Luke 22:47-23:25

47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
49 When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him."
57 But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said.
58 A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them."
"Man, I am not!" Peter replied.
59 About an hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean."
60 Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 "If you are the Messiah," they said, "tell us."
Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"
He replied, "You say that I am."
71 Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips."
23: 1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king."
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"You have said so," Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man."
5 But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."
6 On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.
16-17 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him."
18 With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
22 For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.


Points of Interest:

• ‘are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’—that’s a level of hypocrisy and betrayal that Jesus can’t allow Judas to stoop to.

• ‘touched the man's ear and healed him’—Jesus shows that he really is a child of God. He shows mercy even to the people who are trying to kill him.
But love your enemies, do good to them . . . Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your father is merciful (6:35-36).

• ‘But this is your hour—when darkness reigns’—it’s usually the criminals that work at night or in secret. Jesus is being arrested for things he’s been doing in the middle of the day, in front of huge crowds. It’s the so-called authorities who are hiding their actions under cover of darkness.

• ‘Peter followed at a distance’—Peter has just sworn that he will follow Jesus to prison and death. In the book of Acts, Peter does indeed follow Jesus to prison (Acts 4:3, for example); and church tradition tells us that he eventually follows Jesus to execution, perhaps even on a cross (quite possibly during the persecutions under Nero, mentioned in Wednesday’s passage). Right now, though, the best he can muster is following at a distance—and he doesn’t even sustain that for very long.

• ‘The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter’—Jesus knew this would happen. But there’s room for encouragement in this sobering story. Jesus predicted that Peter would betray him; but he also predicted that Peter would repent, that he would strengthen his companions, that he would eat with Jesus in his kingdom, and that he would share in ruling that kingdom.

• ‘Prophesy! Who hit you?’—they think they’re being clever, but they’re actually in the middle of fulfilling prophecies he has already given: ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law’ (9:22); and, ‘They will mock him, insult him, and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him’ (18:32-33).

• ‘At daybreak’—now that day has come, they can hold a formal trial. Of course, the outcome of the trial is a foregone conclusion.

• ‘the council of the elders of the people’—the council was sort of like a combination of Congress and the Supreme Court; its members were the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. The Roman government gave them a wide degree of authority in all kinds of internal Jewish affairs.

• ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer’—Jesus doesn’t like the idea of answering their question when they don’t really want to know the answer.

• ‘the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God’—Jesus is referring again to the Messianic prophecy from Daniel 7:13-14. It’s a concise, poetic way of saying, ‘Yes, I am the Messiah. Now that I’ve told you, you will kill me; but killing me will only end up leading to my exaltation and the establishment of my kingdom. You’re going to end up bringing about the very thing you are resisting.’ They might not catch all of it, but they understand enough to respond, ‘So, you’re saying you’re the Son of God, then?’

• ‘You say that I am’—basically, ‘See, you figured it out for yourself.’

• ‘led him off to Pilate’—Pilate is the Roman governor. The council needs his approval to apply the death sentence.

• ‘opposes payment of taxes to Caesar’—their real reason for killing Jesus is jealousy. Their formal charge is blasphemy (according to them, he’s claiming to be God when he is not). Neither of these reasons would be of any interest to the Romans; so the council beefs up the charges a bit—with an outright lie.

• ‘claims to be Messiah, a king’—they also frame him as a rebel leader setting up an alternative to Roman rule. That’s another charge that Pilate would have to take seriously.

• ‘I find no basis for a charge’—upon further examination, Pilate determines that Jesus is not a significant political threat.
Luke is stressing the lack of legitimate charges against Jesus to clearly establish that Jesus is not a common criminal. For Luke’s readers, it would be quite scandalous that Jesus was crucified; it’s a form of death reserved for the lowest of the low. Luke is therefore careful to demonstrate that the sentence is completely undeserved.
This doesn’t absolve Pilate of responsibility. Rather the opposite, Pilate is all the more guilty because he knowingly sends an innocent man to death because he’s afraid to let him go.

• ‘he sent him to Herod’—Herod is probably in town for the feast. As a Galilean, Jesus is technically Herod’s citizen. But since the charges have to do with actions in Judea, Pilate has the right to try Jesus (IVP Bible Background Commentary 253); he’s just trying to pass off a difficult case.

• ‘Jesus gave him no answer’—Herod reminds me of something Jesus said earlier: ‘This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah’ (11:29). Herod is asking for a miracle, but for entertainment purposes only. If he were truly concerned about the kingdom of God, he would have listened to John’s call to repent (the sign of Jonah); but instead of receiving John, he killed him. So, Jesus has nothing to say to him.

• ‘I will punish him and then release him’—Pilate suggests that they just send Jesus away with a stiff warning, but the mob that has been gathered by the chief priests and other leaders won’t be placated so easily.

• ‘for an insurrection in the city, and for murder’—they pretend to arrest Jesus out of concern that he will lead an insurrection, but they lobby for a real insurrectionist and murderer—basically, an anti-Roman terrorist—to be let go.

• ‘their shouts prevailed’—they accuse Jesus of stirring up the crowds, but it’s they who have started a riot.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Do you feel as if you’ve failed God in some significant way? Ask God for forgiveness. If Jesus’ treatment of Peter is any indication, he’s more than willing to give you another chance. God is rooting for you to succeed.

