Tag: Passover

Cleansing the Temple

Please read Matthew 21:12-19, Mark 11:12-18, Luke 19:45-48
& John 12:20-50

11th Nissan – Four days before Pesach (Passover)

Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.”
Matthew 21:18-19a LSB

The next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.  Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He would find any fruit on it. When He came up to it, He found nothing except leaves, because it wasn’t the season for figs.  And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. Mark 11:12-14 TLB

The fig tree has many branches, large leaves, and widely spread boughs. Large, shady fig trees are to be found in Israel, especially on the banks of streams and near springs, and are among the most beautiful trees in the country.  The fig tree sheds its leaves in winter, at the end of which, even before the tree is covered with leaves, the paggim (“early figs,” Song 2:13) begin to develop in the form of small fruits, which are really tiny flowers covered with a soft skin, and which continue to grow and ripen throughout spring and into the summer months. The fruit of the fig tree appears before the leaves in spring, and, because the fruit is green it blends in with the leaves right up until it is almost ripe. This particular tree drew Yeshua’s attention because it already had a full covering of leaves. When Yeshua and His talmidim saw from a distance that the tree was covered in fully formed leaves, they would have expected to see much fruit on closer inspection, even though it was too early in the season for that fruit to be ripe.  

Hosea 9:10 compared the young nation of Israel to bakkurot (“first-ripe figs“, early fruit on a fig tree in its first season), which are delicious and eagerly sought after (Isaiah 28:4; Jeremiah 24:2). Fig trees are prolific and will bear two crops of fruit each year. The first crop appears in spring before the leaves. The fruit is green and is inconspicuous among the leaves as they unfold, until the time of ripening which is from about May in Israel. If a fig tree has leaves but no fruit, the tree is barren.

In Israel, the presence of a fruitful fig tree was considered to be a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation. Likewise, the absence or death of a fig tree symbolized divine judgment and rejection. This fig tree, covered in lush green leaves but having no fruit hiding among them, represented the barren and empty spiritual state of Israel. It looked vibrant and healthy from a distance, had a magnificent temple of white marble and gold, had an appearance of godliness as Jews from around the world gathered together in Jerusalem and went through ritual purification ceremonies to prepare for the Passover celebration, but still it was fruitless. It wasn’t just that the fruit was immature because it was not yet the season for picking the figs – there was none. This mirrored what Yeshua would find when He arrived in the temple that day – and the cursing of the fig tree reflected His turning over of the money changer’s tables and illustrated His right to do so.

Then Yeshua entered the Temple and drove out all those selling and buying in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those selling doves.  And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of thieves’!”
Matthew 21:12-13 TLV

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He was not permitting anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”
And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. Mark 11:15-18 LSB

When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” Luke 19:45-46 NIV

There was no fruit of repentance. The fig tree was barren. Yeshua had rebuked the merchants and money changers and chased them out during the days of cleansing before His first Passover after being baptized by Yohanan (Yeshua’s 2nd lesson – Passover – Renewal Blog), but nothing had changed. How He had longed to see evidence of the people’s love of God and honoring of His holiness, but for all their religious practices, all their large, lush show of leaves, there was no fruit. Even now, instead of repenting “the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him“.

The blind and lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them.
But when the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars (chief priests and the scribes) saw the wonders He performed, and the children crying out in the Temple and saying, “Hoshia-na to Ben-David,” (Hosanna to the Son of David) they became indignant. 
And they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Yeshua said to them. “Haven’t you ever read,
‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing toddlers
You have prepared praise for Yourself’?”
Matthew 21:14-16 TLV

The blind and the lame came to Yeshua in the temple and He healed them. Yeshua was harsh with those misusing the temple but compassionate with those who came seeking His healing. He had come for the blind and the lame. He had come to give sight and to be the Way men walked. This show of authority followed by healing compassion excited the imagination of the people who were looking for a Messiah who would with authority throw out their Roman overlords and with compassion heal His own people. The children repeated the chorus from the triumphal entry the day before – they knew and enjoyed this song. In response to the indignant rebuke of the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars, Yeshua directed them to one of the Messianic Psalms:

From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise
on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
what is man that You are mindful of him,
or the Son of Man that You care for Him?
You made Him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned Him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler of the works of Your hands;
You have placed everything under his feet:
all sheep and oxen, and even the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8

All this was taking place in the temple’s “Gentiles Courtyard.” This space for peoples of all nations to come and pray and seek the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob which had been filled with Jews buying and selling all the things the Jews needed for their sacrificial worship beyond the Gate Beautiful.  Temple guards were charged by the chief priests to ensure that any Gentile who attempted to pass from the noisy marketplace of the Gentiles Courtyard into the inner sacred Jewish worship space was immediately killed.

After Yeshua healed all the lame and blind who had come to Him, He passed through the gate into the Jews only section of the temple.

Now there were some Greeks (Gentiles) among those who were going up to worship at the feast.  These came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in the Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we want to see Yeshua.”  
Philip comes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come and tell Yeshua.

Yeshua answers them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!  Amen, amen I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.  He who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it forever.  If any man serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there also will My servant be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
“Now My soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But it was for this reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!”

Then a voice came out of heaven, “I have glorified it, and again I will glorify it!”

Therefore the crowd that was standing there and heard it was saying that it had thundered. Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

Yeshua responded, “This voice hasn’t come for My sake, but for yours. Now is the judgment of this world! Now the prince of this world will be driven out!  And as I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.” 

He said this to show the kind of death He was about to die.

The crowd answered Him, “We’ve heard from Scripture that the Messiah remains forever. How can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Therefore Yeshua said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.”  John 12:20-35 TLV

Those who came to Philip were Gentiles, but proselytes to Judaism, and worshippers of the true God, persons who had come to Jerusalem, it seems, for the express purpose of worshipping Him.  It is likely that they had heard of the Messiah, and cherished expectations of His coming: but, being foreigners, they had never seen Yeshua. The same came, therefore, to Philip, which was of Bethsaida — This circumstance is mentioned to show how these men came to apply themselves to Philip. Probably they were Syro-Phœnicians, dwelling about Tyre and Sidon, and who, having commerce with Galilee, might be acquainted with Philip. It appears that Yeshua had already passed from the Court of the Gentiles, through the carefully guarded gate and into the area set aside for Jews to worship, these Gentiles could not pass into there to try to see Him.

