Jesus' Last Week in Jerusalem

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
John 12:1-2

The countdown to the Passion of the Christ (*count the days as the ancients' counted with no zero-place-value by counting the first in the series as day #1; note that sundown began the next Jewish day).

Day #1. Saturday, Nisan 9th: Jesus ate the Sabbath dinner with His friends in Bethany and received His second anointing (Jn 12:1-11).

Day #2. Sunday, Nisan 10th: Jesus made His triumphal ride into the city of Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple a second time. He taught the people at the Temple (Mt 21:1-17; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:36-40; Jn 12:12-19).

Day #3. Monday, Nisan 11th: Jesus cursed the fig tree and cleansed the Temple a third time. His authority was challenged by the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, and He taught at the Jerusalem Temple ( Mt 21:18-23; 22:15; Mk 11:12-19; Lk 20:1).

Day #4. Tuesday, Nisan 12th: Jesus continued to teach at the Jerusalem Temple (Lk 21:37-38).

Day #5. Wednesday Nisan 13th: Jesus' last day teaching in Jerusalem. He condemned His generation, taught about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and prophesied His Second Advent, the Last Judgment. He had dinner with friends in Bethany where He received His third anointing, and He was betrayed by Judas to the chief priests ( Mt 23:34-25:37; 26:1-2, 6-16; Mk 13:1-37; 14:1, 3-11; Lk 21:5-36; 22:1-6; Jn 13:1-2a).

Day #6. Thursday, Nisan 14th: The day of the Passover sacrifice. Peter and John are sent to prepare for the sacrifice and the sacred meal ( Mt 26:12-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13).

Sundown was the beginning of Friday, Nisan 15th, the appointed time of the sacred meal of the Passover sacrifice on the first night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was on this Jewish feast that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Eucharist. He was betrayed by Judas who leaves without completing the meal. It was that night when Jesus was arrested ( Mt 26:47-50; Mk 14:43-50; Lk 22:47-53; Jn 18:2-11) and at dawn He was taken to the Roman governor ( Mt 27:1-2; Mk 15:1; Lk 22:66; 23:1; Jn 18:28).

From the Crucifixion to the Ascension

The Jewish daytime was divided into 12 seasonal hours beginning at dawn (Jn 11:9). Roman time, which is also modern time, began the new day at midnight, and dawn was the beginning of the 6th hour. Noon was the 6th hour Jewish time and the 12th hour Roman time. When Jn 19:14 records that it was "about the 6th hour" when Jesus was with Pilate, it is Roman time between 6-7 AM "in agreement with the Synoptic Gospels.

Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead (1 Thes 4:13-17; 2 Thes 1:7-10; 2:1-12; 1 Cor 15:22-28, 51-53).

Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.