RTW 2024

So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

Mark 11:11

He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
Mark 11:17

By allowing the court of the Gentiles to become a noisy, smelly marketplace, the Jewish religious leaders were interfering with God’s provision of a “house of prayer for all nations.”

• Although the later Jewish teachers understood the king coming on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) messianically, it is not clear that the whole crowd understood Jesus's claim as Messiah at that time.
• The spreading of garments represented the idea of royal homage. 
• The Romans would have arrested someone they suspected as claiming to be a ruler. It would have been unusual for someone to claim to be Messiah to enter Jerusalem peacefully and unarmed, since certain death would await such a person.
• Hosanna means “Oh save!” and came from Psalm 118:25-26 as part of the Hallel, a regular song sung at the passover. Hopes for the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom ran high this time of year.
• The ancient work day began at sunrise, and the evening offering in the temple was in the afternoon about 3:00 p.m. People normally wanted to be near home by dark. Late may not mean dark, but rather that the activity in the temple was ending for the day.
• Although the Passover would have been eaten in Jerusalem, Jesus stayed in Bethany about 3 km east of Jerusalem, on the Southeastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives rose to a height of about 2,700 ft, which was about 200 ft higher than Mount Zion, with a magnificent view of the city and the temple.
• Jesus knew the world would drastically change in the coming days. 
• What was Jesus thinking about when He was “looking carefully at everything”?

When it looks like nothing is happening, remember that Jesus is always doing something.