Yeshua‘s response appears to be avoiding the question. Instead, He speaks of the hour having come. It was at last the time for Him to be glorified, but this glorification was not what we would think. It would not involve Him being praised and honoured by mankind, but rather being despised, rejected, mocked, beaten and crucified – “falls to the earth and dies“. There was nothing glorious to the natural eyes about death on a cross – it was deliberately designed to be the most shameful, torturous way to die. Yeshua held no illusions about the horrors He was soon to suffer, this would be no easy ride cocooned in God’s grace and peace but raw, overwhelming, unremitting pain and suffering: “Now My soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?“ The only thing glorious about what was to come was His total yielding to the Father’s will, His loving us so much that He laid down His life for us.

Then Yeshua addressed the desire of Gentiles to see Him: Now is the judgment of this world! Now the prince of this world will be driven out!  And as I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself. His salvation was going to be open to all people from all nations. The prince of this world who had blinded the eyes of the peoples to God’s glory was going to be driven out and He would draw all people to Himself.

The Jewish crowd understood what Yeshua meant when He declared that the: The Son of Man must be lifted up, and it utterly confused them. How could He be crucified, how could He die, if Messiah remains forever? He responded by exhorting them to believe in and walk in the light (Himself) while He was still with them, then left the temple area and hid himself from the crowd.

But even though He had performed so many signs before them, they weren’t trusting in Him.  This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said,
“Adonai, who has believed our report?
To whom has the arm of Adonai been revealed?”
For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah also said,
“He has blinded their eyes
     and hardened their hearts,
so they might not see with their eyes
nor understand with their hearts and turn back,
     and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
John 12:37-41 TLV

In quoting from the first verse of Isaiah 53, John is directing our attention to the whole of this Messianic prophesy:

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our peace fell upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living,
That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?
So His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But Yahweh was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If You would place His soul as a guilt offering,
He will see His seed,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many,
And He will divide the spoil with the strong;
Because He poured out His soul to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Despite all the miracles, including raising Lazareth from the dead, the crowds were not ready to put their trust in a Messiah who was going to suffer and die for them instead of destroying the Romans for them.

Next, He takes us to Isaiah 6:9-13 ESV: And he said, “Go, and say to this people

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste without inhabitant,
and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
and the Lord removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.

This had been illustrated by Yeshua cursing the fig tree. Jerusalem, and all the Jewish cities, were going to be laid waste and God’s people removed far away. About 33 years after Yeshua‘s death and resurrection a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Judaea and the Eastern Mediterranean were launched against the Roman Empire. These are referred to as the Jewish-Roman wars and took place between 66 and 135 AD. The Jewish–Roman wars had a devastating impact on the Jewish people, transforming them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a dispersed and persecuted minority.  The First Jewish-Roman War culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem, and other towns and villages in Judaea, resulting in significant loss of life and a considerable segment of the population being uprooted or displaced. Those who remained were stripped of any form of political autonomy. Subsequently, the brutal suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt resulted in even more severe consequences. Judea witnessed a significant depopulation, as many Jews were killed, expelled, or sold into slavery. Jews were banned from residing in the vicinity of Jerusalem, which the Romans rebuilt into the pagan colony of Aelia Capitolina, and the province of Judaea was renamed Syria Palaestina. Despite this devastation and destruction, the worst and longest lasting in all Jewish history, God held out the hope to His people that even as the terebinth and oak when cut down retain the principle of vitality in their roots, which will again spring up into a great tree (cf. Job 14:7 ff.), so the ruined Israel would still contain the indestructible germ of the future kingdom of God, the “holy seed” remains wrapped up in it. The people knew this had come to pass in their history, with the Babylonian exile, but an even greater destruction awaited them, yet still not without hope.

Nevertheless many, even among the leaders, put their trust in Him. But because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing Yeshua, so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. John 12:42-43 TLV

Many even of the Sanhedrin believed. We know of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, apparently there were others who remain unnamed. They did not yet, however, have the courage to proclaim their conviction. They did not want to be thrown out and hoped, rather, to change things from within. The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them to empower them to stand up to those who threatened dire consequences for anyone who believed. As we will see, even Peter withered under the gaze of Yeshua‘s enemies.

 Yeshua spoke these things, then left and hid Himself from them.
John 12:36 TLV

 When evening came, they left the city. Mark 11:19

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He spent the night there. Matthew 21:17 TLV

And He was teaching every day in the Temple. The ruling kohanim (priests) and the Torah scholars, even the leaders of the people, were trying to destroy Him;  but they could not find any way to do it, because all the people were hanging on His words. Luke 19:47-48 TLV

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In the comments section below share your thoughts on what you have read and answer some of the following questions…

* How did the fig tree represent Israel?
* Describe how both the mercy and severity of God was displayed on this day.
* What was Jesus’ response to the suffering He knew He was going to endure?
* How do we respond when suffering unjustly, do you have examples from your own life?
* How do we get the courage to speak boldly of Jesus in the face of persecution?

44 Yeshua cried out, “Whoever puts trust in Me believes not in Me but in the One who sent Me! And whoever beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me.  As light I have come into the world, so that everyone who trusts in Me should not remain in darkness.  “If anyone hears My words but doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I came to save the world, not to judge the world.  The one who rejects Me and doesn’t receive My words has a judge; the word I spoke will judge him on the last day. For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. 50 And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.” John 12:44-50 TLV

Preparing for Passover

Please read: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44 and John 12:1-19

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:1-8 NIV

9th Nissan: Six days before the Pesach – the Pesach sacrifice was slaughtered on Nissan 14th. In the ancient world when one counted a sequence, one counted the day that started the sequence as #1-the ancients had no concept of a ‘0’ place value. Therefore, counting as the ancients counted, six days before Nisan 14th, would be Nisan 9th.

The journey from Jericho to Bethany is 17 miles (27.3 kilometers) with an elevation increase of about 3,400 feet (1,060 m).

These pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem for Pesach (Passover) would have spent most of the day walking uphill. Before He reached Jerusalem, Yeshua turned off to visit with His dear friends in Bethany.

The last time He had been in Bethany, Yeshua had raised Lazareth from the dead. Many had joined the sisters in mourning for four days before Yeshua arrived and brought Lazareth back to life, so all knew of this incredible miracle that had been done in their midst. They had likely heard that He was on His way from Jericho and spent most of the day preparing to welcome Him with this dinner in His honour.

Lazareth was among those who ate with Him, Martha served and Mary expressed her love in a most extravagant way that changed the atmosphere of the whole house. In defending Mary’s actions Yeshua quotes from Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. The command to be openhanded towards the poor is for all people in all times, but this was the only time Mary had opportunity to prepare Yeshua’s body for burial and be that living example of the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).

