chose a man who wasn’t averse to spilling a little Roman blood, rather than save, who I thought was, an innocent man.
What happened to Jesus behind those closed doors all the rest of the time, I don’t know.
10. The Crucifixion (Luke 23:26-43)
But later that morning, a Jesus far too weak to carry his own cross was seen being helped by a Libyan named Simon.
And the rest of Friday? Well I don’t think I need to elaborate. It’s a story that’s all too familiar.
11. The Passion and the Passover
But as I stood there around the cross, doing absolutely nothing to protect an innocent man, I couldn’t help thinking of the Passover. The first Passover with the sacrifice of lambs, and lambs without any sign of blemish or fault; the necessary shedding of blood in order for God’s people to be saved; the passing over of judgement of those who had accepted the sacrifices for themselves; and the subsequent leading by God of his people to a new and quite different life from slavery to the Promised Land . . .
C. CONCLUSION
Now sadly, not all of Ben’s story has survived. Like most documents around New Testament times, Ben’s story is incomplete. So we know nothing about what he witnessed after Good Friday. But what we do know are the strong connections he made between the passion of Jesus’s death, and the celebration of Passover.
And the feeling I get for the period is much the same. It’s no coincidence, that the passion of Christ’s death coincided with the Feast of Passover. God’s work, God’s perfect timing, if you like, meant that Jesus sort of re-enacted the whole Passover event, as part of the confirmation of who he was. He acted out the innocent sacrificial lamb; his blood was spilt in order that we can be saved. As a consequence, only through that act, and personal acceptance of it by us, can God lead us to pastures new.
But did he die for us in vain? That’s a question each of us should ask ourselves today.
The Easter story may be familiar, but do we only know the story? Or, have we embraced Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world?
Posted: 1st November 2024
© 2024, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
