As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the people spread their coats in front of Him and greeted Him with palm branches.
Jesus had spent many months traveling through the towns and villages of Palestine. He preached about the kingdom of God and healed the sick wherever He went. Now the time had come for Him to claim His title as the Messiah - the Savior that God had promised to the Jewish people.
Jesus knew His mission was almost finished. As they traveled to Jerusalem, Jesus warned His disciples that He would soon be put to death, and after three days He would rise again.
As they came near Jerusalem, Jesus told two of His disciples to go into a nearby village and bring a donkey that would be waiting there. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. Crowds of people spread their coats on the ground in front of Him. Some waved branches of palm trees, a sign of victory. The people shouted,
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord –
the King of Israel!
Only a king would be greeted this way (2 Kings 9:13), and the people wanted Jesus to be their king.
Most of the people did not understand what kind of king Jesus would be. They expected their Messiah to be a great political and military leader who would free them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. But the kingdom of God is not of this world. It is a spiritual kingdom that is now growing in the hearts of people who put their faith and trust in God.
Jesus drove the merchants and money changers out of the temple.
Jesus turned over the seats of the merchants and the tables of the money changers, scattering their coins. He told them all to leave. He made a whip of some cords and used it to drive out the animals. He said,
It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations', But you have made it a den of robbers!
A expert on the Jewish Law asked Jesus which of God's commandments was most important. Jesus replied,
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is just as important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the other commandments and the teachings of the prophets are based on these two.
Trust in God and Christian love (kindness and respect) for all people are the basis for everything Jesus taught us. These are the things that are really important in life.
The chief priests and elders of the temple challenged Jesus' authority.
These temple officials came up with a plan to trap Jesus with His own words. They came to Jesus and demanded to know by what authority he was doing all these things. If Jesus said His authority was from God, they would accuse Him of blasphemy. If He did not claim authority from God, they could say He was just a crazy man.
But Jesus knew it was a trap. Instead of answering the question, He asked them another question: "Did the baptism of John come from heaven?" The temple officials realized this was also a trap. If they said "Yes", Jesus would say, "Then why didn't you believe him?" If they said "No" it would make the people angry because they believed John the Baptist was a prophet. So, they refused to answer.
As usual, Jesus had defeated his opponents at their own game! But the temple officials were even more angry and began to plot to have Jesus killed.
But there was harsh conflict between Jesus and Jerusalem's religious leaders. They clashed on issues of prayer, holiness, life after death and paying taxes to the Romans. Above all, they clashed on the issue of Jesus' authority from God. These conflicts led to Jesus being crucified less than a week after entering Jerusalem.
Jesus did some of His most important preaching during this final week. He spoke of His second coming and told parables of the kingdom of God. Most of all He said we must put our total trust in God and put that trust into action with kindness for other people.
Christianity began as a small sect of Judaism. It was only after many Gentiles (non-Jews) converted to Christianity that it emerged as a separate religion. God has not revoked His covenant with the Jews (Romans 11:25-29), but His salvation is now available to all people of the world.