Events of Jesus’ Final Week According to Mark
Apr 9th, 2009
My Bible study partner and I spent quite a while yesterday, studying the events of Jesus’ last week. Details are given in all four gospels, but we settled in with Mark’s account and created a time line from his record. Julie and I don’t claim to be Bible scholars, and we realize that there are those who question the events of Jesus’ last week … but we were blessed by what we learned from Mark’s account. You should read it for yourself this week and get an idea of how our Savior spent his last days.
Note: Chapter and verse designations are all from Mark, unless otherwise noted.
On the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, they were to select a year-old lamb without blemish or spot out from the flock and keep it until the fourteenth day of the month (Exodus 12:3). During this time frame, each family would become personally attached to their lamb so it would no longer be just an ordinary lamb (Exodus 12:3) but their very own pet (Exodus 12:5). This would deeply impress upon them the costly nature of the sacrifice; an innocent lamb was to die in their place. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, as the sun was setting, the lambs were to be publicly killed.
~ Quoted from: Passover Teachings
Nissan 10 (Monday)
Jesus rides donkey outside Bethany and into Jerusalem, 11:1
People praise Jesus, 11:8
Entered Jerusalem and went to the temple, 11:11
It was late, so Jesus returned to Bethany, 11:11
Nissan 11 (Tuesday)
Left Bethany and headed to Jerusalem, 11:12
Jesus curses fig tree, 11:13
Arrives in Jerusalem, 11:15
Overturns money changer’s tables in Temple, 11:15
Taught, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,” 11:17
Evening came and he returned to Bethany, 11:19
Nissan 12 (Wednesday)
Left Bethany and headed to Jerusalem, 11:20
See the withered fig tree, 11:20
Arrive in Jerusalem, 11:27
Jesus’ authority questioned in temple, 11:28
Jesus teaches with parables, 12:1
Jesus watches widow give her two mites, 12:42
Jesus left temple, 13:1
Taught about end times on Mount of Olives, 13:3
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, 14:1
Nissan 13 (Thursday)
Jesus was in Bethany, 14:3
Jesus had a meal with a friend, 14:3
Humble woman anoints Jesus with oil from an alabaster jar, 14:3
Judas Iscariot went to discuss terms of Jesus’ betrayal, 14:10
Disciples ask Jesus’ directions for the Passover feast, 14:12
Passover and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins after 6:00pm on this day
As recorded in Exodus 12:8, God required three symbolic foods to be eaten that Passover night: the lamb, matzah (unleavened bread), and bitter herbs (called “maror” in Hebrew). The sacrifice was to be a young lamb, depicting innocence. It was to be roasted with fire portraying the judgment that would befall it instead of their own firstborn. Matzah was to be eaten symbolizing the purity of the sacrifice since leaven, with its souring characteristic, was often a symbol of sin (I Corinthians 5:6-8). In addition, bitter herbs were to be eaten as a reminder of the suffering of the lamb.
~ Quoted from: Passover Teachings
Nissan 14 (Friday)
(Starts after 6:00pm on Nissan 13)
Disciples kill the lamb and prepared the Passover meal, 14:16
Jesus arrived (notes that it is evening), 14:17
They reclined at the table and ate the passover, 14:18
They sang a hymn, then went out to the Mount of Olives, 14:26
Peter declares his loyalty, 14:29
Prayed at Gethsemane, 14:32
Jesus seized and arrested, 14:46
Jesus suffers trials and mockery throughout the night, 14:53
Jesus is crucified at 9:00am, 15:25
Jesus died at 3:00pm, 15:34-37
Veil of the temple was torn, 15:38
It was Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath, 15:42
Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body, 15:43
Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb and a stone was rolled over the door, 15:46
(Preparation Day was for the special Sabbath, see note: Mar 15:42, John 19:31)
Nissan 15 (Saturday)
High Sabbath (John 19:31)
Nissan 16 (Sunday)
Sabbath was past, 16:1
Mary, Mary, and Salome visited tomb very early Sunday morning, 16:2
Tomb was rolled away, Jesus had risen! 16:4
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, 16:9
Jesus appeared to two more people, 16:12
He appeared to the eleven and rebuked their unbelief, 16:14
Commanded them to preach the gospel to the whole world, 16:15
Ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God, 16:19
In Exodus 12:24-27, we are commanded to observe the Passover forever with a ceremony, so that when our children ask what this ceremony means, we can tell them what the Lord has done for us. This is how God intended for fathers to teach their children about God’s provision. God commanded the Israelites to do this even when they reached their Promised Land. On this side of the cross, Jesus is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), and we should use our ceremonies this week to teach our children what happened to our savior and why. It’s a beautiful love story … get familiar with it and share it! In fact, you are most welcome to print this time line and use it as a guide for sharing.
On His Exciting Journey,
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Very good article. I enjoyed it very much! Keep on serving our soon coming King!
All that you said was very good about the last passover, however I believe you left out one of the most important parts of the meal and that is where Christ offered the wine as a symbol of His blood of the New covenant, and the bread which represented His body as the true Lamb of God, Offered once for all. The Lords Supper in my mind is the most important feast which Christ has asked us to observe. It is interestin that Christ ask us to remember his death, burial and ressurection, yet does not ask us to remember His birth.