7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7The final chapter of Jesus’ life involved his visit to
Jerusalem. His entry at Passover, riding a donkey, was
heavily symbolic and evoked the messianic traditions of
Judaism. It was in this final, although possibly not first,
visit to Jerusalem that Jesus probably came to the atten-
tion of the authorities. There was an incident at the
Temple of Jerusalem in which he cast out the various
merchants, declaring the Temple a house of prayer and
not a den of thieves. He was questioned by Jewish leaders
who, according to the Gospels, sought to put him in the
wrong over his attitude toward the secular authority and
matters concerning resurrection. While in Jerusalem
Jesus responded to the questions of the Scribes saying
that the highest commandment is to love God. He also
prophesied the impending destruction of Jerusalem and
the world.
The most important events of his time in Jerusalem
involved his Last Supper and Passion, the events sur-
rounding his trial and death. He established the new
covenant by instituting the Eucharist and sharing the
bread and wine—representing his body and blood—with
the disciples, who were told to do this in his memory. He
was betrayed by one of these disciples, Judas Iscariot,
who revealed Jesus’s whereabouts to the chief priests and
elders for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus was condemned to
death. For the Jewish authorities he was guilty of violating
the law of Moses and blasphemy, and for the Romans he
was guilty of inciting the overthrow of Roman authority.
Indeed, the Romans reserved the horrible punishment of
crucifixion for their most dangerous political criminals.
Recognizing himself as the suffering servant, Jesus quietly
accepted his fate, forbidding his followers to defend him
in the garden of Gethsemane when he was arrested and
enduring his punishment. While suffering on the cross, he