IN HIS FOOTSTEPS 10 '...He will be turned over to the Gentiles'

A HARMONISING OF THE GOSPELS
IN ONE CONTINUAL NARRATIVE
First published in March 1993 as 12 individual A5 booklets
These are still available in the original form upon request.
Those who read these studies on walking in the footsteps of the Man Christ Jesus, who may themselves have been involved in some mass movement of people during an historic event, will remember the almost unreal feeling of quietness that settled over the area just prior to the beginning - an unspoken acknowledgement of being involved in an event beyond the individual's imagination. Such a time has now arrived in this harmonising of the Gospel narratives. Jesus had been rejected by the leaders and the people in Galilee. Indeed, He and His disciples had watched as the whole campaign disintegrated before them and they had to retire into the northern area of Israel, into the Tetrarchy of Herod Philip. Although all was in the hands of God, to the natural understanding everything looked bleak. The travelling up to Jerusalem from time to time had brought the outright hostility of the Pharisees and the Sadducees into the open, and because of this Jesus had moved into the less hostile area of Perea in the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas, moving from time to time into Judea itself. But the Jewish leaders were never far behind Jesus, always looking for any opportunity to trick and accuse Him. Meanwhile His disciples, who had witnessed the miracle of the blind man receiving his sight in stages, were also receiving gradual and partial revelation concerning their Master's work through His teaching. But the occasional bright shafts of understanding were often overshadowed by fitful displays of pride and ambition as their eyes were slowly opened. It would be some time before they too received full understanding, and so in the gentle hands of their Master their teaching continued. We are now less than three months away from the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the time had now come to begin that last journey up to Jerusalem.

We have seen that there were three Feasts in the Jewish religious calendar that all men were commanded to attend in Jerusalem. All of the seven Feasts of Leviticus have been, or have yet to be, completely fulfilled in the work of Jesus. However at this point in the Gospel narratives not one of those seven Feasts had yet been fulfilled, although (as we have seen in the first study of this series) one of the Feasts had been partially fulfilled when Jesus the Son of God tabernacled among the people of Israel for a while. But as this was only for a little while, the total fulfillment of that last and most joyful of the Feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles, has yet to come for the nation of Israel! For the time being, however, events were now rapidly moving towards the fulfillment of the first three of those seven Feasts of Leviticus - the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and the Firstfruits. We now find Jesus moving out of Perea and through Samaria to the very borders of southern Galilee - still ministering and teaching, but resolved in His purpose of going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.

He journied this way - up through Perea and Samaria - in order to join with the great pilgrim throng that would be gathering from Galilee to go up to Jerusalem for the great Feast of Passover in obedience to `the Law of Moses'. There would be many in that pilgrim throng who would have been present at His great Galilean campaigns, and His presence would have stirred up many memories as they travelled along the edge of Samaria into Judea. The pilgrimage would gather more members along the way until finally they would be joined by the people of Judea, ready for that last part of the journey up to Jerusalem. In the midst of that great throng of people was Jesus with His disciples. God was surely bringing the whole nation of Israel together to accompany His Sacrificial Passover Lamb on His way to the slaughter! The people who had rejected Him as Messiah and King were now bringing Him up as the Passover Lamb as He journied in their midst! Never before had there been such an unknowing crowd of witnesses gathered for such a momentous event - the redemption of the world through God's obedient Son! Little wonder that there seems to be an unreal feeling of quietness around these events leading up to that final journey up to Jerusalem!

We shall take up the story with Luke's narrative: "Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, `Jesus, Master, have pity on us.' When He saw them, He said, `Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went they were cleansed" (17:11-13). You will recall that according to the Mishnah it was taught that only the Messiah would be able to heal lepers, and that earlier on in His Galilean ministry, near Capernaum, "a man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, `Lord, if You are willing You can make me clean again'" (Matthew 8:2). The man had been told to tell no-one, but to go and show himself to the priests. This was in accordance with the Law of Moses, where a leper had to be examined for seven days to see if he was indeed clean from that disease. It was an act of healing to prove that the Messiah had come, but, as we know, Jesus was rejected time and time again by the leaders of the Jewish nation. Now we have the story of these ten lepers coming to Jesus and being healed by Him. His words, `Go, show yourself to the priests,' meant that according to the Law the priests would have to ceremonially examine ten men for seven days each - and then they would have to report to the Sanhedrin that a Messianic healing had taken place, not just once but ten times! This message would be delivered to the Sanhedrin and its president, the high priest Caiaphas (the very people who had just decreed death, on the grounds of blasphemy, for the Messiah) reporting that this Man had performed a Messianic act ten times over! The timing and the ways of the Lord are surely not men's ways! It is worth noting the sadness expressed by Jesus after the miraculous healing of the ten lepers: "One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him - he was a Samaritan! Jesus asked him, `Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no-one found to return to give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then He said to him, `Rise and go; your faith has made you well'" (17:15-19).

