What was Jesus arrival in Jerusalem in time for?

Question

Wiki User · Answer

The story of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem, where he will die, was first told in Mark's Gospel. In the framework, parallel structure of Mark, it forms a pair (M) with the story of Jesus coming into his own country, where he was brought up. In both cases, Jesus could do nothing because the people rejected him. A parallel structure is a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another, parallel set of events that mirrors the first, using context and association for emphasis and to develop themes that would not otherwise be apparent, as can shown in the following summary:A . John explains the coming of Jesus(Mark 1:1-8)

B .The baptism of Jesus (1:9)

C . The voice of God from heaven, "Thou art my beloved son" (1:11)

D . The forty days in the wilderness as an allusion to Elijah and Moses (1:13)

E . The people were astonished at what Jesus taught (1:22)

F . Jesus casts out an unclean spirit (1:23-26)

G . Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (3:6)

H . Demons, whenever they see Jesus, fall down and say that he is the Son of God.

-- Jesus commands that they tell no one of this (3:11-12)

I .. Jesus calls the 12 disciples (3:13-19)

J .. Jesus rejects his own family: he has a new family, his followers (3:31-35)

K . Jesus rebukes the wind (4:36-41)

L . The demoniac, wearing no clothes (5:15), cries out that Jesus not torment him and Jesus sends out the demons (5:1-20)

M . Jesus comes into his own country (6:1)
-- Where he was brought up

N . The people misunderstand Jesus and he can do no mighty work (6:2-6)

O . Jesus sends out the disciples and curses those who will not receive them (6:7-11)
-- in sending the disciples with authority and expecting all to receive them, Jesus is asserting his own authority

P . Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead (6:14)

Q . Herodias and her daughter conspire to kill John the Baptist (6:16-29)

R . Feeding the thousands, and related miracles and discourses (6:33-8:21)

S . Who do people say that I am (8:27)

T . Peter affirms faith in Jesus as the Christ (8:29)

U . Whosoever shall be ashamed of me: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed (8:38)

V . The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes (8:31a)

W . Be killed and after three days rise again (8:31b)

X . Prophecy of second coming (9:1)- Jesus tells the disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God coming with power.

B' .The Transfiguration of Jesus (9:2-3)

C' .The voice of God from heaven, "This is my beloved son" (9:7)

D' . Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses then to the disciples about Elijah (9:4-13)

E' .A great multitude was amazed at Jesus (9:15)

F' .Jesus cast out a dumb spirit (9:17-27)

G' .They shall kill the Son of man and he shall rise on the third day (9:31)

H' .Jesus clarifies his divine status, saying that he is not God: "Why call me good? There is none good but God" (10:18)

I' . Peter says the disciples have left all and followed Jesus (10:28)

J' . Those who have left their family for Jesus have a new family: all Jesus' followers (10:29-30)

K'. Jesus rebukes the 'sons of thunder', James and John (10:35-45 - cf 3:17)

L' .Blind Bartimaeus cries out for mercy and casts off his clothes, then Jesus heals him (10:46-52)

M' .Jesus comes into Jerusalem (11:1-10)
-- Where he will die

N' .Jesus misunderstands the fig tree that can provide no fruit (11:13-14)

O' .Jesus casts out them that sold and bought in the Temple and curses them for making the Temple a den of thieves (11:15-17)
-- Jesus is asserting his authority

P' .Jesus asks whether the baptism of John is from heaven or of men, and the priests, scribes and elders can not answer (11:30-33)

Q' .Parable of husbandmen who conspire to kill the vineyard owner's son (12:1-9)

X' .Prophecy of second coming (chapter 13)

-- on clouds of glory, within the lifetimes of some of those to whom he was speaking

R' .The Last Supper (14:17-25)

S' .Art thou the Christ, Son of God (14:61)

T' .Peter denies Jesus three times (14:66-72a)

U' .And when he thought thereon, Peter wept (14:72b)

V' .The chief priests, elders and scribes delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (15:1)

-- Delivering Jesus is a similar concept to rejecting him.
-- Both parts of the pair involve chief priests, elders and scribes

W' .Jesus dies and on the third day rises again (15:37, 16:6)

A' .The young man explains the departure of Jesus(16:6-8)

When they came near to Jerusalem, Jesus sent disciples ahead to find a donkey, which he would ride into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-7). Crowds came, waving leafy branches and shouting "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Mark 11:8-9). Bishop John Shelby Spong says that the story of Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem as a crowds waved leafy branches and shouted hosanna was simply a literary creation, meaning there was no donkey and no leafy branches. He explains this in the following way:--

The Jewish eight day celebration of the harvest, known as Sukkoth, and also called the Festival of the Tabernacles or Booths, was probably the most popular holiday among the Jews in the first century. In the observance of Sukkoth, worshippers processed through Jerusalem and in the Temple, waving a bunch of leafy branches made of willow, myrtle and palm. As they waved these branches in that procession, the worshippers recited words from Psalm 118, the psalm normally used at Sukkoth. Among these words were "Save us, we beseech you, O Lord." Save us in Hebrew is hosianna or 'hosanna'. This is typically followed by "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. (Psalm 118:25-6)."

In other words, the author of Mark's Gospel has transferred the imagery of the autumn/fall Festival of the Booths to the spring, just before the Jewish Passover. The account was copied and amended by the authors of Matthew, Luke and John.

Wiki User · Answer

When Jesus and the disciples came near to Jerusalem, Jesus sent disciples ahead to find a donkey, which he would ride into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-7). Crowds came, waving leafy branches and shouting "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Mark 11:8-9). Bishop John Shelby Spong says that the story of Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem as a crowds waved leafy branches and shouted hosanna was simply a literary creation, meaning there was no donkey and no leafy branches.

He explains this in the following way: The Jewish eight day celebration of the harvest, known as Sukkoth, and also called the Festival of the Tabernacles or Booths, was probably the most popular holiday among the Jews in the first century. In the observance of Sukkoth, worshippers processed through Jerusalem and in the Temple, waving a bunch of leafy branches made of willow, myrtle and palm. As they waved these branches in that procession, the worshippers recited words from Psalm 118, the psalm normally used at Sukkoth. Among these words were "Save us, we beseech you, O Lord." Save us in Hebrew is hosianna or 'hosanna'. This is typically followed by "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. (Psalm 118:25-6)." In other words, the author of Mark's Gospel, where the story was first told, has transferred the imagery of the autumn/fall Festival of the Booths to the spring, just before the Jewish Passover. The account was copied and amended by the authors of Matthew, Luke and John.

In the framework, parallel structure of Mark, the story of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem forms a pair (M) with the story of Jesus coming into his own country, where he was brought up. In both cases, Jesus could do nothing because the people rejected him. A parallel structure is a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another, parallel set of events that mirrors the first, using context and association for emphasis and to develop themes that would not otherwise be apparent, as can shown in the following summary:

A . John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)