Matthew 21:18-32

One item struck me anew this morning. In the morning, as He was returning to the city, He became hungry. (v. 18) It’s a small matter, I know, but with Jesus and his disciples staying evenings in Bethany this Holy Week, did Martha and Mary not offer them breakfast before they left for the day? I know, not an earth-shattering discovery…!!

The two sons… Neither had the perfect response. The first son relented, but did he repent? Was it guilt that sent him to the vineyard or a real recognition that he had wronged his father? And what was his continuing attitude while he was in the vineyard working – grumpy at having to be there or happy that he was helping his father? So, a mixed response for this first son. But the second son – clearly a problem! Nothing more to say on that one. But my further reflection is on the father. In the end he sees he must be happy to see his first son engaging in the work, but he probably feels some anger or disappointment at the second son not going out.

Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and elders when he spoke this parable, but He could just as easily be speaking to us. What has Jesus asked us to do and how have we responded? There are two other responses that Jesus did not mention in this parable, yes-yes and no-no. Forgetting the no-no, Jesus would surely like to see our yes-yes! But what is His reaction to a no-yes? I think the key is in our response – do we do His work because we relent or because we repent? If we’re just doing His work because “we have to” (we relent), I doubt that He rejoices over our work. But I daresay that His response to a repentant no-yes is every bit as joyful to Him as a yes-yes. But save yourself the trouble. If He asks something of you, speak Isaiah’s words: “Here I am, Lord, send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)

See also: September 3 / Matt. 21:18-22; September 5 / Matt. 21:23-32

Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:12-19, and Luke 19:45-48

Yesterday’s pictorial image was well received, so here’s another – a close-up of the Temple. The Chronological Study Bible indicates that the full Temple was 500 yards long and 325 yards wide. Inside that larger Temple was another structure measuring 150 yards by 100 yards. To the lower right of the picture below the artists show a size comparison with a football field which measures 100 yards long by 53 feet wide. Inside this larger Temple area there are four courts. #1 below is the “Holy of Holies” which only the High Priest can enter; #3 is the Priests Court (or the Court of Israel) which only Jewish men can enter; #9 is the Court of Women which any Jews could enter; finally the largest area is the Court of the Gentiles, open to people of all races and creeds. This is the area where Jesus “attacked”, where merchants were selling sacrificial animals and changing money.

The Temple faces east; as I noted yesterday, the direction Jesus would go in the evening as He lodged in Bethany. The picture below has a label, “Solomon’s Portico (Eastern)”. Solomon’s Portico is a covered area that actually extends around the entire outer perimeter of the Court of the Gentiles. It is likely that Jesus did much of His teaching in these areas.

Enjoy!

See also: August 31 / Matt. 21:12-17; September 1 / Mark 11:12-19; September 2 / Luke 19:45-48

Luke 19:28-44

The Pharisees have long had problems with Jesus, but their complaint in verse 39 is too much: And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” The crowd is not in the Temple region or in a closed environment; they are gathered out in the open air, on a well-traveled road, part of a procession heading toward Jerusalem. How could the Pharisees have a problem with that, except for the jealousy they must have felt at Jesus receiving all this honor? So sad…

I think it’s helpful to see Holy Week locations on a map to get a better picture of Jesus’ travels. Imbedded below is a very good map that highlights the Temple, including the road that leads up to the East Gate, a common entry point for people coming from the east. You can see the Kidron Valley to the east, separating Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane is at the tee where the road splits, the south road leading to Bethpage and Bethany. It is likely this road that Jesus traveled on Palm Sunday as He headed toward the temple. He would also be traveling this road each evening of Holy Week, most probably staying in Bethany with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus – roughly a two-mile journey from the Temple. The map is drawn in a light relief fashion, giving some idea of the topography that Jesus would have traveled during Holy Week. The traditional location for Golgotha is also shown, just off the road leading west of the city. Other locations on the map that are also named in the Gospels include the Pool of Siloam, the Pool of Bethsaida, Solomon’s Porch, and the Pinnacle of the Temple.

Blessings!

