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Urantia Book Paper 172 Going Into Jerusalem
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ...
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Paper 172 Going Into Jerusalem
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Introduction
JESUS and the apostles arrived at Bethany shortly after four o'clock on Friday
afternoon, March 31, A.D. 30. Lazarus, his sisters, and their friends were
expecting them; and since so many people came every day to talk with Lazarus
about his resurrection, Jesus was informed that arrangements had been made for
him to stay with a neighboring believer, one Simon, the leading citizen of the
little village since the death of Lazarus's father.
That evening, Jesus received many visitors, and the common folks of Bethany and
Bethphage did their best to make him feel welcome. Although many thought Jesus
was now going into Jerusalem, in utter defiance of the Sanhedrin's decree of
death, to proclaim himself king of the Jews, the Bethany family--Lazarus,
Martha, and Mary--more fully realized that the Master was not that kind of a
king; they dimly felt that this might be his last visit to Jerusalem and
Bethany.
The chief priests were informed that Jesus lodged at Bethany, but they thought
best not to attempt to seize him among his friends; they decided to await his
coming on into Jerusalem. Jesus knew about all this, but he was majestically
calm; his friends had never seen him more composed and congenial; even the
apostles were astounded that he should be so unconcerned when the Sanhedrin had
called upon all Jewry to deliver him into their hands. While the Master slept
that night, the apostles watched over him by twos, and many of them were girded
with swords. Early the next morning they were awakened by hundreds of pilgrims
who came out from Jerusalem, even on the Sabbath day, to see Jesus and Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
1. SABBATH AT BETHANY
Pilgrims from outside of Judea, as well as the Jewish authorities, had all been
asking: "What do you think? will Jesus come up to the feast?" Therefore, when
the people heard that Jesus was at Bethany, they were glad, but the chief
priests and Pharisees were somewhat perplexed. They were pleased to have him
under their jurisdiction, but they were a trifle disconcerted by his boldness;
they remembered that on his previous visit to Bethany, Lazarus had been raised
from the dead, and Lazarus was becoming a big problem to the enemies of Jesus.
Six days before the Passover, on the evening after the Sabbath, all Bethany and
Bethphage joined in celebrating the arrival of Jesus by a public banquet at the
home of Simon. This supper was in honor of both Jesus and Lazarus; it was
tendered in defiance of the Sanhedrin. Martha directed the serving of the food;
her sister Mary was among the women onlookers as it was against the custom of
the Jews for a woman to sit at a public banquet. The agents of the Sanhedrin
were present, but they feared to apprehend Jesus in the midst of his friends.
top of page - 1879
Jesus talked with Simon about Joshua of old, whose namesake he was, and recited
how Joshua and the Israelites had come up to Jerusalem through Jericho. In
commenting on the legend of the walls of Jericho falling down, Jesus said: "I
am not concerned with such walls of brick and stone; but I would cause the
walls of prejudice, self-righteousness, and hate to crumble before this
preaching of the Father's love for all men."
The banquet went along in a very cheerful and normal manner except that all the
apostles were unusually sober. Jesus was exceptionally cheerful and had been
playing with the children up to the time of coming to the table.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened until near the close of the feasting when
Mary the sister of Lazarus stepped forward from among the group of women
onlookers and, going up to where Jesus reclined as the guest of honor,
proceeded to open a large alabaster cruse of very rare and costly ointment; and
after anointing the Master's head, she began to pour it upon his feet as she
took down her hair and wiped them with it. The whole house became filled with
the odor of the ointment, and everybody present was amazed at what Mary had
done. Lazarus said nothing, but when some of the people murmured, showing
indignation that so costly an ointment should be thus used, Judas Iscariot
stepped over to where Andrew reclined and said: "Why was this ointment not sold
and the money bestowed to feed the poor? You should speak to the Master that he
rebuke such waste."