Now a large crowd of Judeans knew He was there and came, not only for Yeshua but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 
So the ruling kohanim (chief priests) made plans to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jewish people were going and putting their trust in Yeshua. John 12:9-11 TLV

Some of the pilgrims who had come from Jericho would have told this in Jerusalem, less than two miles away, where pilgrims were earnestly asking about Him (John 11:55). Great numbers of the people wished to see the man that had been raised from the dead, and even more so, the Man who had raised him.  Messianic expectations were running at an all-time high. In the celebration of Pesach (Passover), the Festival of Redemption, the people had an eschatological hope. It was believed that the Ultimate Redemption, which was to be brought about through the Messiah, would take place at Passover. The expectation was that Messiah would be a second Moses who would lead Israel out from under the bondage of the nations. Hence, two of Yeshua‘s talmidim had earlier asked to sit at His right hand and left hand in the kingdom to come. For most of the Jews, putting their trust in Yeshua involved such messianic expectations for this coming Pesach.

Scholars estimate that the usual population of Jerusalem was around 40,000 and it could escalate to six times that number during Pesach. It was a time of much overcrowding, much religious fervor and heightened expectations of a Messianic overthrow of the Romans, so it was also a time when extra Roman soldiers were assigned to the city and their army was on heightened alert, ready to crush anything that looked like it could become an insurrection. Having a noisy parade going into Jerusalem at this time of year was not a safe thing to do, and it caused heightened fears among the Jewish authorities who wanted to keep a good reputation with Rome to avoid any Roman reprisals.

10th Nissan – Five days before the Pesach: In Exodus chapter 12, the Torah gives instructions for the celebration of Passover. The children of Israel were to choose a lamb for the Pesach sacrifice on the 10th day of the 1st month (Nissan), 4 days before the actual slaughtering was to be done: Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family one lamb for the household. … Your lamb is to be without blemish… You must watch over it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight (lit: between the evenings). It is on the 10th day of the 1st month that Yeshua entered Jerusalem, and the people made their choice.

And when they had approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
And this took place in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and mounted on a donkey,
And on a colt, the foal of a pack animal.’”
And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their garments on them; and He sat on the garments. And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. And the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were crying out, saying,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!”
And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11 LSB

And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 
They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it.  And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 
And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 
They brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.  And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”
Mark:11:1-10 NASB

When He got near Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead. As you enter, you will find a colt tied up, that no one has ever sat upon. Untie it and bring it.  And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Master needs it.’”
Those who were headed out found things just as He told them.  Then as they were untying the colt, his owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They said, “The Master needs it.”  
Then they brought it to Yeshua, threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Yeshua on it.  And as He went along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road. 
When Yeshua came near the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice. They praised God with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of Adonai!
Shalom in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”
But answering, Yeshua said, “I tell you that if these keep silent, the stones will shout out!” Luke 19:30-40 TLV

The next day, the huge crowd that had come up for the feast heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem.  So they took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting,
“‘Hoshia-na! Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai!
     Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
     The King of Israel!”
Finding a young donkey, Yeshua sat on it, as it is written,
“Fear not, Daughter of Zion!
Look! Your King is coming,
     sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples did not understand these things at first. But when Yeshua was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that the crowd had done these things for Him.
So the crowd, which had been with Yeshua when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, kept on telling everyone about it.  It was also for this reason that the crowd came out to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. So the Pharisees said to each other, “You see that you can’t do anything. Look, the whole world has taken off after Him!” John 12:12-19 TLV

It was not far from Bethany (house of dates) to Bethphage (house of figs) where two disciples were instructed to go to get the donkey colt for Yeshua to ride into Jerusalem, the city of David. This is the only time He is recorded as having ridden anywhere instead of walking. It signified that Yeshua was coming as the prophesied king: “Say to the daughter of Zion, behold your king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” (Zechariah 9:9). A king going to war rode a horse, or sat in a chariot pulled by horses, but a king coming in peace rode a donkey as he was conveyed to his palace – Yeshua was conveyed by this donkey to the temple, which, as a twelve-year-old, He had described as “My Father’s house“. The Triumphal Entry was reminiscent of David’s son Solomon riding on a donkey to his coronation (1 Kings 1:28-40). The presence of a donkey also harkened to Abraham’s journey to sacrifice his son Issac (Genesis 22:1-19). The spreading of cloaks was an act of homage for royalty (see 2 Kings 9:13) as the people recognised Yeshua as the blessed king coming in the name of the Lord and hoped to see Him miraculously deliver them from Roman rule.

Zachariah’s prophesy contained more than just details about riding on a donkey, it went on to proclaim His victory over all the armies of the world and rule over the whole earth – this is the deliverance they were expecting from their Messiah:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.  Zechariah 9:9-12 (NIV)

The people were crying out: “‘Hoshia-na! Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai!
     Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
     The King of Israel!”

It’s a phrase found in the Hebrew Scriptures, Psalm 118, which rejoices in the Lord’s triumph. It is one of the Messianic Psalms that Yeshua quoted from when teaching the people:

Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
    O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 118:19-29

By verse 22 of this Psalm, the rejected stone has become the “cornerstone”. This is a marvelous work — by God’s doing — which then launches the day of salvation, verse 23-24. This day of salvation is the long-anticipated deliverance that Israel thought might never come. Verse 25 captures the hope: “Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!”

Now this salvation and success was to come through a person — the Messiah of God — the one sent to rescue His people. So goes the shout in verse 26: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Without doubt, this rambling crowd in Jerusalem, taking its cues from Psalm 118, is declaring Yeshua to be the Messiah come to deliver Israel. That’s why Luke records the Pharisees telling Yeshua to rebuke His disciples. Do you hear what they are saying? They think you’re the Messiah come to save us. Tell them to shut up. Anger and fear are closely related, fear of how the Romans might respond if they understood the significance of what the crowd was shouting aroused murderous anger in the Jewish leaders. The Hope of Israel had come, but the religious leaders responded out of fear instead of faith, and so failed to recognize the day and take hold of that which would lead to shalom (peace, restoration, wholeness and wellbeing).

Those who were shouting so joyfully in recognizing Yeshua as Messiah, failed to fully understand the significance of Him riding a donkey instead of a horse. They expected Him to march into the city and overthrow Rome, to destroy all their instruments of war. They wanted to be free from Gentile oppression, even if by force, even if by threats and plagues and a split sea, as they recounted so well from Moses’ deliverance from Egypt. They wanted another exodus, one that expelled and annihilated the Romans, and every other Gentile army.

