No one Could Answer Jesus
“And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” Matthew 22:46
Based on Matthew 22: 41-46, Mark 12: 28-34, Matthew 9:13, 1, Samuel 15:22, Deuteronomy 6: 4-6, Hosea 6:6, Psalm 110:1
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DAY 3
Today, is the third day since Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey!
He continues to occupy the temple and teach to the Rabble. The religious leaders, including the chief priests, are close by to listen intently to His words so they might trap Him. Every word is examined so they will have an excuse to eject Him from the temple, and even kill Him!
The Passover is near and I am exhausted! These last few days of activity has created a dramatic change of heart for me. It started off with His entry into Jerusalem. Then He threw out the money changers and took over the Temple area.
Then, my brother Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the chief priests have called me and the others into many meetings to discuss and plan on how to condemn Him. The results have been much less than expected. In fact, many are simply embarrassed and angered by Him. But, the people love Him and this creates a particular problem in dealing with Jesus.
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When Jesus began to teach at the temple, it has been almost non-stop. After His parable of the owner of the vineyard, the religious leaders have become like crazy animals pursuing their prey. They will not stop until He is gone and life can return to normal! Can you believe that? As far as I can tell, the man has done nothing wrong, but challenge their authority and their pompous religion. I have never seen them so determined to hurt Jesus or anyone for that matter. It is as if their very lives depend on destroying Him.
As I have listened to the teachings of Jesus, I feel that He knows their plans, their intentions, and their hearts, but despite the danger to himself it does not seem to matter. He is in control despite what they want to think. Strangely, I am affected by this man…I can feel a change coming over me, so I continue to listen to Him even though my assignment is to trap Him with His own words.
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The self-righteous Pharisees got wind that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees. So, they got together and chose a young lawyer from among them who is an expert at scripture and skilled at debate. I saw everything. The lawyer with a condescending air about him asked Jesus this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the law?”
Jesus then quoted the book of the law known as Deuteronomy,
“‘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 neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The young lawyer knew these passages well, but then Jesus said something very insightful. As it rolled off his lips, it brought a moment of pause to the lawyer:
“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Brilliant! All the law can be lined up under these two commandments! The first 4 under the first commandment to love the Lord and the last 6 under the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. They are not new commandments, but a summary of each table of God’s will for mankind. A person who lives under those two commandments will naturally follow in the letter of the law of all 10 commandments.
As I understand Him, a person who loves his neighbor as himself will not steal or lie to him. He would especially not kill him or take his wife in adultery. He showed the connection between the spirit of the law (love) and the letter of the law (loving obedience).
To follow in the spirit of the law, you will naturally obey the letter of the law. Try telling your wife that you believe in the spirit of the law, but not the letter when it comes to adultery. Do you think she will expect obedience to the letter if you really love her? Of course! To ignore the letter or specific command his to deny the spirit of the law!
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Then the young lawyer was impressed and he said,
“Well said, teacher, You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
As I listen to the exchange between Jesus and the young lawyer, I am reminded of the prophet Hosea when He wrote:
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Samuel also said in the Tanakh,
…to obey is better than sacrifice,
Some time ago, one of the priests told me Jesus said,
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus seems to be separating the religious works of animal sacrifice from the merciful works towards each other. His mission is for those who recognize their sin as opposed to those who indulge in their own self-made righteousness. He is saying the two great principles of love and mercy towards God and our neighbor outweigh all the sacrifices and religious acts any man or woman could do!
Jesus then compliments the young lawyer and says,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
My mind is flooded with thoughts as I think back on the history of our people. Our story as recorded in the Tanakh is one of disobedience and failure to love God and those around them. Had they done so, things would be different.
All the prophets taught the absolute necessity of loving God first so they could love their neighbors. But the people often turned their back on the spirit and letter of the law and chased after the popular false gods of the heathen. All this made sense and seemed to silence the bright lawyer. He stalled and became quite as he contemplated the simple but profound truth of Jesus’ answer.
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But, Jesus did not let him relax for long because He asked him a question:
“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
The lawyer knew the scripture well and responded exactly as scripture revealed the Messiah or Christ. He said very quickly,
“The Son of David.”