• For your friends: Jesus healed the ear of one of the people who came to arrest him and kill him. Particularly if any of your friends have been hostile to Jesus, pray that he would draw them to himself by showing them kindness in a way that they know is from him.

• For our city: Pray for the justice system in our city. Ask God that justice would be done. Pray that corruption would be unearthed, and that the innocent would not be punished but protected.

Luke 22:14-46

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!" 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they answered.
36 He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."
38 The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he replied.
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Points of Interest:

• ‘I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God’—this is a goodbye meal. Like the nobleman from the story in chapter 19, Jesus is going away for a while to take possession of his kingdom. They will someday all celebrate this feast together again. It will be a double celebration: the celebration of the Passover, and the celebration of their new kingdom.

• ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’—For the centerpiece of this Passover meal, Jesus replaces the usual lamb with the bread and wine, the symbols of his own body and blood. He is establishing a new tradition, with a new sacrificial lamb: himself. The Passover lamb was a symbol of God’s protection of his people from death, his rescue of them from captivity, and his guidance of them to a new land. The bread and wine commemorate a new but similar relationship between Jesus and his followers; the bread and wine symbolize salvation from death, rescue from sin, and the coming of a new kingdom.

• ‘as it has been decreed’—numerous Psalms speak of the Messiah being betrayed by a friend. Psalm 41:9 is a good example:
Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread
has lifted up his heel against me.

• ‘those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors’—benefactor means, ‘helper,’ or, ‘sponsor.’ It comes from the Latin, ‘to do well.’ Basically, these worldly leaders call themselves servants, but really they’re all about telling other people what to do.

• ‘But I am among you as one who serves’—Jesus suggests that there are better ways to be great than arguing about it; sensibly enough, he suggests that they watch the one who is greatest—him—and imitate what they see.

• ‘so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones’—this sounds like two different stories Jesus has recently told: the man throwing the big party, and the nobleman who goes away to get royal authority. Jesus’ kingdom will be the best party ever, and it will also be real work. Jesus wants to share both his fun and his authority with his followers; they will be guests at his party, but also deputies ruling in his kingdom.

• ‘Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat’—having had success with Judas, Satan turns his attention on the rest of the disciples as well. Satan offers, ‘Let me help you test your follower’s faith,’ but Jesus knows that Satan’s goal is not to refine them, but to destroy them.

• ‘when you have turned back’—there will be a time when Peter’s faith will fail under Satan’s temptations and accusations. But that won’t be the end. He can repent: that is, recalibrate himself toward Jesus again. When he does, he’ll find that he not only has enough strength to follow Jesus himself but to lead others toward him as well.

• ‘did you lack anything?’—it’s important that they remember that Jesus was able to provide for them even when it looked like they had nothing.

• ‘But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag’—I think Jesus is saying here that there’s a moment—the few days when he is in the grave—when they will be in danger but he will be unable to help. It later becomes clear that he is not recommending that they literally defend themselves with swords: two swords wouldn’t do much good anyway, and when they do try to use them (in tomorrow’s passage) he tells them to put them away. I think Jesus is speaking hyperbolically here to get across the message that they will soon be considered the fugitive followers of a criminal.

• ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation’—the chances that they will cave to temptation are very high. Jesus is praying that their faith will not fail under Satan’s attack, and he encourages them to pray the same.

• ‘take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’—having advised his followers to pray against temptation, he follows his own advice. Jesus is fighting in this prayer against the temptation to try to save his life. If he were to fall to this temptation, it would be devastating, not just for everyone else whom he would save by his sacrifice, but for him: ‘whoever wants to save their life will lose it’ (9:24). Even Jesus is in danger of losing his life. Even he is tempted to desperately grab at life in these final moments; if he does, he’ll—temporarily—save his earthly life, but he’ll lose heavenly life. Jesus doesn’t rely on his own strength to face this last and strongest of the devil’s temptations. He asks the Father to supply him with the strength he needs.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Consider attending a Holy Thursday service today, to remember Jesus with the bread and the wine. Or, celebrate the last supper with your family or household by reading this passage together and sharing bread and wine.

• For your friends: Pray that Jesus would protect your friends from the devil’s plans for their destruction. Ask God to unmask the work of Satan’s lies, accusations, and temptations in their lives.

• For our city: Pray for a proliferation of true greatness in our city. Pray that we would have many great servants in our city, and that God would equip and reward those servants for their service.

Luke 21:5-38

5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."
7 "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."
10 Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12 "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 "Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
1 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.


Points of Interest:

• ‘how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones’—Herod the Great (the father of the Herod from our story) tried to buy popularity with the Jews by spending tremendous amounts of money on a very lavish renovation of the Temple. Rich Jews from around the world contributed to the project as well. So, it’ not a big surprise that the disciples would do a little gawking—the Temple is a world-renowned architectural wonder, like St. Peter’s Basilica or the Taj Mahal. They seem to miss Jesus’ point from yesterday’s passage, though: the important thing is not the amount of money given, but the amount of faith shown.

