B10 - E2 The Last Weeks
Jesus had been preaching throughout the country for three years, accompanied by his faithful followers who had been riding on the crest of his wave and couldn’t comprehend that this wave was about to break on the harsh shores of treachery and death. Yet, despite the teaching and guidance he had given to the twelve apostles in particular, they could still squabble about such things as who was to be the most important amongst them.
James and John were egged on by their mother, who had the temerity to ask Jesus if her sons could sit in the highest places in his Kingdom. The others were naturally angry with the brothers but Jesus used the opportunity to teach them that whoever wanted to be the greatest amongst them should learn to be a servant to them all. As he said, “I have not come to be served by you. I have come to serve you, by giving you my life.”
Anyone else might have been completely exasperated by them all but Jesus had patience with them and loved them as they were so he always knew how to guide and teach them in the best possible way. He began talking to them and the people about ‘staying awake,'' about always being prepared for what might come at any moment. His last and, possibly, one of his most powerful stories concerned the ‘end of time’.
Jesus often spoke of himself as the ‘Son of Man’, an expression which was to emphasise his humanity, alongside his divinity. “The Son of Man,” he said, “will come in glory at the end of time to be seated on a throne, in front of which, all the nations on earth will be gathered together and as their king, he will separate the people in the same way a shepherd would divide his flock, into two groups, placing the sheep on his right-hand side and the goats on his left.
”The king,” he continued, “will say to the group on his right, “Come with me into the kingdom which has been prepared for you since the beginning of time because when I was hungry, you fed me; you gave me a drink when I was thirsty and helped me in every way when I was in need.” The people he had chosen said to him, “When did we see you hungry, Lord, and feed you and help you in all these ways?” The king replied to them, “Whenever you did this to the least of my little ones, you did it to me.”
To the group on his left, however, he said, “Go away from me, all of you. You are not worthy to come into my kingdom, because when I was hungry, you didn’t feed me; you didn’t give me a drink when I was thirsty or help me in any way when I was in need!” The people asked him when it was that they had neglected to help him in all these ways and the king replied to them, “Every time you refused to help anyone in need, you were choosing not to help me."
Jesus was telling them that the most important thing in their lives was to show their love of God by expressing it in their love for others, by caring for them and showing it in their actions. This love and care was something that he had often received from a family in Bethany, a small village near Jerusalem. He had become great friends with two sisters named Martha and Mary and their younger brother, Lazarus, and he and his companions had enjoyed many a happy meal in their home.
On one particular visit, Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to him intently, totally engrossed in the wonder of his words, while Martha was bustling about with all the preparations. Not being one to keep her feelings to herself, she asked Jesus to tell Mary to come and help but Jesus gently chided her. “Martha, Martha,’’ he said, ‘’you fret and worry about so many things but at this moment, only one thing is necessary and Mary has chosen best. Come and sit here with us and let everything else take its course.”
Sometime later, a tragedy occurred in the family. Lazarus fell seriously ill. A message was sent to Jesus but by the time he and his friends arrived to see them, Lazarus had died and been buried for four days. Martha was the first to come out to greet him, saying, ‘’Jesus, if you had been here, our brother wouldn’t have died but I know God will grant whatever you ask of him.’’ Then Mary also came and when he saw their grief, he wept with them. They went together to the tomb and, after praying aloud to his Father in heaven, Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the grave which, to everyone’s utter astonishment, he did.
Martha and her family were very well known in the area so the death of Lazarus had drawn many of their friends from Jerusalem to come to comfort the sisters. Those who were there and witnessed the miracle came to believe in Jesus and to hold him in great awe which alarmed his enemies even more. This really was the final straw for them and they began to look for ways to bring his power and influence over the people to an end by actually plotting to have him put to death.
Despite knowing full well what awaited him in Jerusalem, Jesus went ahead with his plans to celebrate the Passover meal there and he and his friends set off for the city on the Sunday before the Feast. As they neared their destination, Jesus sent two of his followers into a village on the Mount of Olives, telling them where they would find a donkey with her colt which no one had ridden before and they were to bring them to him. If they were questioned, he told them to say that Jesus needed them and that they would be returned.
They brought them to him and threw their cloaks on the back of the colt so that Jesus could sit more comfortably. When the word began to spread that he was on his way, people gathered on the route, some of them spreading their cloaks on the ground while others collected branches of palms and laid them on the streets as he rode through. All the people around him and walking along with him shouted out praises to him as the Messiah, even though, in typical fashion, he had chosen to ride into the city on a humble donkey.
Throughout the week, Jesus continued to preach his message openly in the temple despite the conspiracies that were afoot to capture him. By Wednesday, Judas, whose belief in Jesus had been wavering for a while, decided to play into the hands of the religious leaders by offering to lead them to his Master when an opportunity arose. Money had always been his downfall and he knew they would pay him well. In the event, they offered him thirty pieces of silver and the fate of Jesus was sealed.
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