We could express much self-righteous indignation over this, but we must remember that this was a Messianic act: First, as a warning to the Sanhedrin over their rejection of the Messiah; secondly, it was a pointer that the work of Jesus would soon be opened up to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. We see this again in the following verses, and we need to remember that Jesus was talking to the leaders of the nation, the Pharisees and the Sadducees after their rejection of Him as Messiah, who were even now still seeking to trick Him with set-piece meetings, often with disabled people" "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come (for the purpose of the Messiah was to establish God's Kingdom) Jesus replied, (in words the Pharisees could not understand for their hearts were now fully hardened through their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) `The Kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the Kingdom of God is within you.' Then He said to His disciples, `The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, `There He is!' (the Messiah) or `Here He is,' (the Messiah). Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in His day (the Day of the Lord) will be like the lightning which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all . . . It will be like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed'" (17:20-30).

Jesus, aware of the mocking scorn of the Pharisees, now teaches His disciples to ignore all talk of a Messiah coming to Israel and walking in the land with a message of the Kingdom of God. It is not visible at this stage, but it is real and alive in the hearts of the believers in Him. But the time is coming - just as it was in the days of Noah, when Noah faithfully preached the word of God to an unbelieving world and was then safely locked up in the ark by God, and then the flood came! So it will be again, for after the preaching of the `144,000 from all the tribes of Israel, who were sealed in their foreheads,' (Revelation 7) this faithful remnant of Jewish believers are safely locked into the Ark of God and then both the nation of Israel and these faithful believers will pass through the final days of the flood waters of the Tribulation period . . . the Day of Jacob's Trouble . . . and so all Israel will be saved. (Although these times will obviously affect the Gentile nations of the world also, they are outside the scope of this series of harmonising the Gospels and their message to the nation of Israel.) This story has nothing at all to do with the Church, which is of course composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers - the Bride of Christ. It refers solely to Israel and the faithful remnant who come to faith in Jesus as Messiah in the terrible times of the Great Tribulation who, although not part of the Bride of Christ, will pass safely through the Tribulation period into the Messianic Kingdom of God.

Finally the disciples ask, "`Where, Lord'? He replied, `Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather'" (17:37). Here Jesus is referring to the time just before His physical return to earth. The Tribulation period is rapidly coming to a close and His people, the Jews, are almost at the point of extermination - `a dead body' waiting for the end, `and there the vultures will gather'. The Gentile armies are closing in for the kill - and then He will come for His people: "For the Son of Man in His day will be like lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." Jesus then moves straight into a parable, teaching them on prayer to encourage them: "Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up" (18:1). Beginning with the widow who persistently asked the judge for justice against her adversary He then turned to the Pharisees and warned them against their self-righteousness. Bearing in mind the previous words of Jesus concerning the days of Noah, He urges His disciples to be persistent in prayer over these matters. God will, in His own time, `bring justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night. Then speaking to the Pharisees He warns them to examine their self-righteous attitudes lest they be caught up in the answer to prayer of God's chosen ones `who cry out to Him day and night'.

Jesus now moves out of the area with the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, and on the way He gives a series of teachings. Matthew records the first event: "When Jesus had finished saying these things He left Galilee and went to the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan (the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas). Large crowds followed Him and He healed them there. Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him. They asked, `Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?'" (19:1-3). The Pharisees now saw their chance, for Jesus was now in the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. They knew of, and were correctly appalled by, the sexual behaviour of Herod Antipas (who had not only married his brother's wife, but had also engaged in an incestuous relationship with her). So the Pharisees came to test Him to see if they could get Him to denounce Herod Antipas, as had John the Baptist before Him. They thought they might be able to persuade Herod Antipas to imprison Him - or better still to behead Him - and the chance of a lifetime seemed to have presented itself! They asked a question that seemed innocent enough, `Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?' Jesus answered them with the Law of Moses: "You know the Scriptures . . haven't you read? . . . the Creator made them male and female." As might be expected, the Mishnah had listed and commented on every conceivable situation that might arise in a marriage that would give grounds for a divorce. Little has changed in the Church in the two thousand years since those days! They then asked, "`Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and then send her away?' Jesus replied, `Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning'" (19:7-8). Jesus then answered their question. He had given them the strict Mosaic Law . . He had then compared the Mosaic Law with their Mishnaic teachings . . now He gives God's righteous Law `of the Kingdom of God' that He had come to introduce: "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife except for Porneia (an un-natural act such as incest, which is not ever recognised as a marital relationship) and marries another woman commits adultery" (19:9). This brought a response from the disciples as well as the Pharisees: "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry" (19:10). The Pharisees knew the Law, as recorded in Leviticus 18, concerning an unlawful sexual relationship, and they had no answer that could be taken to Herod Antipas which would not entail them breaking their own law - and so they left Him, for a while!