• ‘not one stone will be left on another’—even the Temple, the house of God, is just worldly wealth to Jesus: it will fail; it will wear out; it can be stolen or destroyed. In fact, the destruction of the Temple is not just a theoretical possibility. Jesus specifically foresees it in the not too distant future.
This prediction also reminds me of Psalm 118: ‘The stone the builders rejected/has become the cornerstone' (quoted in Monday’s passage). There’s only one way to have a new cornerstone: by building a new building. You can’t just add a new cornerstone to an old building. God will dismantle his old home—the Temple—and build a new one, with Jesus as the foundation.

• ‘when will these things happen?’—in what follows, we’ll read a lot of things that sound quite cataclysmic, but the cataclysm that’s being talked about is local. ‘These things’ is the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. For Jesus’ listeners, the destruction of the Temple would be simultaneously geographically limited and almost incomprehensibly significant, like Washington, D.C., or Manhattan all of a sudden ceasing to exist.

• ‘what will be the sign’—a sign is something that comes just before the thing it’s pointing to. For example, a freeway exit sign comes just before the exit itself, so that you know that it’s coming and are able to make the exit. The disciples want to know what comes just before the destruction of the temple, so that they have a chance to escape just before it happens.

• ‘the end will not come right away’—it will take longer than they might think. In particular, the disciples will be tempted to listen to rumors that Jesus has returned. As Jesus said before, they’ll know it when he’s returned (17:24).

• ‘fearful events and great signs’—many of the things that are typically thought of as signs of terrible events—wars, earthquakes, natural disasters, epidemics, strange things happening in the stars—will happen, but they aren’t the signs they need to be concerned about.

• ‘they will lay hands on you’—up until this point, they won’t need to worry about the Temple. For a while, the Temple will be fine: they themselves, however, will face a considerable amount of trouble. These stories of being thrown in prison and of testifying in front of governors are much of what Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts, is all about. Almost from the beginning, Jesus’ followers would be in and out of prison at the hands of the chief priests; and they would face their first major persecution from the Romans during the reign of Nero, just a few years before the war between the Romans and the Jews and the eventual destruction of the Temple.

• ‘Stand firm, and you will win life’—as long as they trust Jesus to guide them and give them the words to say, they’ll be in absolutely no real danger. The danger is not that they will be harmed, but that they will fall prey to fear or worry. If they succumb to worry, they may try to save their life, and lose it; but if they lose their life for Jesus’ sake, they’ll win it (9:24). It will be difficult to wait. It will look like they are on their way to death. But, if they stay the course, it will turn out very well.

• ‘When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies’—back to Jerusalem’s destruction. The sign of the Temple’s doom is obvious enough: Jerusalem being surrounded by an enemy army. Once that happens, people should leave immediately; there’s enough time to escape, but just enough. Jesus recommends that everyone run away from the city and into the hills, advice which goes against instinct; in times of trouble, people would usually run toward the city to get behind the safety of the walls. In this particular case, whoever ignored Jesus’ advice would end up trapped by the Roman siege, from which absolutely no one would escape (IVP Bible Background Commentary 248).

• ‘Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles’—many of Jesus’ contemporaries thought that because Jerusalem was the home of the Temple, God would never let it be destroyed. This confidence was somewhat foolish, seeing as God had already shown in the past that he was indeed willing to allow his own house to be destroyed if that’s what it took to get the attention of his people; about 600 years before Jesus, Jerusalem was conquered and the Temple destroyed by the Babylonians. In AD 70, the Temple would be destroyed again by the Romans. The Jewish overconfidence in the inviolability of Jerusalem proceeded partly from an overvaluation of the importance of the Temple. The Temple was never as important to God as it was to the people of Jerusalem. It wasn’t even his idea; it was David’s (I Chronicles 17). God accepted the Temple and chose to bless the place with his presence, because the temple was a generous expression of gratitude from his people—parents always show pride in the gifts their children give them. But his plans never depended on the Temple as much as his people came to think they did.

• ‘they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory’—Jesus refers to one of the most famous prophecies of the Messiah, found in Daniel 7:13-14:
There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
I think, in context of the story Jesus is telling, this prophecy is about ‘the stone that the builders rejected’ becoming the cornerstone. This is describing the destruction of the Temple, but from a heavenly rather than earthly perspective. In Jerusalem on earth, the Gentiles entering Jerusalem will be followed by the destruction of the Temple. In heaven, Jesus will come into his full authority. The Temple will be replaced by Jesus and his followers as the sign of God’s presence on earth. The shaking of the heavenly bodies probably refers to a shake-up in the heavenly hierarchy: the sun, moon, and stars were often used in prophecy to describe the spiritual power behind earthly rulers (Ezekiel 32:7-8, in which the downfall of Pharaoh is accompanied by stars falling and the sun being darkened, is a good example).

• ‘this generation will certainly not pass away’—all of the things Jesus has said up until this point will happen within the average lifespan of his listeners.

• ‘Heaven and earth will pass away’—not just the Temple, but all of heaven and earth, will eventually fade away; but Jesus’ words will last beyond it all. They’re like a lifeline to eternity.

• ‘and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap’—I think ‘that day’ is the day when heaven and earth pass away. What Jesus was talking about until now was something that will happen in Jerusalem, which can be avoided by running to the mountains, for which there will be plenty of warning. What Jesus is talking about now happens suddenly, across the face of the whole earth. However, even it—the end of the world—can be escaped by the person who faithfully watches in the expectation of Jesus’ rescue.

