The Final Week of Jesus' Life, a Chronology

The final week of Jesus' life, a chronology

Father Ryan Erlenbush

Mach 2012

As the Church prepares to enter into Holy Week, we do well to consider the final week of Jesus’ life, from Friday to Friday. In a later post, we will look at the last twenty-four hours (from the Last Supper to the death of Jesus on the Cross) in greater detail.

It will be helpful to review the Gospel accounts given by Sts. Mark and John, the two who offer the most explicit chronology of Holy Week. See Mark 11:1 – 15:37 and also John 11:54 – 19:30.

The Friday before the Passion

Jesus was in the city of Ephraim, in hiding since the Jewish authorities desired to kill him. On this day (before evening), Jesus and his disciples went up to Jerusalem, before the pasch to purify themselves (John 11:55).

They spent the night in Bethany, which is very close to Jerusalem.

Saturday before the Passion

Jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. (John 12:1-3)

The pasch (i.e. Passover) was on a Thursday that year (beginning Thursday eve with the Passover Meal), and so six days before, that is, on Friday, Jesus came to Bethany.

The next day, which is to say, Saturday, Jesus came to the feast there and was anointed by Mary of Bethany (that is, Mary Magdalene [here]). In this first anointing, Mary pours the oil over the Savior’s feet.

This meal and anointing occurred, most probably, at the house of Lazarus known as the Lazarium.

Our Savior spent the night in Bethany.

Palm Sunday

And on the next day, Sunday (John 12:12), Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. This was the first Palm Sunday, when the children of the Hebrews bearing olive branches went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, “Hosanna in the highest!”

Our Lord returned to Bethany for the night.

Monday of Holy Week

On the way into Jerusalem, Jesus sees a fig tree which has born no fruit – which tree he curses in the presence of his disciples.

Upon entering the city, our Lord goes up and cleanses the Temple for the second time (he had cleansed it once already, two years ago – cf. John 2:13ff [see our article, here]).

That eve, Jesus returned to Bethany (cf. Mark 11:19).

Tuesday of Holy Week

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus’ disciples notice that the fig tree which he had cursed the morning before has now withered. They are amazed.

Entering the Temple area, Jesus preaches extensively and answers the questions of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

It is on this day that our Lord tells the parable of the vineyard workers who kill the owner’s son who is the heir to the vineyard. Also, on this occasion, the Lord answers the questions regarding the tribute to Caesar, the resurrection of the body, the greatest commandment, and whether the Christ will be the son of David.

Further, while in the Temple, our Lord sees a widow offer two small coins and declares her gift to be greater than those of the others.

Finally, Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple and speaks of the final judgment.

He returns that night to Bethany.

Spy Wednesday

Now the feast of pasch and of the Azymes [i.e. Unleavened Bread] was after two days [i.e. in two days' time] ... and when [Jesus] was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, and was at meal, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard: and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it out upon his head. (Mark 14:1,3)

Spending the day in retirement, our Lord attends a feast at the house of a certain Pharisee, Simon the Leper. During this meal, Mary of Bethany (i.e. the Magdalene [here]) again anoints our Lord, but this time upon his head.

Update: I am aware of the fact that there is a good deal of diversity among the Church Fathers on whether Mary anointed Jesus on Spy Wednesday. I side partially with Origen, Chrysostom, and Theophylus (against Augustine and Gregory) in affirming that there were two anointings, one on Saturday and another on Wednesday; but then agree with Augustine and Gregory (against Origen and Chrysostom) insofar as I claim that there was one and the same woman, Mary of Bethany who is the Magdalene. St. Thomas Aquinas did not come down on one side or the other of the question, so there is clearly room for doubt.

Update II: As I consider this further, I am beginning to lean more toward the side of Sts. Augustine and Gregory. Perhaps there was only one anointing (which would then be on Saturday) and Sts. Matthew and Mark mention it here as a way of connecting the betrayal of Judas more clearly with the incident.

Judas is now set against our Savior, and so goes to the priests to betray Jesus. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to betray him to them. (Mark 14:10)

Because it was this evening that Judas conspired against Jesus, the day is called “Spy Wednesday”.

