A. All of the events of Christ's life are meaningful to us, but the final week of His life has added importance.
1. Jesus had gone from being an unknown carpenter's Son in the despised province of Galilee to being the talk of Judah in just a few years. At last, He had become hated and hunted by those who were jealous of Him and threatened by Him.
2. The Bible gives more attention to the final week of Christ's life than any other. The events of that week and the days to follow were the culmination of the history of man.
B. Because these events are so important, we undertake this study of Christ during that final week of His life.
1. This first lesson is a springboard for the series, for it gives us a summary of the whole week.
2. In the lessons that follow, we look in depth at the final events of this week.
II. DAY BY DAY
A. Before we proceed, consider how the Jews measured days.
1. The Jews considered the beginning of a day to be at sunset rather than at midnight.
2. The Jews also counted any part of a day as a whole day. When the Scripture says that Christ was buried for three days (Matt. 12:40; 27:63; Mark 8:31), it counted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
3. Of course, the Jews did not use the names of days that we use (Sunday, Monday, etc.), but for our understanding, we will describe the events of that final week in terms of our way of counting days.
B. On Saturday, Jesus came to the village of Bethany.
1. This was "six days before the Passover” (John 12:1), and which was observed on Friday. (Some contend that the Lord arrived on Friday because they count from the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and they say He would not have travelled on the Sabbath.)
2. Bethany was a small village east of the Mount of Olives where the sisters Mary and Martha lived.
a. It was there that Jesus had raised their brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11).
b. During that final week, Jesus spent most nights in Bethany.
3. On this day, Mary anointed Jesus with costly perfume (Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:3-8).
a. The disciples (Judas in particular) object to this, calling it a waste.
b. Jesus praised Mary for anointing Him for burial and proclaimed a memorial to her.
4. When the multitude came to see Jesus and Lazarus at Bethany, the chief priests took counsel to kill them both (John 12:9-12).
C. On Sunday, the Lord made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
1. "On the next day” after Jesus arrived in Bethany (John 12:12), the multitudes gathered to welcome Him into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19).
a. Jesus entered riding on the colt of donkey in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.
b. The people spread out their garments and palm branches before Him and cried out "Hosanna” (meaning "salvation” or "save now”) and fulfilled Psalm 118:26.
c. John recorded that His disciples did not understand these things at first, but later they remembered that these things were written of Him (John 12:16).
d. The Lord's enemies were indignant about the people's reception of Jesus.
2. Luke recorded how the Lord wept over the city because of its coming destruction (Luke 19:41-44).
3. After entering the temple, Jesus returned to Bethany for the night (Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11).
D. On Monday, Christ cleansed the temple of the moneychangers and merchandisers.
1. In the morning as Jesus went back to Jerusalem (Matt. 21:18-19; Mark 11:12), He cursed a fruitless fig tree, which then withered (more on this below).
2. When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, He drove out those who corrupted the temple (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46).
a. These were persons who made set up businesses in the temple to make a profit from those who came to worship and exchanged money for animals to offer for sacrifices.
b. Jesus had similarly cleansed the temple early in His ministry (John 2:13-17).
3. Again, the Lord returned to Bethany that night (Mark 11:19).
E. On Tuesday, Jesus spent much time teaching the multitudes, His disciples, and His enemies in Jerusalem.
1. Jesus taught publicly for much of the time that He was in Jerusalem during this week, but more of His public teaching is recorded for this day than for any other.
a. He taught His disciples about faith using the fig tree (Matt. 21:20-22; Mark 11:20-24).
b. When His enemies questioned His authority, He exposed them their insincerity (Matt. 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-18).
c. He taught the multitudes the parables of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32), the vinedressers (Matt. 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19), and the wedding feast (Matt. 22:1-14).
d. He answered questions about taxes (Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26), the resurrection (Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40), and the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34).
e. He questioned the Pharisees about the Christ's position as both Son and Lord of David (Matt. 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44).
f. He spoke to the multitudes about the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:1-36; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47).
g. He used a widow at the temple as an example to teach His disciples the real meaning of giving and sacrifice (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).
h. As He was leaving the temple and later on the Mount of Olives, He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37-24:51; Mark 13:1-27; Luke 21:5-28).
i. He taught the parables of preparation: the fig tree (Matt. 24:32-35; Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-33), the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), and the talents (Matt. 25:14-46).
2. As the Lord was teaching, the plot to kill Him was intensifying (Mark 14:1-2, 10-11).
F. The events of Wednesday are unknown, for there is no record of them in the Scriptures.
G. On Thursday, the Lord and His apostles prepared for and observed the Passover Feast.
1. In the late afternoon, the apostles made preparations for the Passover (Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13).
2. That night, Jesus and His disciples gathered together in an upper room for the Feast.
a. By our measure, this was Thursday evening, but the Jews have counted it as the beginning of the sixth day of the week, which is our Friday.
b. While they were observing the Feast, Jesus washed the disciples' feet to teach them to serve each other (John 13:1-17).
c. Christ then foretold of His betrayer (Matt. 26:20-25; Mark 14:17-21; Luke 22:21-23; John 13:18-26). Judas then left to complete his work of betrayal (John 13:27-30).
d. During the Feast, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20).
e. Jesus predicted Peter's denials that would occur that same night (Matt. 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38; John 13:26-38).
f. John gave an extensive record of Christ's words to His apostles that night, including His promise to send the Holy Spirit (John 14-16). He also recorded Christ's prayer (John 17).
H. On Friday, Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified.
1. Jesus and His apostles left the upper room and went to the garden of Gethsemane in the Kidron valley (John 18:1).
a. Jesus separated Peter, James, and John from the others. He told them to keep watch while He went to pray (Matt. 26:36-38; Mark 14:32-34; Luke 22:39-40).
b. In three separate prayers, Jesus asked for His suffering to pass, but He also prayed that His Father's will be done (Matt. 26:39-46; Mark 14:35-42; Luke 22:41-46). While He prayed, His disciples were "sleeping from sorrow” (Luke 22:45).
c. It was at this time that Judas led an armed mob from the chief priests, scribes, and elders into the garden to arrest Jesus (Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-11).
2. The events in Gethsemane began the cycle that would lead to the Lord's crucifixion. This cycle will be the subject of the remainder of our study.
III. CONCLUSION
A. In the coming lessons, we will take a closer look at these latter events – the Lord's betrayal, His trials by both the Jews and the Romans, and His crucifixion. In the final lesson, we will consider the events immediately following Christ's death.
B. These are the events that led to our salvation. Upon these, we base our faith in Christ. Let us fully appreciate the magnitude of our Lord's sacrifice for our souls.