• ‘each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives’—the Mount of Olives was just outside of the city limits.

• ‘the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover’—this festival commemorates the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. The unleavened bread (bread without yeast) symbolizes the suddenness and haste with which the Israelites left Egypt: they didn’t even have time to let the dough rise. The first Passover, and instructions for future feasts, is found in Exodus 12.

• ‘they were afraid of the people’—the priests and teachers are looking for a way to arrest Jesus without causing a stir in front of the crowds.

• ‘Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve’—after tempting Jesus (chapter 4), the devil withdrew, but he was still on the lookout for a good opportunity (4:13). Now, he sees that opportunity, not directly with Jesus, but with one of the Twelve.

• ‘delighted and agreed to give him money’—Judas agrees to sell Jesus for money. This is the ultimate choice of treasure on earth over treasure in heaven: ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed’ (12:15).

• ‘on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed’—the Passover lamb is sacrificed on the first night of the feast. At the first Passover, in Egypt, the people spread some of the lamb’s blood on their door-frames. God sent a plague on the firstborn of the Egyptians, to punish them for keeping the Israelites in slavery. But whenever the destroying angel came across the blood on the doorframe, it passed over that house, saving the life of the firstborn of that house (Exodus 12:23).

• ‘a man carrying a jar of water will meet you’—it’s unclear whether this is some sort of supernatural arrangement, or it’s a little bit of cloak-and-dagger so that the priests and teachers don’t know where Jesus is having his Passover dinner.

• ‘found things just as Jesus had told them’—they are preparing for Jesus’ feast, but Jesus has already prepared for them to prepare. He gives them what they need to serve him.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Pray that God would protect you from worry or distraction or unbelief that would get in the way of you being ready and on the lookout for the things he would like to do in your life.

• For your friends: This life is full of the possibility of unexpected dangers. Pray that God would mercifully protect your friends from being harmed by any disaster.

• For our city: When the disciples look at the Temple, they see something impressive and enduring. But Jesus tells them that they’re mistaken: many of them will outlive the Temple. Our government, our banks, the large businesses in our area, our sports teams, and the universities all look solid and impressive enough; but who knows what changes may come in the future? Pray that God would save our city from placing undue trust in institutions that won’t last.

Luke 20:27-21:4

27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"
34 Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!" 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
41 Then Jesus said to them, "Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
" 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."'
44 David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely."
21:1 As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 "Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Points of Interest:

• ‘Some of the Sadducees’—the Pharisees have become familiar to us. The Sadducees were the other major religious/political party among the Jews in Roman Palestine. The Sadducees were more conservative than the Pharisees in some ways, but less traditional in others. For instance, they recognized the authority only of the Law—the five books of Moses, which were the oldest parts of the Jewish scriptures—not of the Prophets; but they were also significantly influenced by Greek culture and philosophy. Whereas the Pharisees were of the prosperous middle class and dominated among the teachers in the synagogue, the Sadducees were upper class and dominated among the priests at the Temple. The Pharisees were more numerous, but the Sadducees held the more powerful positions.

• ‘who say there is no resurrection’—the Pharisees believed in life after death, but the Sadducees did not. It’s the perfect intersection of their scriptural conservatism (the books of Moses are a bit sketchy on what happens after death) and their urbanity (contemporary Greek philosophy focused on the material world).

• ‘man must marry the widow and raise up offspring’—this law (found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10) was meant to insure that widows could be adequately taken care of—largely through having children who would look after them in their old age—without land, which was the major wealth of each family, passing out of the hands of the family.

• ‘since the seven were married to her’—three different husbands would have made the point. But the Sadducees exaggerate to make the situation as ridiculous as possible. This problem may have been one of the Sadducees’ best ‘stumpers’ in their frequent arguments with the Pharisees.

• ‘those who are considered worthy’—Jesus begins by saying that not everyone gets to enjoy life after death. It’s a great privilege. It should neither by assumed as a right nor dismissed as unimportant.

• ‘will neither marry nor be given in marriage’—the Sadducees seemingly airtight proof against life after death relies on the fundamentally flawed assumption that the next life is just like this one. According to Jesus, the next life operates by different rules. To me, Jesus’ viewpoint makes a lot more sense: what would be the point of an eternal life that’s exactly like this one?

• ‘they are like the angels’—a little dig at the Sadducees, who—despite plentiful evidence in the books of Moses—also did not believe in angels (New Bible Commentary 1012. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994).

• ‘But in the account of the burning bush’—this is one of the most famous stories from the books of Moses. It’s when God called Moses to rescue the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt (Exodus 3). Jesus is proving life after death from the scriptures accepted by the Sadducees. Moreover, by using such a well-known passage, he’s saying that proof of the resurrection has been right under their noses the whole time. It’s almost humiliatingly obvious.

• ‘He is not the God of the dead, but of the living’—God mentions Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as character references for himself: ‘Just ask Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They’ll vouch for me.’ He wouldn’t be a very good God if his best references were decaying corpses. To say that God is the god of the dead would be to say that he is powerless.
Greek mythology might provide us with another viewpoint on Jesus’ argument here. In Greek mythology, three brother gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—drew lots to decide who would rule heaven, who would rule the seas, and who would rule the dead; the loser, Hades, ended up with the dead and was not very happy about it. Since God calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Sadducees either must admit that God is a bitter loser like Hades, or that Abraham and the others are alive.