Expecting this response, Jesus then asks him a very deep question that required the young man to think deep thoughts rather than a programmed memorized answer:
“How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?
Then Jesus goes right to the heart of the question:
“If David then calls him “Lord,” how is He his son?”
What a tough question! How can David call his offspring son and then call Him Lord? All of this is in the context of the coming Messiah. The answer is really quite simple. The Messiah would come through David’s line. The Messiah, Christ the Lord, would sit at the right hand of the Father until the Messiah would be born into the world as the Son of God or Lord!
This question and its implications silenced the lawyer and the other Pharisees did not dare to ask Him any more questions. They knew that the Christ would come from the line of David, but to admit that the Christ would be Lord was tough for them to accept. Jesus seemed to be saying that He is Lord! This would eventually be a reason for his demise. Himself being a man makes himself God. This is blasphemy according to our law. But I was beginning to understand more about Jesus as He taught. I was not ready to buy the false prophet argument any longer. Never had a man spoke and taught like this!
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For the next two days, Jesus taught on many topics and performed many more healings. His actions spoke of urgency and deep feelings.
He talked about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, particularly the Scribes and Pharisees. I saw him weep over Jerusalem like a mother would over her dying children. He described his desire to protect Jerusalem like a mother hen with her little chicks. I was with the disciples when Jesus told them about the coming destruction of the temple and the end of the world. He compared the tribulation and destruction of Jerusalem with the tribulation at the end of time. He then talked about a second coming and that no one would know when it would happen…not even himself or the angels.
Jesus talked about the faithful servant and the evil servant. The evil servant went back to his evil ways because the coming of the Lord seemed to be delayed.
Then he began to teach with more parables. He talked about the wise and foolish virgins. The foolish did not prepare for a long wait. Then there was the story about the talents and then one who was wicked and lazy and buried his talent. So profound! All in the context of the 2nd coming of Christ!
Indeed I am exhausted because I have listened carefully to the words of Jesus all week and I am convinced He is the long-awaited Messiah. I want to tell Him this, but my position in community prevents me from publicly acknowledging Him. So I am caught between my respected life as a Sadducee and a new follower of this man they call Jesus.
More tomorrow. For now, I have been called to the palace of the high priest by the other religious leaders and elders. This seems like an important meeting so I will go. No doubt the meeting is about Jesus. I wish they could just slow down and consider what they are doing.
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DAY 4
THE TEACHER-HYPOCRISY, PARABLES, AND WARNINGS
Hypocrisy
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Matthew 23: 1-3
Parables
“And with many such parables, He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable, He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.”
Mark 4:33, 34
Day 4
The following is based on Matthew 23-25, Micah 4:2, Luke 21
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Last night, in our “Jesus meeting,” the religious leaders determined that the only way to rid the city of Jesus was to hire false witnesses. As I reported to them, we are unable to catch Him in his words, so they have resorted to developing a plan to lie and make up false reports about what He has said, so as to present Him as a threat to the nation and the people in Jerusalem. They can see how the people love Him, so it is going to be tricky arresting Him and eliminating His influence from the minds of the people.
My constituents do not know that I am becoming a secret follower and I desire to save Jesus from His fate. My inside position as a trusted Sadducee is valuable to Jesus and His disciples. I want to warn Him and I will as I have the opportunity to talk with Him alone.
Last evening before I retired, I read the following from Micah in the book of prophets,
Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
I am watching the fulfillment of this before my very eyes! Jesus speaks with authority, but it is mixed with pitiful emotion for everyone, even the Scribes and the Pharisees.
Today we are just a few days before the Passover and it seems Jesus’ intensity in teaching has accelerated….as if He knows His time is short.
He started the day talking directly to the people and His disciples about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and ended by instructing His own disciples in a private meeting…of sorts. Of course, there were some of the religious leaders on the fringes of the crowd looking for an opportunity to catch Him in His words.
