Matthew 22: 23-46, Tests by the Religious Leaders, II

The religious teachers continue to challenge Jesus.  They have their favorite nuggets to throw at him.  "Can God make a stone so big He can't move it?"  No, that is not one of the questions... but the questions are on that simplistic level.

Matt 22:23-33
That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

"But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you.  `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of  Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Sadducees also attempt a direct line of questioning, hitting Jesus with one of their conundrums intended to show that the resurrection is a foolish idea.  Jesus's response is more direct here and he confronts the foolishness of the Sadducees by confronting their underlying assumptions.

(This reminds me of some of the silly things I see on Facebook, ideas that only make sense to those who have already bought into them....)

The quote in verse 32 is from  Exodus 3:6.  This quote is significant, I think, to one's view of the afterlife and the "restoration" mentioned in an earlier passage.  The afterlife is not going to be like the popular church description, sitting high above the clouds, looking down on the earth.  It will be on the earth, in a new, restored earth and universe.

Matt 22:34-40
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Jesus quickly summarizes the Law in a way that shows he has thought deeply about it.

The quote in verse 37 is from Deut. 6:5. The quote in verse 39 is from Lev. 19:18.

Matt 22:41-45
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked  them, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?"  

"The son of David," they replied.

He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him `Lord'? For he says `The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I  put your enemies under your feet."' If then David calls him `Lord,' how can he be his son?"

Jesus has saved up a question for the Pharisees: why did David call his chosen descendant, "Lord"? The quote in verse 44 is from Psalm 110:1 and hits at the Pharisees' narrow view of the coming Messiah.

Matt 22:46
No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Jesus seems to know the entire Old Testament by heart, and to have thought deeply about it.  The Pharisees' trick questions (over the last two chapters of Matthew) have been futile and Jesus has ended the session with a question that has caught them out.

Matthew 22:1-22, Tests by the religious leaders

The religious leaders test Jesus, trying to trap him.  But most of Jesus's teachings are in parables, which seem to confuse and distract them.

Matt 22:1-14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and said, `Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'  But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business.  The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

"The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, `The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'

"So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. `Friend,' he asked, `how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, `Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will  be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

"For many are invited, but few are chosen."

The metaphor implies that the Jewish nation has ignored God's invitation and so the invitation (as prophesied in the Old Testament) is dispersed to the Gentiles, to the "foreigners".  But even then, there are guests who seem to ignore the prestige and importance of such an invitation.

These parables (denouncing Jewish apathy and opening the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles) force the Pharisees' hand....

Matt 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." 

They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

"Caesar's," they replied. 

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."  

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

The Pharisees ask Jesus a direct question.  But even the direct question he manages to deflect in a way that frustrates them.  Jesus does not, as they had hoped, attack the Romans, but continues to emphasize a larger kingdom of heaven.

Note the outright flattery that leads the questioning.

The "Herodians" have been brought to this questioning.  Presumably the Herodians are sympathetic to King Herod and so the question put before Jesus has considerable danger; if he runs down the Roman government, King Herod will have witnesses to his treason.

Matthew 17, The Transfiguration (NASB)

Matthew has told us that there is to be a future "revealing" of the Son of Man.  In this chapter, we turn a corner.  Jesus's preaching ministry is near an end and he will soon make one last trip to Jerusalem, there to die.

Matt 17:1-3

Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 

This occurs just after Jesus has promised the disciples that they will see the Son of Man coming in glory.

I wonder what Moses, Elijah and Jesus talk about....

Matt 17:4-8

Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, I will make three tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

Peter always speaks his mind.  He is eager to create a place the three heroes can rest.  But he needs to be listening.

Matt 17:9-13

When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

So part of the Old Testament prophecy, to their understanding, has been fulfilled by John the Baptist.

Matt 17:14-18

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 

And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed [h]at once.

Was it a demon?  Or something else?  How would our medical profession view this?

Jesus is clearly frustrated with his disciples.  They apparently still have a long way to go in their training.

Matt 17:19-20

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 

And He said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Verse 21 (in old texts) is questionable (not appearing in early Greek copies of Matthew) and has been removed by the NIV.  A translation of it would be "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting," which was likely copied from a parallel passage in Mark 9:29.

Matt 17:22-23

And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

This is a depressing statement to the disciples. There is lots of evil in the world and it often seems to be winning.

Matt 17:24-27

Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 

He said, “Yes.” 

And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 

When Peter said, “From strangers,” 

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

The "temple tax" (NIV) is a translation of Greek for "the two drachmas". Jesus clearly does not seek confrontation with the political system, although he continues to confront religious hypocrisy.