• ‘Well said, teacher!’—the teachers of the law, who would mostly be Pharisees, can’t help but be impressed by and grateful for his refutation of the Sadducees, even though they’re supposed to be allied with the Sadducees against Jesus (19:47).

• ‘Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?’—during the birth stories early in his story, Luke makes much of Jesus’ association with David’s lineage. Even Gabriel, the angelic messenger to Mary, calls Jesus David’s son: ‘The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David’ (1:32). Just a few passages ago (18:38), the blind man who calls Jesus ‘Son of David’ is given as a positive example of faith. So, why does Jesus all of a sudden take issue with the Messiah being called David’s son? I think it has to do with the perception of the source of the Messiah’s greatness. It’s not that the Messiah benefits from David’s reflected greatness: ‘this Messiah is almost as good as his dad David.’ Rather, it’s the other way around: David was great because he resembled and to a certain extent foreshadowed the King who was to come.

• ‘David himself declares in the Book of Psalms’—besides being a king and a warrior, David was a great worshipper and writer of songs. This is Psalm 110:1.

• ‘Beware of the teachers of the law’—the people need to be on their guard against the teachers for a couple of reasons: they’re bad examples, and they’ll rob you if they can.

• ‘the places of honor at banquets’—here’s how they’re bad examples. They think they’re great, but they’re actually setting themselves up for a fall: ‘For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (14:11)

• ‘They devour widows' houses’—here’s how they rob you. Widows were relatively powerless in Jesus’ society. We don’t know exactly how the teachers were taking advantage of the widows’ powerlessness, but the point is that the teachers are on the lookout for how to use people’s weakness to their gain—specifically to their financial gain. Ultimately, of course, Jesus promises that the teachers won’t get away with it: ‘It would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble’ (17:2)

• ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others’—speaking of widows, Jesus exalts this humble widow for her act of faith. These coins the widow puts in would be of worth very little, but they mean a lot more than their monetary value. It’s significant that the widow has two coins, because she could have just given one of them and it still would have been half of her income—far more, percentage-wise, than everyone else’s ten percent. But she gives everything. She is able to do what the rich ruler (18:22) could not: she gives everything she has, and she trusts God to provide for her. She gives to God what is God’s (yesterday’s passage) by putting her life into God’s hands. It’s the only real act of worship we’ve seen since Jesus arrived in the Temple. She is also shrewd with her money: she’s turned her small amount of money into much treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33). And, she has no need to worry even in this life, because she has a good father who will take care of her needs (12:30).

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Do you feel like you have very little to offer to God? Maybe you wonder if it’s even worth giving what you have to give. This passage shows us that God sees and honors the smallest offerings. Thank God for accepting your offerings, humble as they might be, and for seeing them as just as worthy as anyone else’s.

• For your friends: Their preconceived notion of what it meant for the Messiah to be David’s son was getting in the way of Jesus’ listeners ability to see Jesus clearly and accept what he had to offer them. Ask God to remove any unhelpful filters through which your friends see Jesus. One common filter is seeing Jesus as only a good moral teacher; but there are many other possibilities as well.

• For our city: I think that we as a city, especially with the presence of such a large academic institution, can sometimes, like the Sadducees, be a little too sophisticated to give credence to such things as miracles, or angels, or eternal life. In this passage, Jesus tells us that we miss out on the best parts of life if we dismiss the supernatural. Pray that God would give our entire city a greater ability to accept the supernatural.

Luke 20:1-26

1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"
3 He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?"
5 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' 6 But if we say, 'Of human origin,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
7 So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."
8 Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.'
14 "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
"What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others."
When the people heard this, they said, "God forbid!"
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone'?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 "Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
25 He said to them, "Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

Points of Interest:

• ‘together with the elders’—the elders were members of the Jewish aristocracy who were neither priests nor teachers of the law (Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels 201).

• ‘by what authority you are doing these things?’—‘these things’ to which they refer are the throwing out of the merchants in yesterday’s passage. The Temple was the jurisdiction of the chief priests, and they certainly didn’t give Jesus permission to get rid of the temple merchants—the temple merchants were their idea. So, to them it’s clear that Jesus is acting without any authority.

• ‘I will also ask you a question’—before answering where he gets his authority, he demonstrates that he does indeed have authority; he tells them that they have to answer his question before he’ll answer theirs, and they do.

• ‘John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?’—I think Jesus is essentially saying, ‘You can figure out the answer to your own question.’ His authority comes from the same place as John’s: if John was sent by God, so is Jesus; if John was simply acting on his own, so is Jesus.

• ‘We don't know where it was from’—this is both a bald-faced lie and entirely accurate. It’s a lie, because it’s not as if they don’t have an opinion: if they were to be honest, they would say that John’s authority was human. So, by saying they don’t know, they’re lying to avoid saying something that they know will be unpopular. But, by giving this answer, they’re ironically saying something that’s doubly true:
1. First of all, they really don’t know where John came from, because they don’t even bother trying to figure it out. They don’t even think about the truth of the matter, instead thinking only about the political implications of their possible answers;
2. Secondly, if they were to give their answer, they’d be wrong. They really don’t know where John was from, because they think he came from humans but he really came from heaven.

