based on events early in the week of Christ’s Passion
[ 3 voices ]
[ 3 voices ]
This image is suitable for projection in conjunction with these readings.
Click here to download a jpg file of this image.
This is a slightly odd dramatic reading. It has a sense of incompleteness about it — it begins to recount the events of the Passion Week and then stops half way through. The work on this project began specifically as an exploration of the event in Scripture traditionally known as The Cleansing of the Temple. For some theologians, and indeed, one could say, for the writer of the Gospel of Mark, this event was the final straw that provoked the religious leaders to plot the death of Jesus. It is therefore a pivotal event to understand.
So I thought it most important to set forth the Cleansing within the context of what preceded and what followed. Great expectations were mounting as Jesus made his way to Jerusalem. There were bright and fragile hopes that Jesus was Messiah, and that his presence in Jerusalem would usher in the new Kingdom and the gathering of all nations to the worship of the Lord God. But there were also uneasy fears that Jerusalem would occasion the death of Jesus, as it had for many of the prophets before him.
What was the shape of these hopes and these fears? And how did they work themselves out in those first events of the Passion Week?
The prophet Zechariah had spoken of the day when “all people will come and bow down before the Lord,” when a king would come to Jerusalem, “gentle and riding on a colt,” proclaiming “peace to the nations.” This was manifested in the exciting events of Palm Sunday, and gave the people hope that Jesus was this king “having salvation.”
But the following day, this righteous and gentle king entered the Temple and disrupted the sacrificial operations with a small riot. And the disciples remembered the ominous words of the Psalmist: “Zeal for your house consumes me.” The hopes for God’s restoration of his people were indeed fragile.
In the days immediately following the confrontation in the Temple courts, Jesus returned to the Temple where he healed and taught many. These days [Tuesday and Wednesday] have been given relatively little attention in the overall scheme of the Passion Week. But they are important, for they show Jesus’ undaunted resolution to work for God’s Kingdom, despite the evidence of very real and powerful opposition.
Note: I have renamed this reading from The Cleansing of the Temple to Jesus Enters Jerusalem because of an argument that John Dominic Crossan makes that the traditional naming of this event has anti-Semitic overtones.
Presentation time: 11 minutes
Click here to download a pdf file of this reading.
The Reading
| A | THE VISION OF THE PROPHETS REGARDING JERUSALEM | ||
| A B C | Hear the uproar from the city! Hear the noise from the temple! | Isaiah 66.6 | |
| A | The LORD declares | ||
| A B C | “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion | ||
| C | For I am coming, and I will live among you | ||
| A | Many nations will be joined with the LORD on that day and will become my people | zechariah 2.10,11 | |
| A B C | Be still before the LORD, all mankind | ||
| B | because the LORD has roused himself from his holy dwelling” | zechariah 2.13 | |
| A | On that day | ||
| B | ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say | ||
| C | “Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you” | zechariah 8.23 | |
| A | On that day | ||
| C | a fountain of living water will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity | zechariah 13.1 | |
| to remove the sin of this land in a single day | zechariah 3.9 | ||
| B | And God will pour out a spirit of grace and supplication | zechariah 12.10 | |
| A | On that day | ||
| B | HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty | ||
| A | On that day | ||
| B | there will no longer be merchants in the house of the LORD Almighty | zechariah 14.20-22 | |
| A | On that day | ||
| C | all foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him | ||
| B | all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant | ||
| A | these I will bring to my holy mountain to Jerusalem and give them joy in my house of prayer | ||
| C | Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar | ||
| A | for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations | isaiah 56.6,7 | |
| A B C | On that day all mankind will come and bow down before the LORD | ||
| [pause] | |||
| A | JESUS SETS HIS FACE TOWARDS JERUSALEM | ||
| B | As the days drew near for him to be taken up Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem | ||
| C | And he sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him but the people there did not welcome him because his face was set toward Jerusalem When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked | ||
| B | “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” | ||
| C | But Jesus turned and rebuked them and they went to another village | Luke 9.51-56 | |
| B | As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said | ||
| C | “If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes | ||
| A | Reform your ways and your actions and you will remain to live in this place Do not trust in deceptive words and say | ||
| B C | “This is the temple of the LORD the temple of the LORD the temple of the LORD!” | ||
| A | If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly in your hearts not thinking evil of each other | ||
| B | if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place | ||
| A | and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm | ||
| C | then you will live in this place in the land given your forefathers for ever and ever | ||
| A | But it is plain you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless | ||
| [pause] | |||
| A | THE ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM | ||
| A B C | Hear the uproar from the city! Hear the noise from the temple! | Isaiah 66.6 | |
