Jesus Christ Our Passover
THE ELEVENTH OF NISAN
This day has
come to be known as “Palm Sunday,” named for the palm branches involved with
Christ’s 1st entry* and possibly with his 2nd entry**
into Jerusalem.
*
John 12: 13 – Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and
cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the
King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. [Palm trees represent joy and triumph.]
**
Matthew 21: 8 – And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way;
others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
Mark
11: 20 -- And in the morning, [this is the Sunday morning after the
record in Mark 11: 12 to 19, which was on Saturday] as they passed by, they saw the fig tree
dried up from the roots.
Jesus had cursed this same fig tree the previous day while on the way from Bethany to Jerusalem. This is stated in Mark 11: 12 to 19. Peter was amazed that in less than 24 hours, the tree had already dried up.
Mark 11: 21 to 24 -- And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Literally stated:
"Have the believing of God".
For
verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall
have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them.
Jesus used
this fig tree to demonstrate for his disciples and teach the great Law of
Believing. [See
The Law Of Believing – Parts 1, 2 & 3]. Having cursed the tree on Saturday morning as
they were traveling from Bethany to Jerusalem, on Sunday morning they found it
dried up from the roots. Jesus paused
to teach his disciples the great law of believing before continuing to
Jerusalem. This brings us to a similar,
though not identical, event in Matthew 21. Do you see why the Word of God must be RIGHTLY DIVIDED? It has to be a perfectly right cutting.
Matthew
21: 18 -- Now in the morning [the eleventh of Nisan, Sunday morning;
we have seen the
events of Matthew 21: 1 to 17 to be on Saturday] as he returned into [eis] the city, he
hungered.
This event
occurred on the same morning that we just read about in Mark 11: 20. Here in Matthew 21: 18, however, Jesus had
returned into (eis) the city of Jerusalem.
Matthew 21: 19a -- And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only. . . .
Just like the
fig tree of Mark 11: 12 and 13 which grew by the way leading from Bethany to
Jerusalem, so this fig tree within Jerusalem had only leaves and no buds
that could later turn into fruit. The
tree in Mark had been cursed outside the city the preceding Saturday
morning, and was found withered as they returned to Jerusalem on Sunday. But this tree was inside the city and
was cursed there on Sunday morning.
Matthew 21 notes another great difference between these two incidents.
Matthew
21: 19b -- . . . and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for
ever. And presently [immediately] the fig tree
withered away.
This second fig tree withered away immediately while the previous one died overnight. The first fig tree had amazed Peter while this one startled the disciples.
Matthew
21: 20 -- And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the
fig tree withered away!
Jesus Christ
took advantage of the situation again to teach the law of believing.
Matthew
21: 21 and 22 -- Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If
ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig
tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; it shall be done.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Twice that Sunday morning, Jesus demonstrated to his followers how he manifested the law of believing. He established this law to his disciples that day with two similar miracles. The first miracle involved cursing a fig tree on Saturday and finding it dried up by the next morning. The second miracle involved cursing another fig tree on Sunday morning and seeing it wither away before their eyes. This completely established for his followers the law of believing, a law which would be so crucial for the disciples to operate in their walk with God.
Genesis 41: 32 tells us that when God says something twice, it is established.
Genesis 41: 32 – And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh
twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly
bring it to pass.
The incidents
of two unfruitful fig trees are good examples of similar events being
mistaken as identical by the casual reader. Scriptures must complement and corroborate
one another and can never contradict each other. Only when private interpretation and theology try to make the two
cursed fig trees identical do problems arise.
The two records of the fig trees will never be understood if the details
are not carefully compared – rightly divided.
That is why God's Word must be
allowed to interpret itself. Time,
place, and circumstances must be carefully noted. The Scriptures cannot be
broken or manipulated to fit our theology.
They are not to be tampered with to make them say what a reader has
preconceived in his mind. When God's Word
is allowed to speak for itself, we see its great perfection.
Leaving the
withered fig tree behind, Jesus Christ
and his disciples entered the Temple once again. Remember, it was still the morning of Sunday, the eleventh of
Nisan.
Mark 11: 27 -- And they come
again to Jerusalem: and as he was
walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes,
and the elders.
Matthew 21: 23 -- And when he was come into the temple, the chief
priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said,
By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
With this,
Jesus began a discourse in the Temple with the religious leaders. As he had done so often, he confronted their
craftiness with boldness, wisdom, and the use of parables. His discourse this day was a penetrating and
courageous presentation in the presence of his critics and those who were
seeking to put him to death. They tried
to undermine and intimidate him with tempting questions, but Jesus continually
responded to them in such a way as to unmask their hypocrisy.