"Then the little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. (No doubt they were still smarting under the teaching they had just received.) Jesus said, `Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these'" (19:14). The eyes of the disciples were not yet fully opened to the things of their new Kingdom. They saw in part the things they wanted to see but they could not see beyond the Law of Moses, and at times they even welcomed the Mishnaic teachings of the Pharisees! They might well be a yoke, but at times they could certainly be used to get themselves out of difficult situations . . such as unwanted wives! (Have things changed that much, even in the Church of the Lord Jesus?) `Unless you become as little children, accepting the things of the Kingdom as simply as those little ones, then you will certainly not see and enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven - which is not here nor there, but within you!' Now came the turn of `the rich young man', as recorded in Mark: "As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before Him. `Good Teacher,' he asked, `what must I do to inherit eternal life?'" (10:17). Luke records this man as `a certain ruler', which reveals that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. He was probably also a member of the sect of the Pharisees since it was revealed that he was rich, for the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law taught from the Mishnah that wealth was a sign of Divine Favour (which has associations with certain Christian teaching today). The remark of the rich young ruler was not so much a question, for he had been listening to the various arguments and discourses. What he was really saying was this: `What more must I do? I have the Divine favour resting upon me, revealed by my wealth, and yet You say I must become as a little child. What more must I do to inherit what is mine by right anyway?' (Paraphrase). "Jesus replied, `Why do you call Me good? No-one is good except God alone. You know the commandments . . . ' `Teacher,' he declared, `all these things I have kept since I was a boy'" (10:18-20).

The ruler knew in his heart, which is why his question was asked in that way, `What more must I do?' Jesus pointed out the Law to him and was saying. `Yes, you may keep the Law of Moses as far as you are able, but you know by listening to My teaching that this is not the way into the Kingdom of God and eternal life, for it was never so intended! The Law was given to show that it was impossible to earn eternal life by keeping the Law! That was why there are continual and yearly sacrifices to cover the sins of the law-breakers such as yourself'. Both Jesus and the rich young man knew what was to follow: "Jesus looked at him and loved him. `One thing you lack,' He said. `Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow Me.' At this the young man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth" (10:21). The teaching of the Mishnah was of no value . . attempting to keep the Law was impossible . . giving away all his wealth would only lay up treasure in heaven! The words. `Then come, follow Me' revealed the only way into the Kingdom of Heaven and attaining eternal life! Jesus looked at him and loved him because He knew this was the one thing he could not do! Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "`How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.' The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said again, `Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God'" (10:23-25).

The rich ruler knew that his security was in his wealth - he might weave words around the Law concerning Divine favour, but he knew, and many others who have followed on from him know, that wealth represents known security, and to exchange that for the words of life from the Messiah tests the faith of many even today! "The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, `Who then can be saved?'" (10:26). The disciples with their half-opened eyes were still looking with unbelief. `If this rich ruler, with all the wealth he has - with the obvious hand of God upon him - cannot be saved, then who on earth can?. The yeast of the Pharisees was still at work in the hearts of the disciples, and it would be a long time before it was finally worked out of them! Ironically, it would take a Pharisee of Pharisees (Paul) to expose the hollowness and sham of the yeast of the Pharisees and its deadening effect on faith. But that was yet to come. Jesus then illustrated by a parable all that had happened through this conversation with the rich ruler, likening the Kingdom of Heaven to a man who hired labourers to work in his vineyard, finally paying them the same amount of money for differing amounts of work. Neither wealth nor poverty is any guarantee of entrance into the Kingdom; it is by God's grace alone and the individual's response to the call to follow Jesus.