| B | When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover the ancient festival that celebrated the people's liberation from imperial slavery Jesus and his followers went up to Jerusalem | ||
| A | As they came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them | ||
| C | “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden Untie it and bring it here” | ||
| B | They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road while others spread branches they had cut in the fields | mark 11.1,2,7-9 | |
| C | When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen including the raising of Lazarus | ||
| A B C | “Hosanna!” | ||
| C | “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” | ||
| B | ”Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” | ||
| A B C | “Hosanna in the highest!” | Mark 11.9,10 | |
| B | This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Zechariah | ||
| A | ”Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Watch, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a colt | ||
| C | He will proclaim peace to the nations His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” | zechariah 9.9, 10b | |
| B | Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus | ||
| A C | “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” | ||
| B | Jesus replied | ||
| C | ”I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” | luke 19.39,40 | |
| B | Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple He looked around at everything | mark 11.11 | |
| A | In the court of the Gentiles Jesus found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money | john 2.14 | |
| C | For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face I am a stranger to my brothers an alien to my own mother’s sons | Psalms 69.7,8 | |
| B | But it was already late and so he went out to Bethany with the Twelve | mark 11.11 | |
| C | Zeal for your house consumes me and the insults of those who insult you fall on me When I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me Those who sit at the gate mock me and I am the song of drunkards | Psalm 69.8-12 | |
| [pause] | |||
| A | THE PROPHET DISRUPTS THE TEMPLE | ||
| A B C | Hear the uproar from the city! hear the noise from the temple! | Isaiah 66.6 | |
| A | When Jesus returned to Jerusalem the whole city was stirred and asked | ||
| BC | “Who is this?” | ||
| A | The crowds answered | ||
| B C | This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” | matthew 21.10,11 | |
| B | May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me O Lord, the LORD Almighty may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me O God of Israel | psalm.69.6 | |
| A | Jesus returned to the temple courts where he had found the merchants Then he made a whip out of cords and drove out from the temple area all who were buying and selling there as well as the sheep and cattle | ||
| C | He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables To those who sold doves he said | ||
| B | “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market! It is written ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ | ||
| A | a house of prayer for all nations but you are making it a den of robbers a cave for thugs a place to which you return from your thievery and your violence” | ||
| C | And his disciples remembered that it is written “Zeal for your house will consume me” | john 2.14-18 | |
| D | And he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts | mark 11.16 | |
| B | Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold I am worn out calling for help my throat is parched My eyes fail, looking for my God | psalm 69.1-4, 29 | |
| [pause] | |||
| A | JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING IN THE TEMPLE | ||
| C | While he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast Jesus was teaching every day at the temple The blind and the lame came to him, and he healed them Many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name | ||
| A | But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area | ||
| B C | “Hosanna to the Son of David” [echo effect] | ||
| A | they were indignant | ||
| C | ”Do you hear what these children are saying?” | ||
| A | Jesus replied | ||
| B | “Yes, have you never read ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?’ | matthew 21.15,16 | |
|
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified I tell you the truth unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed | |||
| C | But if it dies, it produces many seeds Those who love their life will lose it while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life Whoever serves me must follow me | john 12.23-25 | |
| B | Now my heart is troubled” | ||
| A | Do not hide your face from your servant | psalm 69.17 | |
| You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed all my enemies are before you | psalm 69.19-21 | ||
| B | “But what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour Father, glorify your name!” | john 12.27,28 | |
| A | I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving | ||
| C | The poor will see and be glad those who seek God, may their hearts live! | ||
| A | The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people Let heaven and earth praise him the seas and all that move in them for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah | Psalm 69.30-35 | |
| C | “Now is the time for judgment on this world now the prince of this world will be driven out | ||
| B | But when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself” | john 12.31,32 | |
| A | The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him for they feared him because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching and hung on his every word | mark 11.18 | |
| C | And when evening came he left them and went out of the city to Bethany | ||
| B | where he spent the night | matthew 21.17 | |