1. Beginning Jesus’ Last Week
What was on His Mind?

2. From the Last Lesson:
John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." 8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" …16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." NKJV

3. Jesus Foretells His Crucifixion
Matt 20:17 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."
Mark 10:32 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 33 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
Luke 18:31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." 34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. NKJV

4. Greatness in Serving
Matt 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. 21 And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your Kingdom." 22 But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." 23 So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." 24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." NKJV

5. Greatness in Serving
Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." 36 And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 37 They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory." 38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 39 They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared." 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." NKJV

6. Greatness in Serving
(? – Not sure where it belongs, but appears to belong here)
Luke 22:24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One Who serves. NKJV

7. Greatness in Serving
James and John AND their mother thought they should have the chief seats once Jesus achieved His goals.
Matthew 25:33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: …41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mark 3:17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";
Luke 9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. NKJV

8. Transition
James & John thought they could just ask for the chief seats.
They didn’t even know what the best seats were, but they asked.
Jesus tells us that greatness is in servitude.
Don’t ask for the best – BE your best and don’t worry about it!
As Jesus enters and leaves Jericho we see a demonstration of the commitment Jesus was preaching.
While this was not servitude, it was certainly about coming to Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

9. Healing the Blind at Jericho
Luke 18:35 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." 42 Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. NKJV

10. Healing the Blind at Jericho
Mark 10:46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." 50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?“ The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." 52 Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. NKJV

11. Healing the Blind at Jericho
Matt 20:29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" 31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" 32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 33 They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened." 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. NKJV

12. Bartimaeus
Bartimaeus had a chance encounter with Jesus on the east side of Jericho, but may have been shut down by the crowd’s warnings.
He makes his way to the west side of Jericho to catch Jesus on His way to Jerusalem.
He finds a friend and encourages him to seek Jesus, too.
They both stand firm against the crowd’s warnings to be quiet.
They are both healed.
Bartimaeus led a friend to Jesus through great opposition, but to great reward.
He may have been shut down over the thought of losing survival portions of food.
He now could go earn freely, have a family, help others…look at what all he gained by coming to Jesus!

13. Zacchaeus (Jericho)
Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." 11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the Kingdom of God would appear immediately. (Parable of the Talents) NKJV

14. Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus was not perceived by the crowd as a righteous man. Did he give to the poor?
Jesus said salvation came to that house THIS DAY – it had not necessarily been there already, but it certainly was now.
Jesus was not deceived – Zacchaeus was not just saying what he thought Jesus wanted to hear, but spoke in sincerity.
Would a CHIEF tax collector climb a tree in public to get a better view?
How RICH was Zacchaeus? No talk of his servants. No talk of his opulence, but compared to most, he was “RICH.”
Giving four times back what you took illegally from others is a fast way to going broke if you were an illegal operator…after half was given to the poor!

15. NEXT:
Parable of the Talents, Jesus anointed in Bethany by Mary, The Jewish leaders conspire to kill Lazarus, Then Jesus humbly rides into Jerusalem on a colt, He weeps for Jerusalem, He spends time in the Temple, Then returns to Bethany. All of this is part of the last week before Jesus’ death.

16. Reflections
Jesus knew why He was on earth. He knew why He needed to get to Jerusalem.
Jesus had lived His life according to the Word of God and now He was on His way to DIE according to the Word of God.
Are we really that different from Jesus?
Are we not to live according to the Word of God? Are we not to live until death according to the Word of God?
Greatness is in our servitude. Do we expect others to serve us, or do we make it an honest effort to help and encourage others in Truth?

17. Reflections:
Even “Doubting” Thomas would agree to go to Judea to die with Jesus because Jesus saw the importance of going there.
The disciples seemed to understand what Jesus was telling them about His coming death.
Thomas said they’d go die with Him.
Peter rebuked Him and told Him they would not allow such things to happen.
Jesus prayed that the cup be removed, but that the Father’s Will be done.
The best laid plans don’t always turn out as we intended.
Jesus never wanted to die, but He saw it through.
The disciples knew it was coming and pledged to either join Him or change the situation for the better. GOD’S WILL IS DONE …what if it had NOT been done?

18. Reflections:
Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NKJV
Instead of reprimanding Zacchaeus for not already being right with God, He says that this day salvation has come to his house. Jesus would rather save than to destroy.
Satan uses people for his own pleasure and to their own destruction.
Jesus wants people to attain unto salvation through obedience to the Word because of His love for each and every one of us.

19. “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
Hear The Gospel (John 5:24; Romans 10:17)
Believe it (John 3:16-18; John 8:24)
Repent Of Your Sins (Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:38)
Confess Jesus as Christ (Mt 10:32; Rom 10:10)
Be Baptized (Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:27)
Remain Faithful for Life (John 8:31; Rev. 2:10)
For The Erring Child of God:
Repent (Acts 8:22), Confess (I John 1:9),
Pray (Acts 8:22)