Matthew records that it was now time to move on again on their journey up to Jerusalem: "Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the Twelve aside and said to them, `We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the Teachers of the Law. They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life'" (20:17-19). In his narrative Luke tells us that "the disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about" (18:34). This is evidently so, because Matthew continues to record that after what should have been a most alarming remark, the mother of the two sons of Zebedee approached Jesus full of demands for the most favoured positions for her sons in His coming Kingdom! Jesus, as patient as ever, replied, "`You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?' `We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, `You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father.' When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers" (20:22-24). To us who read this Gospel those demands seem to be quite incredible; the so slow-to-learn disciples with half-healed eyes jockeying for such positions of honour after the remarks just made by their Master! But we then need to remember the jockeying for position that still goes on in the Kingdom of God among those whose eyes have been fully opened. Pride of position and pride of knowledge are still a deadly pull amongst the disciples of Jesus even today - and the Master's words still echo out to His disciples: "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many" (20:26-28). This was a lesson they were all to learn in the months and years that lay ahead! Drink from His cup they certainly did - each one in his different way! They drank it to the full - and so it will always be!

On their journey they had now reached Jericho and were quite close to their final destination, and so we will pick up the threads in Mark's narrative: "Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus) was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, `Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me'! Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, `Son of David, have mercy on me!' Jesus stopped and said, `Call him.' So they called to the blind man, `Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you'. Throwing his cloak aside he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. `What do you want Me to do for you?' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, `Rabbi, I want to see.' `Go,' said Jesus, `your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road" (10:46-52). Jesus and His disciples had crossed over from the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas and were now in Judea, under the authority of the Sanhedrin! Because of His rejection by the leaders of the Sanhedrin, Jesus was unable to answer the cry of Bartimaeus on the basis of His Messiahship so He called Bartimaeus to Him. He asked him, `What do you want Me to do for you?' - and on the basis of Bartimaeus' personal faith in Him (`Rabbi, I want to see') Jesus restored his eyesight. Personal faith in Him was answered, but national faith in Him was unanswered for that generation of Jews because of their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do not be concerned that two of the Gospel writers record this event in a slightly different way. Mark records it as `When they came to Jericho' whereas Matthew records it as `When they were leaving Jericho'. There were, in fact, two Jerichos - one in ruins and the other rebuilt by Herod about a mile and a half from the first. So Matthew and Mark are both right, depending upon which Jericho they were writing about - unimportant in the overall unfolding of events, but still proving (if it was ever required) the accuracy of Scripture!

We now pick up the story in Luke's Gospel: "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see Jesus, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig-tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way" (19:1-4). This would pass for an amusing tale at a sophisticated dinner-table, even today, but Jesus saw beyond the size of the man. Zacchaeus might well have been important, and he was cetainly a man of influence, but Jesus saw none of those things. Again, it was personal faith that enabled Him to reach out to the rich or poor; tall of short; young or old. "When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, `Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today'. . . . All the people saw this and began to mutter, `He has gone to the house of a `sinner'.' But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, `Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.' (This was double that which was demanded by the Law.) Jesus said to him, `Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost'" (19:7-10).

A pleasant enough story, but surely not enough to give it such a prominent place in the Gospels although it is told countless numbers of times in Sunday School classes as a lesson in humility. No! It presented an opportunity, just before His entrance into Jerusalem, for Jesus to set out the `Kingdom time-table' using the Parable of the Ten Minas: "While they were listening to this, He went on to tell them a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem and the people thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear at once" (19:11). The parable tells of a man of noble birth going to a distant country to be made king, calling ten of his servants and telling them to put to good use the money he gives them. (No doubt we remember this story also from our Sunday School days.) The subjects hated the man and refused to make him king. However, he was made king and returned home for an accounting by his servants of the money entrusted to them, each one being judged by his stewardship of the money. The parable ends with a clear warning against wasted stewardship, and the death of those who did not want him as king. It is a parable showing the Kingdom of God's programme . . telling of the coming Messiah who is to be crowned King . . telling of the hatred of His subjects and their refusal to accept Him. But in spite of everything He was made King, but the Kingdom was postponed for a while until His return. It tells of those left behind who accepted Him as King being given tasks to perform, and when He would finally return He would demand an accounting and give rewards for the stewardship, but those who rejected Him would be put to death. As was His custom since his rejection as Messiah of Israel, He spoke in parables:

"Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. "
After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

