Faces In The Crowd

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY, "FACES IN THE CROWD"

It’s six days before the passover, in less then a week Jesus would be hanging on a cross. But right now Jesus is in Bethany a small village about 2 miles east of Jerusalem. He is at the home of Simon the leper having a meal. At the dinner are: Mary, Martha and Lazarus (who Jesus had just raised from the dead a few days earlier). and the 12 disciples, they were giving a dinner in honor of Jesus.

And they were reclining at the table eating and talking amongst themselves... I am sure some were asking Lazarus probing questions, questions like: Lazarus what was it like to be dead? Lazarus do you remember anything? Did you see anything? Did you hear Jesus shout from outside the tomb? Others were probably talking to Jesus asking him questions.... And still others were saying things such as, "pass the gravy -- and hey Pete how come you always take the biggest lamb chop.. Just a bunch of friends who had shared so much having a meal together, enjoying each others company --laughing telling jokes and having a good time.

And while they were eating they heard a jar break and thought that Ol’ Martha must have dropped a glass -- and maybe they even applauded in jest like we do sometimes... But then they noticed an aroma that filled the entire room ... it was the aroma of expensive perfume....

And they looked over at Jesus, and saw Mary kneeling at the master’s feet, pouring perfume on them and drying his feet with her hair...

Mary did this, because she loved Jesus -- and she wanted to do something for Jesus -- and something inside her told her to do it now... "Mary don’t wait, you need to do it now, you might not have another chance, so do it while you still can." So she did...

Now the practical disciples and Judas the thief, rebuked Mary for what they thought was a waste, saying that they could have sold the perfume and used the money to help the poor, but they were quickly stopped by Jesus who rebuked them saying, "LEAVE HER ALONE, IT WAS INTENDED THAT SHE SHOULD SAVE THIS FOR MY BURIAL...YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR AMONG YOU, BUT YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS HAVE ME.."

"My Burial", The disciples didn’t like to here Jesus talk like this; about his death and burial, it always made them feel uncomfortable to think about Jesus dying and no longer being with them, they didn’t understand it at all, it didn’t make sense...

Meanwhile back in Jerusalem, the Holy City was swelling as thousands of pilgrims flooded the city of David to participate in the passover feast -- the numbers often reached as high nearly 2 to 3 million.

But this year as the faithful pilgrims arrived, they had more than the passover on their minds.... Jesus was on the lips and in the thoughts and minds of nearly everyone in Jerusalem. Word of his miracles had spread like a brush fire: the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of leprosy, the restoring of sight -- the lame made to walk, the forgiving of sins and the rasing from the dead of lazarus and others.... The multitudes in Jerusalem were with great intensity looking for Jesus... they went to the market place and they looked in the temple and they asked one another,

"WHAT TO YOU THINK? IS HE COMING? IS JESUS COMING TO THE FEAST?... DO YOU THINK HE WILL COME? O I HOPE HE DOES, YOU NOW WE COULD BE WITNESSING SOMETHING GREAT THIS PASSOVER -- MAYBE THE MESSIAH’S KINGDOM WILL COME NOW... . O’ WE BEST BE QUITE HERE COMES SOME TEMPLE GUARDS, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR JESUS TOO... THE PHARISEES AND PRIESTS HAVE PUT A PRICE ON HIS HEAD... MAYBE HE WON’T COME, BUT MAYBE HE MIGHT... DO YOU REALLY THINK HE IS THE MESSIAH."

It wasn’t long before word of Jesus being in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper (along with Lazarus) reached Jerusalem....

And thousands of people quickly left the city in an excited state. To not only see Jesus, but to also see Lazarus who had been raised from the dead.

And when the well adorned Jewish leaders in their long robes saw crowds leaving they inquired as to where and why the multitudes were leaving the city... And when they heard where the people were going, they said to themselves, "WELL, MY FRIENDS IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO KILL LAZARUS AS WELL....

So Jesus sets out from Bethany heading towards God’s holy City, and when he arrived in Bethphage on the Mount of Olives he called 2 of his disciples to Him ....