JESUS’ LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM
Jerusalem was the former Salem, where Melchizedek offered sacrifices to God (Gen 14:18). He was a priest of God Most High and a king in Jerusalem. He prefigured Jesus. The Psalms predict this – “You are a priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4; Heb 7:17). When God asked Abram to sacrifice Isaac as a burned offering, He selected Moriah as the place for it. Many scholars hold that Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, was at Mount Moriah. From the time of King David, sacrifices were offered in Jerusalem. Jesus was going up to that mountain to spend his last days subjecting himself to the perfect sacrifice for humanity.
Though Jesus went to Jerusalem several times to celebrate feasts, his last entry into Jerusalem had special significance. He entered solemnly as a humble king of peace and as a priest to offer himself as the lamb of sacrifice for the atonement of all humanity. That led to his victory over Satan.