We may well call this the approaching climax to the Gospel story, indeed we have used this expression several times in these studies. A major purpose of this series of studies is to place the four Gospels firmly back into the context of the whole of Scripture so that they will cease to be used as a kind of Christian `Promise Box'. In that sense, the four Gospels are part of the whole and are in themselves (in their own wholeness) a climax within the Scriptures for they are the revelation of the promised New Covenant of Jeremiah 31. They are also the revelation of `the new heart and the new spirit' God promised to the nation of Israel in Ezekiel 36 - and they must be seen and understood in that context. The gospels in the New Covenant are first revealed in the Old Covenant - God's long-promised New Covenant to His Old Covenant people Israel. They are the bridge between the two Dispensations . . one of the Law and one of Grace and Truth! It is only as we understand the Old Covenant that we can full enter into the New Covenant, and the outworking of that New Covenant of Grace and Truth is then revealed in the Epistles, Letters and Books that follow on from the four Gospels. It is against this background of the whole of Scripture that we should read and understand the Gospels and their message to those who accept Jesus as the promised New

Covenant of the Old Covenant. There will then follow a profound understanding of the mystery of the Gentiles being grafted into the Olive Tree . . the sap rising in that Olive Tree being drawn from the roots of the Covenants of God (given to His people, the nation of Israel). Then with grateful hearts we will reach out with hands of love to the Jewish people who have been broken off as branches from the Olive Tree because of unbelief in Jesus as Messiah so that wild olive branches (the Gentiles) could be grafted in. But now we approach with the Man Christ Jesus the last few days leading up to and beyond the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem.

John now takes up the narrative: "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the Temple area they asked one another, `What do you think? Isn't He coming to the Feast at all?' But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest Him" (11:55-57). The total rejection by the priests and people had come! All Israel was gathered together in Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover, as commanded by the Law of Moses. We see this in chapter 12 where it says: "Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him" (12:9-10). This was the tenth day of the month of Nissan, and according to the Law (Exodus 12:3) the whole community of Israel was commanded:

"On the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family,
one for each household. "
They were to take care of the lambs for four days, testing them to see whether there was any defect of any kind in them, and on the fourteenth day: (Exodus 12:5-7)

". . the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they
are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the
door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. "
We now see this echoed in the Gospels: The Lamb of God enters Jerusalem on the tenth day of Nissan, and for four days the interogation of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes intensifies as they become even more extreme in their efforts to find some fault in Him!

Mark records: "As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, saying to them, `Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no-one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone askes you, `Why are you doing this?' tell him, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly'" (11:1-3). The crowd came, sensing something important was taking place, for John records: "The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem" (12:12). Mark then continues: "Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

`Hosanna! (Save us)' `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' `Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David!' `Hosanna in the Highest.'

Jesus entered Jerusalem!" (11:7-11).

We know two things about this event, which the Rabbis themselves taught. First, the greeting was a Messianic greeting: `Hosanna (save us).' `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'. Second, the act of cutting down branches of palm, willow and myrtle was an act associated with the Feast of Tabernacles - not the Feast of Passover which had no such ceremonies attached to it! The Feast of Tabernacles was a joyful occasion where the Jewish nation gathered together to celebrate the coming Kingdom of God. (In an earlier study in this series we have seen some of the various ceremonies . . bringing up the water from the Pool of Siloam . . bringing out the great golden candlesticks from the Temple and then lighting them to signify the light of the Holy Spirit in the coming Kingdom . . building booths or tabernacles, commemorating the time when God tabernacled among them for a while, and would again in the coming Kingdom.) But they had failed to see that God had indeed come, through the work of the Holy Spirit - that the Light of the world was indeed tabernacling among them, for a while! The glorious Kingdom of God which He came to offer to them had been rejected by that generation and was now postponed until a later time. But first must come the totality of that rejection, the Passover and the crucifixion - only then could come the resurrection and the way for the Kingdom of God to be opened once again. The time is yet to come for the nation of Israel when the Kingdom of God will once again be offered to them - and this time they will accept! Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit these people were indeed ushering in the King of Israel . . they were announcing the coming Kingdom . . they cut down branches of palm, willow and myrtle to build booths for the God who was tabernacling among them, for a while! The Messianic cry rang out, `Hosanna!' `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' Jesus came in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: (Zechariah 9:9)

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your King comes to you,
Righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. "
Luke then records: "As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, `If you, even you, had known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God's coming to you'" (19:41-44).

