March 21, 2013 (Thursday)
“Jesus went about doing good” (Acts 10:38)
We are familiar with the scene that pictures Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem amidst a crowd of people spreading their cloaks and palm branches on the ground before him and shouting “Hosanna!” Where did Jesus come from on that first “Palm Sunday?” More than likely he came from Bethany, a nearby town. He had probably arrived there on Friday, staying at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, on his way to Jerusalem for that final week now known as Holy Week or Passion Week.
When did he begin his journey? Weeks earlier, in Galilee, during a three-month period of his ministry known as The Perean Ministry.
From Galilee he traveled into or near Samaria, and healed 10 lepers. He crossed over the Jordan into Perea, where he constantly taught as he walked. At one point he traveled to and from Bethany, where he raised Lazarus from the dead. He finally crossed the Jordan again and entered the city of Jericho, where he healed Blind Bartimaeus and his companion. Inside the city, he visited the tax collector, Zaccheus, and heard his remarkable promise of repentance and restitution to all he may have wronged in the past.
From Jericho, it seems he went to Bethany, and the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, whom he had recently raised from the dead. After the Sabbath, he would make his triumphant entry into Jerusalem where “The Passion of Christ” would begin.
Jesus urges us to follow his example and never let our plans for the future interfere with our living this very day to its fullest. On the way to Jerusalem, he had many marvelous experiences, shared lessons and parables, and sought to prepare the hearts of his disciples for what was coming. Jesus never wasted a day of his life. He is our model. More than that, he lives within and through us.