When looked at as a “Triumph”, military victor’s parade, Yeshua’s/Jesus’s entry leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, He is absolutely snubbed by the very people who would have been required to greet a conquering general or a king with full honors. As such, this is a fitting beginning for the coming condemnation of Jerusalem and the Temple over the course of the following two chapters.
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11 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”
4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
I do not know why exactly Bible translators continue to call this “The Triumphal Entry” when it is anything but, and we’re going to look at what a triumph was in Greco-Roman times and the things that happened. We’ll be looking at the triumphant entry of Simon Thassi into Jerusalem after the expulsion of the Seleucid Greeks and various other accounts of triumphs and show how, not only was Yeshua not being honored, He was actually being seriously snubbed and rejected.
Hi, I am Tyler Dawn Rosenquist and welcome to Character in Context, where I teach the historical and ancient sociological context of Scripture with an eye to developing the character of the Messiah. If you prefer written material, I have five years’ worth of blog at theancientbridge.com as well as my six books available on amazon—including a four-volume curriculum series dedicated to teaching Scriptural context in a way that even kids can understand it, called Context for Kids—and I have two video channels on YouTube with free Bible teachings for both adults and kids. You can find the link for those on my website. Past broadcasts of this program can be found at characterincontext.podbean.com and transcripts can be had for most broadcasts at theancientbridge.com. If you have kids, I also have a weekly broadcast where I teach them Bible context in a way that shows them why they can trust God and how He wants to have a relationship with them through the Messiah.
All Scripture this week comes courtesy of the ESV, the English Standard Version but you can follow along with whatever Bible you want. A list of my resources can be found attached to the transcript for Part two of this series at theancientbridge.com.
We have many historical accounts of what was called a “triumph”—which boiled down to a military parade, led by a conquering military hero, into a city where he was dressed in fancy garb and (in the case of the Romans) crowned with a laurel wreath, met and honored at the city gates by the high officials, heralded with great gladness by the citizens of the city and all this would end at the main city temple where the victor would celebrate with sacrifices. Some details can be different, but you get the general drift. What we are going to see today is a sort of anti-Triumph, which is appropriate because Yeshua/Jesus is very much an anti-military leader. He doesn’t come into Jerusalem on a beautiful white horse, like Alexander the Great, or by a four horse-drawn chariot, like a Caesar, or even on a mule like David or Solomon (if you have never seen a mule, they are a sterile cross between a horse and a donkey—so bigger than a donkey and some are very majestic). Yeshua not only comes on a lowly donkey, but the colt of a donkey. And He isn’t leading a train of captives and booty that the world would recognize because He has been kicking demons to the curb and undoubtedly, some of the people following him that day were those whom He had delivered. The city leaders won’t be there to do anything except criticize (Mark doesn’t show them present at all, but other Gospel writers record their words), and he’s going to go up to the Temple and will not offer a sacrifice or even say one word. So, I call this an untriumphal triumph—just one more indicator that Yeshua is everything the first century Jewish people were not expecting in a King, and yet all the hints are there that He is just that. But it’s a whole lot easier after the fact and with a narrator! Let’s dive into the text to see how this all plays out.
11 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
This will be Day One as far as the temple controversies goes. Day One in Jerusalem. We have now reached the end of “the way” discourse that has taken us from the end of chapter eight through the beginning of chapter eleven. They have reached their final destination. From this point on, Yeshua will always be in conflict with all of the authority and leadership groups. In fact, He will even personally provoke the final showdown by repeatedly acting the part of prophet within and outside of the Temple grounds. There will be no more healing accounts, either. I mentioned previously that the walk up to Jerusalem was just that—up! A six to seven hour walk, fifteen miles on Roman roads, with an elevation gain of 3400ft. It was your very rare person who didn’t make the pilgrimage on foot.
So, either Bethany, which is about two miles from Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mt of Olives, or Bethpage, which is reportedly a district on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where they briefly stop. From Bethany, pilgrims would travel across the Kidron Valley to the northern gate of Jerusalem, leading them into Bethpage. And, as usual, Yeshua sends two disciples. He always sends two—we have this “two witnesses” theme all throughout His ministry and, as I have mentioned previously, sending two witnesses was standard operating procedure to lessen the chances that one witness will botch the message. It’s why we see two witnesses in Revelation (and that isn’t Elijah and Moses, that’s representative of us as His messengers). I ought to add that many scholars see this as the beginning of the Passion narrative. Those who don’t see it here say it begins in chapter fourteen, but I like to place it here because Jerusalem is the final piece of the puzzle and everything from this moment on is just gearing up to the crucifixion.