• ‘Neither will I tell you’—Jesus sees through their avoidance; it’s not that they can’t answer but that they won’t. Since they refuse to answer him, he refuses to answer them as well. Their unwillingness to recognize John leads to an inability to see Jesus for who he is.

• ‘He went on to tell the people this parable’—while he won’t plainly answer their question, he does tell a story that gives his answer. Earlier (8:10), Jesus said that he was willing to explain himself to those who truly listen to him, ‘but to others I speak in parables.’

• ‘A man planted a vineyard’—Jesus is using a story from Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7) as the basis for his own story. Isaiah’s story ends like this:
The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress (Isaiah 5:7).
This vineyard to whom Jesus is referring is Israel, or Judah, and God is the builder and owner of that vineyard. Jesus adds a new set of characters—the tenants—to Isaiah’s story. The chief priests, teachers, and elders are the tenants.

• ‘he sent a servant’—another new set of characters: John and the other prophets.

• ‘so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard’—they’re sent to collect the rent, but the tenants have forgotten that they are renters and have begun to think of the vineyard as their own. They send the owner’s representatives away (or in some cases kill them) as if they are beggars or thieves.

• ‘I will send my son, whom I love’—this is an echo of God the Father’s words about Jesus at Jesus’ baptism (3:22). It’s the answer to the priests’ question regarding Jesus’ authority. Jesus is God’s Son, sent by him, with his authority. It’s the priests, teachers, and elders who are usurping their authority: they are pretending that what belongs to God—the temple, and even more importantly the people who worship at the temple—belongs to them.

• ‘The stone the builders rejected’—this is Psalm 118:22. It’s the same psalm from which the people were singing, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’ in yesterday’s passage. It’s a song of thanks for God’s rescue. However, it seems that this rescuer is not immediately recognized. The cornerstone of a building is the first stone laid in the foundation, the stone upon which all of the other stones is built. In the metaphor Jesus quotes, one set of builders rejects a stone as altogether unsuitable, but another builder uses that same stone as the cornerstone. God will build something completely new—a Savior, a rescuer—out of what the chief priests, teachers, and elders throw out.
Ever since chapter 9, Jesus has insisted that he must go to Jerusalem to be rejected and killed, but he hasn’t given very much explanation as to why. Here is at least part of the answer. Jesus is going to prove definitively that God sees things differently from the people of this world. In the next few days, all of the worldly leaders—secular and religious, Jewish and non-Jewish—will agree to get rid of Jesus. But what they throw out as garbage is what God most values: God will pick Jesus out of the garbage, clean him up, and display him as his greatest treasure.

• ‘Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’—the chief priests and teachers think that they’ve come up with a trap for Jesus similar to the one he set for them about John. If Jesus says they should pay taxes, he would not only be pro-tax—and every politician knows how deadly that is to a political career—but pro-Roman (the Romans were unpopular foreign rulers—it might be something like being pro-American in much of present-day Iraq). But if he speaks against taxes, he’d be considered a dangerous revolutionary by the Romans.

• ‘Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's’—Jesus looks at a coin and says, ‘Well, it seems to have Caesar’s name and picture on it; so, I guess it must belong to him. We should give it back.’ Even though it’s pro-tax, it’s logic that’s hard to argue with. Jesus answers their question forthrightly, but in a way that completely avoids making any political statements, either for or against Rome. I think he’s able to do so because money doesn’t have a hold on him (‘life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’ (12:15). It doesn’t really matter to him how much money Caesar gets, and it doesn’t need to matter to anyone else, either: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life . . . For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them’ (12:22,30). They could give Caesar every single coin that has his name on it without worrying, because God is faithful to provide for them.
What is very important to Jesus is that God gets what belongs to him. Going back to Jesus’ story, the owner deserves his fruit. Jesus knows that the coins belong to Caesar because his picture is on them. Thus, whatever bears God’s picture belongs to him. By this argument, it’s people who belong to God: in the story of creation, God says, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness . . . ‘(Genesis 1:26). Just like the tenants in the story are holding back what belongs to the vineyard owner, the chief priests are holding back what belongs to God: by crowding the other nations out of the temple and cheating Jews who need animals for sacrifice, the chief priests are robbing the people of the chance to worship and robbing God of their worship. Even worse, they’re robbing God of these people’s worship in order to gain money for themselves.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: The tenants in the vineyard start off just wanting to hold back a little fruit from the owner, but they end up killing his son. I think greed often starts small, but grows quickly out of control. Pray that God would protect you from greed. Ask God to point out any small entrance points for greed in your life, and ask him to give you the strength to refuse to give in to it. Ask God to forgive you for any ways you’ve already given in.

• For your friends: Pray that God would remove any barriers to your friends seeing or believing truth—whether it be truth about themselves, about God, or about something else. Also pray that the truth, when they do see it and embrace it, would be of great benefit in their lives. Particularly ask God to give them the boldness to accept truths that might be difficult for them to admit.

• For our city: The chief priests and the teachers had influential positions, which they could use to do a lot of good for people. Many of them probably started out in their public careers with the best intentions. However, over time, their priorities had shifted away from the good of the people and toward maintaining their own power. It seems to be all too common a temptation for people in powerful public service positions. Pray for our politicians, that they would be strengthened against this temptation and that they would be blessed with public-spiritedness in their decision-making.

