Dr. Doug Bookman

A. Returns to Jerusalem, Passing by the Withered Fig Tree

Scripture: Matthew 21:20-22 and Mark 11:20-26

Notes: This occurred early on Tuesday morning, as Jesus and His disciples return to the city of Jerusalem. Mark presents the event chronologically, but Matthew grouped them together, as he tends to present events thematically.

B. Jesus Possesses the Temple Precincts and Defeats His Enemies in Open Debate

Scripture: Mark 11:27-33; Matthew 21:23-46; Luke 19:47-48; and John 12:20-36

Notes: Notice Luke’s survey of these two days: Jesus’s dramatic teaching and the consequent frustration of His enemies (Luke 19:47-48). Mark says that during this time, Jesus so thoroughly controlled the temple precincts that He would not allow a person to carry a vessel through the area (Mark 11:16). Notice that Jesus is teaching great multitudes (Luke 19:47-48), putting to silence His enemies in open debate (Matthew 21:23-27; Matthew 22:15-22, Matthew 22:23-33; cf. Luke 20:40 – all this in a culture which honored above almost all things the prowess of a man who could thus silence His enemies in this fashion), speaking scathing parables of denunciation against unbelieving Israel (Matthew 21:28-45), proving His claims from the Old Testament (Matthew 22:41-46), and finally pronouncing blistering woes specifically upon the Pharisees/Scribes, the spiritual heroes of the people and the purveyors of works righteousness by means of the Mosaic law (Matthew 23:1-36). Two notes are intriguing concerning the close of this day: Jesus’s comment concerning the widow who gave her last two mites, in such stark contrast to the spirit of the leadership (Luke 21:1-4; Mark 12:41-44), and Jesus’s weeping over the city as He departs for the final time (Matthew 23:37-39; cf. Luke 13:34-35).

Only John records the remarkable and poignant interview of Jesus with some Greek proselytes who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover and of His consequent contemplation of His own soon-coming death. It is difficult to know precisely when this event occurred, but the best guess is that it was sometime on Tuesday, during the season of teaching and confrontation in the Temple precincts. Contemplate this narrative carefully; it is very important in anticipation of the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Questions/Observations:

1. How might the events of Monday and Tuesday help explain why the city that welcomed Jesus as King on Sunday will cry for His death on Friday?
2. Again, given the drama of these two days, what must the disciples have felt concerning the issue of the soon-coming of the Kingdom?

C. Jesus Leaves for Bethany and Preaches the “Olivet Discourse”

Scripture: Matthew 24; Mark 13:1-47; and Luke 19:5-38

Notes: Notice that the question asked by the disciples (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7) indicates that the idea – the bare concept – that perhaps the kingdom will not come immediately is beginning to sink into the heads of the disciples. Note further that this “Olivet Discourse” (so-called because it was spoken on the Mount of Olives, the hill that dominates Jerusalem on the eastern side) was spoken privately to the disciples and that Jesus concludes the sermon with the command to “Watch” (Mark 13:37) because the drama Jesus describes here could commence at any moment. After this discourse, Jesus and the disciples return to Bethany once again for the night; they will remain there through Wednesday and until Thursday afternoon when they will return to the city for the Passover Feast in a borrowed room of a large home on the Western Hill. However, late on Tuesday night, one of the twelve will steal away to perform an unspeakably dastardly act of betrayal.

D. Judas, Stung by Jesus’s Rebuke (over the Expensive Anointing), Sneaks Off

Scripture: Matthew 26:1-16; Mark 14:1-11; Luke 22:1-6

Notes: Notice several elements of this very important scene. 1) The Jewish leadership in all of its parts – Pharisees/Scribes and Sadducees/Priests – are galvanized in their hatred of and anger toward Jesus and are taking counsel together to put Him to death. (This is because of the events of the last three days.) 2) The reason they are convinced they cannot kill Him until after the Feast is the wild-eyed fascination of the people with Jesus – they (i.e., Jesus’s enemies) “feared the people.” (Jesus knew how superficial and self-serving that fascination was, but the Jewish leadership did not – and neither did Jesus’s disciples.) 3) Because of Jesus’s popularity, the Jewish leadership knew that they would have to get the Romans (Pilate) to execute Jesus. That is, they were persuaded that had they spirited Him off and stoned Him, as they would later do to Stephen, there would be riots, and the Romans would exact retribution of those who sparked those riots. It is for this set of reasons that Jesus would die by crucifixion (Roman method) rather than by stoning (standard Jewish method). 4) The elaborate preparations necessary to the drama which would culminate with the crucifixion on Friday morning could not commence until Tuesday night when Judas showed up to help the Sanhedrinists get it done.

Questions/Observations:

1. Notice carefully what Judas agreed to do to assist the Sanhedrinists in the execution of Jesus (Luke 22:6).
2. As you read concerning the events of subsequent days, remember that Judas is convulsed by a desire to fulfill this commitment; he is looking for an opportunity to “betray Jesus to them in the absence of the multitude.”

Adapted from the Life of Christ study notes of Dr. Doug Bookman, professor of New Testament Exposition at Shepherds Theological Seminary (used by permission).

