A WRETCHED EPIPHANY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”

“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.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus 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 marvelous 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. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

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.

Matthew 21:33-46

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was Tuesday of the last week of Jesus’ ministry. He had already caused quite a commotion, first arriving to the fanfare reserved for royalty on Sunday and then driving out the money changers and merchants in the Court of the Gentiles the following day.

It was the latter event that drew the attention of the religious leaders of the day. And so as Jesus came to the temple courts to teach on Tuesday, He found Himself not just in the company of people in Jerusalem who had come to hear what He had to say but also the chief priests, elders, and Pharisees who challenged Jesus about His authority to no avail before receiving two parables from Jesus, the second of which we find in today’s scripture passage. Look again at those words here:

 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”

“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.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus 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 marvelous 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. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

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.  Matthew 21:33-46

Now, before we go any further with this illustration used by Jesus, we need to connect people and objects in the parable to their intended meaning. These included:

The landowner = God

The vineyard = Israel

The fence and watchtower = represented God’s protection for His nation and its people

The winepress = God’s expectation of His people to bear fruit

Tenant farmers = The Jewish religious leaders

The servants = The prophets sent by God to His people

The son = Jesus

Other tenants = The Gentiles

So given this, let’s insert these intended meanings into the parable. Once we do, it would now read like this:

God planted the Israelites into the land He promised. He placed His protection on His people and expected them to bear fruit within the land He provided. He turned over some of the control of the land to Jewish religious leaders and expected them to take care of His land with the expectation that they would bear fruit for Him. And when the time came for God to receive the fruits of the Jewish Religious leaders’ labors, He sent His prophets to the them to collect.

The Jewish religious leaders seized the prophets, beating one, killing another, and stoning a third. God then sent more prophets the second time and the same fate fell upon them. Unwilling to give up, God then sent His Son Jesus believing that at least the Jewish religious leaders would respect and spare Him.

But that didn’t happen because when the Jewish religious leaders saw Jesus, they first conspired to kill Him before murdered Him with the hope of stealing His inheritance.

Well, not yet seeing that Jesus was really talking about them, we find the Jewish religious leaders believing that the tenants deserved to be destroyed and the land given to others who would bear fruit for the landowner and have it ready to present at harvest time.

In other words, they had proclaimed the sentence they deserved to receive.

Perhaps if they had only remembered the scriptures as they were supposed to, none of this would have had to happen. For we find Jesus reminding the Jewish religious leaders that God promised to send His Son as the “stone” that they (the builders) had rejected, the stone that would “become the cornerstone” or the main stone upon which any Christian would build the foundation of their faith.

Because the Jewish religious authorities had chosen to not respect and revere Jesus as the Son of God who had been given great authority from God the Father, God removed His kingdom from them with the express intent of giving it to other who would produce fruit, those others being the Gentiles.

Well, the scriptures tell us that all of a sudden, the “chief priests and the Pharisees” had an epiphany and knew that Jesus was “talking about them”. In other words, at that moment, they realized that they were the wretched, that they had just proclaimed their own death sentence through their reaction to the parable. It was truly a self fulfilling prophecy in every way.

So what did the chief priests and Pharisees do?

After all, they were at a critical moment, one where they could choose one of two responses, a moment that was a matter of life or death for them.

On one hand, they could have repented and submitted to Jesus’ authority, realizing who He truly was through the eyes of the parable: the very Son of God, the One in line to be God’s heir and the recipient of His inheritance.

They could have done this but they didn’t. Instead, they started to look for a way to have Jesus arrested with the intent of murdering Him. In other words, they were who Jesus said they were. They were just as wretched and wicked as the tenants within Jesus’ parable.

And as we will soon see, they accomplished what they chose to do, arresting Jesus with the help of a betrayer (Judas who we’ll look at tomorrow) and then murdering Him, facilitating an outcome that they could never have dreamed of, an outcome that will fulfill the promise of Jesus to give the Gentiles the same right and access to the kingdom of God as everyone else, an outcome that ushered in the opportunity for salvation for all mankind.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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MAKING A STAND

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts 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.’”

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.

When evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city.

Mark 11:15-19

When Jesus entered the temple courts, He began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Every day He was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill Him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on His words.