The Mount of Olives is, of course, famous in Scripture and gets a lot of mentions in the Gospels but it is also significant Messianically in the Hebrew Scriptures. Let’s look at Zechariah 14:3-4 and Ez 43:.
3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. (Zech 14:3-4)
2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. 3 And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. 4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. (Ez 43:2-5)
Verses like this are why it is important to understand the geography not only of Jerusalem but also the temple. The temple complex was laid out from east to west and the Temple itself was situated to the north side of what we call the Temple Mount today with the Holy of Holies over where the Dome of the Rock’s Dome now sits. I explained last week why this would be important to the builders—there was actually exposed bedrock in that place and it was seen as an overlap between Heaven and Earth where the Cosmic Realm could be accessed. So, the Heikal, the main building itself, was to the western side and it opened up facing the east. So, from the top of the Mt of Olives in the east, one could look and see the courts of the Temple and it must have been an amazing thing to behold. I will be repeating this sort of information a lot as we go forward so that you know what we are dealing with as to location for the controversies. I am happy now I spent so many years studying this in depth.
The reason why this is important is because both Zechariah and Ezekiel are talking about the Mt of Olives. When Yahweh is pictured as standing on the Mt of Olives, it is splitting between His feet as He is facing the Temple Mount. The enemies of Israel are portrayed as having surrounded Jerusalem and He is facing them down. Not a pretty picture. In Ezekiel, again, Yahweh is portrayed as coming from the East, toward and into the Temple by the East Gate and so, again, coming from the Mt of Olives. So, when you see the various references to Yeshua standing on the Mt of Olives and pronouncing judgment, this is all in the same vein and meant to be the words of Yahweh Himself. Back to the text:
2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
The village in front of them is probably Bethany, as mentioned before. There are debates as to how He knew there was an unridden colt there, because it doesn’t say. Did He just know? That is possible. Did the owner come out of the village to greet Him and offer it to Him? Again, a possibility. Evidently, we are on a “need to know basis” and Mark doesn’t think we need to know—as usual. That man, seriously…but, the two are given the instructions to untie it and bring it, which we will elaborate on after the next verse. Of course, we know the story—Yeshua is going to ride this unbroken colt into Jerusalem. Why is this important? Well, #1—have you ever ridden a donkey? They are not known as the most cooperative of critters. #2—have you ever attempted to ride an unbroken animal? Not pleasant. Not speaking from experience here, thank goodness. #3—the Torah has a lot to say about the sanctity of animals set aside for a holy purpose:
Num 19:2 2 “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.” –this, of course, refers to the Red Heifer, which was burned to ashes according to an elaborate ritual and those ashes were used during a weeklong ritual to rid someone of corpse impurity.
Deut 21:3 “And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke.”—this refers to the atonement that needed to be made when a dead body was found out in the middle of nowhere to absolve each of the surrounding villages and cities of the murder.
I Sam 6:7 “Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.”—this is one of my favorite accounts in all the Bible. In archaeological context, it is even funnier than you would immediately assume. But even pagans knew the importance of what an animal is dedicated for. There are some animals that are set aside only for a holy purpose and cannot be used for anything else—these animals never work and are never used for any personal benefit. The red heifer, for example, isn’t milked or bred and must be perfect. For the atonement over manslaughter, the heifer doesn’t have to be pristine but it can’t have been used for labor—effectively keeping them from sacrificing an old used up animal instead of one which was set aside specifically. In the case of the Philistines, two milk cows with calves. They don’t know how to pull together with a yoke, which is a learned skill, and they will be separated from their calves. For them to pull the cart in the right direction, properly, and leave their calves would be a miracle—a sure sign that God was directing their actions. In similar fashion, if Yeshua can easily ride an unbroken colt, it’s another sign that He is the Messiah, God’s son. It would take a miracle and neither you nor I could do it, even with a colt we had raised from birth. I also want to add a tidbit from m. Sanhedrin 2:15 “One may not ride on the king’s horse, and one may not sit on his throne, and one may not use his scepter, and one may not see him when he is having his hair cut, nor when he is naked, nor when he is in the bathhouse, as it is stated: “You shall set a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15), meaning, ensure that his fear should be upon you. All of these actions would lessen one’s fear of and reverence for the king.” So, they also had this idea, even hundreds of years later, that a King’s horse is set apart for the King, which makes Haman’s request in Esther for that honor for himself all the more stunning. And funny.
