Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44 & Luke 21:38
And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together and as Jesus taught in the temple, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
They said to him, “The son of David.”
But he said to them, “How can they, the scribes, say that the Christ is David's son? For how is it then that David himself, in the Holy Spirit, calls him Lord, saying in the Book of Psalms,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet; make your enemies your footstool.’
“If then, David himself thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Jesus quoted Psalm 110, which apparently is God’s favorite Old Testament verse.
Do you know what the second most quoted Old Testament verse is in the New Testament? It is Leviticus 19:18, at least the last half. It pops up in seven different parts of the New Testament. Can you quote it, the last part of it should be pretty familiar?
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
But seven times pales in comparison to the number of times Psalm 110:1 is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament. It appears 23 times in 11 of the 27 New Testament books written by 7 of the New Testament authors.
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
But why should this have been convicting enough to close the mouths of the Pharisees and their Scribes, when it is hard for us to even understand it without looking it up for what it means .A number of such passages in the Bible are difficult for us to grasp, aren't they? This is because we have the experiences and worldview of Americans in the 21st Century; not the Israeli Jew of the First Century. If we could go back and hear Jesus with the mindset of those First Century Pharisees, we would have got it right away, just like we understand clearly if someone referenced Bobby Thomson’s shot heard ‘round the world.
Right?
How many of you know what I am talking about when I say that? “The shot heard ‘round the world?” What was that? The shot that killed Osama bin Laden? Who was Bobby Thomson? Was he a Navy Seal?
When I was a boy of 10, everyone (at least us guys) knew who Bobby Thomson was. He was
a third baseman for the New York Giants and he had his shining moment on October 3, 1951 in the ninth inning of the third and final game of the first three-game playoff in National League History. The Giants had overcome a 16 game deficit in the last weeks of the regular season to force a tie with the league leading Brooklyn Dodgers (formally the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers). This three game series was also the first baseball games to be televised nationally, making it very historic. The Giants were behind by 2 runs, bottom of the ninth, third and final game. There was 1 out and 2 on. Thomson came to bat and the Brooklyn Dodgers sent in ace relief pitcher Ralph Branca. What happened next would put Branca in the record book as well.
The crowd figured with a base open, Branca would walk Thomson and pitch to some unknown rookie waiting in the on deck circle, some kid named Willie Mays. After all, Thomson was a fair hitter (.270 lifetime) with some power. He had socked 32 home runs during the regular season.
However, Branca choose to pitch to him.
With one strike on him, Thomson swung at the second pitch and knocked it over the left field wall for three runs. The Giants won the National League pennant over the favored Dodgers and Thomson’s homer was there after called “The shot heard ‘round the world”. One of the most celebrated homers in baseball history. It was right up there with football's "immaculate Reception".
Well, these First Century Pharisees and Scribes knew the Scriptures as well as we young American mid-20th Century boys knew our baseball.
But when forced to think about Psalm 110 they were perplexed. They knew the Psalm was about the Messiah, but their current belief was that the Messiah was a mere mortal descendant of David, who would bring Israel back to power as a warrior king. But here was Jesus, who not only claimed to be a Son of David, but also the Son of God. How could such a thing be? The answer they realized was the puzzle of Psalm 110.
And the great throng heard him gladly.
I imagine the throngs did hear him gladly. And I am sure standing nearby were all those Pharisees and those Scribes who had questioned him and his authority the last two days; stroking their beards and daring not to answer his question. Their ears must have been burning with what he said next and inside they must have been fuming.
Matthew 23:1-39, Mark 12:37-40, Luke 20:45-47
And in his teaching in the hearing of all the people, then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Just a little note here about this tithing of mint and dill and cumin’, kinds of herbs. I think the point here is that the scribes and Pharisees tried to be so exacting in following the letter of the law that they would even tithe a tenth of any herbs they grew, but in doing so missed the whole purpose of the law and did not show justice and mercy and faithfulness in their lives.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
There is an interesting sentence here: “Therefore, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town…” Jesus takes their claim that if they had lived in the past, they would not have joined with their ancestors in the persecution of the prophets sent by God. He makes perfectly clear that this is a sham claim for they will persecute the current and future prophets sent by God. They will begin by flogging, crucifying and killing him and continue to do so to his Apostles and believers.
He makes a reference to those who have been persecuted throughout history, from Abel to Zechariah the son of Barachiah. Some think this really referred Zechariah, son of Jehoiada who was stoned to death in the Temple as told about in 2 Chronicles 24:20. Although we do not know the death of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, it is just as likely he suffered a martyr’s end. This makes more sense for then the statement from Abel to Zechariah would have covered the entire history of prophets.
Lament over Jerusalem
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
I think the above speech was pretty clear and needs little comment from me. Do note, however, at the beginning, Jesus does not call the people to revolt, but to be in obedience to the office these people hold.
"The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you." for the people are not to do what these people do, because they don't practice what they preach.
These passages will be the last time Jesus appears in the Temple in this role, thus he tells them they will not see him again until they say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, which for the Jews will be at his second coming.
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4
After a day and a half in confrontation with Sadducees, Heronians, Priests, Pharisees and Scribes, I can imagine Jesus felt some weariness. For hours it had been like fending off angry birds storming down upon him. Now they had finally stopped their tweets and retreated to their nests to plot. It was somewhere after the noon hour and Jesus decided to sit a few moments and rest.
He chooses a place to sit opposite the Temple Treasury, where people come to drop their donations in the offering box. He observed the giving and how the rich, such as the Sadducees and Pharisees were dropping in large sums. Is there little doubt after hearing Jesus’ tirade not to think these proudly made a show of their contributions?
