The Chronological Gospel – Holy Week: Palm Sunday and Monday John 12:12, Mark 11:1-10, Matthew 21:4-5, John 12:17-19, Luke 19:39-40, John 12:16, Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 21:10-11, Mark 11:11, Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem and looks things over in the Temple. Mark 11:12-18, Matthew 21:14-16, Luke 19:47-48, Monday. Jesus cleanses the Temple again and teaches and heals there. John 12:20-36, Apparently Monday. Teaching John 12:37-50, Matthew 21:17, Monday evening. Comments by John; Jesus goes out to Bethany. More of The Chronological Gospel Copyright information, disclaimers, and sponsors Return to homepage

John 12:12, Mark 11:1-10, Matthew 21:4-5, John 12:17-19, Luke 19:39-40, John 12:16, Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem (8/8/14)

We normally celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as “Palm Sunday.” That’s possible, and it seems to agree with John’s statement that this was the day after Jesus arrived in Bethany “six days before the Passover.” Now that I’ve started planning the next installment of “The Chronological Gospel,” however, I’m beginning to wonder. It would mean that Jesus was traveling on the Sabbath, contrary to his usual custom. It would have been possible to cram everything that Jesus did in Jerusalem before the crucifixion into five days, but they would have been busy days. Furthermore, John’s schedule and Mark’s schedule (followed by Matthew and Luke) are just about impossible to reconcile. So remember, the Gospel writers weren’t keeping the log of the Starship Enterprise. The liturgical calendar is a wonderful device for ordering worship, but it isn’t necessarily exact with regard to dates. Read your Bible carefully and ask yourself which is more important: what happened, or the day of the week that it happened on.

12 The next day a great crowd of those who had come to the Festival [heard] that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

1-3 When they were getting near Jerusalem and had arrived at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples on in front, with these instructions. “Go,” He said, “to the village facing you, and immediately on entering it you will find an ass’s foal tied up which no one has ever yet ridden: untie him and bring him here. And if any one asks you, ‘Why are you doing that?’ say, ‘The Master needs it, and will send it back here without delay.’”

4-6 So they went and found a young ass tied up at the front door of a house. They were untying it, when some of the bystanders called out, “What are you doing, untying the foal?” But on their giving the answer that Jesus had bidden them give, they let them take it.

7-8 So they brought the foal to Jesus, and threw their outer garments over him; and Jesus mounted. Then many spread their outer garments to carpet the road, and others leafy branches which they had cut down in the fields;

9 while those who led the way and those who followed kept shouting

“GOD SAVE HIM!” BLESSED BE HE WHO COMES IN THE LORD’S NAME.
10 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our forefather David!
GOD IN THE HIGHEST HEAVENS SAVE HIM!”

4 This took place in order that the Prophet’s prediction might be fulfilled:

5 “TELL THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘SEE, THY KING IS COMING TO THEE, GENTLE, AND YET MOUNTED ON AN ASS,
EVEN ON A COLT THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”

17-18 The large number of people, however, who had been present when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and brought him back to life, related what they had witnessed. This was also why the crowd came to meet Him, because they had heard of His having performed that miracle.

19-20 The result was that the Pharisees said among themselves, “Observe how idle all your efforts are! The world is gone after him!” Thereupon some of the Pharisees in the crowd appealed to Him, saying, “Rabbi, reprove your disciples.”

40 “I tell you,” He replied, “that if *they* became silent, the very stones would cry out.”

16 The meaning of this His disciples did not understand at the time; but after Jesus was glorified they recollected that this was written about Him, and that they had done this to Him.

Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 21:10-11, Mark 11:11, Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem and looks things over in the Temple. (8/11/14)

Well, blow me down. I always thought that when Jesus, riding the foal of the donkey, came into sight of Jerusalem, he said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ... how often have I desired to gather thy children to me...” Nope. That was later in the week, while he was teaching in the Temple. Coming into the city, he prophesies its destruction. This chronological study continues to surprise me; how about you?

41 When He came into full view of the city, He wept aloud over it, and exclaimed,

42 “O that at this time thou hadst known – yes even thou – what makes peace possible! But now it is hid from thine eyes.

43 For the time is coming upon thee when thy foes will throw up around thee earthworks and a wall, investing thee and hemming thee in on every side.

44 And they will dash thee to the ground and thy children within thee, and will not leave one stone upon another within thee; because thou hast not recognized the time of thy visitation.”

10 When He thus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into commotion, every one inquiring, “Who is this?”

11 “This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee,” replied the crowds.

11 So He came into Jerusalem and into the Temple; and after looking round upon everything there, the hour being now late He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Mark 11:12-18, Matthew 21:14-16, Luke 19:47-48, Monday. Jesus cleanses the Temple again and teaches and heals there. (8/12/14)

There are significant differences between John’s account of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple near the beginning of his ministry (John 2) and this account in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, near the end of his ministry. My opinion is that Jesus cleansed the Temple twice, as reported. Not everybody agrees.

12 The next day, after they had left Bethany, He was hungry.

13-14 But in the distance He saw a fig-tree in full leaf, and went to see whether perhaps He could find some figs on it. When however He came to it, He found nothing but leaves (for it was not fig time); and He said to the tree, “Let no one ever again eat fruit from thee!” And His disciples heard this.

15-16 They reached Jerusalem, and entering the Temple He began to drive out the buyers and sellers, and upset the money-changers’ tables and the stools of the pigeon-dealers, and would not allow any one to carry anything through the Temple.

17 And He remonstrated with them. “Is it not written,” He said, “‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED THE HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS?’ But you have made it what it now is – A ROBBERS’ CAVE.”

18 This the High Priests and Scribes heard, and they began to devise means to destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him, because of the deep impression produced on all the people by His teaching.

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He cured them.