In accepting the praise of the people Jesus was clearly demonstrating that He was indeed the Messiah of Israel. Not only had He announced it publicly by His actions, His teachings and the miracles of healings and deliverance He had performed, but He now accepted the greetings that all pointed to Him as the Messiah. In this public entry into Jerusalem, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the crowds greeted Him as their Messiah . . the King of Israel riding into Jerusalem on a donkey for the Feast of Passover . . on the tenth day of Nissan . . the Perfect Lamb to be tested for four days to see if He had any defect in Him before being offered as the Sacrificial Lamb of God! But what did the Pharisees see? John records their reaction: "So the Pharisees said to one another, `See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him'" (12:19). And what did the crowds see? Matthew tells us: "When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, `Who is this'" (21:10). Finally, Mark records: "Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve" (11:11).

Mark then continues: "The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig-tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then He said to the tree, `May no-one ever eat fruit from you again.' And His disciples heard Him" (11:12-14). In our present-day `Green Culture' such an event would raise a few eyebrows, and questions would certainly be asked. However we need to remember that when an event is recorded in such fine detail it has a Messianic message within it. Jesus was hungry and went looking for fruit on a fig-tree. In fig-trees in Israel at that time of year it was usual for the leaves to appear about six weeks before the actual fruit appeared. But at the same time as the leaves appeared small edible knobs would appear at the base of the leaves. If there were no knobs it was an indication that there would be no fruit appearing (the tree was infertile) and the leaves would give a false expectation of fruit appearing six weeks later. It was these knobs Jesus reached out for, only to find there were none. Then He spoke a Messianic message to the listening disciples, likening Israel to the fig-tree, which had all the promises (the leaves) of God appearing on its branches - but on closer inspection it was revealed that there were no knobs, no harbinger of a good crop of figs to come later. The fig-tree of Israel was infertile and no fruit would appear in the nation of Israel from that particular generation of Jews who had rejected Him as Messiah!

"On reaching Jerusalem Jesus entered the Temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple courts. And as He taught them, He said, `Is it not written: `My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'. But you have made it a den of robbers'" (11:15-17). We saw much earlier (John 2) a similar occasion when Jesus asserted His authority as Messiah over the Temple . . His Father's House . . clearing out all the detestable things the Sadducees were allowing in the Temple. The first time Jesus did this was at the first Passover of His ministry, shortly after the miracle of the wine at the wedding in Cana. Now at the close of His ministry, at the last Passover before His crucifixion, we see Him again clearing the Temple area of the corrupt practices allowed (even encouraged) by the custodians of His Father's House. Once again He established His authority as the Messiah of Israel, but the priests were watching, and Mark records: "The chief priests and the Teachers of the Law heard this, and began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching".

Moving now into John's narrative we find Jesus once again setting out the `Kingdom Programme': "Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. `Sir,' they said, `we would like to see Jesus.' (They were most likely Gentile proselytes who were attending the Passover celebrations, and now they wanted to see this much talked-about Messiah, this Jesus.) After Jesus had been told about them, He replied, `The hour has now come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be. My Father will honour the one who serves Me'" (12:20-26). Jesus was once again announcing His death - a single seed, once it falls to the ground will produce many seeds, the Gospel carried to the ends of the earth by faithful disciples. But first must come His obedience to His Father's will and purpose! "`Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? No! It was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!' Then a voice came from heaven, `I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.' The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him. Jesus said, `This voice was for your benefit, not Mine'. (Now would come His reply to the Greeks' request.) `But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die" (12:27-33). Jesus was also announcing to those Gentile Greeks that until that time His message was for the Jews alone. The time would come, and come soon, when after He had been lifted up on the cross He would open up the way for all men . . Jews and Gentiles . . male and female . . slave and free . . to be drawn unto Him. Mark continues to record these events: "In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig-tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, `Rabbi, look! The fig-tree You cursed has withered!" (11:20-21). This led to further teaching for His disciples concerning belief in what He had taught them: `Have faith in God . . do not doubt in your heart . . when you pray believe . . cleanse your heart from all unforgiveness and believe that you have received from the Father what you asked'.

