Jesus had so much to teach, preach, and demonstrate on Tuesday (See Tuesday of the Week of Christ’s Journey to the Cross), that I am having to split in two, so as not to present a gargantuan single post that some might find unwieldy.
In the first part of Tuesday, Jesus blasted the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the scribes, in a very lengthy but indisputable justification, for His authority to teach in the Temple. Peppered within Jesus’ diatribe were many reasons why His distractors were not.
Still Tuesday, and Christ turns both to His apostles, and to a crowd that had gathered to watch Him spar with His opponents. Jesus begins to illustrate the evil within the hearts of the Temple clergy:
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
“Everything they do is for show.” Mt. 23:2 – 5. NLT
“They love the place of distinction and honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [those on the platform near the scrolls of the Law, facing the congregation], and to be greeted [with respect] in the market places and public forums, and to have people call them Rabbi.” Mt. 23:6, 7. AMP
Then, Jesus instructs the crowd about a better way to be:
“But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers. Do not call anyone on earth [who guides you spiritually] your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” Mt. 23:8, 9. AMP
Again, the Son of God stresses the importance of remaining spiritually humble, by right application of the Spiritual title ‘Father’ and ‘Teacher’ to Jehovah and Jesus respectively.
Next, right in the middle of the Temple, Jesus seriously takes the Pharisees and scribes to task:
“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.” Mt. 23:13 AMP
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears [an oath] by the sanctuary of the temple, that is nothing (non-binding); but whoever swears [an oath] by the gold of the temple is obligated [as a debtor to fulfill his vow and keep his promise].’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that sanctified the gold?” Mt. 23:16, 17. AMP
Jesus is saying that the scribes and Pharisees have forfeited the kingdom of God because of their disobedience to His word. Worse, they hindered the congregants’ ability to obey God’s word because of the additional burdens that they placed upon them (e.g., false rituals and man-made Pharisaical rules.) Then He raked them over the coals for creating a false hierarchy of binding v. unbinding oaths. According to Jesus, (and He is the authority, being the voice of God), all oaths which invoke Jehovah are binding.
And He’s still not done! Jesus follows with a castigation for their practice of ‘cherry picking’ the fragments of Scripture that suited them:
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.” Mt. 23:23 NLT
Ultimately then, the scribes and Pharisees feign holiness on the outside, but are rotting from within from their malignant practice of pride.
Jesus then sums up their fate with a rhetorical question:
“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?” Mt. 23:33 CSB
And now, Jesus cuts the cord with them for eternity:
“Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!” Mt. 23:38 AMP
With that said, Jesus washes His hands of them and leaves the Temple – never to return.
Christ and the apostles begin the journey back to Bethany. Along the way, the apostles marvel over the architectural magnificence of the Temple. Jesus takes this opportunity to prophesy to His retinue:
“Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Mt. 24:2 NLT
Indeed, this would come to pass in 70 A.D., at the hands of the Roman army.
As they travel further, the apostles ask Him about signs they should be on the lookout for that would herald His return from heaven. He answers:
“Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.” Mt. 24:4, 5. NLT
“…false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will provide signs and wonders in order to deceive, if [such a thing were] possible, even the elect [those God has chosen for Himself]. But be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.” Mk. 13:22, 23. AMP
“You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].” Mt. 24:6 – 8. AMP
False Christs, major planetary destruction, world-wide warfare; yet this only signals the beginning of the trials and tribulations to come.
And followers of Christ will come under heavy persecution:
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.” Mt. 24:9 NLT
“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to bear witness. Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time, for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Lk. 21:12 – 15. CSB
“…say whatever is given to you [by God] in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit [who will speak through you].” Mk. 13:11 AMP
Jesus also relays to them that many believers will fall out of faith:
“At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.
“But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” Mt. 24:10 – 13. AMP
Finally, Jesus tells them when the end times begin:
“This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.” Mt. 24:14 AMP
Accompanying that will come an ugly turn of events:
“For at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again]. And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.” Mt. 24:21-22 AMP
God’s children can take comfort in knowing that this stage of madness will be brief, especially because Jehovah Himself wants to preserve His children for eternity. Jesus continues, by saying that when the tribulations are complete, the universe itself will be transformed:
“Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Mt. 24:29 CSB
And then, Christ comes!
“And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].” Mt.24:30 AMP
Why all this mourning? Because much of the world rejected Jesus – who He is, what He said, and what He did. Realizing Christ is the real deal, they will know that they have missed the boat to heaven.
The children of God will have a far different perspective:
“Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.” Lk. 21:28 AMP
But there is a caveat:
“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.” Mt. 24:36 AMP
“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Lk. 21:34 – 36. NLT
Everyone stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ. We must be in God’s will the best we can always. If we have a slip up, we confess and repent. To the children of God (sheep), we are rewarded with eternal life; and those who helped forward His kingdom, they will also be given gifts.
Those who clung to the ways of the world (goats), will be cast into eternal judgment. Not a good place to be:
“Then these [unbelieving people] will go away into eternal (unending) punishment, but those who are righteous and in right standing with God [will go, by His remarkable grace] into eternal (unending) life.” Mt. 25:46 AMP
You get to choose.
Goodnight and God bless.