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Christ's Entry and Ministry in Jerusalem
57.—Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
1. On the following day Jesus came to Jerusalem, but, before entering, stopped at Mount Olivet, just outside the walls of the city. From there He sent His disciples to Bethphage, a little town close by, and bade them bring the ass which they would find tied by the way.
2. The disciples did as He commanded, and, bringing the ass, put their garments on it; then they placed Jesus thereon and led Him into Jerusalem. On the way great multitudes of the people met Him. Some spread their garments on the ground, some cut down branches from the palm-trees and strewed them before Him, whilst all cried: "Hosanna to the Son of David! blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!"
3. Many of the Pharisees were also in the crowd. When they heard the people shouting, and saw the honors that were paid to Jesus, they asked Him to rebuke His disciples, and to tell the people to hold their peace; but He would not.
4. As Jesus drew near the city, looking upon it, He wept; then He cried out: "O Jerusalem! if you had known the things that are for your peace; but now they are hidden from your eyes. The days shall come when your enemies shall compass you about, and shall beat you flat to the ground, and there shall not remain of you a stone upon a stone."
5. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He went directly to the Temple, where from every direction the sick, the blind, and the paralytic were brought to Him, and He cured them all. At last the people became very much excited, and even the children caught up the general enthusiasm and cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David!"
6. When the Pharisees heard this they became more and more enraged, and, coming to Him, asked if He heard what was said. Jesus answered, "Yes; but," said He, "have you never read what was written by the prophet: Out of the mouths of infants and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?"
7. Long before had Zacharias the prophet foretold the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, when he said: "Rejoice, daughter of Sion, and shout, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King will come to thee: He is poor, and riding upon an ass."
8. Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem on the very day the Jews were required by the law of Moses to procure the Paschal lamb. How significant His every act! The Paschal lamb was offered for the Jewish people; but Jesus, who is the true Paschal Lamb, was offered, not for a people, but for a world.
Questions to Consider : 57.—What is said of Christ's entry into Jerusalem? What did the multitude do? How did the Pharisees act? What did Jesus say of Jerusalem? What was done in the Temple? How did Jesus answer the Pharisees? What did Zacharias prophesy? On what day did Jesus enter Jerusalem?
58.—The Parable of the Marriage Feast.
1. On the next day, while Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He said: "The kingdom of heaven is like to a king who made a marriage feast for his son. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. He sent a second time, but they not only refused, but, seizing his servants, put them to death.
2. "When the king heard this he became very angry, and, sending his armies, destroyed the murderers and burnt their city.
"That his marriage feast might not be without guests, the king sent his servants into the highways and invited all, the good as well as the bad, to come.
3. "The king, going into the banqueting-hall, found a guest who had not on a wedding-garment. When asked why he had neglected to put on a wedding-garment, he was silent. Then the king ordered him to be bound hand and foot, and to be cast into exterior darkness."
4. In the East it was customary for kings to supply their guests with wedding-garments; hence the crime of the unfortunate man, who, through carelessness, had neglected to put on the proper garment, even though provided for him.
Questions to Consider : 58.—Tell the parable of the marriage feast. What was done to the dumb guest? What was a custom in the East?
59.—The Tribute to Caesar.
1. When the Scribes and Pharisees heard the parable of the marriage feast, they knew Jesus meant them by the guests who had refused to come. In consequence they were very angry, and began to plot how they might entrap Him in His words, that thereby they might have a pretext to condemn Him.
2. For this purpose they sent some of their own disciples, together with some of the friends of Herod, to Him. They began by flattering Hint and praising Him for His bold and fearless declaration of His opinions. When they thought they had deceived Him as to their intentions, they, with deep cunning, asked Him "whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not."
3. Jesus knew very well what their motives were, and the treacherous plot by which they hoped to entrap Him; for if He said "Yes," the Jews would hate Him as being an enemy to their country, and if He said "No," Herod would seize upon Him for resisting the government.
4. Jesus asked for a penny. When it was presented to Him, He asked "whose image was on it." They said, "Caesar's." Then said Jesus: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
When they heard this their malice was forced to yield in admiration to His wisdom. Going away, they dared ask Him no more questions.
Questions to Consider : 59.—How did the Scribes try to entrap Jesus? How did He answer them? What did they do?
60.—Christ Foretells the Destruction of Jerusalem
and the End of
the World.
1. After Jesus had finished speaking, He rose to leave the Temple. As He was passing out, His disciples began to admire its magnificence and solidity; but Jesus told them not to trust too much to appearances; that that Temple which they now so much admired, and of which the Jews were so proud, would ere long be destroyed; nor would there remain of it so much as a stone upon a stone.