The chief priests and the Teachers of the Law had come to a decision! It was time to confront this man Jesus! Matthew records this confrontation: "Jesus entered the Temple courts, and while He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people (members of the Sanhedrin) came to Him. `By what authority are You doing these things?' they asked. `And who gave You this authority?'" (21:23). To fully understand that this is more than a running story of events at the Feast of Passover we must remember this: Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the tenth day of Nissan as the Sacrificial Lamb of Passover, and for four days He would be tested by the chief priests and leaders to see if He had any defects in Him, and therefore these events are all part of the interogation of the Lamb of God. But unknowingly, even unwittingly, their hardness of heart was being turned to God's purpose in fulfillment of the Feast of Passover, and so the chief priests looked for faults in Jesus, and they tried to turn the crowds away from Him and His teaching! Jesus was in the Temple courts, and while He was teaching (the people) the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him and said, `By what authority are You doing these things?'. According to the Pharisees, Teachers of the Law with the title of `Rabbi' required the authority of the Pharisees themselves. Jesus was in Judea, an area under the authority of the Sanhedrin, and according to their own law and customs the Pharisees had the right to confront this unauthorised Rabbi. But as we have seen from past confrontations, questions were parried with questions! "Jesus replied, `I will also ask you one question. If you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism - where did it come from? Was it from heaven or from men?' They discussed it among themselves and said, `If we say, `From heaven,' He will ask, `Then why didn't you believe Him?' But if we say, `From men,' - we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.' So they answered Jesus, `We don't know.' Then He said, `Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things'" (21:24-27).

Jesus then delivered three sharp rebuking parables, which this time they could not fail to understand. First came the Parable of the Two Sons, and then "Jesus said to them, `I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him" (21:31-32). Jesus followed this up with the Parable of the Tenants of a Vineyard, who abused their tenancy to the point of eventually killing the son of the owner of the vineyard: "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, `This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance'. Jesus then said to them, `Have you never read in the Scriptures:

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,
the Lord has done this and it is marvellous in our eyes. "
Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit'" (21:38-42). Jesus was clearly rebuking that generation of unbelieving Israel, telling them that the Kingdom of God, offered by Him as Messiah, had been taken away from them and would be offered at a later date to another generation of Jewish people. These would accept the offer and produce the fruit which they themselves could never produce - and the Pharisees knew what He was saying: "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew He was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that He was a prophet" (21:45-46).

But it didn't stop there. It led to a third even more sharply-rebuking parable: "Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, `The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son'" (22:1-2). He tells of servants who went to those who had already been invited, but they refused to come. The king sent more servants with exotic details of a lavish feast prepared. This time they not only ignored the servants, but some seized the servants, ill treated them and killed them. The king finally sent his army and destroyed the murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, `The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. They did so, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. (The parable continues with the king coming in to meet the guests and noticing a man who was not wearing wedding clothes.) `Friend,' he asked, `how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless" (22:12). The king then ordered the man to be thrown out into the darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable finishes with the sombre words: "For many are invited, but few are chosen". The parable was set against the Jewish custom of the bridegroom's family providing wedding garments for all those attending the wedding feast. But the point of the story wasn't that the man at the wedding feast had no garment provided, for he was called `friend', but the fact that he hadn't bothered to put it on! The Pharisees and the Sadducees had been invited to the Wedding Feast - the wedding garments had been provided - but they tried to attend without putting on the required garments which the Bridegroom's family had provided! Perhaps this was the most sombre and poignant of all the parables spoken by Jesus, but although the parables were sharp and rebuking there does not seem to be the anger seen in earlier ones spoken to an equally hostile group of Pharisees. Time was now very short, and it would seem that the shorter the time the greater the compassion of Jesus for those who would not listen!

The testing had continued, this time centered around the keeping of the Law of Moses versus the Law of the State. The Pharisees now linked up with the Herodians which, as we have seen earlier, was a very unequal yoking and against the Pharisees' own teaching. Matthew's narrative continues: "Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His words. So they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians. `Teacher,' they said, `we know You are a man of integrity and that You teach the ways of God in accordance with the truth . . .' (Then they asked the question, `Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not.) But Jesus knowing their evil intent, said, `You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me? Show Me the coin used for paying the tax'" (22:15-19). Now it was forbidden by Jewish law to carry an image of any kind - and Caesar's coins had Caesar's image on them. The Pharisees' own law forbade them to even use the coins - if one came into their possession it had to be handed back to the owner. At the same time the Sadducees, who had control of the trade in the Temple grounds, made fat profits from exchanging such coins brought by the pilgrims for their own special Temple coins had no image on them. It is against this background that this testing took place. When they brought Jesus a coin, the question was asked of them, "`Whose portrait is this?' And whose inscription?' `Caesar's,' they replied. The He said to them, `Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's'. When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away" (22:20-22).

