Jesus in Jerusalem and in the Temple - Mark 11:11

Mark wrote when Jesus and His disciples, “came near to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sent forth two of his disciples. And said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do you this? say you that the Lord has need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do you, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that comes in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest”, and in chapter eleven and verse eleven of his book, Mark shared how, “Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple” where we read:

And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

The verse reads, “And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple:” Mark began with the words, “and Jesus” which refers to “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation” “entered into Jerusalem” or “came forth and made entrance into the city of Jerusalem which means set you double peace”, “and into the temple” which means “and in the sacred place of worship which held both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies”. Mark shared how Jesus went inside the city of “Jerusalem” and entered the “sacred place of worship” known as the “temple” there.

The verse continues, “and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.” Mark added the words, “and when” which means “and at the time and moment” “he had looked round about” or “Jesus looked all around Him” “upon all things” which means “on each, every, the whole and everything”, “and now” or “and already or by this time” “the eventide” which means “the evening time which was from six o'clock to the beginning of night” “was come” or “arrived or appeared”, “he went out unto Bethany” which means “Jesus departed from Jerusalem to Bethany which was a village at the Mount of Olives, about two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem, on or near the normal road to Jericho whose name means house of dates or house of misery” “with the twelve” or “along with Jesus' twelve disciples”. Mark shared how Jesus looked around at everything that was around Him and left with His disciples to the small village of “Bethany” that was nearby.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus went into the “temple” in Jerusalem and saw everything around Him. The gospel of Matthew tells us, “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves”. (See Matthew 21:12-13). Jesus knew He would be betrayed into the hands of the “religious leaders” and “Gentiles”, and He would eventually suffer, be persecuted and die for the sins of mankind, and yet, He made sure people knew the real purpose for the “temple” of God. God's desire is to have everyone come to Him through His Son Jesus, and those who are wise will carefully consider each of these details given by the writers of the gospels and yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Mark shares how “on the morrow” Jesus, “was hungry” , so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".