Jesus, knowing what they thought and hearing what they said, put his hand upon
Mary's head as she knelt by his side and, with a kindly expression upon his
face, said: "Let her alone, every one of you. Why do you trouble her about
this, seeing that she has done a good thing in her heart? To you who murmur and
say that this ointment should have been sold and the money given to the poor,
let me say that you have the poor always with you so that you may minister to
them at any time it seems good to you; but I shall not always be with you; I go
soon to my Father. This woman has long saved this ointment for my body at its
burial, and now that it has seemed good to her to make this anointing in
anticipation of my death, she shall not be denied such satisfaction. In the
doing of this, Mary has reproved all of you in that by this act she evinces
faith in what I have said about my death and ascension to my Father in heaven.
This woman shall not be reproved for that which she has this night done; rather
do I say to you that in the ages to come, wherever this gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of in
memory of her."
It was because of this rebuke, which he took as a personal reproof, that Judas
Iscariot finally made up his mind to seek revenge for his hurt feelings. Many
times had he entertained such ideas subconsciously, but now he dared to think
such wicked thoughts in his open and conscious mind. And many others encouraged
him in this attitude since the cost of this ointment was a sum equal to the
earnings of one man for one year--enough to provide bread for five thousand
persons. But Mary loved Jesus; she had provided this precious ointment with
which to embalm his body in death, for she believed his words when he
forewarned them that he must die, and it was not to be denied her if she
changed her mind and chose to bestow this offering upon the Master while he yet
lived.
Both Lazarus and Martha knew that Mary had long saved the money wherewith to
buy this cruse of spikenard, and they heartily approved of her doing
top of page - 1880
as her heart desired in such a matter, for they were well-to-do and could
easily afford to make such an offering.
When the chief priests heard of this dinner in Bethany for Jesus and Lazarus,
they began to take counsel among themselves as to what should be done with
Lazarus. And presently they decided that Lazarus must also die. They rightly
concluded that it would be useless to put Jesus to death if they permitted
Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, to live.
2. SUNDAY MORNING WITH THE APOSTLES
On this Sunday morning, in Simon's beautiful garden, the Master called his
twelve apostles around him and gave them their final instructions preparatory
to entering Jerusalem. He told them that he would probably deliver many
addresses and teach many lessons before returning to the Father but advised the
apostles to refrain from doing any public work during this Passover sojourn in
Jerusalem. He instructed them to remain near him and to "watch and pray." Jesus
knew that many of his apostles and immediate followers even then carried swords
concealed on their persons, but he made no reference to this fact.
This morning's instructions embraced a brief review of their ministry from the
day of their ordination near Capernaum down to this day when they were
preparing to enter Jerusalem. The apostles listened in silence; they asked no
questions.
Early that morning David Zebedee had turned over to Judas the funds realized
from the sale of the equipment of the Pella encampment, and Judas, in turn, had
placed the greater part of this money in the hands of Simon, their host, for
safekeeping in anticipation of the exigencies of their entry into Jerusalem.
After the conference with the apostles Jesus held converse with Lazarus and
instructed him to avoid the sacrifice of his life to the vengefulness of the
Sanhedrin. It was in obedience to this admonition that Lazarus, a few days
later, fled to Philadelphia when the officers of the Sanhedrin sent men to
arrest him.
In a way, all of Jesus' followers sensed the impending crisis, but they were
prevented from fully realizing its seriousness by the unusual cheerfulness and
exceptional good humor of the Master.
3. THE START FOR JERUSALEM
Bethany was about two miles from the temple, and it was half past one that
Sunday afternoon when Jesus made ready to start for Jerusalem. He had feelings
of profound affection for Bethany and its simple people. Nazareth, Capernaum,
and Jerusalem had rejected him, but Bethany had accepted him, had believed in
him. And it was in this small village, where almost every man, woman, and child
were believers, that he chose to perform the mightiest work of his earth
bestowal, the resurrection of Lazarus. He did not raise Lazarus that the
villagers might believe, but rather because they already believed.