Luke 19:28-47

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.' "
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
34 They replied, "The Lord needs it."
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 "It is written," he said to them," 'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
47 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. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

Points of Interest:
• ‘Bethphage and Bethany’—these are the suburbs of Jerusalem. Jesus has finally made it to his destination.

• ‘you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden’—just like the story of Jesus’ birth, the story of his death is dense with allusion to Old Testament prophecy. We find this colt in the prophecy of Zechariah:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation
lowly and riding on a donkey
on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
During war, a king would ride a horse. The fact that Jesus comes on a donkey symbolizes either that he is coming in peace or that he has already won the war.

• ‘people spread their cloaks on the road’—practically, this would reduce the amount of dust thrown up as they travel over the dirt road. Symbolically, it communicates that even the hooves of Jesus’ donkey are too precious to touch the road. Only the very most wealthy and important people would have carpets. The people make a carpet for Jesus out of their coats, and they even let his donkey walk on it.

• ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’—this is from Psalm 118 (verse 26). They are welcoming Jesus as God’s representative. In fact, caught up in the exuberance of the moment, they may be calling Jesus God himself:
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever (Psalm 118:28-29).

• ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’—this is not just a great day for Jerusalem. It has heavenly significance.

• ‘rebuke your disciples!’—the disciples are either welcoming Jesus as a conquering hero (which would be unpopular with the Romans) or worshipping him (which would be blasphemous in the eyes of the Pharisees). It’s inappropriate and should be stopped—unless Jesus is a conquering hero, God, or both. Jesus responds that to stop the disciples would do no good. This is a situation that so much calls for praise that if the disciples were to be quiet, inanimate objects would start to speak.

• ‘he wept over it’—Jesus is about to be killed in Jerusalem, but he looks on Jerusalem with pity and compassion, rather than anger. His mind isn’t on his own death, but on the destruction of Jerusalem, which he foresees. Jerusalem will be destroyed in a war between the Jews and the Romans in 70 AD—about 40 years after Jesus’ death, and maybe 10 years after Luke’s writing. We’ll talk more about the impending destruction of Jerusalem next week.

• 'My house will be a house of prayer'—Jesus refers here to Isaiah 56:7: ‘for my house will be called/a house of prayer for all nations.’ What Jesus expects to see when he gets to the temple is prayer, but instead he finds shopping. The temple was always intended to be a place where people from all around the world would come to find God and have their prayers answered (2 Chronicles 6:32-34), but it’s fallen far short of its promise. The temple was a series of ever smaller and more restrictive courts; the largest court was the Court of the Nations, where all people were welcome; inside of that was the Court of Women, where all Jews were welcome; inside of that was the Court of Israel, for Jewish men; and inside of that were the Holy Place and the Holiest Place, where only priests could go. These merchants probably set up shop in the Court of Nations, meaning that the only place non-Jews were allowed to go had basically become a store instead of a place of worship.
Not only were non-Jews being robbed of a place to pray, but Jews were being robbed of money. What was being sold in the temple courts were animals for temple sacrifices. This started as a service to people who had traveled from far away, to make it easier for them to make their sacrifices. But the temple merchants were given monopolies, and thus charged exorbitant prices, sort of like for hot dogs at the ballpark. Thus, what was meant to be a house of prayer had become ‘a den of robbers’ (another quote from a prophet, Jeremiah 7:11).

• ‘the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people’—we’ve seen the teachers of the law before, but the chief priests are fairly new to our story. The chief priests are in charge of the temple, as the teachers of the law are in charge of the synagogues. Thus, between them, they control the two major institutions of Jewish society and religion. We’ve seen already the numerous run-ins between Jesus and the teachers over how to interpret the Law. Now, he has stepped on the toes—and cut into the profits—of the chief priests by driving the merchants out of the temple. So, the chief priests and the teachers join together to try to get rid of Jesus. For the time being, though, they’re daunted by Jesus’ overwhelming popularity.

Taking it home:
• For you and your family: Today, for Palm Sunday (John mentions that the crowds wave palm branches as they sing), push the limits of the exuberance of your worship. Particularly if you tend to be a bit more staid, step out and do something that might make someone say, ‘That’s a little much, isn’t it?’

• For your friends: Pray that your friends would find a hospitable place to meet with God. Consider inviting them to church for Easter Sunday, and pray that they would accept the invitation. Pray that, if they do come, our church would be a place where they feel like they belong and where they are able to connect with God.

• For our city: Today begins Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. Ask God that during this week, there would be a buzz about Jesus in our city. Pray that the usual greater attention Jesus gets would create opportunities for more people to hear his words and be drawn to him.

Luke 19:1-27

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'
15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17 " 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18 "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19 "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20 "Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24 "Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25 " 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26 "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"

Points of Interest:
• ‘he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy’—if tax collectors are like gangsters, Zacchaeus is a mob boss.

• ‘Zacchaeus, come down’—this is apparently the first time they’ve ever met, but Jesus knows Zacchaeus’ name. He is noticed, known, and welcomed.

• ‘I must stay at your house today’—the ‘must’ reminds me of the father of the lost son saying, ‘we had to celebrate . . . ‘(15:32). Another lost son has been found. When something lost is found, you can’t help but throw a party.

