This document provides information about key events that took place in Jericho and Jerusalem during Jesus's final week. It discusses Jesus healing two blind men in Jericho, including Bartimaeus, and his encounter with Zacchaeus. It also describes Jesus's entry into Jerusalem while people laid down palm branches, and references astronomical alignments during this time period. The document aims to provide historical and cultural context for understanding Passion Week.

1. By Beth Piepenburg

2. 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/wik
i/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.
(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012. All rights reserved. 2

3. 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.
3(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

4. FOUR EVENTS
 Jericho: 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.
4(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

5. 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.
(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved. 5
A Hayani date palm tree.

6. 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).
6(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

7. 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.
7(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

8. JERICHO ROAD
 In 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.
8(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

9. BETHANY TO JERUSALEM
 In 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.
9(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

10. 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.
10(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

11. 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.
(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved. 11

12. 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.
12(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

13. 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.
13(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved.

14. PASSION WEEK TAPESTRY
 Thank 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.
 Wyomingsprings.wordpress.com
(c) by Beth Piepenburg, 2012 All rights reserved. 14