Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-18
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By HENRY DANIEL-ROPS
Chapter Is

The coincidence between the Jewish festi-
val and the death Of Jesus provides some
of the most valuable evidence In piecing
together the chronology of Christ's life.
Holy Week may therefore be said to have
commenced on Sunday, April 2, in the year
80, and it was on Friday, April 7, on bare
hill by the gate of Jerusalem, that Jesus was
nailed to the cross
We can follow day by day, almost hour
by hour, the steps of Jesus toward His con-
summation
Sunday, April g. we can imagine as one
of those lovely spring mornings in Judea
when, in the distant clear horizons, in the
cool air filled with the scent Of growing
things, and in the song of thousand larks,
the human soul seems to feel the presence
of the divine goodness.
Many people had come early along the
road from Bethany to Jerusalem in the hope
of hearing Jesus, for the rumor of His re-
cent miracles, the restoration Of sight to the
blind man at Jericho, the raising Of Lazarus
after he had been dead three days, must
have caused great excitement.
On Way to Jerusalem
Jesus was already on His way to Jeru-
salem.
The road runs along the eastern slope
Of the Mount Of Olives, leaving the summit
on the left, and takes several hairpin bends
before coming out upon the fiat. Here there
Is magnificent view of the city. Here the
crowd of disciples and lookers-on had col
lected.
A short distance before this place was
scattered hamlet Of few houses bordering
$kn onf, pafhnh00n
"The house of the figs"
There Jesus sent two disciples into the
village and told them "straightway We shall
find an ass tied and colt with her; loose
them and bring them unto me-"
Why an ass? Was it simply that He was
tired? It hardly seems likely, for Jesus,
throughout the Gospel narrative, seems to
have been very vigorous walker.
The significance of the choice becomes
evident when we remember that, through
out the Old Testament, the ass is the SYM
Dol of peace, humility and quiet life, while
the horse is the symbol Of war, rapine and
luxury. The prophets reproached the kings
for putting their trust in horsemen.
The emphasis laid upon a colt wherein
man never sat" underlines the religious
character of the choice; it was widely be-
lieved in the ancient world that an animal
or an object which had served some pro-
fame purpose was not fit for sacred use.
Above all, there is the Messianic prophecy
of Zechariah: Behold thy King cometh
unto thee lowly and riding upon an ass,
upon a colt the foal of an ass"
Procession Takes Shape
Spontaneously, the disciples and the Curl
Gus onlookers organized themselves into
procession. "And a very great multitude
spread their garments in the way, others
cut down branches from trees and strewed
them in the way. And the multitudes that
went before and that followed cried, saying
'Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest"
At the top of the hill, where the road
widens out before it descends rapidly along
the western slope, Jesus came to halt.
Before Him rose the city, a truly royal
prospect.
There is no better place to view Jeru-
salem than from the slopes of the Mount
of Olives. The city on plateau which
drops sharply to the west above the Brook
Kidron has perfect Suggesting.
In Jesus day it presented an even more
striking spectacle Then, as now, 1t was
city built of stone and denuded of vegeta-
ton. It must have shone with a dazzling
splendor. The cleaning white walls were