All morning Jesus had thought about his entry into Jerusalem. Heretofore he had
always endeavored to suppress all public acclaim of him as the Messiah, but it
was different now; he was nearing the end of his career in the flesh, his death
had been decreed by the Sanhedrin, and no harm could come from allowing his
disciples to give free expression to their feelings, just as might occur if he
elected to make a formal and public entry into the city.
top of page - 1881
Jesus did not decide to make this public entrance into Jerusalem as a last bid
for popular favor nor as a final grasp for power. Neither did he do it
altogether to satisfy the human longings of his disciples and apostles. Jesus
entertained none of the illusions of a fantastic dreamer; he well knew what was
to be the outcome of this visit.
Having decided upon making a public entrance into Jerusalem, the Master was
confronted with the necessity of choosing a proper method of executing such a
resolve. Jesus thought over all of the many more or less contradictory
so-called Messianic prophesies, but there seemed to be only one which was at
all appropriate for him to follow. Most of these prophetic utterances depicted
a king, the son and successor of David, a bold and aggressive temporal
deliverer of all Israel from the yoke of foreign domination. But there was one
Scripture that had sometimes been associated with the Messiah by those who held
more to the spiritual concept of his mission, which Jesus thought might
consistently be taken as a guide for his projected entry into Jerusalem. This
Scripture was found in Zechariah, and it said: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king comes to you. He is
just and he brings salvation. He comes as the lowly one, riding upon an ass,
upon a colt, the foal of an ass."
A warrior king always entered a city riding upon a horse; a king on a mission
of peace and friendship always entered riding upon an ass. Jesus would not
enter Jerusalem as a man on horseback, but he was willing to enter peacefully
and with good will as the Son of Man on a donkey.
Jesus had long tried by direct teaching to impress upon his apostles and his
disciples that his kingdom was not of this world, that it was a purely
spiritual matter; but he had not succeeded in this effort. Now, what he had
failed to do by plain and personal teaching, he would attempt to accomplish by
a symbolic appeal. Accordingly, right after the noon lunch, Jesus called Peter
and John, and after directing them to go over to Bethphage, a neighboring
village a little off the main road and a short distance northwest of Bethany,
he further said: "Go to Bethphage, and when you come to the junction of the
roads, you will find the colt of an ass tied there. Loose the colt and bring it
back with you. If any one asks you why you do this, merely say, `The Master has
need of him."' And when the two apostles had gone into Bethphage as the Master
had directed, they found the colt tied near his mother in the open street and
close to a house on the corner. As Peter began to untie the colt, the owner
came over and asked why they did this, and when Peter answered him as Jesus had
directed, the man said: "If your Master is Jesus from Galilee, let him have the
colt." And so they returned bringing the colt with them.
By this time several hundred pilgrims had gathered around Jesus and his
apostles. Since midforenoon the visitors passing by on their way to the
Passover had tarried. Meanwhile, David Zebedee and some of his former messenger
associates took it upon themselves to hasten on down to Jerusalem, where they
effectively spread the report among the throngs of visiting pilgrims about the
temple that Jesus of Nazareth was making a triumphal entry into the city.
Accordingly, several thousand of these visitors flocked forth to greet this
much-talked-of prophet and wonder-worker, whom some believed to be the Messiah.
This multitude, coming out from Jerusalem, met Jesus and the crowd going into
the city just after they had passed over the brow of Olivet and had begun the
descent into the city.
top of page - 1882
As the procession started out from Bethany, there was great enthusiasm among
the festive crowd of disciples, believers, and visiting pilgrims, many hailing
from Galilee and Perea. Just before they started, the twelve women of the
original women's corps, accompanied by some of their associates, arrived on the
scene and joined this unique procession as it moved on joyously toward the
city.
Before they started, the Alpheus twins put their cloaks on the donkey and held
him while the Master got on. As the procession moved toward the summit of
Olivet, the festive crowd threw their garments on the ground and brought
branches from the near-by trees in order to make a carpet of honor for the
donkey bearing the royal Son, the promised Messiah. As the merry crowd moved on
toward Jerusalem, they began to sing, or rather to shout in unison, the Psalm,
"Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed be the kingdom that comes down from heaven."
