I have felt God leading me to dig into the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, to compare the stories of Passion Week, the last week Jesus walked the earth as a man. As I studied these stories, I found twelve that are in at least three of them. A couple has only one story, and others have two.
As we prepare for Easter, I want to challenge you to do the same: Dig into all four gospels and find the buried treasure that God wants you to find! Trust me, it’s worth it!
I’m doing this as a series. To read the first ones, try “Palm Sunday,” “God’s Love Story pt2,” and “What is Easter?“ pt1.
Do you still hear the cries of “Hosanna!” from the crowd a couple of days ago? Jerusalem is in an uproar. There is excitement everywhere, but for one person, it is overshadowed by profound sadness. For the next few days, we will sit in the temple at the feet of Jesus as He completes His mission.
Jesus is coming into the city on a donkey. Palm branches are waving, and some are on the road under the donkey’s feet. He is making His way to the temple. Passover is coming, and the temple is busy now. There are stalls for the sheep and oxen, and a place for the doves that the poor can buy for their sacrifice because they can not afford a lamb.
The temple looked and felt like a marketplace rather than a place of worship. Because people needed to offer a sacrifice for their sins, they either brought one with them or bought one upon arriving at the temple. Along with the animals, tables are set up to exchange the money because the Roman coins cannot be used in the temple.
When Jesus arrived at the temple, he saw all the buying, selling, and exchanging going on, which made him angry. So he began overturning the money tables and throwing everyone out. Then, he quoted Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.
” It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves.” Mt.21:13
The next day, Jesus and His disciples returned to the temple, where Jesus continued to teach. The chief priests, scribes, and elders began asking questions on this day. The big questions they asked were where Jesus got His authority and who gave Him the authority to do what He was doing. They were referring to the way He rode into the city like royalty and then cleared the temple.
I love the way Jesus gave His answer! He told them that if they answered His question, He would give His. Then He asked them,
” Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
The leaders huddled together to try to find the answer. If they said it came from heaven, Jesus would ask why they didn’t believe him. If they answered from a human origin, the people would turn and possibly stone them, believing John to be a prophet.
Unwilling to answer either way, they tell Jesus, ” We don’t know.“ Then Jesus said to them,
” Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Mt 21:27
Jesus went on to teach and shared a parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard, prepared it, hired some farmers to work the land, and then went away.
When harvest time came, the owner sent his servants to collect the fruit. The farmers didn’t like that, so they beat them, killed some, and sent the ones they beat back empty-handed. One day, the landowner said they might respect my son, so he sent him to the farmers.
The farmers saw the son coming and said, “Here comes the heir; let’s kill him and take his inheritance.” And that is what they did; they killed the son. Then Jesus asked, “What happens to the farmers when the landowner comes? He will kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.” Jesus then quotes Ps 118:22-23 and tells the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to the people who produce fruit.
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is what the Lord has done
and it is wonderful in our eyes?”
Mt 21:42
Boy, did that cause a stir with the religious leaders when Jesus said that! They knew this parable was directed towards and about them. God is the landowner, the farmers are the religious leaders, the servants are the prophets, including John the Baptist, and the Son is Jesus.
There is so much to learn in this parable. The stone symbolized that the people of Israel would stumble over it, and a powerful kingdom that destroyed all others and would endure forever. (Isaiah 8:14-15,Daniel 2:44-45).
The religious leaders (farmers) did not kill Jesus (the son) so that they could have his inheritance; they didn’t care about that; they wanted to forcefully and finally reject Jesus as the Messiah and heir to David’s throne. The landowner returns to the vineyard, kills the farmers (the leaders), and then gives the land to those who will produce fruit (Gentiles… us!!).
We are still sitting in the temple with Jesus. The Pharisees and a new group of religious leaders, the Herodians, are behind the scenes, thinking of ways to catch Him in His teaching. They know He is truthful and teaches truthfully, but they believe they may have a new question that might get Him.
They ask Jesus, “What do you think, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Mt 22:17). Jesus knows their plan and asks for a coin. So they hand Him a Denarius, and He asks them, “Whose image is on this coin?” They answer, “Caesar,” then Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
Now, the leaders thought they had caught Jesus with this question. If Jesus had said it was lawful to pay taxes, the people would have turned against Him; but if Jesus had said it was unlawful, the Romans could have arrested Him for treason. Jesus defused the trap the leaders set for Him, but He gave the answer the people had been seeking concerning paying taxes.
Jesus approved the payment of taxes, but He said that coins ultimately belong to the one whose image is on the coin, implying that all a person is and has belongs to God because we are made in His image!
We are on day two of Passion Week. Jesus is continuing to teach, and the religious leaders are making plans to arrest Him. We have more to study and learn from Jesus, so meet me in the next post!
Are you enjoying reading my posts? You can show me some love with a coffee!!
Buy me a coffeehttps://www.biblehub.com/matthew/21-13.htm
https://www.biblehub.com/mark/11-33.htm
https://www.sandhollowbaptistchurch.com/may32020