3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”
Okay, the word translated Lord here, it is the generic kyrios, so they could either be instructing the people questioning them that the colt’s master has need of it or that Yeshua has need of it. Again, doesn’t matter, just interesting. And Yeshua won’t be keeping the colt, as soon as He is done it will be immediately returned. If those questioning them are servants or friends of the owner (good friends and servants, I might add) then they may know that the owner went to greet this exciting prophet from Galilee. Otherwise, this is a straight up act of God.
4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
Just a rehashing of what was said, no new information here. Oh, about the word “colt”—it’s generic, a translation of polos and simply means young animal. We only know this is a donkey because of Matthew 21, and John 12, which describe its mother as an onos, or donkey, and an onarion (young donkey), respectively. Without John’s witness, this could also have possibly been a mule—which can have a donkey for a mother.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
So, the two disciples return with the unbroken donkey and they put their own cloaks on its back. Now remember, they have all heard the three death predictions. But if Yeshua is planning on riding into Jerusalem, something that just wasn’t done by pilgrims and therefore had to be seen as some sort of statement. And I think they saw some hope here and a chance to change Yeshua’s mind. In any event, they were certainly eager about this as He sits Himself on this colt and it doesn’t even protest. Perhaps this is a sign that things are going to be better than their worst fears. Maybe, if they whipped the crowds into enough of a frenzy, they wouldn’t allow Yeshua to be killed by the leadership. Maybe the leadership would accept Him and not turn Him over to the Gentiles, as foretold. After all, if they could get enough people on His side, no one would dare touch Him. What would happen??? Would He ultimately be accepted or rejected? Could they change His fate? I mean, this is the only time Yeshua is ever portrayed as doing anything other than walking or riding in a boat. Something was up.
Why would they be hopeful? Maybe they knew this verse, Zech 9:9—“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Rabbi Eliezer, who lived a shortly after Yeshua, had this to say in commentary on Zech 8:10 “When there are no wages for work and no rent paid for use of one’s animal, that is an indication that the coming of the Messiah is at hand.” As we see no rent being paid for using someone else’s donkey, I find that really fascinating. We do not know what beliefs were in play during the first century or how widespread it was but I do find it interesting that this made it into the Talmud.
One more Gen 49:10-11—“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.”
8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
Let’s look at the triumph of Simon Thassi when he entered Jerusalem after the expulsion of enemy forces and the cleansing of the citadel: 51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. 52 Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men lived there. (I Macc 13:51-53, NRSV)
This was a glorious day, make no mistake. Their enemies had been cleared out of Jerusalem, again, and Judea was independent thanks in no small part to their treaty of mutual assistance with Rome—which is ironic considering the fact that Rome had to step in later to take the country from his great-grandsons who had made a horrible mess of a civil war in the country by fighting one another for supremacy. Everyone is celebrating with singing and palm branches. Simon had just negotiated a great political victory after a string of military conquests. The human enemies were crushed and expelled. And, this shouldn’t be overlooked, in chapter fourteen they made Simon both priest and prince until such time as a “trustworthy prophet should arise” to tell them what to do. They did not make him King because they were dedicated to the restoration of David’s throne, but made him prince as a stop-gap measure in the meantime. And that actually worked for his generation and the next. Not so much after that. But we have a triumphal entry after military victory, praising, waving of palm fronds—he was a priest so there were undoubtedly sacrifices—and later he was honored by all the Judean leadership and given accolades and titles. That is what we will need to compare Yeshua’s entry into Jerusalem to.
Many people wonder if they were suspecting that Yeshua might be that prophet they have been waiting for. Certainly, making this prophetic announcement by riding into town—in light of Zech 9:9 or even if the bulk of them didn’t know about it—was an oddity. As the group came into town, there must have been whispers of the healing of the blind man and all His other works. We already know from earlier that the speculation about His identity was widespread. Was He Elijah or John the Baptist come back to life? No one knew. But they were throwing their cloaks on the road, a dusty road where there would either be fresh or trampled in manure even though they did keep the streets fairly clean. But this must have been fairly orderly because the Roman authorities didn’t stop them or step in.