Luke 19:45-48 

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It was Monday, the day after Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey to great fanfare from people who proclaimed:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Before he returned to Bethany Sunday evening, Jesus did get a chance to see a little of what was going on within the city of Jerusalem. This included going in and seeing what was going on within the temple courts before heading to Bethany with His disciples for the evening (Mark 11:11). Note that Jesus didn’t take action Sunday because of the late hour but when He returned Monday, He had plenty of time to make a stand against all the improprieties He witnessed. Look at these words as we continue to look at the Gospel of Mark:

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts 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.’”

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.

When evening came, Jesus and His disciples went out of the city.  Mark 11:15-19

Before I go too much further, a quick note on how someone should go about properly studying the four New Testament Gospels.

It’s important to keep in mind that all four accounts of Jesus life were written by individuals distinct from one another. Thus, as you read through the Gospels, you will find each sharing what they witnessed in the way they remembered it. This is why you find different renderings of similar occurrences as you read what each Gospel writer wrote.

Given this, there’s a fancy word you will see used regarding Gospel bible study and that word is “synoptic”. Essentially, it means that one should study all accounts of a like event simultaneously as to fully understand everything that happened. This account of Jesus’ clearing the temple is just one of many examples where this form of study works well.

For example, if you only studied the clearing of the temple in Matthew, Luke, or John, you may think that Jesus rode into Jerusalem and got busy on Palm Sunday evicting the money changers and animal merchants from the temple courts but that’s not the way things happened. You see, without looking at Mark’s account, you wouldn’t know that Jesus actually left Jerusalem Sunday evening and then returned Monday to do what He saw needed done on Sunday.

What did He see that needed changing?

Well, we can figure it out through the actions He took which included “driving out those who were buying and selling there”, overturning “the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves”, and forbidding people from carrying “merchandise through the temple courts.”

What was the issue here? What caused Jesus to make such a scene when He had just arrived in Jerusalem to fanfare typically reserved for royalty?

Well, first we need to understand that the area where all this took place was the Court of the Gentiles, a court on the outer reaches of God’s temple and the only place where Gentile believers were allowed to come to worship and pray to God. It was supposed to be a place of sanctity, a quiet place of holiness and reflection and reverence.

But what Jesus witnessed was nothing like this. For when He went into the Court of the Gentiles, He didn’t see a sacred place of worship and prayer but rather a noisy marketplace environment where the following three things were taking place:

1. The selling of sacrificial animals.

Our look at the Gospel of Mark would lead us to believe that only doves were being sold but a synoptic study of this account would allow us to know that there were also cattle and sheep present if we look at the Gospel of John (John 2:14). Many people who came to Jerusalem for Passover would need to purchase proper sacrificial animals required for an offering to God in the temple. Those animals were being sold within the Court of the Gentiles and through His tirade, Jesus showed everyone He didn’t like it one bit. More as to why in a minute but let’s look at the other two things that were going on.

2. Currency conversion.

If you’ve ever traveled to another country, then you have went through the process of exchanging currency, trading the money you would normally use in your nation to the money used in the nation you are traveling to. For example, if someone were traveling from the United States to England, they would need to exchange their dollars for pounds so to be able to purchase things once they arrived at their destination.

In regard to the matter in Jerusalem, we know many people were in the city for the Passover and thus many people needed to convert their money to the local currency, particularly when it came to paying the required temple tax. The money changers had set up their tables in the Court of the Gentiles in order conduct the currency exchanges, one other thing that set Jesus off.

3. Those just passing through.

One could cut across the Court of the Gentiles to pass from the city of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives and so Jesus saw people just passing through, carrying their merchandise through the temple courts. And so He stopped it cold. People would no longer be able to just cut through a place that was supposed to be set aside for worship and prayer. They would have to find another route to walk.

As you have probably figured out by now, Jesus was making a stand for His Father and those who had the right to worship Him in the proper, reverent environment. He even quotes words drawn from a couple of scripture passages from the Old Testament to back up His actions:

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant—these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:6-7

“Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 7:11

The first passage was meant to remind the people that God had desired for His temple to be a place where any person, even the non-Jew, could come and bring Him proper worship, a “house of prayer for all nations”. That obviously wasn’t happening with the Court of the Gentiles being converted into an open place of commerce.

But what did Jesus mean by going back to Jeremiah and accusing the merchants in the Court of the Gentiles of turning an intended holy place into a “den of robbers”?

There are two reasons He drew from these words.