The testing was not over - this time the Sadducees came! You will recall their background: Drawn mainly from the ranks of the priests, they had carved out for themselves a good, social and religious position in a society which was mainly centered around the Temple ceremonies. They were the fundamentalists of their day. Keeping strictly to their understanding of the written Scriptures only, they would not accept the authority of the Mishnah (the oral traditions so beloved by the Pharisees). Indeed, at other times, before this Messianic Movement came to bother them, they had little common ground with the Pharisees, let alone the secular Herodians! Their understanding of the written Scriptures allowed for no physical resurrection of the dead, and for no such things as angels - it was a life of merely keeping the Law and trusting in God for whatever the future held. Mark records how they came with a question: "Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him with a question. `Teacher,' they said, `Moses wrote . . '". Moses wrote - the written Law of Moses - was the basis for the complicated well thought out plan which they now followed through to trap Jesus over His knowledge of Scripture. It concerned the custom of marrying and re-marrying the wives of dead relatives. We know it was a trick question for they ended this carefully thought out plan with the words, "At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" (12:23) It brought a corrective retort from Jesus: "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God (for resurrection)? When the dead rise they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising - have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken'" (12:24-27).

Now it was the turn of the Pharisees again to test the Lamb of God, overjoyed at the discomfort of the Sadducees and that Jesus had apparently taken their side. Mark continues: "One of the Teachers of the Law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, `Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' `The most important one,' answered Jesus, `is this; Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these'" (12:28-31). The Pharisee was pleased with the answer, and graciously said so. In turn this brought further approval from Jesus towards this Teacher of the Law: "When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, `You are not far from the Kingdom of God.' And from then on no-one dared ask Him any more questions" (12:34).

The four days of testing had been completed - `and from then on no-one dared to ask Him any more questions'. He had been proved worthy as the Lamb of God. From this point on Jesus begins to take a more determined lead in the unfolding events. The time had come ; the path was clearly marked out . . and from that time on He would begin to take the initiative. Matthew records this: "While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, `What do YOU think about the Messiah? Whose Son is He?' `The Son of David,' they replied. He said to them, `How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him `Lord'? For He says:

"The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet. "
If David calls Him `Lord', how can He be his son?' No-one could say a word in reply, and from that day no-one dared to ask Him any more questions" (12:41-45). The testing of the Lamb was over and no defect had been found in Him!

He now continued to take the initiative, and it led straight into a denunciation of the Pharisees and the Sadducees for their part in the unfolding drama of the past three years and their rejection of Him as Messiah: "Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, `The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach! They tie up heavy loads (their Mishnaic teachings) and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them'" (23:1-4). Jesus then exposes their hypocrisy . . they must be seen to be doing good works . . they are full of self-righteous acts . . their teachings of the Mishnah are burdensome . . they seek titles of importance . . they take the best positions at feasts where they can be seen . . they use the ceremonies and the Law for their own glorification! "Woe to you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to" (23:13). Jesus continues His denunciation of the works and teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes: "Woe to you, blind guides . . woe to you, you hypocrites, you tithe worthless things but reject justice and mercy . . woe to you, you clean the outside of the cup with your religious ceremonies, but neglect the inside . . woe to you, whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside . . woe to you, descendants of them who killed the prophets" (Paraphrase 23:13-32). "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, 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" (23:37-39).

This same warning was given once before (Luke 13:35). At that time Jesus was travelling through Perea on His way to Jerusalem and He had been warned to leave the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. The warning had finished with the same words: "Look, your house has been left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'". That Messianic blessing was indeed heard when Jesus later entered Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover, as the crowds acknowledged Him as Messiah. Now here, some three months after that first warning was given, we find the same words being spoken. This time Jesus was looking ahead some two thousand years to a future generation of Jews to whom He will return as Messiah and King, and as He enters again into Jerusalem the cry will be heard: `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'! Jesus the Messiah will come, this time in fulfillment of the words spoken by the prophet Hosea: (Hosea 5:15-6:12)

"Then I will go back to My place (in heaven, because of their rejection)
until they admit their guilt. And they will seek My face; in their misery
they will earnestly seek Me (in the Day of Jacob's Trouble, at the end
of the age). `Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces,
but He will heal us; He has injured us, but He will bind up our wounds.
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us,
that we may live in His presence. Let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter
rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. "
We would finish this study with the last event of the public ministry of Jesus, just before His trial and crucifixion. Luke records it: "As He looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the Temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. `I tell you the truth,' He said, `this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on'" (21:1-2).

Jesus the Messiah had also given all He had in proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the nation of Israel - only to be rejected by that particular generation - and His Father had also heard the sound of the two very small copper coins, as His Son offered Himself to the nation of Israel . . all that He had . . Himself . . the tested and approved Lamb of God! And His joy will be complete when at last He hears the cry:

"Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like
the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. "

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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