Planning + Preparation = Survival (Part 4)

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on a donkey, heading to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover. His short journey had begun in the nearby town of Bethphage.

The road was crowded with with His disciples, Pharisees, scribes, and thousands of pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora. Jerusalem’s normal population of 120,000 swelled to over a million people during a Passover feast because Jews from all over the Middle East returned to observe it.

As Jesus rode along, His disciples praised God, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. Blessed is the King.” They hoped Jesus would be their King David who would return Israel to its former glory.

In the midst of the hubbub and excitement, Jesus paused at a spot on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple. This was the exact spot where Jews throughout history had mourned and wept over the Temple.

Thus, when Jesus stopped, the people would have hushed, anticipating a historic speech. All would have wanted to hear Him.

If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now, they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. (Luke 19:42-44)

The people had to be shocked by His words.

Their supposed King David had prophesied the death of Jerusalem and the Temple. Without both, Judaism was a non-functioning religion. No more altar. No more sacrifices. No more priests. No more City of God. And where would God go? After all, He lived in the Holy of Holies.

For the next thirty-four years, Christianity had an up and down relationship with Judaism. Times of heavy persecution were followed by times of coexistence. As for the Romans, they paid little attention to Christians and considered them a small sect of Judaism during this period.

The Jerusalem Christians assembled in home churches, but Jerusalem Christianity still had a distinct Jewish flavor about it. Some writers even refer to Jerusalem’s brand of Christianity as “Temple Christianity” to distinguish it from Paul’s Christianity.

But all of this peaceful coexistence changed in 64 AD when Nero began persecuting Christians, and especially in 66 AD when Jewish zealots openly fought Roman armies.

In 66 AD or 67 AD, depending on what source you read, a Christian gave a prophetic word to the Jerusalem church. In the word, believers were reminded of Jesus’ prophecy and warned anew about the upcoming devastation of Jerusalem and were advised to flee the city.

By early 69 AD, all of the Christians had heeded the prophecy, had left their homes, their livelihoods, and their Jewish friends, and had relocated to Pella (a city sixty miles northeast of Jerusalem) and other Transjordan cities.

Even though the prophecy was specifically given to Christians, believers certainly would have explained to their neighbors why they were leaving. They would have mentioned both prophecies and tried to convince their Jewish friends and neighbors to leave, too. The neighbors then would have repeated the conversations to others. On and on, until the whole city knew the reason for the Christian exodus: the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem.

But sadly, at the time, the Jewish zealots were winning the war with Rome. And after all, Jerusalem was the City of God and the Jews were God’s chosen people. Thus, very few Jews listened to the Christians.

The siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in 70 A.D., under the command of General Titus, lasted five brutal months. Thousands starved to death and died of plagues. People drank urine because of the lack of water.

The siege finally ended with unarmed Jewish citizens, raising their arms in surrender to the onrushing Romans, only to be butchered anyway by the soldiers. Pregnant woman had stomachs slashed open and their babies ripped out, and the babies were then smashed against walls. Hundreds of people burned to death on the Temple’s roof as they knelt in prayer. Men, women, and children of all ages were slaughtered.

All in all, the destruction of Jerusalem resulted in 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, being killed during the five-month long siege. Another 95,000 Jews were taken captive, to be used as slaves.

Horrific! Grisly! Gruesome! Distressing! Appalling! And more!

Yet, no one knows, except God, how many of the Jews during the five month siege, remembered the words and the testimony of their departing neighbors and then repented and became converted Christians. Probably many.

Okay, now we need to look at Hurricane Katrina.

(Continued in Part 5)