The first reason had to do with the illicit business practices of the money changers. It was pretty common knowledge that the currency exchanges were rigged to bring maximum profit for the money changers and thus they were profiting largely off of people who wanted to properly pay the temple tribute money. In other words, the money changers were essentially robbing people of their hard earned money and their deceptive practices were why Jesus accused them of establishing a “den of robbers”.

The second reason is less tangible and more spiritual in nature. For the marketplace environment was robbing people from bringing their worship and prayers to God and so in a way, those actively involved in the money exchanging and selling of animals were robbing God’s people from a worship practice He had promised.

And so Jesus made a stand and drove out everyone after fashioning a whip out of cords (something you only learn from John’s account (John 2:15). He cleared the Court of the Gentiles to restore its sacredness and provide a place for the Gentiles to worship the God of Israel.

Obviously, this didn’t sit well with the Jewish religious authorities who caught wind of what Jesus had done. These Jewish leaders, which included the “chief priests” and the “teachers of the law”, decided it was time to eliminate this man named Jesus, once and for all. And so the scriptures tell us they “began looking for a way to kill Him” out of fear because He had gained crowds of followers who were “amazed at His teaching.” These religious leaders will challenge Jesus as we see in tomorrow’s devotion but as for Jesus, He chose to go out of Jerusalem with His disciples as evening fell after an action-packed Monday, a Monday when He chose to make a stand.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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A TEMPORARY CELEBRATION

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:1-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Starting today, I am taking a break from our study of Zechariah to cover what is known as Passion Week, the week beginning with Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ glorious resurrection. I pray the messages will be a blessing for you as you walk along with Jesus through His final week of earthly ministry.

You’ll recall that yesterday, we looked at these words of prophecy from Zechariah that foretold the events of what has been referred to as Jesus’ Triumphal Entry:

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

Note that this prediction doesn’t attach a time to when it will happen. It just assures the Israelites that it will happen and as we now turn to the 21st chapter of Matthew, we find the long awaited time had indeed come, the time for Israel’s new King, the King of all kings, to come and bless God’s people. Let’s look again at these words detailing Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus was traveling with His disciples and others from the east toward Jerusalem. Six days before the Passover, Jesus had already traveled through Bethany where he visited with His beloved friend Lazarus and his daughters, Martha and Mary.

Note: The Passover was observed by Jesus and His disciples on Thursday of the Passion Week which would place His visit with Lazarus and family the Friday before the Triumphal Entry.

Having left Bethany behind, Jesus came to Bethphage which the scriptures tell us was on the Mount of Olives, an elevated area which offered a spectacular view of Jerusalem as one stood on the mount and looked out across the Kidron Valley. Of interest, the village of Bethphage is never mentioned in the Old Testament and is only mentioned in this account within the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

God’s word from Matthew tells us that Jesus had sent two disciples ahead to secure two donkeys for Him, one being a colt on which Jesus would ride into Jerusalem. The other was the colt’s mother who is assumed to have traveled behind Jesus as female donkeys would often follow closely behind their young. As we already know from the prophecy in Zechariah, the colt was of critical importance in order for the foretelling to happen just as God said it would.    

And so “the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them” and “brought the donkey and the colt, placing “their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on”. The disciples weren’t the only ones present because the scriptures tell us that a “very large crowd” had also gathered, some spreading their cloaks on the road before Jesus while others cut branches from the trees and paved the road with them.  

The crowds then went ahead of Jesus, shouting the following words of praise as He moved toward Jerusalem:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

It was quite a procession, one typically reserved to honor royalty, and we read where it had an impact on Israel’s holy city as all the people within were stirred as they wondered who was coming with such fanfare. Sadly, even the crowds did not truly know who Jesus was, proclaiming Him as merely being a “prophet from Nazareth in Galilee”.

If they had only recognized that He was the Messiah who had been prophesied over and over again by the prophets, one who was coming to save the Israelites for good.

If only the people in Jerusalem who waved palm branches and cried Hosanna, really knew that this man riding in was God’s one and only Son who had come to save them.

If only the people had recognized Jesus as the Savior of all, the Lamb of God announced by John the Baptist who had come to take away the sins of the world?

If only they knew, then this wonderful celebration on Palm Sunday would have sustained and endured.

But that’s not what happened. Because many of the people who were shouting, “Hosanna!”, on Palm Sunday would be yelling, “Crucify Him!”, in just a few days. The celebration we read of on Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus, was only temporary. For as we will see tomorrow, Jesus didn’t take long to start to set things straight in Jerusalem as He went about His Father’s business and set course for the cross.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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