• ‘All the people saw this and began to mutter’—this time it’s not just the Pharisees and teachers, but all the people, who mutter. Perhaps Zacchaeus is so notorious that it’s a bigger scandal than before, or maybe Judeans are more sensitive to this kind of impropriety than Galileans.

• ‘Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor’—Zacchaeus recognizes his need to repent. He recalibrates himself from serving Money to serving God. It’s interesting to me that Zacchaeus understands immediately that following Jesus calls for a radically different approach to money. Somehow, money seems to have a lot less of a grip on this chief tax collector than it does on the Pharisees or even on the rich ruler from yesterday’s passage.

• ‘if I have cheated anybody’—it’s unlikely that he would have gotten as rich as he has without cheating. So, it’s frankly surprising to me that he would even have enough money left to pay people back fourfold, seeing as he’s already promised to give away half of his wealth. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Zacchaeus will have much money left by the time he’s done. Zacchaeus is simultaneously plea bargaining with his adversaries before he gets to the judge (12:58) and making friends who will welcome him into eternal dwellings (16:9). He knows how to be shrewd with worldly wealth.

• ‘people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once’—Jesus has been making his way very deliberately toward Jerusalem for quite some time now; and Jerusalem, being David’s capital, would be the natural capital for the Messiah as well. So, people have gained the reasonable impression that Jerusalem is the finish line: as soon as he gets there, Jesus will unveil the kingdom of God. While it is, to a great degree, the climax of Jesus’ earthly career, it’s really only the beginning for his followers. It will be a while before the kingdom of God is fully established, and the disciples have a lot of work to do in the meantime.

• ‘went to a distant country to have himself appointed king’—this story is ‘ripped from the headlines.’ The kings of Roman satellite kingdoms would have to have their kingships confirmed by Rome. Just like in this story, Herod Archelaus—the brother of the Herod who arrested John—had to travel to Rome to have his authority confirmed, and he had a delegation sent to contest his rule. Jesus too is going away—to heaven—to have his kingship confirmed by God.

• ‘gave them ten minas’—this would be about three months’ wages for an average laborer—let’s call it in the neighborhood of eight or ten thousand dollars. It would probably seem like quite a substantial amount to the servants, but would only represent a very small proportion of the nobleman’s wealth.

• ‘your mina has earned ten more’—this first servant makes a thousand percent return on his investment. These are amazing, unreal profits. He certainly does put the money to work.

• ‘take charge of ten cities’—the ten minas were just a test. The nobleman was about to become a king, and he wanted to know who he could trust to help him rule his kingdom: ‘Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much’ (16:10).
This story presents us with the amazing idea that this entire life is just a test. Jesus is going away to be made a king. Everything we have is something Jesus has given us to put to work until he returns. In the next life, Jesus will give us authority in his kingdom proportional to the profits we are able to make for him in this one. Life as we know it is just the practice round. Eternal life in the kingdom of God is the real thing. But that doesn’t mean that this life doesn’t matter: how we do in practice has a big effect on what position we play in the big game– If we’re sticking with our relational view of life, is it dangerous to call this life the “practice round?”—or whether we get to play at all.

• ‘I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth’—he was told to put the money to work, but instead he wraps it up and keeps it in a safe place. This third servant is not at all a shrewd manager. He tries to play it safe, seemingly because he’s afraid of what the nobleman would do to him if he lost the money. By setting his sights on not losing the money, he completely wastes it. I get the feeling that the nobleman would have been far more pleased with a servant who invested the money and lost it than with someone who didn’t even try. In fact, I don’t think it’s incidental that in the way Jesus tells the story, no one who actually tries to put the money to work loses money; to try is to win.

• ‘You knew, did you, that I am a hard man’—actually, he doesn’t seem like a hard man at all. He gives the servants his own money to invest, and then he lets them keep the profits—besides giving them charge over cities. That’s the exact opposite of taking out what you did not put in. The king is pointing out, though, that the third servant’s actions aren’t even consistent with his own mistaken ideas of the king: if the king expects to reap where he didn’t sow, why wouldn’t the servant at least have invested the mina in the bank, where it would be utterly safe and yet make interest? Either the third servant is exceedingly fearful, or he’s lazy, or he is ashamed to be associated with the nobleman because some of the citizens don’t want him to be king.

• 'he already has ten’—letting the third servant keep the mina would do no good to anyone. It would only serve to cause the third servant more worry, without bringing anyone any profit. Meanwhile, the first servant has shown that he is willing and able to put the mina to good use. Why wouldn’t the king put the mina into his hands?

• ‘bring them here and kill them in front of me’—they’ve made it clear that they don’t want him to be king, but his kingship is inevitable. This is the only way to give them what they want.

Taking it home:
• For you and your family: Pray that God would give you the boldness and savvy of the first two servants. Ask God to help you do good business with what he’s given you, and pray for good eternal profits from your investments.

• For your friends: Pray that the Holy Spirit would be at work in the consciences of your friends. Pray that God would be guiding them toward areas of their life that need recalibration, and that he would give them the willingness and the ability to make the necessary course corrections. Pray that God would give them joy as they make those choices.

• For our city: Pray for God’s mercy on our city. Pray that New Haven would be places that welcome Jesus’ kingship, rather than resisting it.