9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
So far, so good. We have another reference to those in the crowd who went before and those who came after—in 10:32 they were described as amazed and afraid. They were all behind Yeshua, of course, at that point. But now they are heading into Jerusalem and the excitement is building and I know what it is to be thrown into the excitement involved when you become a part of something. I actually protested at Berkeley once, when on a High School trip, against Apartheid—which I actually agree with now but knew nothing about as a teenager. So, I look back at that with zero regrets. But, like I said, I knew nothing about what they were protesting—but the atmosphere was just electric and infectious. Was this organic or were the disciples stirring up the crowd? We know how ambitious they were and they didn’t really like Yeshua’s plans. Let’s talk about Psalm 118 really quick, it’s an important Psalm, a military Psalm.
The verse in question, that is being chanted here is the hallel, Psalm 118:25-26 “Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.” And according to M. Sukkah 3.3-4 this was sung at the Feast of Sukkot or you might know it as Tabernacles at the waving of the lulav, “And where in the recitation of hallel would they wave the lulav? They would do so at the verse: “Thank the Lord, for He is good.” that appears at both the beginning and the end of the psalm, and at the verse: “Lord, please save us.”
We see it again in Pesachim 119a (the Passover section of the Talmud), and this is important to the larger context of Mark 11-12, as we will discover, “Returning to the issue of hallel, the Gemara states that these psalms include choruses in which each section is sung by a different person. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said that David recited: “I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me” (Psalms 118:21), with regard to the success of his reign. Yishai recited: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief keystone” (Psalms 118:22). The brothers of David recited: “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalms 118:23). Samuel the Prophet recited: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24). The brothers of David recited: “We beseech You, Lord, save now” (Psalms 118:25). David recited: “We beseech You, Lord, make us prosper now” (Psalms 118:25). Yishai recited: “Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalms 118:26). Samuel recited: “We bless you out of the house of the Lord” (Psalms 118:26). They all recited: “The Lord is God, and has given us light” (Psalms 118:27). Samuel recited: “Order the Festival procession with boughs, even to the horns of the altar” (Psalms 118:27). David recited: “You are my God, and I will give thanks to You” (Psalms 118:28). They all recited: “You are my God, I will exalt You” (Psalms 118:28).” We’re going to not only see this plea for salvation in these chapters, but the Cornerstone will also be popping up in a controversy with the leadership in chapter 12.
As far as Hosanna is concerned, that is a plea for physical salvation and in 2 Sam 14:4 and 2 Kings 6:26 we see that those cries are targeted at kings. Namely, at David through the woman from Tekoah and at King Jehoram by the woman of Samaria during a siege. But, in saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord,” they are at least recognizing Yeshua as the agent of Yahweh, even though He is far more than that. And think, for just a moment, on how He entered the city vs how He will leave. All of these people, many of whom were likely blessed by His ministry, will forsake Him and His disciples will surely be nowhere to be found. People are fickle.
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
How, this little gem is another matter entirely. You can’t find it in a Psalm. In fact, you can’t find it anywhere in Jewish literature. It’s unique and that’s not all—it’s nationalistic. It’s a nationalistic slogan that is out of time and out of place. It’s entirely political and although Yeshua is political, He isn’t political in that way. Just like He isn’t particularly interested in prospering the good old USA, He isn’t interested in bringing David’s Kingdom back the way it was. He’s not interested in the glory days—or in what the Jews of His day were longing for. It’s too small, too xenophobic. Yeshua is aiming to be the King of the world. But not by military force. He is going to lead captivity captive. The “coming Kingdom of our father David” as they imagined it—a military reality where they ended up on top again–is a nice-sounding idea if you are Jewish but it allows the rest of the world to go to hell. The prophets were dropping hints everywhere, ones that the Qumran community, at the very least, liked to edit out from their writings.