Jesus was lighthearted and cheerful as they moved along until he came to the
brow of Olivet, where the city and the temple towers came into full view; there
the Master stopped the procession, and a great silence came upon all as they
beheld him weeping. Looking down upon the vast multitude coming forth from the
city to greet him, the Master, with much emotion and with tearful voice, said:
"O Jerusalem, if you had only known, even you, at least in this your day, the
things which belong to your peace, and which you could so freely have had! But
now are these glories about to be hid from your eyes. You are about to reject
the Son of Peace and turn your backs upon the gospel of salvation. The days
will soon come upon you wherein your enemies will cast a trench around about
you and lay siege to you on every side; they shall utterly destroy you,
insomuch that not one stone shall be left upon another. And all this shall
befall you because you knew not the time of your divine visitation. You are
about to reject the gift of God, and all men will reject you."
When he had finished speaking, they began the descent of Olivet and presently
were joined by the multitude of visitors who had come from Jerusalem waving
palm branches, shouting hosannas, and otherwise expressing gleefulness and good
fellowship. The Master had not planned that these crowds should come out from
Jerusalem to meet them; that was the work of others. He never premeditated
anything which was dramatic.
Along with the multitude which poured out to welcome the Master, there came
also many of the Pharisees and his other enemies. They were so much perturbed
by this sudden and unexpected outburst of popular acclaim that they feared to
arrest him lest such action precipitate an open revolt of the populace. They
greatly feared the attitude of the large numbers of visitors, who had heard
much of Jesus, and who, many of them, believed in him.
As they neared Jerusalem, the crowd became more demonstrative, so much so that
some of the Pharisees made their way up alongside Jesus and said: "Teacher, you
should rebuke your disciples and exhort them to behave more seemly." Jesus
answered: "It is only fitting that these children should welcome the Son of
Peace, whom the chief priests have rejected. It would be useless to stop them
lest in their stead these stones by the roadside cry out."
The Pharisees hastened on ahead of the procession to rejoin the Sanhedrin,
which was then in session at the temple, and they reported to their associates:
"Behold, all that we do is of no avail; we are confounded by this Galilean. The
people have gone mad over him; if we do not stop these ignorant ones, all the
world will go after him."
top of page - 1883
There really was no deep significance to be attached to this superficial and
spontaneous outburst of popular enthusiasm. This welcome, although it was
joyous and sincere, did not betoken any real or deep-seated conviction in the
hearts of this festive multitude. These same crowds were equally as willing
quickly to reject Jesus later on this week when the Sanhedrin once took a firm
and decided stand against him, and when they became disillusioned--when they
realized that Jesus was not going to establish the kingdom in accordance with
their long-cherished expectations.
But the whole city was mightily stirred up, insomuch that everyone asked, "Who
is this man?" And the multitude answered, "This is the prophet of Galilee,
Jesus of Nazareth."
4. VISITING ABOUT THE TEMPLE
While the Alpheus twins returned the donkey to its owner, Jesus and the ten
apostles detached themselves from their immediate associates and strolled about
the temple, viewing the preparations for the Passover. No attempt was made to
molest Jesus as the Sanhedrin greatly feared the people, and that was, after
all, one of the reasons Jesus had for allowing the multitude thus to acclaim
him. The apostles little understood that this was the only human procedure
which could have been effective in preventing Jesus' immediate arrest upon
entering the city. The Master desired to give the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
high and low, as well as the tens of thousands of Passover visitors, this one
more and last chance to hear the gospel and receive, if they would, the Son of
Peace.
