Last time, we were exploring part of the events that occurred on the third day of Christ’s Holy Week, which was Tuesday (see Part 2).
In that space in time, 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 His diatribe are many reasons why His opponents do not.
Tuesday (cont.)
At this point, Christ turns to His apostles, and to the crowd that had gathered around this exchange, to illustrate the evil in the hearts of the Temple teachers. He begins:
“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. On their arms they wear extra wide boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra-long tassels.” Mt. 23:2 – 5. NLT
“And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’’ Mt. 23:6, 7. NLT
Jesus is calling the people to obey the Mosaic Law as taught by the Pharisees and scribes. However, they are not do as their teachers do, because they forsake the law and flaunt their supposed piety – to gain the admiration of the congregation, and to be able to take advantage of the special privileges afforded to one of a high station.
Then, He shows the crowd a different way of being:
“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you only have one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father.” Mt. 23:8, 9. NLT
Once again, the Son of God is stressing the importance of remaining spiritually humble – affording the title of spiritual ‘Father’ and ‘Teacher’ to God and Christ respectively, not to humans.
Then, Jesus really takes the Pharisees and the scribes to task – right in the middle of the Temple:
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.” Mt. 23:13 NLT
Jesus is saying that that the scribes and Pharisees have forfeited the kingdom of God by their disobedience to His word. Worse, they hinder the congregant’s ability to obey God’s laws, because of the additional burdens that they placed upon them, (i.e., false rituals and man-made Pharisaical rules).
(Just as Jannes and Jambres [the court magicians of Egypt] opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, unqualified and worthless [as teachers] in regard to the faith. But they will not get very far, for their meaningless nonsense and ignorance will become obvious to everyone… 2 Tim. 3:8, 9. AMP)
Next, He takes them to task for creating a hierarchy of false oaths:
“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear by the gold in the Temple. Blind fools! Which is more important – the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?” Mt. 23:16, 17. NLT
He then throws another verbal jab in their direction – castigating them for their selective obedience to God’s word:
“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, 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 the Pharisees feign holiness on the outside but are eaten up on the inside by the malignancy that is the practice of pride. Jesus then sums up their fate with a rhetorical question:
“Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” Mt. 23:33 NLT
And now, He cuts the cord with them, for all time:
“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, He has washed His hands of them and leaves the Temple – never to return…
Jesus and the apostles start their way back to Bethany. As they do, the apostles marvel over the architectural magnificence of the Temple. Christ prophesies:
“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
This would indeed come to pass in 70 A.D. at the hands of the Roman army.
Further along in their journey, they came to the Mount of Olives, where the apostles ask their Master about the signs that they should look for, that would herald His return. He replies:
“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
“Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them.” Lk. 21:8 CSB
“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!” Mk. 13:22, 23. NLT
“And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of birth pains, with more to come.” Mt. 24:6 – 8. NLT
Thus, before His second advent, the earth itself will suffer massive upheavals and destruction. Armies will clash with others all over the globe. Yet, these things only signal the beginning of the trials and tribulations to come.
Non-believers will also intensify their persecution of the followers of Christ:
“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 this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers.
“But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!” Lk. 21:12 – 15. NLT
“But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Mk. 13:11 NLT
Jesus continues, now talking about how many believers will fall out of faith:
“And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” Mt. 24:10 – 12. NLT
That is when we really must hold onto our love for Christ:
“But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” Mt. 24:13 AMP
Now, Jesus finally tells the apostles 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
And then, things get ugly:
“For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.” Mt. 24:21, 22. NLT
God’s children can take comfort in knowing that this stage of madness will be brief – especially because Jehovah Himself wants to preserve them.
Christ continues by saying that when this phase is complete, the universe itself will be transformed:
“Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Mt. 24:29 NLT (see also Is. 13:10 & 34:4; Joel 2:10)
Finally, Christ returns!
“And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Mt. 24:30 NLT
Why would much of the world mourn His return? Because most of them rejected who He is, and what He said and did. At this time, they will be faced with the fact that Jesus is the real deal, and that they have missed the bus to heaven.
However, God’s children will have a different perspective:
“So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near…know that the Kingdom of God is near.” Lk. 21:28 & 31. NLT
“And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world – from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” Mt. 24:31 NLT
You may have noticed that Jesus has yet to tell His apostles the exact time of His return. He addresses that now:
“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” Mt. 24:36 NLT
Thus, the urgency in being right with God as much as possible:
“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” Mt. 24:44 NLT
“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
Again, we want to be walking as godly as possible:
(And so dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. 2 Pt. 3:14)
In fact, at the time of judgment, Jesus metes out to His Father’s children (sheep), eternal life and other gifts that reflect the efforts of those who forwarded the His Kingdom. To those who chose worldly living over godly living, (goats), they are cast away into eternal judgment (Mt. 25:34 – 36 & 41); (see also 2 Thess. 1:5 – 10.):
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Mt. 25:46 NLT
And with that, we bring Holy Week Tuesday to a close…
Goodnight and God bless.