Dr. Doug Bookman

A. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree on the Way from Bethany on Monday Morning

Scripture: Mark 11:12-14 and Matthew 21:18-19

Notes: There were two stages to this event: on Monday the tree was cursed, on Tuesday it was found withered. Mark makes this clear. Matthew (as was his customary style) grouped them together (he tends to arrange events more thematically than chronologically). Matthew 21:18 refers to Monday morning (i.e., the morning of the day which he had narrated in Matthew 21:12-17); Matthew 21:20 refers to Tuesday morning (when the fig tree was discovered to have withered, and Jesus responded to the wonder of His disciples).

The day did not begin with a meal in Jewish culture, so they would often “snack” early in the day. Fig trees bore fruit twice a year: (harvestable summer figs, harvested in the autumn and worthless winter figs which appeared in the spring). There should have been winter figs on this tree, but Jesus found none.

Questions/Observations: What do you think might have been the point Jesus was making in the cursing of the fig tree? (That is, what spiritual reality is Jesus illustrating in this act – if any?)

B. The Second Cleansing of the Temple on Monday Morning

Scripture: Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-19; and Luke 19:45-48

Notes: This was not just an act of resentment, as if Jesus stumbled on abuses He had not anticipated and flew into a righteous rage. There were four Passovers during Jesus’s ministry. He cleansed the temple at the first (John 2), and then again at this feast (the fourth and last). There is strategy in this. In that regard, it is important to note whose territory Jesus was treading upon here.

It is impossible to overstate the anger that this act produced in the leadership of the Jewish nation, or the delight it generated in the hearts of the Jewish people.

Questions/Observations: The temple was the jurisdiction of the Sadducees (by Roman decree); the synagogue was the domain of the Pharisees (by practical realities). Given that, what strategy do you think might be involved in Jesus’s cleansing of the Temple at this time?

C. Jesus Returns to Bethany to Lodge for the Night

Scripture: Mark 11:11 and Matthew 21:17

Notes: The cleansing of the temple is basically all that is described in the gospel narrative of Monday of the Passion Week; after this event, Jesus returned to Bethany (Matthew 21:17; Mark 11:11). Jesus’s life was in constant and real danger; by walking with the vast crowds moving in and out of the city, and by lodging in Bethany – a village that deeply loved Jesus – at the home of a friend (who, by Jewish mores, was bound to provide protection for his Guest), Jesus protected Himself from the murderous designs of the Jewish leaders.

Questions/Observations: Remember that the disciples were convinced the kingdom was about to be established (Luke 19:11). How might the events of Sunday and Monday have affected that persuasion?

Adapted from the Life of Christ study notes of Dr. Doug Bookman, professor of New Testament Exposition at Shepherds Theological Seminary (used by permission).

Dr. Doug Bookman

A. The Trip to Jerusalem for the Final Passover: Ephraim to Bethany

Scripture: Luke 17:11; Mark 10:1-52; Matthew 19:1-30; and John 12:1

Notes: These passages describe the very important and strategic route that Jesus took as He made His way from Ephraim (just north of Jerusalem) through Samaria, Galilee, and Perea – on the way to the feast. Notice that Jesus arrives in Bethany (on the outskirts of the Holy City) “six days before the Passover,” which would be Friday.

Questions/Observations:

1. Notice that the route described in Luke 17:11 seems strange, but there is a remarkable strategy in that route. What is it about the route outlined there which seems strange?
2. Notice the excitement which builds as Jesus travels with a large band of Passover pilgrims along the way to the Feast.

B. The Sabbath in Bethany: The Day Before the Triumphal Entry

Scripture: John 12:1-11; Matthew 26:1-16; and Mark 14:1-11

Notes: The incident of the ointment – and specifically Jesus’s rebuke of Judas in connection with that incident – which occurred in Bethany on Saturday night (at the “coming out” of the Sabbath) has important ramifications later in the week.

Questions/Observations:

1. Notice that Matthew and Mark record the feast/anointing in the middle of their narrative of the events of Tuesday evening. We will discuss those events later; at this point, it is important to see that Matthew and Mark tell the story of the anointing in Bethany as a flashback. Can you think of why those gospelists would record that event anachronistically as they do?
2. In that connection, compare Luke 22:1-6; in a passage clearly parallel to Matthew 26 and Mark 14, Luke does not tell the story of the anointing. Note what he does say at precisely the place in the narrative where Matthew and Mark insert that account.

C. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

Scripture: Mark 11:1-19; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19

Notes: This event was unspeakably important with respect to Old Testament prophecy and to the ministry of Jesus. It did not happen accidentally; Jesus planned and strategized to make it happen. Further, the drama of the event relates to the expectations of the Jewish people for a soon-coming Deliverer, to the specific dynamics of the Passover Feast, and to recent events in the ministry of Jesus.

Questions/Observations:

1. Can you identify specific Old Testament predictive prophecies that were fulfilled in the Triumphal Entry of Jesus?
2. Given the edict issued by the Sanhedrinists (the most powerful leaders of the Jewish nation) in John 11:57, what reaction do you think this grand entrance of Jesus into the city produced in those leaders?
3. How would you explain the fact that by Friday the same city/people would be crying for the crucifixion of this One whom they received as King on this day?
4. Notice the frustration of the Pharisees in John 12:19.
5. Notice that as night fell Jesus and His disciples returned to Bethany (Mark 11:19). Understand the strategic importance of Bethany throughout this dramatic and dangerous week.

Adapted from the Life of Christ study notes of Dr. Doug Bookman, professor of New Testament Exposition at Shepherds Theological Seminary (used by permission).