He was solemnly entering as a humble King of peace. Traditionally, entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace, rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse.
According to the New Testament, Jerusalem was the city to which Jesus was brought as a child, to be presented at the Temple (Luke 2:22) and to attend festivals (Luke 2:41). According to the canonical gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem , especially in the Temple Courts.
Biblical scholars say that in these gospels, the mission of Jesus was less than twelve months. In John’s Gospel, Jesus just as clearly went to Jerusalem four times for the Passover. In this gospel, the duration of the mission of Jesus was three years.
The fact that Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover —and, according to John’s gospel, to observe many other high holidays as well—means that he was actively engaged in worship at the Temple.
“My God , My God , why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34) “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)
Mark uses the cursing of the barren fig tree to bracket and comment on his story of the Jewish temple: Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem when Jesus curses a fig tree because it bears no fruit; in Jerusalem he drives the money-changers from the temple; and the next morning the disciples find that the
When World War I ended in 1918 with an Allied victory, the 400-year Ottoman Empire rule ended, and Great Britain took control over what became known as Palestine (modern-day Israel, Palestine and Jordan). The Balfour Declaration and the British mandate over Palestine were approved by the League of Nations in 1922.
Christian tradition holds that Gestas was on the cross to the left of Jesus and Dismas was on the cross to the right of Jesus. In Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, the name of the impenitent thief is given as Gesmas . The impenitent thief is sometimes referred to as the “bad thief ” in contrast to the good thief .
Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea (26–36 CE ) who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion.
Jesus at the age of twelve accompanies Mary and Joseph, and a large group of their relatives and friends to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, “according to the custom” – that is, Passover. On the day of their return, Jesus “lingered” in the Temple, but Mary and Joseph thought that he was among their group.
The scene is a common motif in Christian art. In this account, Jesus and his disciples travel to Jerusalem for Passover, where Jesus expels the merchants and consumers from the Temple , accusing them of turning the Temple into “a den of thieves” through their commercial activities.
This third reference to a passover in the Gospel of John is why many suggest that Jesus’s ministry was a period of about three years . Scholars that support a three-year ministry, such as Köstenberger state that the Gospel of John simply provides a more detailed account.
All four Gospels agree to within about a day that the crucifixion was at the time of Passover , and all four Gospels agree that Jesus died a few hours before the commencement of the Jewish Sabbath, i.e. he died before nightfall on a Friday (Matt 27:62; 28:1; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31, 42).
Celebrations. Most Christians don’t celebrate the Passover , since it is seen to belong rather to a Jewish or Old Testament tradition which they believe to be no longer necessary. Among those Christians who do observe the Passover , there are some differences in how this is done.
Jesus ‘ riding the donkey echoes this regal arrival in Zechariah’s prophecy: Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious is he; humble and riding on a donkey , on a colt , the foal of a donkey .