Jesus also gave several parables which included unmistakable references to the religious leaders present. Much of what he said was for the benefit of his many disciples present. Jesus Christ was being confronted by Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians - three groups which normally had very little to do with each other, in fact, they usually opposed each other. However, on this rare occasion, these three groups had a mutual point of agreement: to trap, humiliate, and destroy Jesus of Nazareth, who was a threat to each of their religious and political positions and followings. Did they care about the Word of God? Jesus spoke the two great commandments and finally denounced the religious leaders in front of all. He completed his discourse with a prophecy concerning Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. Then he arose and left the Temple.
(See Matthew 21: 23 to 23: 39 for the
complete discourse in the Temple. It is
also recorded in Mark 11: 28 -12: 44 and Luke 20: 1 to 21: 4.)
Mark
13: 1 and 2 -- And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith
unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
And
Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown down.
Luke
21: 5 and 6 -- And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly
stones and gifts, he said,
As for these things which ye behold, the days will
come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down.
The disciples
wanted Jesus to admire the magnificence of the Temple. Yet, Jesus Christ saw beyond its outward
appearance and prophesied of the Temple's destruction. The Temple at this time, though beautiful
and immense, was still under construction in its outer courts. The building of Herod's Temple and its courts
had begun around 20 B.C. It was finally
finished in 64 A.D. Six years later, in
70 A.D., the Roman general Titus destroyed the grand structure. This destruction by the Romans was the event
of which Jesus Christ prophesied. That’s the rightly divided Word of God – not
guesswork.
Leaving the
Temple area, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives where four of his disciples
privately asked him to explain his statements.
Mark 13: 3 and 4 -- And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Tell
us, when shall these things be? and
what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
In answering
them, Jesus began another discourse which included items directly relating to
the apostles as well as future events recorded in the Book of Revelation.
(This discourse is recorded in Luke 21:
7 to 38, Mark 13: 3 to 37, and Matthew 24: 3 to 25: 46.)
Biblical
students must constantly remind themselves that these teachings and prophecies
from the Gospels deal basically with Israel. They do not relate to the Church of the Body
to which you and I belong. The Church
of the Body was a mystery, hid in God until revealed to the Apostle Paul. This discourse on the Mount of Olives is for our learning; but it is not
addressed to us. The Church of the Body and Christ's return
to gather it were not the subject of Jesus' teaching here, for they were
revealed later in the Church Epistles. Not realizing
this fact has caused great confusion in
the Christian church. Portions of the Old Testament and the Book
of Revelation give further details on what Jesus Christ was expounding.
By the time Jesus became involved in this discourse with these four men, it was probably afternoon. When Jesus finished telling his disciples about the future events relating to Israel, he told them of his imminent death, and the method by which he would die.
Matthew 26: 1 and 2 -- And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
Ye
know that after two days is the feast
of [omit the
italicized words] the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
The
italicized words are inaccurate additions by the translators and should be
deleted. "After two days"
means "after two days have passed."
Since he was speaking very late on the eleventh, the "two
days" must have been Monday the twelfth and Tuesday the thirteenth. That correctly places the Passover after
these days on the fourteenth. Jesus
knew his death was imminent and would take place sometime after Passover began
on the fourteenth, though he did not yet know the exact hour. The specifics of Jesus' death become
important later.
So Christ told his disciples of his impending crucifixion. After witnessing his powerful deeds and the miracles of the past few days, to think of their bold and powerful Lord dying such a demeaning death must have overwhelmed his followers. To the apostles, Jesus' statement must have seemed unbelievable, puzzling. But God's adversary, Satan, was using the religious leaders as they conspired together to capture and kill Jesus Christ.
Matthew
26: 3 to 5 -- Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and
the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called
Caiaphas,
And
consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty [seize by
guile], and
kill him.
But
they said, Not on the feast day, [omit
"day"]
lest there be an uproar among the people.
Imagine the
fury of the priests, scribes, and elders after Jesus had rebuked them before
the people earlier in the day. Now these
leaders gathered to consider ways of killing him. It is interesting that God's Word shows Jesus Christ having this
knowledge revealed to him before the religious leaders even began their
scheming. God
always has His people a step ahead of the Adversary. The priests, scribes, and elders wanted
Jesus Christ dead before the fifteenth, the day of holy convocation, the first
day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
They feared the reaction of the people if they were to have Jesus killed
during the Feast. A record of this
identical situation is found in Mark 14.
Mark 14: 1 and 2 -- After two days was the feast of the passover,
and of unleavened bread: and the chief
priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to
death.
But
they said, Not on [during] the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
Once again,
the italicized words must be omitted.
The word "of" preceding "unleavened bread"
should be "the."
Mark
14: 1a – [Literal] After two days was the passover and the
unleavened bread . . . .
The known
events of the eleventh of Nisan conclude with the conspiracy of the religious
leaders.
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