And now, as the evening drew on and the crowds went in quest of nourishment,
Jesus and his immediate followers were left alone. What a strange day it had
been! The apostles were thoughtful, but speechless. Never, in their years of
association with Jesus, had they seen such a day. For a moment they sat down by
the treasury, watching the people drop in their contributions: the rich putting
much in the receiving box and all giving something in accordance with the
extent of their possessions. At last there came along a poor widow, scantily
attired, and they observed as she cast two mites (small coppers) into the
trumpet. And then said Jesus, calling the attention of the apostles to the
widow: "Heed well what you have just seen. This poor widow cast in more than
all the others, for all these others, from their superfluity, cast in some
trifle as a gift, but this poor woman, even though she is in want, gave all
that she had, even her living."
As the evening drew on, they walked about the temple courts in silence, and
after Jesus had surveyed these familiar scenes once more, recalling his
emotions in connection with previous visits, not excepting the earlier ones, he
said, "Let us go up to Bethany for our rest." Jesus, with Peter and John, went
to the home of Simon, while the other apostles lodged among their friends in
Bethany and Bethphage.
5. THE APOSTLES' ATTITUDE
This Sunday evening as they returned to Bethany, Jesus walked in front of the
apostles. Not a word was spoken until they separated after arriving at Simon's
house. No twelve human beings ever experienced such diverse and inexplicable
emotions as now surged through the minds and souls of these ambassadors of the
kingdom. These sturdy Galileans were confused and discon-
top of page - 1884
certed; they did not know what to expect next; they were too surprised to be
much afraid. They knew nothing of the Master's plans for the next day, and they
asked no questions. They went to their lodgings, though they did not sleep
much, save the twins. But they did not keep armed watch over Jesus at Simon's
house.
Andrew was thoroughly bewildered, well-nigh confused. He was the one apostle
who did not seriously undertake to evaluate the popular outburst of acclaim. He
was too preoccupied with the thought of his responsibility as chief of the
apostolic corps to give serious consideration to the meaning or significance of
the loud hosannas of the multitude. Andrew was busy watching some of his
associates whom he feared might be led away by their emotions during the
excitement, particularly Peter, James, John, and Simon Zelotes. Throughout this
day and those which immediately followed, Andrew was troubled with serious
doubts, but he never expressed any of these misgivings to his apostolic
associates. He was concerned about the attitude of some of the twelve whom he
knew were armed with swords; but he did not know that his own brother, Peter,
was carrying such a weapon. And so the procession into Jerusalem made a
comparatively superficial impression upon Andrew; he was too busy with the
responsibilities of his office to be otherwise affected.
Simon Peter was at first almost swept off his feet by this popular
manifestation of enthusiasm; but he was considerably sobered by the time they
returned to Bethany that night. Peter simply could not figure out what the
Master was about. He was terribly disappointed that Jesus did not follow up
this wave of popular favor with some kind of a pronouncement. Peter could not
understand why Jesus did not speak to the multitude when they arrived at the
temple, or at least permit one of the apostles to address the crowd. Peter was
a great preacher, and he disliked to see such a large, receptive, and
enthusiastic audience go to waste. He would so much have liked to preach the
gospel of the kingdom to that throng right there in the temple; but the Master
had specifically charged them that they were to do no teaching or preaching
while in Jerusalem this Passover week. The reaction from the spectacular
procession into the city was disastrous to Simon Peter; by night he was sobered
and inexpressibly saddened.
To James Zebedee, this Sunday was a day of perplexity and profound confusion;
he could not grasp the purport of what was going on; he could not comprehend
the Master's purpose in permitting this wild acclaim and then in refusing to
say a word to the people when they arrived at the temple. As the procession
moved down Olivet toward Jerusalem, more especially when they were met by the
thousands of pilgrims who poured forth to welcome the Master, James was cruelly
torn by his conflicting emotions of elation and gratification at what he saw
and by his profound feeling of fear as to what would happen when they reached
the temple. And then was he downcast and overcome by disappointment when Jesus
climbed off the donkey and proceeded to walk leisurely about the temple courts.
James could not understand the reason for throwing away such a magnificent
opportunity to proclaim the kingdom. By night, his mind was held firmly in the
grip of a distressing and dreadful uncertainty.