Matthew 5: 27-48, The Sermon on the Mount, Part 2 (Morality From the Heart)

Jesus continues to contrast the behavior of citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and the accepted religious teachings of his day.

Matt 5:27-32
"You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.'  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body  than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your  body than for your whole body to go into hell.

"It has been said, `Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

The quote in verse 27 is from Exodus 20:14; the quote in verse 31 is from  Deuteronomy 24:1.

We humans rationalize our thoughts and actions by drawing artificial lines that we claim not to cross. But if we fantasize about sex with someone, but we don't act it out, we may indeed avoid external consequences, but we are making decisions that effect who we are and what desires we cater to.

Matt 5:33-37
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long  ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for  it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem,  for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one  hair white or black.

Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No';  anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

"You have heard it said" is an introduction to an past instruction that has now been defeated by human legalism and rationalization.  In this case, Jesus speaks of promises and oaths and returns to a simple principle, Be Honest.  If you mean Yes then just say it; don't say it if you don't mean it.  (The very emphasis on an oath indicates that there are times when one is dishonest....)

Matt 5:38-42
"You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth  for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone  strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him  have your cloak as well. 

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The quotes in verse 38 are from Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21.

I struggle this submissiveness, but I understand that in most cases we humans love to escalate conflict instead of de-escalate it.  If that Roman soldier says, "You!  Carry my load for a mile!" what response would there be if we smiled and said, "Sure!  Indeed, may I carry it for two miles?"  How strange.  How unworldly.

Matt 5:43-47
"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans 

do that?

The quote in verse 43 is from Leviticus 19:18.

Jesus removes the calculations from "love".  Most of us practice a basic computation: "I love those who reward my love; I punish those who don't."  But the citizens of Heaven have a different view....

From the NIV Footnotes:  in verse 44 some late manuscripts add "bless those who curse you,  do good to those who hate you", making clear the break from the standard earthly calculus.

Matt 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is a rather strong, demanding finish to these passages on living righteously!  These instruction are indeed unworldly, distinct from the culture in which we are immersed.

On Parables

If one grew up in the Christian church, the parables of Jesus are part of the tapestry of Christian religion.  But if we look at the gospels with fresh eyes, as a newcomer to these letters, we are struck by how much storytelling Jesus does and by his constant "hiding" of the main message.

At every turn, Jesus sheathes his message in a story, a "parable".  Indeed, "parables" now are often synonymous with "the teachings of Jesus."

Why does Jesus do this? Why the steady stream of stories?

Jesus answers this question in, of course, a parable.  The "parable of the sower" (Matthew 13, Luke 8, Mark 4) is a parable about parables! Jesus tells of a farmer spreading seeds and of the differing responses, depending upon the ground on which the seeds fall. When questioned about the parable by his disciples, Jesus says (essentially) that the parables are to keep out the calloused, that is, those who are not really interested and only pretend to be listening.

There are other Biblical instances of stories being created to carry a message. In the Old Testament passage, II Samuel 12, the Jewish prophet Nathan rebukes King David.  It is dangerous to rebuke a king, especially about murder, deceit and adultery, but Nathan wants to get under David's defensiveness to reach the true David, that king who had once been concerned about justice.  And so Nathan tells a story.  At the end of the story, when David is incensed at the rich man who abused a poor man and killed the poor man's pet, Nathan points a bony finger at David and says, "You are that man!"  The story achieved its goal.  Similarly, in II Samuel 14, David's commander, Joab, communicates to the king by way of a contrived story.

Communication by stories and parables is not unique to the Bible, of course.  An ancient example is the fables of Aesop, which date from 500 years before Christ.

As a teacher in the twenty-first century, Jesus's use of parable resonates with me.  Good teaching methods go beyond mere transformation of facts.  Whether it is the "Socratic method" or "Inquiry Based Learning" or some other currently popular technique, educators recognize that students must actively engage in the learning process, if that process is to mean anything.  If that process is to lead to true learning and understanding, the student needs to put energy into integrating the knowledge and concepts.  Jesus forces this in his use of parables; the information he provides is not low-hanging fruit that is easy to pluck -- and then forget.

If we link the parable of the sower with the proverb in Matthew 7:6 about "not casting pearls before swine", there is an additional message, a message about matching the appropriate message to the audience.

