Did Jerusalem reflect the final destination for Jesus’ ministry.  Ferda marshals a number of points in the affirmative:

• the so-called triumphal entry of Jesus to Jerusalem on a donkey, which all the evangelists imply or explicitly state aimed to evoke Zech 9’s prophecy about “the king” coming to Jerusalem;
• the troublesome “temple saying” about its destruction and rebuilding in three days (Mark 14:57–58; Matt 26:61; John 2:18–22; Acts 6:14; Gos. Thom. 71), which the evangelists handle in very different ways, with some trying to distance Jesus from it;
• the symbolic action in the temple that, despite its myriad interpretations, likely anticipates a new eschatological temple;
• the Q saying (13:34–35) in which Jesus expresses his earnest desire to “gather” Jerusalem, and laments that it was thwarted;
• the parable of the wicked tenants in which Jesus is sent to the vineyard and its keepers—read, the temple and its leadership—understood within the larger sweep of Israel’s history (Mark 12:1–12 and parr.);
• the identification of Jesus as the “one who comes in the name of the Lord” from Ps 118 (see Mark 11:9 and parr.; 12:10 and parr.; Q 13:35), who “comes” specifically to Jerusalem and the temple;
• the uniquely Lukan saying that Jesus must “finish” his work in Jerusalem (13:32–34);
• several Synoptic episodes that discuss the prospect of enthronement (Mark 10:35–45 and parr.; Matt 19:28; Luke 22:29–30);
• and the crucifixion of Jesus as one having something deserving the mocking title “king of the Jews” (Mark 15:26 and parr.).

Critics will dispute the meaning and historicity of various items in this catalogue. But some common impressions emerge: Jesus’s “coming” to Jerusalem is regarded as crucial for his overall mission, his arrival is framed as a climactic event, he speaks of the eschatological…But this only raises the question: how then does the prospect of death relate to Jesus’s eschatological message about restoration?

And why did Jesus go up to Jerusalem? Ferda offers some possibilities:

There is no “non answer” to this—even to say that Jesus went up simply to observe the Passover like everyone else and got caught up in things he never expected is to answer the question. Further suggestions might be:

• he went up to proclaim the kingdom (e.g., basically continue what he did in Galilee, just in a different location);
• or he went up expecting the kingdom he had proclaimed to arrive in full on that particular Passover;
• or he went up to predict the temple’s imminent demise and reconstitute a new community around himself;
• or he went up to be installed as the rightful king and messiah of Israel by force if necessary;
• or he went up expecting to die a martyr’s death for the sake of his message, like one of the prophets of old;
• or he went up to die for the sins of his followers, of Israel, or of the world;
• or he went up to force Jerusalem and his followers to make a decision concerning him and his message and was uncertain what the result would be.

Responding to Ferda, I would say the popular interpretation of Jesus’ death which assumes a pagan understanding of a payment to assuage the wrath of God makes no end of mischief here.  On the one hand its vicarious nature is internally incoherent because how does the death of a child in London for the crimes of a murderer in Chicago serve justice?  But more particularly it oversteps the obvious.  If you believe God sent his especially beloved (agapetos) to the world and we responded by torturing and punishing him with an analogous but much worse death than the arch villain Haman, how might such a realization of our vileness teach and transform us?  Might it circumcise the worldly flesh from our hearts? I’m reminded of being a child and coming upon a group of kids on the playground at school pulling the legs off of Daddy Longlegs insects for fun and the sense of injustice it awakened in me.

Bibliography

Ferda, Tucker.  Galilee and Jerusalem in Crossley, James; Keith, Chris. The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus (pp. 525-543). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition (2024) .