Easter -- Juvenile literature; Jesus Christ -- Resurrection -- Juvenile literature
Following His instructions two of His disciples found at Bethpage, a
village close by, a young animal which had never carried or drawn a
burden. From very early times such animals had been chosen for sacred
purposes. It was on this colt, with the mantles of the disciples
thrown over it, that Jesus rode attended by a great multitude, who
spread their garments and branches plucked from trees in the way.
Between the vineyards, orchards, and olive gardens that bordered the
road, the procession wound slowly along, welcomed by glad throngs
that had poured out of Jerusalem to meet it, shouting, _"Hosanna!
Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord!"_
Crossing the bridge over "the brook Kidron," Jesus entered Jerusalem.
[Illustration: THE BROOK KIDRON. _From a Photograph._]
Pilgrims were not allowed to go beyond the foot of Mount Moriah
without purification, according to the Jewish ceremonial law. At this
place the crowd dispersed, and Jesus, first removing His sandals,
entered the Temple alone. As the day was drawing to a close, He staid
there but a short time, and then returned to Bethany.
But the next morning, Jesus was back in Jerusalem, and once more he
expelled the merchants and money-changers from the Temple courts.
Then the blind, and lame, and all who needed bodily relief surrounded
Him, and He healed them willingly. The angry priests and rabbis would
have seized Him if they had not feared the excited crowd, and so the
day passed on, Jesus returning to the cottage at Bethany at its
close, only to return to the city the next morning.
The opportunity for which the enemies of Jesus were watching so
eagerly came at last. One of His own trusted disciples went to the
chief priests, asking what they would give him to betray his Master.
His name was Judas Iscariot, or Judas of Kerioth, a little village in
the south of Judea.
The priests received Judas gladly, and agreed to pay him the price of
a full-grown slave--thirty silver pieces, a sum equal to about twenty
dollars of our money. He promised to find them an opportunity of
arresting Jesus quietly, at a time when there would be no fear of
inciting a riot among the people.
Acting upon instructions from Jesus, Peter and John, two of the
Apostles, secured a room in Jerusalem, and prepared for a celebration
of the Passover. All was made ready, and Jesus and His twelve
Apostles met for "The Last Supper."
During the meal Jesus taught His disciples a touching lesson in
humility; laying aside His upper robe, He washed and wiped their
feet. Then He told them that one of their number was to betray Him,
saying to Judas, _"That thou doest, do quickly."_ Judas rose and went
away hastily, but none but Jesus knew his errand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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