John Zebedee came somewhere near understanding why Jesus did this; at least he
grasped in part the spiritual significance of this so-called triumphal entry
into Jerusalem. As the multitude moved on toward the temple, and as John beheld
his Master sitting there astride the colt, he recalled hearing Jesus onetime
quote the passage of Scripture, the utterance of Zechariah, which described the
coming of the Messiah as a man of peace and riding into Jerusalem on an ass.
top of page - 1885
As John turned this Scripture over in his mind, he began to comprehend the
symbolic significance of this Sunday-afternoon pageant. At least, he grasped
enough of the meaning of this Scripture to enable him somewhat to enjoy the
episode and to prevent his becoming overmuch depressed by the apparent
purposeless ending of the triumphal procession. John had a type of mind which
naturally tended to think and feel in symbols.
Philip was entirely unsettled by the suddenness and spontaneity of the
outburst. He could not collect his thoughts sufficiently while on the way down
Olivet to arrive at any settled notion as to what all the demonstration was
about. In a way, he enjoyed the performance because his Master was being
honored. By the time they reached the temple, he was perturbed by the thought
that Jesus might possibly ask him to feed the multitude, so that the conduct of
Jesus in turning leisurely away from the crowds, which so sorely disappointed
the majority of the apostles, was a great relief to Philip. Multitudes had
sometimes been a great trial to the steward of the twelve. After he was
relieved of these personal fears regarding the material needs of the crowds,
Philip joined with Peter in the expression of disappointment that nothing was
done to teach the multitude. That night Philip got to thinking over these
experiences and was tempted to doubt the whole idea of the kingdom; he honestly
wondered what all these things could mean, but he expressed his doubts to no
one; he loved Jesus too much. He had great personal faith in the Master.
Nathaniel, aside from the symbolic and prophetic aspects, came the nearest to
understanding the Master's reason for enlisting the popular support of the
Passover pilgrims. He reasoned it out, before they reached the temple, that
without such a demonstrative entry into Jerusalem Jesus would have been
arrested by the Sanhedrin officials and cast into prison the moment he presumed
to enter the city. He was not, therefore, in the least surprised that the
Master made no further use of the cheering crowds when he had once got inside
the walls of the city and had thus so forcibly impressed the Jewish leaders
that they would refrain from placing him under immediate arrest. Understanding
the real reason for the Master's entering the city in this manner, Nathaniel
naturally followed along with more poise and was less perturbed and
disappointed by Jesus' subsequent conduct than were the other apostles.
Nathaniel had great confidence in Jesus' understanding of men as well as in his
sagacity and cleverness in handling difficult situations.
Matthew was at first nonplused by this pageant performance. He did not grasp
the meaning of what his eyes were seeing until he also recalled the Scripture
in Zechariah where the prophet had alluded to the rejoicing of Jerusalem
because her king had come bringing salvation and riding upon the colt of an
ass. As the procession moved in the direction of the city and then drew on
toward the temple, Matthew became ecstatic; he was certain that something
extraordinary would happen when the Master arrived at the temple at the head of
this shouting multitude. When one of the Pharisees mocked Jesus, saying, "Look,
everybody, see who comes here, the king of the Jews riding on an ass!" Matthew
kept his hands off of him only by exercising great restraint. None of the
twelve was more depressed on the way back to Bethany that evening. Next to
Simon Peter and Simon Zelotes, he experienced the highest nervous tension and
was in a state of exhaustion by night. But by morning Matthew was much cheered;
he was, after all, a cheerful loser.
top of page - 1886
Thomas was the most bewildered and puzzled man of all the twelve. Most of the
time he just followed along, gazing at the spectacle and honestly wondering
what could be the Master's motive for participating in such a peculiar
demonstration. Down deep in his heart he regarded the whole performance as a
little childish, if not downright foolish. He had never seen Jesus do anything
like this and was at a loss to account for his strange conduct on this Sunday
afternoon. By the time they reached the temple, Thomas had deduced that the
purpose of this popular demonstration was so to frighten the Sanhedrin that
they would not dare immediately to arrest the Master. On
top of page - 1887
the way back to Bethany Thomas thought much but said nothing. By bedtime the
Master's cleverness in staging the tumultuous entry into Jerusalem had begun to
make a somewhat humorous appeal, and he was much cheered up by this reaction.