As He drew near and saw Jerusalem, He wept over her, saying, “If only you had recognized this day the things that lead to shalom! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you when your enemies will surround you with barricades and hem you in on all sides.   And they will smash you to the ground—you and your children within you. And they won’t leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44 TLV

Instead of sounding the battle cry as He drew near to Jerusalem, Yeshua wept. For all their praises, these people had not understood what He’d come to deliver them from.

As the road from Bethany crossed the ridge and dipped down the western slope of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem was spread out before them with its magnificent gilded white marble temple flashing resplendently in the spring sunlight. And yet this vision evoked not awe in Yeshua but heartsickness. He wept over her. The word translated “wept” is the Greek verb klaiō, “weep, cry, bewail.”  Yeshua burst into sobbing. He wept for their blindness, and for the pain of plunder, death and total destruction of Jerusalem this would lead to in 70AD.

And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. Mark 11:11 NASB

By the time of Christ, ceremonial cleanliness by water had become institutionalized into a purity ritual involving full immersion in a mikveh. Purification through full immersion in a Mikveh was required of all Jews before they could enter the Temple or participate in major festivals. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims converged on Jerusalem for Passover and other major feasts. So, even with all the Mikvehs around the temple (large and small) it may still have taken some time waiting to go through the purification process before Yeshua could enter the temple that afternoon. It was already late by the time He entered the temple courts, and everything was coming to an end for the day. The remnants of the day’s activities were keenly observed before Yeshua led the twelve back to Bethany.

Reference List

1. HELPS Ministries. The Discovery Bible. [Online] https://thediscoverybible.com/.
2. Stern, David H. Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). 1998.
3. Holy Bible. New International Version. s.l. : Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
4. —. New American Standard Bible. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, 2020.
5. Messianic Jewish and Christian scholars. Holy Scriptures Tree of Life Version (TLV). s.l. : Baker Books.
6. Translation Committee. The Legacy Standard Bible (LSB). LSB. [Online] https://read.lsbible.org/.
7. Bible Commentaries. John 12:1. Bible Hub. [Online] [Cited: October 21st, 2023.] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/12-1.htm.
8. Abbott, Shari. Jesus’ Last Days Timeline: the Cross and the Resurrection. Reasons for Hope* Jesus. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/jesus-last-days-timeline/.
9. —. Was Jesus Crucified on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday? Reasons for Hope* Jesus. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/crucified/.
10. Bible Study Webmaster. Last Days of Jesus Timeline. Bible Study. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://www.biblestudy.org/maps/last-days-of-jesus-timeline.html.
11. Jews for Jesus. Jesus’ Last Week Leading Up to Passover: A Day-by-Day Look. Jews for Jesus. [Online] March 09, 2011. https://jewsforjesus.org/learn/jesus-last-week-leading-up-to-passover-a-day-by-day-look.
12. Köstenberger, Andreas. April 3, AD 33: Why We Believe We Can Know the Exact Date Jesus Died. Centre for Biblical Studies. [Online] April 8th, 2020. https://cbs.mbts.edu/2020/04/08/april-3-ad-33-why-we-believe-we-can-know-the-exact-date-jesus-died/.
13. Hunt, Michal E. Jesus’ Last Week in Jerusalem. Agape Bible Study. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/Jesus%20Last%20Week%20in%20Jerusalem.htm.
14. Bond, Helen K. All you ever wanted to know about Jesus’ last week on earth. Brainstorm. [Online] April 9th, 2020. https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2020/0408/950906-all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-jesus-last-week-on-earth/#:~:text=The%20evangelist%20says%20that%20Jesus,disciples%20(Monday%2FTuesday)..
15. Forbes, Peter. The Last Week Of Jesus’ Life. Bible Study Manuals. [Online] May 1999. https://www.biblestudymanuals.net/last_week_of_Jesus_life.htm.
16. Blue Letter Bible Minister. Christ :: The Three Days and the Three Nights. Blue Letter Bible. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/crux.cfm.
17. Bible Info staff. Was Jesus in the tomb for three days and three nights? Bible Info. [Online] [Cited: October 20th, 2023.] https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/jesus-in-tomb-for-three-days-nights#.
18. ‘Dating the Death of Jesus’: Memory and the Religious Imagination. Bond, Helen. 04, s.l. : New Testament Studies, 2013, Vol. 59. 461-475doii: 10.1017/S0028688513000131.
19. Bookman, Doug. A time line and chronology of the Easter Passion Week that includes Gregorian dates, First Century Jewish day/night cycles, and Galilean Jew cycles. Christianity. [Online] June 19th, 2023. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/a-time-line-of-the-passion-week.html.
20. Brannan, Rick. The Last Week of Jesus’ Life on Earth: a Closer Look. Logos. [Online] April 3rd, 2012. https://www.logos.com/grow/jesus-final-week-a-closer-look/.
21. Lacey, Troy. How Many Times Was Jesus Anointed? Answers in Genesis. [Online] May 14th, 2019. https://answersingenesis.org/contradictions-in-the-bible/how-many-times-was-jesus-anointed/.
22. Wilson, Larry W. Chronology of the Crucifixion Week. Wake Up Am erica Seminars. [Online] March 14th, 2000. https://wake-up.org/time-periods/passover-week-chronology.html.
23. Engle, Karen. Palm Sunday, and Why the ‘Date’ Is So Significant. Logos. [Online] March 2023. https://www.logos.com/grow/palm-sunday-and-why-the-date-is-so-significant/.
24. Smith, Pete. Chronology & Synopsis of the Passion Week. Bible.org. [Online] February 25th, 2013. https://bible.org/article/chronology-synopsis-passion-week.
25. Renan, Ernest. Last Week of Jesus. The Life of Jesus. [Online] [Cited: October 21st, 32023.] https://biblehub.com/library/renan/the_life_of_jesus/chapter_xxiii_last_week_of.htm#1.
26. Craig, William Lane. The Triumphal Entry. Reasonable Faith. [Online] [Cited: October 21st, 2023.] https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/jesus-of-nazareth/the-triumphal-entry.
27. Haktfoed, Conn. Arrival at Bethany. The Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth. [Online] [Cited: October 21, 2023.] https://www.biblestudytools.com/classics/andrews-the-life-of-our-lord-upon-the-earth/part-vi/arrival-at-bethany.html#:~:text=Porter%20estimates%20the%20former%20at%20five%20and%20a,when%20the%20supper%20was%20made%20for%20the%20Lord..
28. Chein, Rochel. What was the purpose of “keeping” the Paschal lamb for four days? Chabad. [Online] [Cited: October 21st, 2023.] https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/657692/jewish/What-was-the-purpose-of-keeping-the-Paschal-lamb-for-four-days.htm.
29. Dr. Paul Jehle. Lamb Selection Day (Shabbat HaGadol). Plymouth Rock Foundation. [Online] April 10th, 2014. https://www.tntchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/04-LambSelectionDay-04-10-14-PJ.pdf.
30. Farr, Stan. The Passover Lamb. Rabbi Yeshua. [Online] 2016. [Cited: October 21st, 2023.] https://rabbiyeshua.com/articles/passover-lamb.
31. Easton, M.G. Easton’s Bible Dictionary – Bethany. Bible Study Tools. [Online] [Cited: October 23rd, 2023.] https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/bethany/.
32. Baker, Stephen. Why Did Jesus Ride a Donkey for His Triumphant Entry? Bible Study Tools. [Online] March 31st, 2023. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-did-jesus-ride-donkey-triumphant-entry.html#SnippetTab.
33. Michael Houdmann. What is the significance of the triumphal entry? Got Questions. [Online] [Cited: October 23rd, 2023.] https://www.gotquestions.org/triumphal-entry.html.
34. . ANCIENT JEWS & CLEANLINESS. Early Church History. [Online] [Cited: October 23rd, 2023.] https://earlychurchhistory.org/medicine/ancient-jews-cleanliness/.
35. Parnell, Jonathan. The Problem of Palm Sunday. Desiring God. [Online] April 134, 2014. https://desiringgod.org/articles/the-problem-of-palm-sunday