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
He is being exact. It is as if He has observed them from their youth. They are like this! Sadly, so am I. I feel conviction moving inside me as I listen to His words. He shows my true heart and it hurts. But, somehow, I feel hope also. He just wants me to hear and respond to Him as an acknowledged sinner.
He advises us to call no man teacher or instructor. He is the only instructor. Then He talked of being humble and putting others ahead of yourself. A hard thing for me to understand or to do for I have been taught differently.
The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
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He then began to use the phrase:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
I counted 7 times he used it! Those teachers of the law and Pharisees who were there heard it, well most of them. Their faces turned red as if Jesus was revealing their minds to the crowd. It surprised and astonished them and several left His presence, but some stayed to hear more. I watched the faces of the religious leaders as they heard these 7 warnings. Many were angry, but some seemed to be melting under the truth of His words and judgment.
As he continued, He spoke directly to the haters….those who were determined to do away with Him. He read their mind and left the most intense words for the last:
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
With this judgment came some light of mercy, for He said,
Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages (wise men) and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town…Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
Jesus is now prophesying, but despite the fact He knows their future actions, He sends more prophets, teachers, and wise men to appeal to them, knowing they will treat them badly
In the most pitiful way, and with tears in his eyes, Jesus ends His talk with them. Jesus reveals his love for them, despite their terrible sins. In His voice, I hear the disappointment and a mixture of mercy and judgment…He knows He is going away and they won’t see him again.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
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Jesus leaves the temple with His disciples. I follow from a distance. Suddenly, Jesus looks back directly at me. Those eyes penetrate my soul and I am compelled forward to follow. I want to hear more and to be with Him.
We seem to be headed towards the Mount of Olives. The disciples are stunned by Jesus’ remark,
“your house is left to you desolate”
In response, they bring to His attention the grandeur and beauty of the temple and all the buildings. The sun is setting and the temple is glowing. His next words stop me and the disciples in our tracks. Our mouths open to speak, but we can’t say anything,
“Do you see all these things?” Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
The image in my mind of a flattened Jerusalem seems impossible! What strange event would cause this? Who or what could do this?
After our short walk from the city to the Mount of Olives, the disciples finally speak and ask Jesus,
“Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Since I am a new follower of Jesus, there is much I don’t know. What do they mean by His “coming?” He is already here! What is the “end of the age?” Despite my limited understanding, Jesus begins to teach me things I had never heard in all my years as a “religious teacher.” I draw close, forgetting my position in the community as a religious leader. At this point, I feel like a little child who is learning how to speak.
“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
This seems easy to understand. He is going away and while He is away, many people are going to be deceived by false Messiahs! Then there will be plenty of wars! Not very good news, but it is followed by comforting words. We are not to be troubled as we see these wars happening.
There will be plenty of unrest among the nations as they take up arms against each other. Perhaps because of these wars, people will be starving and conditions will lead to diseases and plagues! But even then, there will be more sorrow to come.
Then He turns to tell the disciples of their fate after Jesus leaves to wherever He is going.
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Things do not look good for His followers. They will be killed and hated by everyone! I can understand the thought, “many will be offended” because it seems people are so sensitive about their traditions and their personal lives. It is all about themselves and not the people around them. So if Jesus comes with words that warn of judgment, they will not hear His words of mercy and redemption. Indeed, it seems that people can not think any higher than themselves.
Despite all this trouble, they will be successful in giving the “gospel of the kingdom” to the entire world. That is a lot of people to cover. The end He spoke of earlier will come after everyone has the opportunity to hear and respond!
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Next, He talked of a warning especially for them and those who are living in Jerusalem
“…But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.“
(See Author’s note on the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD at the end of this writing.)
As I hear the urgency in His voice and His desire for me to understand, I believe Him and desire to warn others.
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I learn more as Jesus continues to speak. I feel fortunate to be hearing His words.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This is what I understand…Right after the tribulation, He speaks of, He will return. He is returning on the clouds from heaven, that is where He is going for a time…heaven!
And when He comes, it is going to be magnificent and glorious! Even the sun, moon, and stars will be affected! There will be the loud sound of a trumpet and the work of the angels will be seen as they gather His people from everywhere under the son! But for some, they will mourn as they see Jesus coming in the clouds!