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
And it just ends and we are like, “What the snot? He comes in and is cheered on by the crowds and then He goes to the Temple, looks around and just leaves. Like, what a total downer.” So, what the heck? Remember I told you that a conquering and victorious king would come into the city, be greeted by the leadership (didn’t happen), be given gifts, and would make a parade up to the Temple, where he would dismount and honor the gods with a sacrifice. Why didn’t Yeshua follow the pattern and make a sacrifice? Certainly he had offered sacrifices before—He kept the Torah commandments perfectly. He went to the feasts and therefore offered His personal chagigah, and the Passover every year. He paid His Temple tax and was therefore a participant in the community daily and festival sacrifices. So what happened? Why did He look around and why did He promptly leave for the two mile trip back to Bethany?
Well, the crowds seem to have dispersed quickly. He wasn’t teaching as we will see Him doing over the course of the next two recorded days. Like so many things over the course of His later ministry, I believe this boiled down to an acted-out prophecy. Let’s look at Ezekiel 8-11. In these chapters, an angel takes Ezekiel on what amounts to an “inspection tour” of the Temple. They literally go and “look around at everything” and while there, Ezekiel sees terrible abominations being committed by the leadership. This is followed up by an angel going throughout the city to put a mark on the forehead of every Jew who laments and cries out in anguish because of the abominations, the faithful remnant. Everyone without this mark is subject to judgment. Then in the next chapter, we see the glory of Yahweh leaving the Temple (and the glory never returned to the Second Temple even though Yahweh commanded Haggai to rebuild). And yet, Yahweh declared that the glory of the Second Temple would be greater than the first—which was a mystery until Yeshua walked in and made it greater. In chapter eleven, the leadership is judged and the nation is condemned to be scattered amongst the nations but Yahweh promises to regather them, remove their hearts of stone, give them a new spirit and will unify them (give them one heart). So, what does this have to do with what we have already seen?
The Second Temple, like the first, has become full of abominable things. Sure, they don’t have pagan altars and idols but we will find them carrying the very coins they condemn as idolatrous because they bear Caesar’s image. It has become a place rife with corruption and oppression and greed, which are all every bit as abominable as idolatry. Those who have prospered under this system are now going to reject, repulse, and try to entrap Yeshua. In doing so, they will utterly reject and drive out Yahweh from amongst them. The Spirit of Yahweh that used to reside in the Tabernacle and First Temple, is now in Yeshua, the greater Tabernacle (a Tabernacle being a mobile Temple). They are going to not only behave in a treacherous manner toward Him, they will conspire and collaborate with the Romans to kill Him. As in Ezekiel, there will be a mark placed on those who lament and mourn over what has been done, those who give Yeshua their allegiance after the Resurrection. But this Temple, like the last, will be under the ban and will be utterly destroyed and the leadership judged and the people expelled from Jerusalem and ultimately from the land again, and scattered throughout the nations, returning only very recently historically, almost seventy-three years ago. And, at that, only a miniscule number of Jews have returned—most prefer to live among the Nations.
We see history repeating itself over and over again. The kingship and priests become corrupt. They lead the people into rebellion against Yahweh. The Temple becomes corrupted. Jerusalem becomes filled with bloodshed. Yahweh sends messengers and they reject and kill them. Yahweh sends judgment and scatters His people for His own name’s sake. Yahweh remembers His people and relents. He makes the way for them to return. Most refuse and those who return leave a lot to be desired and are soon corrupted again and worshipping Him half-heartedly and oppressing one another and divorcing their wives. And Yahweh warns and waits and then sends judgment and the Temple gets defiled and He allows them to recover from that but within a generation it starts all over again and the Romans come in because of all the infighting and evil and then they kill the Messiah, God’s final messenger, and the Temple is destroyed and they are expelled from Jerusalem. Same story again and again not because they are Jews but because they are human beings. Commandments are great if your heart is changed and can be terrible if your heart is wicked. The first century was a time of unbelievable wickedness and oppression—they tried keeping the commandments on steroids but they did it in such a way that they locked God entirely out of the process.
So Yeshua comes through the city, as king, as Lord, and is rejected by the leadership. He moves on to the Temple, inspects it, and as we will see early the next morning, rejects it entirely. He isn’t going in there to cleanse the Temple and convert the temple administration; He is going to condemn them for corruption. And it will be on that very ground that they will work to plot and arrange His death because they understand exactly what He has done. And if they knew who He was, they would know that He absolutely has the right and good reason to do just that.