In the comments section below share your thoughts on what you have read and answer some of the following questions…

* Describe a time when you witnessed someone express their love for Jesus in an extravagant way, and how others responded to this.
* What reasons did the chief priests have for being so upset that many of the people were putting their trust in Jesus?
* What was the significance of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem being on 10th Nissan ?

Yeshua’s 2nd lesson – Passover

Read John 2:12-3:36
Pink almond tree in Israel

Soon it was time to go south to Jerusalem for the festival of Pesach (Passover – 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan), commemorating the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  It was spring time.  The apricot and almond trees were showing off their beauty.   Spring is when the weather is at its most unpredictable.   This month has much sunshine but very heavy winds.  It is characterised by heatwaves (“hamsin” – when hot dusty desert winds blow in from North Africa) followed by suddenly cold weather or even storms.   Sometimes the month of Nissan (March/April) would receive the heaviest rainfall, in Scripture referred to as the “latter rains”, which supplied nourishment to the barley and wheat crops as they become “white for harvest.”   (1) (2) (3) (4)

During the weeks leading up to Passover a “full-out spring cleaning search and destroy mission” is undertaken by Jewish families to rid their homes of chametz (leavened grain). This culminates in a ceremonial search for chametz on the night before Passover and then a burning of the chametz ceremony on the morning before the feast begins. (4) This removal of chametz from their homes was symbolic of removing evil and corrupt inclinations from within the people.

Central to the Passover feast is the sacrifice of the paschal lamb – a one year old male lamb or kid without blemish (Exodus 12:5) that was slain in the temple and its blood caught by a priest and sprinkled on the alter.  On the first Passover night in Egypt the blood had been sprinkled on the doorposts of each Israelite house (Exodus 12:13).  Now, the slaughtered lamb was hung upon special hooks or sticks and skinned, the abdomen was then cut open, and the fatty portions intended for the altar were taken out, placed in a vessel, salted, and offered by the priest on the altar, while the remaining entrails likewise were taken out and cleansed.   In the evening the lambs would be taken home and roasted on a spit of pomegranate-wood, then set on the table for the evening Seder meal.  No bones were to be broken (Psalm 34:20), either during the cooking or during the eating of the lamb, and the sacrifice had to be consumed entirely that same evening, nothing being allowed to remain overnight (Numbers 9:12). (5)

Following from the night of the Passover feast is the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread during which a flat unleavened bread, matzah, is eaten instead of any chametz, reminding the people both of the haste with which they left Egypt and that having been cleansed they needed to continue living in the purity of being free from all human evil and corruption. 

It was time for purification…

Going with the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” to the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem for Passover – eager anticipation of joyfully worshipping God.

Now Yeshua’s talmidim were going with their joyous, celebration saving, miraculous wine producing rabbi to Jerusalem for the annual celebration of God’s deliverance of their people from bondage and slavery.   They were travelling with their messiah, their deliverer, to this celebration of deliverance.  Eager expectation filled their hearts as these zealous young men approached Jerusalem.

The disciple’s joyous time together after the wedding suddenly shifted as they entered the temple courts in Jerusalem. The magnificent outward appearance of the Temple was not matched by the activities taking place within it.  A storm was brewing.   This apostolic reformation, this Kingdom of Heaven manifest on earth, was not all just fun, family and abundance of fine wine.  Yeshua was as fiery a reformer as Yochanan who had pointed them to Him, and the leaven had to be removed from His Father’s house before Passover could be celebrated:  

In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables. So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!”                                                                      John 2:14-16 BSB

If you have ever been to a livestock auction you would have some idea of the cacophony of sounds that accosted them as they entered the temple courts to worship and pray. Cattle bellowing, sheep bleating, doves cooing and men shouting over the din of it all to attract customers to their stall.   Yes, all those things were needed for the sacrificial system of worship, but the sacrifices and offerings were never meant to be a substitute for inviting people into God’s presence through worship in prayer, song and Torah reading and discussions.  All this buying and selling belonged in the marketplaces of Jerusalem, not in the temple’s very courts drowning out any attempt to pray or worship. 

Corruption, greed, racism and fear exposed…

So, why was it being allowed?  The high priestly family in Yeshua’s day were no more committed to the purity of the temple nor worship than Elishib, the high priest in Nehemiah’s day, had been. There are Talmudic references to the unworthiness of the High Priests in this period. (6)  The income generated from hiring out the temple court as a marketplace helped move things along nicely.  The Pharisees were vitally concerned with the ritual purity of the people and temple but since Hillel’s death and the massacre of Hillelites opposed to the Eighteen Measures they had been dominated by Shammai and his followers.  Bet Shammai were opposed to the Jews having any contact with Gentiles and had forbidden even the most basic of trade between them.  Gentiles were considered unclean and their worship of God had no value, according to the doctrines of Bet Shammai, while ever they remained Gentiles.   So it seemed appropriate to have the temple’s “Court of the Gentiles” filled with Jews buying and selling all the things the Jews needed for their sacrificial worship.  As long as the temple guard remained vigilant at the doors to the rest of the temple to ensure that any Gentile who attempted to pass from the noisy marketplace of the Court of the Gentiles into the inner sacred Jewish space was immediately killed, Bet Shammai cared little what was done in that court already defiled by the very presence of Gentiles.

