from jericho to jerusalem

FROM JERICHO TO JERUSALEMBy Beth Piepenburg

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(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012. All rights reserved.

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IMAGE CREDITS

The pictures in this presentation are not copyrighted by me, but are free images available for common use by:•http://www.visualbiblealive.com/•http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

The star charts I created are courtesy of the Starry Night software program:•Graphics courtesy of Starry Night® (Starry Nigh Pro Plus) (Version 6.3.3) / Imaginova® Corp.

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http://www.visualbiblealive.com/

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

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LOCATION OF JERICHO

Jericho, also known as the city of palm trees, is located northeast of Jerusalem just above the Dead Sea.

Situated about 800 feet below sea level, Jericho is the lowest city in the world.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Jericho_Panorama.jpg


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FOUR EVENTSJericho: The healing of the

two blind men.

Jericho: The spiritual healing of Zacchaeus.

Jerusalem: Upon his arrival, Jesus is riding on a foal while his followers, many from Jericho, spread out their cloaks and branches in the roadway.

Heavens: Displayed in the heavens that evening are the signs pointing to the Messiah.




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JUDEAN DATE PALM The symbol for Judah was the date palm,

which is symbolic of grace and elegance, or triumph and victory.

Judah, whose name means praised, sired twins through Tamar, whose name means palm tree, and who triumphed over Judah’s deception toward her (Gen. 38).

In the Psalms, a righteous man is to flourish like a palm tree (Ps. 1:1-3, 92:12).

Honey listed as the seventh species (Deut. 8:8) is thought to be date honey, which was a Judean Desert staple.

Roman coinage in Israel used the palm tree as a symbol for Israel.

Although the Judean date palm had been eradicated for centuries, one of the 2000 year old seeds found from Masada was germinated, and is named Methuselah.

A Hayani date palm tree.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palm_tree_wtih_Dates.JPG


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BARTIMAEUS Two blind men, despite being rebuked by

the crowd, cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy…”

One of the blind men was Bartimaeus, whose name means ‘son of the unclean’ in Hebrew or ‘son of honor’ in the Hebrew-Greek.

When Jesus stopped and asked what He could do for them, they requested that their eyes be opened and that they receive sight.

Jesus touched their eyes, and they received sight, and they followed him to Jerusalem.

Bartimaeus, cast his cloak, a sign of forsaking his beggarly life (unclean) in return of being a disciple (honor).

I think the two blind men represent humanity that is in need of spiritual sight.

Jesus came to recover the sight of the blind, whether physically or spiritually (Luke 4:18).




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ZACCHAEUS Zacchaeus, whose name means

‘pure’, ‘clean’, or ‘just’, surely needed to change his name, but Jesus changed Zacchaeus’ life to fit his name.

Using his position of chief publican, he had obtained his wealth in unjust ways.

When Jesus came to Jericho, the short stature of Zacchaeus prevented him from seeing Jesus. Undeterred, he climbed a sycamore tree, a type of fig tree, whose fruit tastes unpleasant and was eaten by the poor. Ironic that he climbed the sycamore.

Stopping, Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down, because He desired to abide at his house for the night.

Zacchaeus became an Apostle of the Seventy, and tradition says that Peter appointed him as the Bishop of Caesarea.

I wonder if Zacchaeus represented the corruption of Israel at the time and the need for repentance. In other words, Israel fell short of the glory of the Lord. Yet, the Lord desired to dwell among His people.





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JERICHO ROADIn early Israel, Jericho and

Jerusalem had been strategic points of victory for the nation. These two cities were of great importance in the last week of the life of Jesus.

Leaving Jericho, the ascent rises approximately 3200 feet toward Jerusalem.

A robust traveler could complete the arduous 15-mile hike in about 8 hours.




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BETHANY TO JERUSALEMIn route to Jerusalem,

Jesus passes the village of Bethany, house of the poor, and sends his disciples to fetch a foal from the village of Bethphage, fig house, as prophesied in Zech. 9:9.

Along the descent from the Mount of Olives, his followers throw down their cloaks and palm branches in his honor, while praising him.






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WHO SAID CRUCIFY HIM?We often think the

crowd was praising the Lord on this day, and yelling for him to be crucified the following Friday. This is untrue!

The faithful crowd that was praising Jesus had accompanied him from Galilee and Jericho, while those that were yelling for him to be crucified were the people of Jerusalem.




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TENTH DAY OF ABIB A Passover lamb was kept in

safekeeping from the tenth day until the fourteenth day when it was sacrificed.

Jesus stayed in Jerusalem and nearby Bethany from the tenth day until the fourteenth day when He was crucified.

Since the new day began at sunset, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb just prior to the commencement of the tenth day.



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LION OF JUDAH Astronomically, when Jesus entered

Jerusalem, the moon would have been in the constellation of Leo, the Lion of Judah, the great rampant lion, leaping to rend, with his feet over the writhing body of Hydra, the Serpent, which is in the act of fleeing. The sun would have been in the constellation of Aries, the Sacrificial Ram or Lamb.

Because the stars are not generally seen during the daytime, the starry scenery with the moon in Leo would have been displayed when evening arrived.

God had orchestrated the timing of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem to correlate with the heavenly drama. The date of his arrival would have been on the first day of the week, March 29, 33 AD.



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The Palm Branch: A Praise Symbol Jericho, the city of palm trees, is

where the eyes of Bartimaeus are opened.

Zacchaeus is spiritually set free in the city of palms.

Jesus sends his disciples to Bethphage, the fig house, to obtain the foal to ride into Jerusalem. Praising him with palm

branches are the followers of Jesus who shout, “Hosanna, to the Son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the Highest.”

In finale, the palm branch in the right hand of Virgo, the virgin, points above to the constellation of Leo, the Lion of Judah.



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PASSION WEEK TAPESTRYThank you for joining me in my

endeavors of Ancient and Biblical studies as I travel the paths of the Savior during the Passion Week.

Because I savor the pastoral culture of the Israelites, I like to flavor my historical writings with the agricultural representation and astronomical imagery that were so interwoven in Scripture, like spun threads in a tapestry.

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from jericho to jerusalem

Spiritual