Holy Thursday

Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Whither wilt thou that we go, and prepare for thee to eat the pasch? (Mark 14:12)

Because the Passover meal would be consumed Thursday evening, Jesus sent his disciples to make the preparations for the pasch. They went from Bethany to Jerusalem and prepared the upper room.

On this evening, Jesus offered the Last Supper in which he instituted both the Eucharist and the Priesthood. Upon finishing the meal, our Lord and his apostles (excepting Judas, who left early) sang a hymn and then went forth to the Mount of Olives.

On this night, our Lord suffered the agony in the garden and was arrested. Jesus spends the night locked in the dungeon of the house of Caiaphas, after undergoing a secret night-trial by the Sanhedrin.

Good Friday

It was on Friday that our Lord suffered and died. Condemned to death at 10am, nailed to the Cross at noon, and dying at 3pm.

Christ was buried before 5pm and, the stone being rolled across the entrance, all departed.

An obviously impossible timeline to fulfill the 3 day, 3 night prophecy:

First century Jews understood exactly what Jesus meant when he said three days and three nights, he meant three days.
To a first century Jew, any part of a day counted as a day. three days and three nights is another way of saying three days. no more, no less.

three days and three nights = three days
on the third day = three days
three days = three days

the Apostles clearly knew what day Jesus was crucified and on what day He rose. they spread the Faith all across the known world and that Universal Faith was that Jesus died on friday and rose on Sunday.

here is the testimony of Justin Martyr, written in 150ad, when many people taught by the Apostle John were still alive:

150AD JUSTIN: “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.” (First apology of Justin, Weekly Worship of the Christians, Ch 68)

Wow! Never heard of this before. Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome.

The trip with Steve and Janet Ray was fabulous. I went with an Episcopalian old friend.
Steve, being a former Baptist minister, knew his Old and New Testament backwards and forwards and was able to tell us where all the sights we saw from from in the Bible, chapter and verse.

It was wonderful to watch him deal with the Israeli Jewish uniforms, guides and such. We weren't terribly welcomed by anyone but the Arab Israelis. THAT was weird city from the get go.

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As I said, every so often on the roads there was a Jewish Israeli settlement. They settle there to maximize the inconvenience to the plethora of working Israeli Arabs. The Israeli Arabs are used to it and deal with it. They have no choice.

One Israeli Arab still had the key to his grandmother's house just outside of Jerusalem. He still had hopes of being able to live there. There IS no hope for them, only coexistence with the OTHER Israelis, their Jewish cousins.

From the North American Jewish Data Bank, there are 13.4 million Jewish people or less than 0.2% of the total world population
Also from Google, Arabs have a population of around 422 million people, with over half under 25 years of age. The Arabs have more children too, I understand. That will always figure in the equation,

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The Jewish Israelis were MOSTLY Americans who have ALWAYS had the dual citizenship option, which the REST of Americans do not have, so they visit Israel a LOT. The US doesn't recognize dual citizenship generally but people have it by simply NOT telling the US they have citizenship from another country. In essence, the lie.
The Israeli Americans don't have to lie as they have de facto US citizenship. There are, naturally, a BUNCH of exceptions. No surprise there either.

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I have a cousin who won't give up her Mexican citizenship even though she has lived and worked in Texas for 25 years, for a Mexican company. She was allowed both US and Mexican citizenship and even voted once in the US elections. She is one of those "exceptions."
There are LOTS of exceptions along the Mexico-US border. Stands to reason. Mexico likes it because it gets rid of many of their poor people and the US likes it because they get super-cheap labor.
She will eventually retire to Mexico; that is where she belongs--her words. I wish her well but disapprove of her methodology. She came to visit me by TELLING me that she would be staying with me for six weeks. She had business here. I was too stunned to say NO. After that she went home and has never seen me, called me or contacted me.

I guess my FACE said what I felt. My husband said that I would be the world's WORST poker player, as my face is a mirror of my mind. :o)
I'm GLAD I don't hear from her anymore. I never did like her mother, a ~~bitch~~ first cousin of mine.

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