2. When He came to Mount Olivet, that stands but a short distance from the city, I3e sat down and began to speak to His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. They asked Him when these things would take place.
3. In answer to the first question He said: "When you shall see an army encompass Jerusalem about, know that her destruction is at hand. Then let those that are in Judea flee to the mountains, and those that are in Jerusalem hasten to depart, for the days of vengeance and tribulation are come: many shall fall by the sword, many shall be led away captives among the nations of the earth, and Jerusalem shall be destroyed."
4. To the second question He said: "Be not deceived: My Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, and then shall the end come. There shall be tribulations such as have not been; false Christs shall arise, and false prophets shall come, doing wonders and showing signs, so as almost to deceive the elect. But the end is not yet.
5. "Other signs shall appear: The sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, the earth shall be moved, the sea shall roar, and men shall wither away for fear of the things that are to come. Then shall the sign of the Son of Man appear, and He Himself shall come in His majesty; the angels shall gather together the elect from the four winds. But no one knows either the day or the hour, but the Father alone."
6. Thirty-seven years after this remarkable prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, Titus, a Roman general, came with an army and laid siege to Jerusalem. The prophecy was fulfilled to the letter: the walls were beaten down, the city was taken, the Temple burned, and the Jews were carried into captivity, never to return.
In its own time will the prophecy concerning the end of the world be also fulfilled.
Questions to Consider : 60.—What did Jesus say concerning the Temple? Of what did Jesus speak when He came to Mount Olivet? When was Jerusalem to be destroyed? What did Jesus say about the end of the world? Who destroyed Jerusalem? When?
61.—The Parable of the Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins.
1. Jesus continued to speak to His disciples, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like to ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish took no oil with them but the wise took oil in vessels together with their lamps.
2. "Whilst the bridegroom tarried, they all slept. During the night the bridegroom came, and they rose and went forth to meet him. But soon the foolish virgins found their lamps had gone out, and, while they went to buy oil, the bridegroom entered, and the doors were shut.
3. "At length the foolish virgins came, but could not enter. When they cried out to open for them, the bridegroom answered, 'I know you not.' Watch, for you know not when the Son of Man shall come."
Questions to Consider : 61.—Tell the parable of the virgins.
62.—The Parable of the Talents.
1. Again Jesus gave another parable: "The end of the world is like to a man who went into a far country. He called together his servants, and delivered to them his goods. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; and to another, one. Then he started on his journey.
2. "How he that bad received the five talents went and traded with them till he gained other five talents. In like manner he that had received the two gained other two; but he that had received the one talent went away and buried his lord's money.
3. "After a long time the lord returned; and he that had received the five talents came and brought with him the other five. When the lord saw this he said: 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: because thou hest been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' In like manner the lord spoke to him that had gained the two talents.
4. "But he that had received the one talent came and said. 'Lord, I knew thou wert a hard man, and, being afraid, I hid thy talent in the ground. Here is what is thine.' The lord reproached him for his sloth, and, taking the talent from him, gave it to him who had the ten talents. Then he commanded the unprofitable servant to be bound hand and foot and cast into exterior darkness."
Questions to Consider : 62.—Tell the parable of the talents.
63.—The Last Judgment.
1. Among the last of the public instructions Christ gave the people was a discourse on the Last Judgment, and an exhortation to His disciples to prepare for it. The negligence of men, and the little influence that the mere love for God has to change the mind, rendered it necessary to add fear to the other motives for serving God.
2. Jesus began by a description of the commotions that would beforehand take place in the heavens and on the earth; telling how the sun and the moon and the stars would change, and the earth tremble, and how after this an angel would sound the last trumpet and call the dead to judgment. Then would come the Son of Man, surrounded by His angels and seated on a cloud, while all the nations of the earth would be gathered before Him.
3. When all mankind shall have been thus gathered before Him, Jesus Christ shall send out His angels to separate the good from the bad, placing the former on His right hand and the latter on His left. Then shall Christ turn to the good and say to them: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
4. But He shall turn to the wicked and, with an angry countenance, say: "Depart from Me, ye accursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." And these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlasting.
5. At His first coming Jesus appeared in poverty and weakness, but at His second He shall appear as a judge, surrounded by His majesty, and backed by His power. The cross, now so much despised, will then be the sign of His glory.
QUESTIONS TO CHAPTER 63.—Besides love, what else is needed to serve God? Describe the Last Judgment. What shall be done to the good? What to the bad? What is the difference between the first and the last coming of Jesus Christ?