Saturday. Jerusalem. Circa 33 AD.

Passover was near and the Jewish people were on their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jesus, too, neared the city. But His Jerusalem was to be unlike any other.

Along the way Jesus and His apostles stop in Bethany to visit long time friends, including, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Events unfold that foreshadow Jesus’s coming passover experience.

While sharing dinner with friends, Jesus is anointed with expensive perfume. Some in the assembly think it an outrageous waste – 300 dinarii! But Jesus assures them it is not saying, “Leave her alone, she has kept it for the day of my burial. For you will always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:7-8 HCSB

Jesus knew that His final journey to Jerusalem would begin the following day. Cue the donkey:

Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey –
riding on a donkey’s colt. Zechariah 9:9 NLT

#Easter2021