Answer: The colt had never been ridden (or “on which no one has ever sat”).
Insight: This detail emphasizes the sacredness of the event. Animals used for holy or royal purposes were often set apart and unused.
Bible Stumpers
Biblical Holy Week Events
As Holy Week begins, the Gospel accounts give careful attention to the events leading up to Jesus’ arrest. Familiar scenes unfold, but often with details that are easy to overlook on a quick reading.
These questions are not meant as mere trivia, but to encourage a closer, more thoughtful examination of the text.
By highlighting distinctions between the Gospel accounts and drawing attention to small but meaningful details, the aim is to help you see more of what is there.
May these questions send you back to the Gospels with renewed attention and deeper reverence.
1. In the account of the Triumphal Entry, Jesus instructs the disciples to find a donkey tied with her colt. What specific detail is given about the colt Jesus rode into Jerusalem?
2. Mark records Jesus seeing a fig tree in the distance. When He reached it, He found no figs; instead, He found only what?
Answer: Nothing but leaves.
Insight: The leaves suggested early fruit should have been present, making the tree’s barrenness meaningful. Mark’s note that “it was not the season for figs” shows this was not about hunger, but a deliberate prophetic sign, exposing the appearance of fruitfulness without its reality.
3. During His final week of teaching in the Temple, the Sadducees challenged Jesus with a hypothetical question about marriage and the resurrection. According to Jesus, what will people be like in the resurrection?
Answer: They are like the angels in heaven.
Insight: Jesus corrects the Sadducees by showing that resurrection life is fundamentally different from earthly existence. Being “like angels” points to a life no longer subject to death, removing the earthly need for marriage and procreation.
4. Matthew specifies the exact price Judas received for betraying Jesus: thirty pieces of silver. According to the Law of Moses, in what specific situation was this exact amount required as compensation?
Answer: If an ox gored and killed a male or female slave, the owner had to pay thirty shekels of silver to the slave’s master.
Insight: By accepting this amount, Judas and the priests valued Him at the price of a slave, echoing the “thirty pieces of silver” used in Zechariah to represent a low valuation.
5. The man Jesus tells His disciples to follow for Passover preparations is doing something typically done by women in that culture. What is he doing?
Answer: Carrying a jar (or pitcher) of water.
Insight: Because this was unusual for a man, it served as a clear and recognizable sign for the disciples to locate the correct house in a crowded city.
6. During the Last Supper, the disciples resumed an argument they had previously had while traveling to Capernaum. What was the subject of their dispute?
Answer: Which of them was considered the greatest.
Insight: It is striking that immediately after Jesus speaks of His sacrifice and betrayal, the disciples focus on their own status. A similar dispute had occurred earlier (Mark 9:33–37), but Luke alone records it taking place during the Last Supper.
7. While Matthew, Mark and Luke focus on the bread and the cup, John’s account of the Last Supper highlights that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. According to the text, what did He do with His outer garments before performing this act?
Answer: He laid aside His outer garments, took a towel, and wrapped it around Himself.
Insight: By laying aside His garments and taking a towel, Jesus assumes the role of the lowest servant, providing a visible example of the humility He calls His disciples to follow.
8. After the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples that if they do not have a specific item, they should sell their cloak and buy one. When the disciples produce two of these, Jesus says, “It is enough.” What was the item?
Answer: A sword.
Insight: Recorded only in Luke, this moment stands in contrast to earlier instructions. As Jesus prepares the disciples for a season of opposition, He connects the presence of the swords to the prophecy that He would be "numbered with the transgressors."
9. When Judas arrives in the garden with a band of soldiers and officers, what three items does John uniquely record that they brought with them?
Answer: Lanterns (or lamps), torches, and weapons.
Insight: John highlights the irony of bringing lanterns and torches to find Him, as Jesus, the Light of the World, steps forward to meet them.
10. In John’s account of the arrest, what happened to the soldiers and officers as soon as Jesus said, “I am He”?
Answer: They drew back and fell to the ground.
Insight: This reveals that Jesus was surrendering voluntarily. His declaration (“I am”) echoes the divine name, and those who came to arrest Him draw back and fall, revealing the authority behind His words.
Bonus. According to Mark, a young man following Jesus fled during the arrest in Gethsemane. What unusual detail does Mark include about how he fled?
Answer: He fled naked, leaving behind the linen cloth (or sheet) he had been wearing.
Insight: This brief detail captures the sudden fear and confusion of the moment, as even those near Jesus fled and left Him alone.
As you reflect on these passages, may they draw you back to the Gospels and prepare your heart to consider all that Christ endured.
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