Too often, in American Christianity, the emphasis is on giving as simple a message as possible, on the presentation of a simplistic candy-coated Jesus, a message suitable for young children but patronizing to adults.  Joining the Kingdom of Heaven should be a thoughtful and careful process.  An adult should not lightly make a decision to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus himself warns people of this; in some cases, he warns people away.  The effect of Jesus's parables is to ask the listener, "Are you sure you really want to go down this path?"

I'd have more to say about the importance of thinking deeply on the gospel -- and not being distracted by silly trivialities -- but googling "pearls before swine" led me to this comic strip and I've been reading the comic strip instead of thinking about parables....

Tomorrow we will return to the Bible.

Matthew 28, Easter Sunday

After Good Friday comes Easter Sunday, the first day of a new week.

Matt 28:1-7
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

An empty tomb greets the women.

Matt 28:8-15
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." 

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a  plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, `His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among  the Jews to this very day.

Confusion and cover-up.

Matt 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the  age."

The book ends suddenly, with the resurrection and appearances of Jesus to his followers, followed by the "Great Commission", given here at the very end, as if a summary of Matthew's gospel.

It is natural to ask, "What happened next?"  That is the subject of Luke's book, the book of Acts.  We will begin reading that book next.

Matthew 27: 32-66, The Crucifixion

Jesus has been turned over to Roman soldiers to be executed by crucifixion.  They have taunted him and repeatedly hit him; now they take him out to a nearby hill for the crucifixion.

Matt 27:32-44
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).  There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, `I am the Son of God.'"

In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The person carrying the cross is named, as if the readers may know of him?

Note the offer made by skeptics: "If he comes down, we will believe."  God did not accept that offer. Any similar offer should be viewed with suspicion; God does not usually stoop to such offers.

On verse 35 (from NIV footnotes): A few late manuscripts say, after the phrase "by casting lots", "that the word spoken by the  prophet might be fulfilled: 'They divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing'." (This is a quote from Psalm 22:18.)

Matt 27:45-54
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama --which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When some of those standing there heard this, they said,  "He's calling Elijah." Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they  were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

The quote is from Psalm 22:1.  Numerous events in this account resonate with Psalm 22, a Messianic psalm.

This "new covenant" apparently breaks the temple curtain!?

In verse 54, the centurion could also be saying,  "Surely he was a son of God!"  The centurion need not know of the Jewish meaning of that statement.

Matt 27:55-66
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had  followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, `After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the  dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."

"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

This gory day, now known as Good (!) Friday is done.

Matthew 27: 1-31, Good Friday Trial

Now the religious leaders have what they want, a criminal conviction of blasphemy.  It is time to get rid of Jesus.  

Matt 27:1-10
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the  thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." 

"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your  responsibility."

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is  against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field  as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:  "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by  the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord  commanded me."

What motivated Judas?  Notice how the chief priests stay true to their legalistic worldview. They have just betrayed the Messiah but want to make sure they follow the rules on tainted money in the treasury!

Verse ten quotes several Old Testament passages. See Zechariah 11: 12-13, Jeremiah 19: 1-13 and Jeremiah 32: 6-9.

Matt 27:11-18
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" 

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.  When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.

Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?"

But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor.

Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

Pilate thinks Jesus is innocent and that he should be able to find a way out of this bind.  So he offers to free either Jesus or this notorious criminal, thinking that the crowd will not want the criminal freed. But Pilate has misplayed his hand.

Matt 27:19-26
While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 

"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. 

"Barabbas," they answered.

"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. 

They all answered, "Crucify him!"

"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. 

But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Pilate thinks Jesus is innocent.  But Pilate is a politician.  He fears the power of the people and the people seem determined.  He believed that offering them a criminal like Barabbas would make them choose Jesus, but not so. Despite even his wife's dream, he reluctantly hands Jesus over to the Romans soldiers for execution.

Matt 27:27-31
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Execution, in that time, was not a mercy killing.  It included taunting and violence.

Lloyd C. Douglass took this image, of Roman soldiers mocking the Messiah, and turned it into a novel, The Robe, presumably tracing the path of Jesus's robe after his crucifixion. That novel examines what it means to live as a follower of the Jewish Messiah, amidst the secular Roman world.

After the taunting and violence, the Roman soldiers complete their task, executing Jesus. That account is next in Matthew.

Matthew 26: 36-75, Betrayal

Jesus has just told to his disciples that he will betrayed and killed.  Peter has insisted otherwise and claimed that he will stand by Jesus.  Now Jesus goes to a quiet garden area at the base of the Mount of Olives to pray.

Matt 26:36-46
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.  "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink  it, may your will be done." 

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because  their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third  time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

Even Jesus is distressed about the upcoming events.