See also: August 29 / Luke 19:28-44

Matthew 21:1-11 and Mark 11:1-11

Did you ever finally come to a realization of something that was totally obvious? This whole Palm Sunday scenario… My Study Bible pointed out that with Jesus’ actions in both Matthew and Mark Jesus is being Messianic Himself. He knows that His time has come and He knows that His end will come in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders have been hounding Him for these many months/years, challenging Him with their Messianic tests. So finally this “Palm Sunday” Jesus Himself begins to proclaim His Messiahship by fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy when He sends His disciples on a “bring the donkey” mission: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) Jesus is offering the Jewish leaders His own visible claim to Messiahship, giving them their opportunity to take action against Him. That’s what this Palm Sunday procession is really about. This realization for me, hiding in plain sight…!!

See also: August 27 / Matt. 21:1-11; August 28 / Mark 11:1-11

John 12:1-19

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him. (v. 16) During Jesus’ Last Supper discourse He tells His disciples about the Holy Spirit and that the Father will send the Holy Spirit to the disciples: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26) Here is one instance of that promise being fulfilled.

There are about a dozen items in that Last Supper discourse of Jesus explaining the Holy Spirit (John 14-16). Two years ago for Creative Arts Camp Kelly had asked me to speak on the Holy Spirit from those three chapters. I compiled the following list of Holy Spirit attributes and activities that Jesus mentions in those three chapters:

1. He abides with and in the disciples. (14:17)
2. The “world” cannot see Him or know Him. (14:17)
3. He will teach you, He will remind you (14:26)
4. The Helper proceeds from the Father. (15:26)
5. He is the Spirit of truth. (15:26)
6. He will testify about Jesus. (15:26) In and to our hearts…!
7. He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (16:8)
8. More specifically for the disciples (16:13-14)
   1. He will guide the disciples into all the truth.
   2. He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak.
   3. He will disclose to the disciples what is to come.
   4. He will glorify Jesus.
   5. He will take of Mine (My words) and will disclose it to you.

Later on I pondered those promises and sought to see instances in my life where the Holy Spirit had been active. It’s an excellent exercise – I’d encourage you to do the same!

See also: August 26 / John 12:1-11; August 30 / John 12:12-19

Luke 19:1-27

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (v. 8) I was thinking of Zacchaeus in contrast to the incident of Jesus and the earlier young man, the “rich, young ruler”. Zacchaeus and the young man were both wealthy. Jesus had told the young man to go and sell all that he had and follow Him – and the young man went away dispirited. But Zacchaeus offers to give away half of what he has and the Lord honors him. So giving away half – good for Zacchaeus! Giving away all, not so good for the young man.

I think Jesus saw something in these two personalities. Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus – and not asking for anything more; the young man was seeking eternal life – a reward to be obtained. Jesus asked something of each of them – from Zacchaeus He didn’t ask much, from the young man He asked a lot. Jesus has full liberty to ask whatever He will. There is no expectation that He will ask the same from each of us. From those who have little, He may ask a little or a lot. Likewise, from those who have much He may ask a little or a lot. But whatever we do have, He wants it to be used for His Kingdom, not squirrelled away in a handkerchief.

See also: August 24 / Luke 19:1-10; August 25 / Luke 19:10-27

Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, and Luke 18:35-43

And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Luke 18:43b) Two years ago we read these three passages on three consecutive days, and on the second day, Mark’s version, I commented on the crowd’s reaction to Bartimaeus begging Jesus to be healed. See the second link below. What I had not seen back then was the third day, Luke’s version, where the crowd had a third reaction beyond rebuke and encouragement – that they gave praise to God when they saw Bartimaeus healed. Their reaction is a bit short of the blind man (men?) immediately following Jesus, but nonetheless is a really positive response.