15 But when the High Priests and the Scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done and the children who were crying aloud in the Temple, “GOD SAVE THE SON OF DAVID,” they were filled with indignation.

47-48 And day after day He taught in the Temple, while the High Priests and the Scribes were devising some means of destroying Him, as were also the leading men of the people. But they could not find any way of doing it, for the people all hung upon His lips.

John 12:20-36, Apparently Monday. Teaching (8/13/14)

You have probably noticed that when we’re reading from Matthew, Mark, or Luke in this chronological study, we switch back and forth a lot among the three. (As a matter of fact, Dr. Daniel switches back and forth a lot more than we have been, because his book format allows him to include every detail that’s in any of the Gospels. That would be pretty tough for us here, so I’ve tried to balance the switching with ease of preparing and reading emails.)

In contrast, when we’re reading from the Gospel of John, we’re mostly reading from the Gospel of John. This is because John emphasized the Judean ministry of Jesus, which had been largely neglected by the earlier writers Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Consequently it can be tricky to determine exactly how to interleave the events reported by John with the events reported by Mark, Matthew, and Luke. For the most part, I’m following Dr. Daniel’s lead, and he puts these events on Monday of Holy Week.

20-22 Now some of those who used to come up to worship at the Festival were Greeks. They came to Philip, of Bethsaida in Galilee, with the request, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew: Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

23-26 His answer was, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. In most solemn truth I tell you that unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains what it was – a single grain; but that if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. He who holds his life dear, is destroying it; and he who makes his life of no account in this world shall keep it to the Life of the Ages. If a man wishes to be my servant, let him follow me; and where I am, there too shall my servant be. If a man wishes to be my servant, the Father will honor him.

27-28 Now is my soul full of trouble; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.” Thereupon there came a voice from the sky, “I have glorified it and will also glorify it again.”

29 The crowd that stood by and heard it, said that there had been thunder. Others said, “An angel spoke to him.”

30-32 “It is not for my sake,” said Jesus, “that that voice came, but for your sakes. Now is a judgment of this world: now will the Prince of this world be driven out. And I – if I am lifted up from the earth – will draw all men to me.”

33 He said this to indicate the kind of death He would die.

34 The crowd answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ remains for ever. In what sense do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is that Son of Man?”

35-36 “Yet a little while,” He replied, “the light is among you. Be faithful to the light that you have, for fear darkness should overtake you; for a man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. In the degree that you have light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” Jesus said this, and went away and hid Himself from them.

John 12:37-50, Matthew 21:17, Monday evening. Comments by John; Jesus goes out to Bethany. (8/14/14)

Have you ever said, “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it”? The opposite is sometimes just as true: “If I hadn’t believed it, I wouldn’t have seen it.”

The Gospel of John is all about belief and unbelief. Normally we see Matthew quoting the Old Testament, but here John quotes Isaiah on the topic of belief. John 12:38 quotes Isaiah 53:1 exactly from the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament). John 12:40 quotes Isaiah 6:10 less exactly. John may have been translating from the Hebrew, or he may have been paraphrasing. John’s point in the quotations and his own comment is this: some of the people were so convinced that Jesus was an imposter that they couldn’t see or understand that his miracles proved that he had been sent by God.

37-38 But though He had performed such great miracles in their presence, they did not believe in Him – in order that the words of Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR PREACHING? AND THE ARM OF THE LORD – TO WHOM HAS IT BEEN UNVEILED?”

39 For this reason they were unable to believe – because Isaiah said again,

40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND MADE THEIR MINDS CALLOUS, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR MINDS, AND SHOULD TURN, AND I SHOULD HEAL THEM.”

41 Isaiah uttered these words because he saw His glory; and he spoke of Him.

42-43 Nevertheless even from among the Rulers many believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not avow their belief, for fear they should be shut out from the synagogue. For they loved the glory that comes from men rather than the glory that comes from God.

44-46 But Jesus cried aloud, “He who believes in me, believes not so much in me, as in Him who sent me; and he who sees me sees Him who sent me. I have come like light into the world, in order that no one who believes in me may remain in the dark.

47-48 And if any one hears my teachings and regards them not, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who sets me at naught and does not receive my teachings is not left without a judge: the Message which I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

49-50 Because I have not spoken on my own authority; but the Father who sent me, Himself gave me a command what to say and in what words to speak. And I know that His command is the Life of the Ages. What therefore I speak, I speak just as the Father has bidden me.”

17 So He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and passed the night there.

More of The Chronological Gospel

Birth Announcements and Early Lives of Jesus and John the Baptist
Early Ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist
Jesus’ Early Ministry
Jesus’ Galilean Ministry
Sabbath Controversies
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Plain
John the Baptist
Signs and Parables
Miracles and Mission Trips
Bread of Life
Miracles and Meanings
Transfiguration and Teachings
To Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles
Some Results of Luke’s Research
Light
More of Luke’s Research
On the Road Again
The Raising of Lazarus
Holy Week: Palm Sunday and Monday
Holy Week: Tuesday, Parables and Questions
Holy Week: Wednesday Part 1, Discussions
Holy Week: Wednesday Part 2, Be Ready!
Holy Week: Thursday Part 1, Jesus' Celebration of the Passover
Holy Week: Thursday Part 2, Jesus' Farewell Discourse
Holy Week: Friday Part 1, Jesus' Arrest and Two Informal Trials
Holy Week: Friday Part 2, More Trials
Holy Week: Friday, Part 3, and Saturday, Jesus' Death and Burial
The Empty Tomb
Final Appearances of Jesus Prior to Pentecost

Copyright 2014 by Regina L. Hunter. All rights reserved. Scripture readings are from the Weymouth New Testament (1912); caps indicate quotations from the Old Testament. This page has been prepared for the web site by RPB.

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