Then he sees a poor widow step to the box. How does he know she is a poor widow? Do you
really have to ask?
She drops two small copper coins into the collection. It says in my translation they were worth a penny. A penny didn't exist then. In some translations they are called mites (the Greek lepta). Two mites were worth a quadrans, which was the smallest of the Roman coins. The mite was the least valuable coin at that time circulating in Judea. If you should have one in your possession today, it still isn’t worth a great amount, perhaps $15.
She drops two small copper coins into the collection. It says in my translation they were worth a penny. A penny didn't exist then. In some translations they are called mites (the Greek lepta). Two mites were worth a quadrans, which was the smallest of the Roman coins. The mite was the least valuable coin at that time circulating in Judea. If you should have one in your possession today, it still isn’t worth a great amount, perhaps $15.
Noting the widow, Jesus calls his Disciples over to him and points her out. He tells them that all the others, he doesn't qualify it as "the rich", but ALL the others had given out of their abundance. He explained how she gave more than all the others, because she gave out of her poverty everything she had to live on.
I confess I have never given all I had to live on, nowhere near it.
Remember, near the close of the day before, Jesus addressed the question put to him by a lawyer, who asked which is the greatest commandment. The first part of the answer was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (See Deuterontamy 6:5). This widow seems to provide a perfect example of that.
But let's place it in another context. This observation comes at the end of his issuing 7 woes to the Scribes and Pharisees. This little story itself is found in Mark 12. Mark often doesn't go into great detail. In his Gospel he truncates Jesus long condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees to this:
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
He condemns these religious leaders for devouring widows' houses. Two things to take from this. God does not demand our tithe be all we have, but only a tenth. How is this widow to live in the immediate days following if she has given all her livelihood to the Temple? And where will that offering end up? Will it not supply more long robes for the scribes and Priests to enjoy parading about in? Those leaders at the Temple should be providing to the poor widows, not vice-versa. Yes, this can serve as an example of the widow's devotion to God, but it also stands for the corruption and greed of the Temple leaders. After this story, as Jesus leaves, our attention is drawn to the over opulence of the buildings maintained by the donations made by people like this widow.
As Jesus prepares to leave the Temple for the last time as a free man, look back on how this final journey had been completely under his control and direction. He left Perea a few days before and traveled with his Disciples up a Roman Road past Jericho. Passover was coming and many speculated on whether he would show up since there was a price on his head. And there he came and he gathered a crowd as he went. At Jericho he cured two blind men, thus gathering even more attention to himself.
He spent a night in Bethany and on the morrow he came riding down to Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling a Messianic prophesy and inciting the crowd to cheer him as the Messiah, waving palms, spreading cloaks beneath his feet and greeting him with Hosannas. He marched into Jerusalem and into the Temple where he cleansed it a second time. Something he did at the beginning of his ministry, something certain to grab attention, and now he does it again, something certain to raise the ire of the Chief Priests and the Religious leaders.
This does draw these leaders out where they try to assert their authority, but he counters their every move with arguments that inflame them more, then he stands among all and berates the Priests and Religious Leaders, pointing out their hypocrisy publicly. Frankly, he has whipped them to a seething fury. The fact he could do this and they feared making any attempt against him served to show their impotence. He had manipulated them into no other choice but to kill him.
Jesus was in total control of these events. But I think he even went further in his design. He had arrived with a cheering throng behind who believed he was the new David. When he cleansed the Temple they must have thought this was more proof of this, yet, he never called for rebellion. He told the people they must respect the office of these Leaders on what they said, just not on what they do. After the excitement earlier that week, there was probably some letdown from the lack of any call to action, and when soon after this Jesus was arrested, some of the cheering crowd may have turned against him. He even controlled this crowd's emotions.
He would control all that was soon to come.
Wednesday Afternoon.– 12 NISON
Jerusalem’s Destruction and the End of the World
Matthew 24-25, Mark 13:1-37, Luke 21:5-36
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
Jesus left the temple and was going away, while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” But he answered them and said to him, “Do you see all these, great buildings? As for these things that you see, Truly, I say to you, “the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
With that comment, Jesus and the Disciples preceded to the Mount of Olives, possibly into the Garden of Gethsemane.
What significance does the sacrifice of the Red Heifer have for us?
The imagery of the blood of the heifer without blemish being sacrificed and its blood cleansing from sin is a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ shed on the cross for believers’ sin. Jesus like the heifer, was led out of the city to slaughter on the Mount of Olives.
On the Map one can see how Bethany sits directly across the mount, about two miles distant, from the Temple side of Jerusalem, The Mount of Olives will be a featured site from this point on during Passion Week.
When Jesus returns at the Second Coming it will on the Mount of Olives he will first plant his feet.
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple the disciples Peter and James and John and Andrew came to him privately, and they asked him, “Teacher, , “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of when these things are about to take place to be accomplished?” When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
Now we are about to enter Christopher Mantai's purview, the signs of the end times. We usually are told that Jesus was explaining this to his disciples, but note he was only speaking privately with his oldest Apostles. These four were the first to follow him after he returned from Satan's temptations in the wilderness. Three of these are generally designated as his inner circle and were with him on such occasions as the Transfiguration, when others were not. Those three were Peter, James and John. The fourth man included here was Peter's brother, Andrew. These four, on the heels of Jesus' remark about the fate of the buildings as they left the Temple, now come and ask when the end will come and what are the signs.
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