He really makes it clear! He goes on to use another parable of the fig tree. When the leaves begin to come forth, we know that summer is near…Same way when Jesus comes…There are signs we know that His coming is near.
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!
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As I hear more, His coming is made more clear. He uses more comparisons from the Tanakh to explain His coming. He compares what happened to those who did not go into the ark with His second coming. Those that did not go in the boat drowned or were “destroyed.”
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”
In Noah’s day, the people are going about their normal routines. Then it begins to rain lightly at first, then a downpour! Soon the water begins to rise and the water under the earth breaks to the surface. But, it continued to rain for 40 days! Those who were left alive were only 8 souls. A small number in comparison!
Then He uses another story from the Tanakh. The story of Lot!
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”
Both stories are similar: There are people caught up with the normal routines of life, but lose it when they are caught unaware. Their opportunity to get in the boat or out of the city came and went. Then, sadly, they were destroyed. One group by water, the other by fire. Those who were left were only a few people in comparison.
These two stories tie in with Jesus’ second coming and His warning to get out of Jerusalem when the armies surround the city and finally destroy it. It seems there will be many so caught up in their earthly life, that the warning and signs are ignored. The end result is eternal destruction.
But, Jesus takes the warnings one step further. He provides a warning to His servants that forget who they are and the times they are living.
“…Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”
Good for them but, not good for those who do the opposite!
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Even though this group was God’s servants at one time, they move to the same class of those in Noah’s day and Lot’s day who ignored the Lord and were destroyed. They did not endure to the end and were put in the category of hypocrites.
This is where we started. Hypocrisy is a dangerous place to be according to Jesus. This time with Jesus has been good. I’ve had learned and unlearned many things.
As I stand to leave, he begins with more parables, but then He stops and looks at me. He calls for me by name. I didn’t know He knew my name! This will be my opportunity to warn Him! As I walk over to Him, He walks towards me and a new chapter opens up in my life.
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Extra Material:
The Destruction of Jerusalem
In 70 AD, the Roman armies guided by Titus surrounded Jerusalem. The lives of those who remembered and obeyed the words of Jesus were spared. The followers of Christ who would later be called Christians left the city and soon it was attacked and leveled.
Below is a small portion of Chapter 1 from a book called “The Great Controversy” which describes the circumstances of the city’s demise. The scope of horror and ruin are hard to imagine. This event forever changed the culture of the Jewish people. If you want to read the entire Chapter, click here.
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Chapter 1-The Destruction of Jerusalem
“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.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.” Luke 19:42-44.
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“The hour of hope and pardon was fast passing; the cup of God’s long-deferred wrath was almost full. The cloud that had been gathering through ages of apostasy and rebellion, now black with woe, was about to burst upon a guilty people; and He who alone could save them from their impending fate had been slighted, abused, rejected, and was soon to be crucified. When Christ should hang upon the cross of Calvary, Israel’s day as a nation favored and blessed of God would be ended. The loss of even one soul is a calamity infinitely outweighing the gains and treasures of a world; but as Christ looked upon Jerusalem, the doom of a whole city, a whole nation, was before Him–that city, that nation, which had once been the chosen of God, His peculiar treasure.”
“Prophets had wept over the apostasy of Israel and the terrible desolations by which their sins were visited. Jeremiah wished that his eyes were a fountain of tears, that he might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of his people, for the Lord’s flock that was carried away captive. Jeremiah 9:1; 13:17. What, then, was the grief of Him whose prophetic glance took in, not years, but ages! He beheld the destroying angel with sword uplifted against the city which had so long been Jehovah’s dwelling place. From the ridge of Olivet, the very spot afterward occupied by Titus and his army, He looked across the valley upon the sacred courts and porticoes, and with tear-dimmed eyes, He saw, in awful perspective, the walls surrounded by alien hosts. He heard the tread of armies marshaling for war. He heard the voice of mothers and children crying for bread in the besieged city. He saw her holy and beautiful house, her palaces and towers, given to the flames, and where once they stood, only a heap of smoldering ruins.”