That final week: tying up some loose ends
After the accounts of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem and his visit to the temple at the beginning of that final week, there’s a series of short, seemingly unconnected conversations and parables in all four Gospels. It’s as if Jesus is tying up all the loose ends – as if that is ever even possible! You know what it’s like before you go away: you make arrangements for plants to be watered and pets to be fed. You leave instructions about what to do if the alarm goes off. You leave keys with a neighbour. Jesus is going away for a very long time.
He’s pulling everything together into some sort of conclusion. He has so much to say, so much truth to leave behind.
The Authority of Jesus Questioned Luke 20:1-8 Mark 11:27-33 Matthew 21:23-27
The chief priests and the teachers of the law ask “Who gave you this authority?”
Jesus answers a question with a question and never answers the question at all!
The Parable of the Two Sons Matthew 21:28-32
Is it better to say you’re not going to do something and then do it or to say you’ll do something and not do it?
How about spiritual life?
Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
The Parable of the Tenants Luke 20:9-20 Mark 12:1-12 Matthew 21:33-46
A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 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. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away epty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
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.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.
The parable is a wonderful analogy for the Jesus’ story. It explains why Jesus had to come to earth. It reveals what is going to happen to him.
“God forbid!”, the people say. We wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Written like this, we can clearly see the injustice of it all.
But the teachers of the law and the chief priests can see that Jesus is talking about them. So yes, they look for ways to silence him immediately, but it’s not as simple as that. The people love Jesus, you see and they’re afraid of how the people will react.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet Matthew 22:1-14
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
And yet the people refused to come. Everything is prepared. And still they do not come. In fact, they mistreat the servants who bring the invitation.
So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
(Although the one who’d made no effort to dress for the occasion was not made welcome!)
Paying Taxes to Caesar Luke 20:20-26 Mark 12:13-17 Matthew 22:15-22
The teachers of the law and the chief priests are determined to catch Jesus out with their questions, to discredit him before the people.
As if that was ever going to happen!
“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” That’s his answer.
The Resurrection and Marriage Luke 20:27-40 Mark 12: 18-27 Matthew 22:23-33
If a woman has been married more than once in this life, then who will she be married to in heaven?
Have you ever wondered about that, because that’s the question here.
And the answer? Marriage is not going to be a thing in heaven at all.
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, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.
We need to dispel that myth about being reunited with loved ones and loved ones waiting for us on the other side.
Whose Son Is the Messiah? Luke 20:41-44 Mark 12:35-37 Matthew 22:41-45
The son of David? How can that be when David calls the Messiah Lord in the Psalms?
It’s Jesus asking the question this time. And he offers no explanation.
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law Luke 20:45-47 Mark 12:38-40 Matthew 23:1-12
They make a show of everything. They want everyone to see how spiritual they are. They thrive on being important and respected. But under the surface, everything is very different indeed.
The Widow’s Offering Luke 21:1-4 Mark 12:41-44
This is what Jesus is impressed by. Not the amount that is given, but the sacrifice that is made by the giver. This is complete faith and trust: Out of her poverty, she put in all she had to live on.
The Greatest Commandment Mark 12:28-31 Matthew 22:34-40
There is one conversation in these chapters that ties everything together. In Mark 12 and Matthew 22, this section is entitled ‘The Greatest Commandment’. Jesus explains that ‘All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’
Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.
There really is nothing more to say, is there?
This is it.
It’s pretty simple, really. Yes, we may have lots of questions and there may be lots of things we don’t really understand, but this conversation is one that we can build our lives upon.
Everything hangs on these two commandments.
