The Last King of Israel

Lessons From Jesus’s Final Ten Days

Mike Chung

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781532602603
  9781532602627
• eBook ISBN:
  9781532602610
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

As death draws near, life will be lived differently. The Last King of Israel explores how the king of kings chose to live his final ten days culminating in the resurrection. Lessons like spending time with loved ones, dealing with difficult people, handling criticism, resting despite enormous stress, and handling affliction are some of the areas addressed as Jesus faces imminent death. Easter is one of the world's most revered holiday seasons; this book will enhance understanding of this truly holy week. Including the two days before Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of his resurrection, The Last King of Israel takes the reader on Jesus's epic final ten-day journey as his mission on earth comes to an end. Seeing how he died will teach all of us how to live. Challenging both the heart and the mind, The Last King of Israel is a must-read for those who desire a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and the life he lived.

1

Day One

Friday

March 27

AD 33

John 12:1

The Journey to Bethany

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we can find in our travels is an honest friend.

—Robert Louis Stevenson

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

—Hebrews 12:2

Life is a journey. Its passage may transcend peaks of happiness, valleys of despair, waves of rejection, peaceful serenity, and interludes of rest. The voyage is long for some and short for others, but all take the journey. For Jesus, his final ten days, culminating in the resurrection, were a microcosm of his over thirty-three years of life,1 bringing him to people and places that brought abundant pleasure and inflicted excruciating pain. For us today, the former should become regular destinations of the heart and the latter should be left far behind. Revisiting places and people that have brought joy in the past strengthens the soul to face the yet-to-come challenges of life’s journey.

Jesus found a destination location for his heart in the village of Bethany. Before the Savior’s journey to Jerusalem, where he would face cruelty, mental agony, false accusations, physical death, and rejection by his Father, he journeyed to Bethany to spend time with dear friends. The journey revitalized his body and soul before withstanding the suffering soon to be required of him. Redeeming humanity came at great cost, but with such a deep love, he chose to pay it.

Passover was coming and the Scripture stipulated the Passover feast must be celebrated in Jerusalem (Deut 16:1–8). Although Jews from around the world had crowded the city, Jesus would have been able to find accommodations within the city limits2 (e.g., he was able to find very suitable conditions to celebrate the “Last Supper” on short notice). Jesus was coming from Ephraim, possibly further away from Bethany and closer to Jerusalem. Despite the distance, Jesus chose to lodge with his friends in Bethany. He shows us that on the journey of life, it is important to spend time with those you care about. Despite being less convenient and out of the way, Jesus went to Bethany.

The way to Bethany traversed Jericho, the route someone from Jerusalem would travel if they were headed to the Dead Sea. In the Old Testament, Moses’s successor, Joshua—which is the Hebrew form of Jesus—journeys through Jericho into the promise land.3 Joshua’s name means “Yahweh is salvation, rescuer, or deliverer” and God will use Joshua to deliver Israel out of wandering and settle into the promised land that God covenanted with Abraham almost seven hundred years before. Jesus journeys through Jericho (Mark 10:46; Matt 20:29; Luke 18:35; Mark 11:1) to Jerusalem and will rescue the world from iniquity.

It was Friday (John 12:1), ten days before the resurrection.4 Jesus knew he was going to suffer and die (Matt 16:21–28; 20:17–19; Mark 8:31–33; 9:30–32; Luke 9:22–27; John 13–17). In one week, he would fulfill his mission (Jer 31:31–34; John 19:30). Luke described Jesus moving toward Jerusalem in order to fulfill his passion,5 but on Friday, one week before Good Friday, Jesus moved toward Bethany to be filled by his friends.

Jesus’s Sabbath Destination

Friendship is one key to happiness, and Jesus had close friends besides the disciples.6 The narrative of the New Testament points to Bethany as a place where Jesus enjoyed meals, ministry, fellowship, and friends.7 On this Friday, one week before his crucifixion, Jesus made the long journey to this place so dear to his heart (John 11:3, 5, 35–36), trying to reach the village of Bethany before sundown, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath.

Sabbaths were designated days of rest. Just as God rested from his creation at the beginning of time (Gen 2:2–3), God incarnate—Jesus (John 1:1–5; 14)—would spend this Sabbath as Isaiah’s Suffering Servant (Isa 52:13—53:12) with his close friends. Next Friday, he would journey from Gethsemane to Jerusalem and ultimately Golgotha, where he would spend that Sabbath resting in a tomb.8

Jesus would not travel to Jerusalem this Friday to face Pilate. Instead, he would travel from Ephraim, near the wilderness (John 11:54), back to his beloved mountain village of Bethany (John 12:1).9 This journey would be the last time Jesus ever sojourned in the wilderness. Next Friday, he would obediently complete the redemption journey and later return to be with his Father (Heb 9:23–24).

Notable Biblical Journeys

A long journey out of the way is nothing new to Jesus. Before he was born, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary journeyed almost one hundred miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem where Jesus would be born in a stable (Luke 2:1–7). Less th...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Dedication
• Introduction and Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: The Journey to Bethany
• Chapter 2: Jesus’s Special Place
• Chapter 3: Rest
• Chapter 4: Martha’s Metamorphosis
• Chapter 5: Meals
• Chapter 6: Dealing with Toxic People
• Chapter 7: Hail to the King
• Chapter 8: The Monday Temple Cleansing
• Chapter 9: Sanhedrin Stress and Story Time
• Chapter 10: A Beautiful Devotion and a Devastating Disgrace
• Chapter 11: A Special Season of Rest
• Chapter 12: Not the Last Supper
• Chapter 13: The Sovereign Savior
• Chapter 14: The Sorrowful Savior
• Chapter 15: The Submissive Savior
• Chapter 16: When Difficult People Assault
• Chapter 17: Preparation for Greatness
• Chapter 18: Innocent Persecution
• Chapter 19: Supreme Love
• Chapter 20: Good Friday through the Eyes of a Pharisee
• Chapter 21: Breaking the Sabbath for Personal Security
• Chapter 22: Easter Sunday, the Hope of the World
• Chapter 23: Easter Evening Commission
• Appendix 1: A Bracketed Bethany Anointing
• Appendix 2: The Curse of the Fig Tree Scene in Mark 11:14 and Jewish Observances
• Bibliography