Psalm 122:1-9 — I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.
We approach Easter through the quietly contemplative Lenten season. It’s easy to forget that the Jews of Jesus’s time were approaching Passover. It was no solemn, contemplative time. 150,000 extra people joyously converging on the spruced up city which was carefully refurbished for the celebration of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, away from Pharaoh’s slavemasters.
What, I wonder, was it like for Jesus? He had been coming to Jerusalem for the great festivals for a long time, but this time was different. He knew what was waiting for Him this time. Did His mind go back to that time when He was 12 when He waited behind questioning with the doctor’s of the law and His parents had to return from the road to find Him in the Temple? He was God, of course, but He was also a man. I have to believe that there was some fear and some sadness. The “Queen of Gospel” — Mahalia Jackson — sang a wonderful up-tempo song, “Walking In Jerusalem” and I wonder if it catches some of what was in His mind …
God knows I’m gonna
Walk in Jerusalem
Talk in Jerusalem
Sing in Jerusalem
Be in Jerusalem
High up, oh, in Jerusalem
When I die, Oh yeah
Well, be in Jerusalem
Sing in Jerusalem
Shout in Jerusalem
Sing in Jerusalem
High up, oh, in Jerusalem
When I die
It might seem obvious to some of you, but for myself I cannot shake off a sense of amazement at Jesus’s iron self-discipline. The disciples were unaware of what was ahead of Him, and there was nobody to whom He could turn. The burden certainly weighed on Him — we know that, because we can look forward and see into the Garden of Gethsemane. Every step of the way He was thinking of the disciples, ministering to them, preparing them, approaching His last walk in Jerusalem.