So many amazing events during Passion Week, I decided to break it up and write two posts this week. Even doing that, I only added some of the events. I’m excited to dig deeper. If you are too, grab your Bible and meet me in the temple at Jesus’s feet!
The link to read part one of the Amazing Events that Happened During Passion Week.
We have discussed the Pharisees extensively, but now another religious group has begun asking Jesus questions: the Sadducees. These leaders are wealthy, politically active, materialistic, and oppose the Pharisees and Jesus.
They believe that the Torah (the first five books of Moses) is the only Scripture. They deny the existence of angels and demons, life after death, and bodily resurrection.
After the Pharisees asked their question about taxes, the Sadducees asked one they hoped would trap Jesus. They wanted to know which of the seven husbands the wife would belong to in the resurrection. Because all married her, and there were no children from them.
Jesus tells them they do not know the Scripture or the power of God. Then tells them that in heaven, there will not be anyone married because we won’t need to procreate.
And that the afterlife will be very different from life on Earth.
He used Exodus 3:1-6 to answer their question about the resurrection. Because it was from the Scriptures they understood. Jesus refers to the dead patriarchs as if they were still living.
“Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living!” Matthew 22:31-32
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were long dead when God spoke to Moses, but God declared He was their God, not of the dead, but of the living! After Jesus gave this answer, the leaders dared not bait him anymore because He spoke the truth and made them look foolish.
We are still in the temple, and Jesus has a question for the Pharisees. He asks them, ” How can they say the Messiah is the Son of David? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:
‘The Lord declared to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Jesus asked this question not to challenge Scripture but to determine interpretation. The Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah predicted that He would be David’s descendant, but they didn’t understand or believe that He could also be God’s Son. Their answer that the Messiah was the Son of David is insufficient. They should answer that Jesus is the Messiah, fully God (the Lord) and fully human (the Son of David).
It is getting late in the day, so Jesus and the disciples leave the temple and walk to the Mount of Olives. As they travel up the mountain, they have a beautiful panoramic view of the city, including the temple and its buildings.
One of the disciples says, “Teacher, look at the massive stones and the beautiful adornments on the temple!” Jesus stopped and looked over and said,
” Do you see all these things?
Truly, I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
Matthew 23:2
This seemed unbelievable at the time because the temple was beautiful and had massive stones! They were made of white limestone, 37-60 feet long, 12 feet high, and 18 feet wide, and weighed about 400 lbs! Some of the stones had a gold overlay.
So, for the disciples, it was hard to imagine the temple being destroyed. But that would happen in 70 A.D. when the Romans, led by Titus, destroyed Jerusalem.
The disciples are now full of questions. So they ask Jesus when these things will happen and how they will know the signs of His return at the end of the age. They understood these events were separate but thought they would happen around the same time.
Jesus begins by telling them they would be persecuted and to watch for false teachers who would try to deceive them. Family and friends will also betray them. They will then be turned over to the synagogues to stand before kings and governors.
But when they are arrested, they will have the opportunity to bear witness against their adversaries, sharing words and wisdom that they cannot resist or contradict.
Jesus does not warn His followers so that they would seek safety, but so that they would endure faithfully.
The disciples asked what signs they should watch for, and Jesus told them this. After the tribulation, all the powers of heaven will be shaken, the sun will be darkened, the moon will shine no light, and the stars will fall from the sky.
” Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because your redemption is near.”
Luke 21:27-28
Jesus then shared another parable. The fig tree branches put out leaves in springtime, when you know summer is very close. When these signs begin happening, we will know that the kingdom of God is near.
So, friend, if we are true believers in Jesus, we should be encouraged as we see these signs, because the plan for our redemption is nearing its end and the advent of God’s Kingdom is near!
While Jesus and the disciples were away from the temple on the mountain, the chief priests, scribes, and elders were meeting together. They were trying to find ways they could arrest Jesus and kill Him without causing a riot among the people.
The high priest at the time, Caiaphas, prophesied that Jesus had to die and said to them,
“You know nothing at all! You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”
John 11:49-50
Passover is in two days. Everyone is heading to Jerusalem, and many are wondering if they will see Jesus and if He will perform any miracles. The religious leaders have given orders that if anyone knows where Jesus is, they are to report it so He can be arrested. Because of their plan, Jesus can no longer walk freely through the city.
Even though the religious leaders were afraid of the people if they arrested Jesus in the open, they were about to be given an opportunity they were looking for and could not pass up. One of Jesus’ disciples had just agreed to betray Him and took 30 pieces of silver.
The amazing events during Passion Week are drawing close to the final days with Jesus. I pray that you are sitting with Him and leaning in close as He shows us how much He loves us! We will have dinner with Him and then pray in the garden next.
Resources:
http://ccg.org/weblibs/study-papers/p136.html?cfet=y