Between Bet Shammai and the Sadducees linked to the High Priest’s family, they had a firm majority in the Sanhedrin and easily drowned out the voices from Bet Hillel who considered the whole temple precinct as sacred unto God and encouraged Gentiles to turn to the one true God and worship Him alone. 

Just as Nehemiah had removed Tobiah from the place the High Priest had given him in the temple storeroom, so Yeshua now removed this noisy market from the place the High Priest’s family and Sanhedrin had allocated to them in the temple courts. 

“How dare you turn My Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:16b NIV) Yeshua charged them.

But Nehemiah had political authority, being appointed governor of Judea by the Persian emperor.  Yeshua had neither political, religious nor legal authority, He had not been appointed by Rome as Prefect or High Priest, nor had He risen to any position of power within the Sanhedrin.   His only claim was to spiritual authority “My Father’s house”, reminiscent of His answer to his mother as a twelve-year-old “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49b NIV).  So, they challenged Yeshua to prove He possessed such spiritual authority:

“What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do all this?”           John 2:18 CJB

Yeshua’s answer, although misunderstood by his examiners at that time, revealed something of why he as a single individual was able to enforce what the whole school of Hillel could do nothing about.   He was willing to die for His convictions.  Yeshua had no fear of death and even now at the beginning of His ministry knew that the time would come when they would kill Him, but that He would overcome death and rise again:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
The Judeans said, “It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it in three days?” 
But the “temple” he had spoken of was his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his talmidim remembered that he had said this, and they trusted in the Tanakh and in what Yeshua had said.      John 2:19-22 CJB

This was another essential component of the original apostolic reformation.  It was a character trait that Yeshua expected his talmidim (disciples) to emulate:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”  Mk 8:34-35 NIV

Those in the leadership of Bet Hillel who were willing to die for their convictions had been massacred that fateful night for their refusal to endorse Bet Shammai’s Eighteen Articles.  The Bet Hillel survivors had concluded that staying alive was a good thing and that more pragmatic ways of exerting positive influence would be wise.  Their efforts to avoid bloody conflict with both the Shammaites and Zealots on their right, and with the Romans on their left, along with their generally more lenient Mishna (Oral Law), led to many in this now highly polarised society considering them weak and compromised.   History would prove them to be the strongest, most enduring Jewish sect (apart from Yeshua’s own) as Bet Shammai, the Zealots and the Sadducees all came to naught after the destruction of the temple in 70AD and Bet Hillel became the foundation upon which rabbinical Judaism was built, but for now the pragmatism that would later become the strength of their position appeared to be wishy-washy weakness.   Thus those of strong, unyielding character and passionate in their convictions were easily drawn away to Bet Shammai or the Zealots who were so committed as to kill for their convictions.  Like Bet Hillel, neither Yochanan the Immerser nor Yeshua of Nazareth ever endorsed killing for their convictions, but they both demonstrated a willingness to die for their convictions.  They lived fearlessly.

Worship in the Temple

When Yeshua and His talmidim passed through the well guarded gates from the Court of the Gentiles into the sanctuary where only Jews were allowed, they entered an atmosphere of worship and sacrifice. It has been estimated that about 18,000 lambs were sacrificed in the Temple each Pesach. (7) Throughout the entire time of temple sacrifices, the band was playing and the Levitical choir was singing songs of praise, an integral part of the offering service. (8) In this atmosphere of praise Yeshua did miraculous signs and many believed in His name.

The Jewish sages have written:

“Why were the Levites selected to sing in the Temple? Because the name Levi means cleaving. The soul of him who heard their singing at once cleaved to God.”            (Zohar 2:19a)

The Levite’s principal service was to sing over the offerings brought to the temple.   There would never be fewer than twelve Levites standing on the platform to utter song over an offering; and more could be added without limit.(‘Arachin l3b) Others would also be standing there, who played on musical instruments – lyres, flutes, harps, trumpets and cymbals.   Some of the musicians were Levites and some were Israelites of distinguished lineage who were acceptable to intermarry with the kohanim. (MT ibid. J.)   By the time of Yeshua, Temple tradition required at least two lyres but nor more than six; never less than two flutes, nor more than twelve; never less than two trumpets, nor more than one hundred and twenty; never less than nine harps, but their number could be increased without limit. There was only one set of cymbals. (‘Arachin 13a)  

On all Festival Days and on New Moon Days the priests would blow on the trumpets at the time of the offering and the Levites would sing. The trumpet was made of a bar of silver. If it was made of pieces of silver, it was fit; but if made of any other metal, it was unfit. The pipe of the flutes upon which they played was a reed, for its sound is sweet. (Ibid. lOa.) A song would always end with a lone flute, for it makes a pleasant finale. (9)

On twelve days during the year the flute would be sounded in front of the Altar: at the slaughtering of the first Pesach [Passover] offering; at the slaughtering of the second Passover offering; on the first Festival Day of Passover; on the Festival Day of Shavuot (Pentecost); and on the eight days of Sukkot (the feast of Tabernacles).

Temple Worship wins out over ‘Oral Law’

Of interest is that the Oral Law now forbade the playing of instruments on Shabbat (the Sabbath), but because it was required for the offering it was allowed in the Temple, since Temple service was deemed to supersede the Sabbath.  This Mishnah declaring the playing of musical instruments to be work and therefor forbidden on Shabbat did mean, however, that no playing of musical instruments accompanied the Sabbath-Day worship in any Jewish synagogue. (9)

The Pascha Seder (Passover Meal)

Having completed the offering, Yeshua and His talmidim, along with the other pilgrims, left the Temple Mount with their lambs and placed them on a spit of pomegranate-wood in clay ovens specially prepared for the occasion, in courtyards all throughout Jerusalem.  After sundown every chavurah (predetermined group of people assigned to each offering) would gather round, performing the well-known Passover Seder, with the roast lamb as the centrepiece of the service. The Pascha Seder concluded with the singing of the Hallel, a collection of Psalms praising God for His deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian oppressors. The celebrants climbed up to the rooftops in Jerusalem where they could sing God’s praise in full sight of the Holy Temple. (8)  Maybe Yeshua did some of His miraculous signs up on those rooftops as God’s praises rang out throughout the city.