Matt 26:47-56

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the  people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him."

Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.

Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for." Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." 

Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

NIV footnotes say that Jesus's comment could also be translated, "Friend, why have you come?"

Note Jesus's confidence that all of this is the right thing.  He could, apparently, change the events if he wanted; he has the power.  (I don't know what a legion of angels is, or why Jesus mentions twelve....) But the disciples, who promised him power, desert him.  And the one who betrays him, does so with a kiss.

Matt 26:57-68
Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, `I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"

Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent. 

The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."

"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of  heaven."

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" 

"He is worthy of death," they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists.  Others slapped him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?"

The rulers are unable to credibly attack Jesus.  Eventually they have to get him to say something that they view as blasphemy.

Matt 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.

But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of  Nazareth."

He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."

 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!"

Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Poor Peter.  He is so confident and so weak. So human!

Matthew 26: 1-35, The Last Week

We are now well into the Passover Week.  Jesus has been visible, moving around Jerusalem and speaking in the temple area.

Matt 26:1-5
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, "As you know, the Passover is two days away--and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. "But not during the Feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."

Both Jesus and the rulers of Jerusalem know that betrayal is coming.  The rulers see Jesus' popularity as a threat, enough so that they know they can't arrest him publicly.

Matt 26:6-13
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at  the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

Bethany is close to Jerusalem and apparently a favorite place for Jesus to stay.  Jesus continues to live among the poor.  Here he is with a leper.  And a "woman".

Matt 26:14-16
Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The betrayal is set up.

Matt 26:17-25

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,  `The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to  celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'"

So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."

They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"

Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

One tradition has Jesus staying at the home of John Mark, the same place as mentioned in Acts 12:12-13.

Verse 25 has Jesus response as literally, "You yourself have said it".

Matt 26:26-30

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of  Olives.

In verse 28 some manuscripts (sasythe NIV footnotes) identify the blood of the "new covenant."

Matt 26:31-35
Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "`I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I  never will."

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.

The quote in verse 31 is from Zechariah 13:7.

Arrogant, confident Peter under-estimates the difficulties of the coming night.

Matthew 25:31-46, The Sheep and the Goats

Jesus continues his description of the endtimes with a remarkable (and memorable) description of a final judgment.

Matt 25:31-40
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something  to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did  for me.'

Works – good compassionate works for others – are certainly important here!  We are to look at others as if they were Jesus! (Keith Green had an interesting song on this.)

Matt 25:41-46

"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 

"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

This parable is a strong statement about active love and care for others.  It is how we care for the stranger (indeed, the immigrant) that is judged!  As Keith Green says in his song (linked above), the difference between the sheep and the goats "is what they did – and didn't – do."

Passover Week, Holy Week

The Passover Week in Jerusalem, somewhere between 30 and 33 C.E., is the week in which Jesus enters Jerusalem in glory, adored by the crowds, riding on a donkey, spends time with his disciples in and around the temple, and then is crucified on Friday, just before the Jewish sabbath.  Then, on the first day of the week, Jesus is seen alive in parts of Jerusalem, his tomb now empty.

The week begins in Matthew 21 and includes numerous teachings by Jesus about the coming kingdom of heaven and the end times.

Historically, Christians celebrate the Friday crucifixion as "Good Friday" and the Sunday resurrection as Easter Sunday.  The celebrations of these days date back to probably the third century, if not earlier.

The last supper was apparently on Thursday, now celebrated as Maundy Thursday. Matthew 26:17 has the last supper occurring on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

I've found a variety of interesting internet resources on the Passover Week.   As always, Wikipedia is a good source.  There is a Wikipedia article on the "Holy Week".

The Passover feast dates back to Exodus 12, when the tribe of Israel was expelled from Egypt.  On that night (the 14th day of the month Nisan) the Jews sacrificed a lamb and spread its blood over their doorposts so that the Angel of Death would "pass over" their homes and spare them, while killing the first born son of the Egyptians.

A Catholic view of Passover is here.  Another Christian view is here.  A Jewish explanation can be found here and a Messianic Judaism view here or here.

Was Jesus, in the Last Supper, really celebrating the Passover Seder? A fairly detailed analysis of this question appears in this Biblical Archealogy article.

Tomorrow we return to Matthew's account of the Passover Week.

Matthew 23, Woe

This chapter collects a series of final teachings of Jesus, presumably occurring during the last week of Jesus's ministry.

Matt 23:1-12
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 obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

"Everything they do is done for men 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 in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'

"But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.