They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” (Matthew 20:33) In addition to “Your will be done”, maybe this quotation from the two blind men should be an additional part of our prayer response to decisions that need to be made. Yes, we want what God wants, but it’s more helpful for our faith if we can see His preferred outcome from His perspective. And even though we may not see His perspective at decision time, we need to continue to watch His outcome unfolding so that our eyes can be opened to His work. For example, let’s look at our last two U.S. presidential elections. Do we really believe Romans 13:1? Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Christians are divided between Trump and Biden support. Those who support Biden need to look backward from Trump’s victory in 2016 and his four years in office to see God’s will unfolding during that time. Likewise, Trump supporters need to look forward from Biden’s 2020 victory to see where God’s hand is on his administration. Neither side agrees with everything that their preferred “leader” has done or will do, but in the end God sees and allows both good and evil, and it’s His call, not ours, to mourn or to rejoice. Lord, let our eyes be opened.

See also: August 21 / Matt. 20:29-34; August 22 / Mark 10:46-52; August 23 / Luke 18:35-42

Matthew 20:17-28, Mark 10:32-45, and Luke 18:31-34

We have some chronological problems with today’s setting. From yesterday’s reading, John 11:54 puts Jesus in a city called Ephraim; scholars put that city some 15 miles north or northwest from Jerusalem. So what is the mother of James and John doing this far south from Capernaum (some 50-60 miles): Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Him with her sons… (Matthew 20:20a) But let’s put that verse together with Mark 10:32, And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. The key phrase here is “those who followed”. I presume that Jesus and His disciples had joined a group from Galilee that was going to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover celebration. James and John found their mother in that group and the story unfolds. Reading between the lines…!

I just returned from taking some table scraps to our chickens. It’s always interesting to watch them fighting over the best of the scraps – choosing the cut-up strawberries over the lettuce pieces. And no matter what I give them every morning they try to be first in line and are fighting over table scraps or feeder pellets or cracked corn. So this morning, having read today’s readings, I saw the chickens with names James and John, fighting over those table scraps. Now we know and they knew that it was not table scraps they were seeking, but the glory that would be Jesus in His Kingdom. But still, they wanted to be first and they wanted the best seats.

And I wondered about our choosing the best seats – but I just don’t see it in our congregation. Avanza ended this past week and even through the pandemic Kelly and Abigail and a dozen or more parishioners and outsiders were serving (and loving!) these Hispanic kids. I see a staff that rarely complains about what they are asked to do. I see people stepping up whenever there is some particular need. You can always find a dozen or more people helping to clean up after a potluck. (I trust you can remember potlucks, pre-pandemic!) But still, in our own lives, are we seeking the best seats? Again, wanting to be recognized for what we do…? But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be servant of all. (vv. 43b-44)

See also: August 18 / Matt. 20:17-28; August 19 / Mark 10:32-45; August 20 / Luke 18:31-34

John 11:38-57

Many of the Jews therefore … believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (vv. 45a,46) In my posts two days ago my comments from 2019 had included a discussion of who “the Jews” were. All along I’ve suggested that when John refers to “the Jews” he is speaking of the Jewish leaders, not the overall Jewish population. In the case of Lazarus, these Jews could have been local Jewish leaders in Bethany (Lazarus’ home), but they could also have included Jewish leaders from Jerusalem and even some of those more active in the temple worship.

Either way, some of these Jews returned to Jerusalem to tell the Pharisee leaders of this miracle – and I’m wondering, for some of them, at the extent of their new belief in Jesus. Some of them, especially those from Jerusalem, would probably have remained skeptical – though I can’t imagine how! But others, especially those from Bethany could have been overtaken by this latest miracle and asked the Pharisees genuinely if this Jesus could be the Messiah? So there could have been a healthy discussion about Jesus – until Caiaphas interrupted with his proclamation and death sentence. Then any of those Jewish leaders who may have been prone to believe in Jesus would have been shouted down! But my sense is that those new “believers” would have been strengthened in their faith. That is, if these “lesser” Jewish leaders had been shut down for what they were now believing, my sense is that human nature would lead them to be more firm in their belief, that their resolve would have been strengthened, that they would have gone back to Bethany, met up with Lazarus and his family and become active believers. Or is my natural optimism misguided?

See also: August 16 / John 11:38-44; August 17 / John 11:45-57