Miracles in Jerusalem

Each day, for the seven-day feast of Unleavened Bread, Yeshua was back in the temple worshipping and teaching the people and doing miracles.   Although Yeshua had no interest in performing a sign to prove to the religious leaders that He had the authority to do what they should have done, cleanse the temple, He none the less performed many miraculous signs in meeting the various needs of the Passover worshippers (John 2:23).  His was a power moved by compassion to meet human need.  In this one visit to Jerusalem, His talmidim saw both the strong severity and the tender compassion of their rabbi Yeshua.   He had indeed brought them to Jerusalem to see their people delivered, but the Roman soldiers were not the target of Messiah’s wrath.  

Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in His name.       John 2:23

Nicodemus comes by night

Interestingly the author of this gospel saw no reason to give us any details of what miracles Yeshua performed on this occasion and we are left to assume they included healings and deliverances as attested to in the rest of the gospels.  Whatever those signs were, they attracted the attention of at least some of the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin.  One of them, Nakdimon (Nicodemus), found where Yeshua was staying at night (possibly in the home of an unnamed talmid, maybe in the home of this gospel’s author) and came to Him to engage in that depth of discussion which was typical in rabbinical circles as they sort to understand fully the implications for life of the teachings of scripture (John 3:1-21).   Nicodemus may have been sent by the Pharisees, possibly by their currently less powerful sect, Bet Hillel, whose teachings were generally more aligned with those of Yeshua than the dominant Bet Shammai.  Yeshua does not disappoint this learned rabbi, this teacher of teachers, but immediately launches into a depth of discussion that impacts not only Nicodemus but also His young talmidim who work on memorising every word their rabbi is teaching.

You Must Be Born again…

Yeshua begins with something that both sounds very familiar to Nakdimon and yet, in this context, very strange:

“Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”   John 3:3 BSB

The general theological position of Jewish rabbis such as Nicodemus was that “to be born of water”, a rabbinic idiom for physical birth, as a Jew ensured their entry into the kingdom of God. Based on Isaiah 60:21 the Pharisees had developed this doctrine as recorded in the Mishnah (oral law) Sanhedrin 10:1 and in the Talmud, Sanhedrin 90a:

All Israelites have a share in the world to come. For it is written, Thy people shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

Over the years the rabbi’s developed a list of specific exemptions for Jews who rebelled against their God and heritage, but the basic doctrine was that if one was born a Jew he would enter the kingdom of God.  So to suggest that a Torah observant, God seeking, faithful Jew such as Nakdimon could not see God’s kingdom without being born again sounded incredulous.  What kind of new birth was Yeshua talking about?  

It was not that the concept of being ‘born again’ was foreign to Judaism. Pharisaic Judaism taught that there are eight ways to be born again.

There were two for which Nicodemus did not qualify. Proselyte conversion and becoming the Jewish king. When a Jewish man became king, he is said to be “born again.” He started a whole new life. Before, he was just a citizen of the nation, now he is the leader, with very different responsibilities and powers.   When a gentile converted to Judaism, he was said to be “born again” or “new-born”.  He moved into a whole new realm of life. He moved out of being Gentile and into being Jewish. He took on new responsibilities. He did not have responsibilities to the Mosaic Law before; now he is committed to the Mosaic Law and the traditions of first century Judaism. 

Nicodemus qualified, and had undertaken, the four chronological re-births available to studious Jewish men.  The first was when a young man entered adult responsibility, later called Bar Mitzvah and undertaken at 13 years, but during this earlier time referred to as “becoming obedient to Torah” and undertaken at 12 years.  The next one chronologically was marriage, as he is ‘new-born’ onto a new life with new responsibilities of being married instead of single.   We know that Nicodemus was married because it was one of the requirements for being a member of the Sanhedrin.  The next re-birth that a rabbi undertook was when he was about 30yo, became a ‘Rav’ and took on responsibility to teach the masses the doctrines of the rabbinic school to which he belonged.   At around 50yo he could be born again as a ‘HaRav’, head of a Yeshiva, rabbinic school, and responsible for developing doctrine. (10) (11)

In addition to these there were two recurring re-births undertaken by Pharisees such a Nicodemus.  The first was t’vilah (immersion).  Total immersion was, according to the developing Oral Law, required for most cases of ritual impurity decreed in the Torah. Immersions were required especially of the priests, since they had to be in a state of purity in order to participate in the temple service or eat of the holy things. Other individuals had to be ritually pure to enter the temple beyond the court of the Gentiles.  It became customary among the Pharisees to maintain a state of ritual purity at all times, which required frequent full immersions (baptisms), and so it was that many synagogues had mikveh’s (baptismal pools) attached to them.  Each immersion was considered a re-birth because he went from a state of ritual impurity to ritual purity.  The final way that Nicodemus had been born again was through repentance.  Repentance was also considered to be a new birth because it involved a new way of life, changing one’s mind from walking in unrighteousness to walking in righteousness.   Nicodemus may have expressed repentance frequently, and certainly would have done so at least yearly on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). (10) (11)

Yet it was clear that Yeshua was not talking about any of these means of being ‘born again’.  So Nicodemus expressed his incredulity that a faithful Jew could need anything more than all these in typical rabbinical style, by asking a question intended to expose the fallacy of Yeshua’s argument:

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”    John 3:4 BSB

Now it was set up beautifully for Yeshua to drive home his message:

“Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. John 3:5 BSB

Nicodemus’ confidence in being born of water, born as a Jew, was misplaced when it came to entering the kingdom of God.   Something other than this was needed.  Something other than coming of age or marrying or becoming a rabbi or the head of a rabbinical school or ceremonial immersions or even repentance or anything that man can do.   What was needed to enter the kingdom of God was something that only God’s Spirit could do.  Both men knew by heart such scriptures as Ezekiel 36:27: “I will put my Spirit inside you and cause you to live by my laws, respect my rulings and obey them”; Ezekiel 37:14a “I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive”; Jeremiah 31:33 and Job 33:23-30 which closely parallels much of what Yeshua is saying in John 3:1-21. (12)

Yeshua continued:

Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind (Aramaic word play – ‘Rucha’ also = Spirit) blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.           John 3:7-8 BSB

Nicodemus wanted to know how.  How could it be that this most basic doctrine was false, that being a Jew did not ensure entrance into the kingdom of God?   How did being born of the Spirit work?  If everything he was as a Jew and everything he could do to live in the righteousness of Torah and ‘Oral Law’ obedience could not bring it about how could he be born again and fulfil his life-long hope and desire of entering into God’s kingdom?  It appeared that Yeshua was putting Nicodemus in an impossible situation where everything he had so confidently relied on for entrance into God’s kingdom was deemed inadequate and there was nothing he could do to make up the difference.