This Sunday started off as a great day for Simon Zelotes. He saw visions of
wonderful doings in Jerusalem the next few days, and in that he was right, but
Simon dreamed of the establishment of the new national rule of the Jews, with
Jesus on the throne of David. Simon saw the nationalists springing into action
as soon as the kingdom was announced, and himself in supreme command of the
assembling military forces of the new kingdom. On the way down Olivet he even
envisaged the Sanhedrin and all of their sympathizers dead before sunset of
that day. He really believed something great was going to happen. He was the
noisiest man in the whole multitude. By five o'clock that afternoon he was a
silent, crushed, and disillusioned apostle. He never fully recovered from the
depression which settled down on him as a result of this day's shock; at least
not until long after the Master's resurrection.
To the Alpheus twins this was a perfect day. They really enjoyed it all the way
through, and not being present during the time of quiet visitation about the
temple, they escaped much of the anticlimax of the popular upheaval. They could
not possibly understand the downcast behavior of the apostles when they came
back to Bethany that evening. In the memory of the twins this was always their
day of being nearest heaven on earth. This day was the satisfying climax of
their whole career as apostles. And the memory of the elation of this Sunday
afternoon carried them on through all of the tragedy of this eventful week,
right up to the hour of the crucifixion. It was the most befitting entry of the
king the twins could conceive; they enjoyed every moment of the whole pageant.
They fully approved of all they saw and long cherished the memory.
Of all the apostles, Judas Iscariot was the most adversely affected by this
processional entry into Jerusalem. His mind was in a disagreeable ferment
because of the Master's rebuke the preceding day in connection with Mary's
anointing at the feast in Simon's house. Judas was disgusted with the whole
spectacle. To him it seemed childish, if not indeed ridiculous. As this
vengeful apostle looked upon the proceedings of this Sunday afternoon, Jesus
seemed to him more to resemble a clown than a king. He heartily resented the
whole performance. He shared the views of the Greeks and Romans, who looked
down upon anyone who would consent to ride upon an ass or the colt of an ass.
By the time the triumphal procession had entered the city, Judas had about made
up his mind to abandon the whole idea of such a kingdom; he was almost resolved
to forsake all such farcical attempts to establish the kingdom of heaven. And
then he thought of the resurrection of Lazarus, and many other things, and
decided to stay on with the twelve, at least for another day. Besides, he
carried the bag, and he would not desert with the apostolic funds in his
possession. On the way back to Bethany that night his conduct did not seem
strange since all of the apostles were equally downcast and silent.
Judas was tremendously influenced by the ridicule of his Sadducean friends. No
other single factor exerted such a powerful influence on him, in his final
determination to forsake Jesus and his fellow apostles, as a certain episode
which occurred just as Jesus reached the gate of the city: A prominent Sadducee
(a friend of Judas's family) rushed up to him in a spirit of gleeful ridicule
and, slapping him on the back, said: "Why so troubled of countenance, my good
friend; cheer up and join us all while we acclaim this Jesus of Nazareth the
king of the Jews as he rides through the gates of Jerusalem seated on an ass."
Judas had never shrunk from persecution, but he could not stand this sort of
ridicule. With the long-nourished emotion of revenge there was now blended this
fatal fear of ridicule, that terrible and fearful feeling of being ashamed of
his Master and his fellow apostles. At heart, this ordained ambassador of the
kingdom was already a deserter; it only remained for him to find some plausible
excuse for an open break with the Master.
top of page - 1888
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
Faith Of Jesus
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