Yeshua questioned how Nicodemus could not understand this after all his years of studying and teaching the scriptures, even rising to the position of one who teaches other rabbis (Vs 10).   He then takes Nicodemus through scriptures he knows so well to help him see them with new eyes and understand how they relate to what is needed for him to be born of the Spirit.  Answering Proverbs 30:4 and referring to Daniel 7 Yeshua explained His deity and His origin in heaven, and therefore His authority as the Messiah, the Son of Man (Vs 11-13).  Then Yeshua adds to this lesson on Messiah from Numbers 21:8-9, what happened physically with Israel in the wilderness when they looked in faith on the uplifted serpent will happen spiritually with the Messiah – when Yeshua is lifted up on the cross those who look in faith on Him will be healed from spiritual death and be born again.  Just as the Israelites could not heal themselves of the snake bites, all their medical skills were unable to save their own lives, so also are they unable to save themselves, all their religious works are unable to achieve the needed spiritual birth. But what they could not do for themselves God did for each and every one who looked to the serpent Moses raised up in the wilderness for their healing.  The cause of their physical death was the serpents’ bite so it was a representative of these serpents that was raised up for their healing.  Even so the cause of mankind’s spiritual death is man, his own sinful nature, thus it is a representative of man, the Son of Man, who will be raised up for all to look to for the new birth and eternal life (Vs 14-15).  Then, while affirming God’s love for all peoples and desire to save them (Gen. 18:18, Psalm 107:1, Jer. 31:3) on to Ezekiel 18 about individual responsibility for sin, regardless of nationality, and therefor responsibility to look on and believe in the Messiah who will be lifted up for that sin (Vs 16-18).  This is the part that is man’s responsibility, not earning the spiritual birth but looking to the one who is able to give it.  Through Psalm 27:1, Psalm 89:14-18, Psalm 130, Isaiah 2:5 & 60:1-2 the need to come to and delight in the Light is espoused.  Yet Psalm 51 concedes even those born as Jews are brought forth in iniquity and love darkness to hide their sin and so live under condemnation, but those who practice the truth come to the light and look upon the One raised up for them. (13) (14)

Yeshua’s talmidim baptising followers…

After this time in Jerusalem for the eight day festival of Pesach (Passover), which foretold his upcoming death as the Lamb of God, Yeshua returned east to the Jordan region with his young talmidim and started immersing (baptising) people in water, even as Yochanan had been continuing to do.  

After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptised.  Now John also was baptising in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptised.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.     John 3:22-24

Just as the miracles Yeshua had done in Jerusalem sparked Nicodemus’ interest in speaking with Him, so they also stirred many to come and be baptised by Him.  In fact now even more people were going out to Yeshua and being immersed by His talmidim than to Yochanan the baptiser.

Evidence of being apostéllō from God –
“He must Increase but I must decrease“…

They came to Yochanan, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same immerses, and everyone is coming to him.”
Yochanan answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,’ but, ‘I have been sent (apostéllō) before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”       John 3:26-30 HNV

Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist) gives us an example of one who is truly operating in the authority of being apostéllō from God.  He is not jealous over “his ministry” to baptise, nor envious that more people are now flocking to Yeshua than to himself, but rather humbly views this as his great joy to see the many now bypassing him to go directly to the Son of God.   Yochanan’s apostolic mantra was: “He must increase but I must decrease”    Anything other than this, anything self-promoting or claiming that others must in some way come through us to get to Christ is not of the apostéllō of God.   This original apostolic reformation was one of practical love for others and rejoicing when they bypass us to go directly to God themselves.  Yochanan continued with this prophetic declaration:

“He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His witness.  He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.   The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.  One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” John 3:31-36 HNV

This message brought joy and hope to many of the Jews, but was unsettling to the religious leaders, as was Yohanan’s levelling the same charges against them as against the ‘common people’:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his immersion he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance!  Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  “Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. I indeed immerse you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will immerse you in the Holy Spirit. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:7-12

Disciples doing the work of the ministry…

Meanwhile, there had already been a shift if what Yeshua was doing.  It was no longer Yeshua doing the baptising, but his young disciples.  How quickly He got them into doing the work of the ministry.  They did not know much yet, but they could do what they did know and learn through the doing.   There is no indication that Yochanan ever had his disciples doing the baptising for him, every record is of Yochanan being the one in the water getting everyone fully immersed, as well as the one preaching the fiery sermons and prophetically calling the people to repentance.   Yochanan’s disciples were learning everything he said but not yet doing what he did.   After all, the evidence suggests that Yochanan had only been preaching and baptising people for about 6 months when Yeshua came to be baptised, and the Passover was only about 3 months after that, so Yochanan had been ministering for less than a year (15) and his most promising disciples had left to follow Yeshua.  It is not surprising then that Yochanan’s disciples had not yet graduated to doing what their rabbi was doing in baptising people.  Normal Jewish practice would have them learning from their rabbi, John the Baptiser, for over a decade more, until they were around thirty years of age, before they would be considered ready to teach or baptise others.  Yet, in such a few short weeks of following him, Yeshua had his disciples doing the ministry, doing the baptising for Him.   And still the people kept coming, even though they would only be touched by Yeshua’s talmidim and not directly by Him, more and more people kept coming to be baptised as Yeshua’s talmidim.    

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptised more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptise, but His disciples)     John 4:1-2 NKJV

Yeshua’s disciples were doing the ministry of baptising the people for Him, to initiate them into being disciples of Yeshua.   Right from the beginning they understood that their calling was to bring people into following Yeshua, not following themselves.  So soon after they had begun to follow Yeshua, His disciples were beginning the process of making disciples for their rabbi.

As the word spread to the Jerusalem authorities that Yeshua was immersing more people than Yochanan, He left Judea with His disciples and headed back up towards Galilee.   Their next lesson was about to begin, and it was one that they were most unprepared for.

Reference List

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10. You Must be Born Again. HaDavar Messianic Ministries. [Online] [Cited: 17th Oct. 2016.] http://www.hadavar.org/getting-to-know-god/you-must-be-born-again/.
11. Scott. Jewish Roots. Chosen People. [Online] [Cited: 17th Oct. 2016.] http://chosenpeople.com/main/jewish-roots/180–a-jewish-view-of-john-3.
12. Does the idea of being “born again” have a root earlier than John/Peter (or Jesus)? Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange. [Online] [Cited: 17th Oct. 2016.] http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/9338/does-the-idea-of-being-born-again-have-a-root-earlier-than-john-peter-or-jesu.
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