"The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

This is Jesus's clearest teaching against the religious practices of the teachers of the law. The passage confronts the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the religious leaders.  In place of the religious hypocrisy, Jesus emphasizes that we are all "brothers" (and sisters); his universe seems fairly flat, without hierarchy.

Phylacteries are "boxes containing Scripture verses, worn on forehead and arm" (NIV footnotes).

Matt 23:13-22
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you  hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold  of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 

You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 

Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.

This sequence of "Woe" passages is a sequence of harsh warnings about the religious games of the times.  We practice different games in our modern culture, but the underlying hypocrisy is unchanged.

The hypocrites shut up the kingdom of heaven....  They count converts and then mislead them.  They play games with a sequence of oaths; some they call important, some they say are not.

Some ancient Greek manuscripts include, after verse 13, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be  punished more severely."  The NIV presumably does not include this verse as it is not in all of the ancient manuscripts.

Matt 23:23-28
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead  men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."

The hypocrites, claim to tithe but care little for justice.  They "strain out a gnat but swallow a camel", an accurate metaphor for the absurdities of legalism.  They ignore the truly important parts of man, the soul, the heart.

23:29-35

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.  So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

"Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and 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. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered  between the temple and the altar.

These hypocrites claim to be righteous and willing to be persecuted, yet they would have killed the prophets (and will kill Jesus.)

23:36-39
"I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation. O 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, but 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.'"

The quote in verse 39 is from Psalm 118:26.

The sequence of warnings ends with a statement that these persecutions and accompanying desolation will occur soon, "upon this generation."  If Matthew was written after 70 CE, the reader would have recognized the destruction of Jerusalem that had recently occurred.

The warnings in this passage lead to a more detailed discussion of the "end times", as Jesus leaves the temple, in the next chapter.

The Synoptic Gospels

On Sundays we take a break from reading another chapter and spend a brief time summarizing what we've been reading (or will read.)

Even a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals that the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are very similar, with many common stories and parables.  Then the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, is very different, with different events and a special collection of teachings by Jesus that do not appear in the other three.

Presumably, the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke had a common source for their accounts of Jesus's ministry and had personal reasons for deviations from that account.  Matthew, written to Jews, deviates from the common accounts to quote Old Testament prophecies, for example while Luke, written by a Greek to the Gentiles, adds observations and stories that might be of interest to the individual not aware of Jewish history.  (Luke is also careful to mention women in the Jesus ministry, naming women among his followers, both before and after the resurrection.)

One of the simplest explanations for the common passages in the first three gospels is that the Gospel of Mark was written first and that the other two gospel writers had access to Mark as an outline for their work.   (From the first few verses of the Gospel of Luke, we see that Luke interviewed individuals before writing his report, so one would expect that he would have access to Mark's gospel, if had had been written by that time.)

One can then explain the Gospel of John as deliberately different from the other three, since John, writing much later, probably assumes those other stories have been told and wants to add to, flesh out, the reports on Jesus's acts and teachings.

The term commonly used to identify the first three gospels, distinct from that of John, is "synoptic".  More information, in considerable depth, is available on this Wikipedia page .

Related to the 3+1 gospels in the New Testament is the issue of gospel harmony.  Can we, using the four gospels, create an orderly summary of the events of the life of Christ?  There is an old, classical tradition of this and I have several harmonies of the life of Christ in my personal library.  These attempts differ slightly since the different gospels do have different orders for certain events and teachings.  And, very likely, Jesus taught the same messages several different times, in different places.  The Wikipedia page on this, at the link above, does a pretty good job of outlining one version of a gospel harmony, giving a table with 161 events from the life of Christ, along with their references in the four gospels.  Those 161 events – with representative church artwork! – can be found here.

Tomorrow we return to Matthew, reading the growing challenges by the religious leaders, as Jesus spends the Passover Week in Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:23-46, Conflict with the Religious Leaders

Jesus has entered Jerusalem, been adored by throngs of Passover pilgrims, cleaned out the temple and then cursed the fig tree.  All attention is on him.

Matt 21:23-27
Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  John's baptism--where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" 

They discussed it among themselves and said,  "If we say, `From heaven,' he will ask, `Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, `From men'--we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said,  "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these  things.

Jesus deflects the question by going to its source.

Matt 21:28-32
"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, `Son, go and work today in the  vineyard.'

"`I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, `I will, sir,' but he did not go."

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" 

"The first,"  they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

After first deflecting their question, Jesus goes ahead and provides a basic answer, in essence accusing the leaders of ignoring John, an accusation they were trying to avoid.

Being religious does not get one into the kingdom of God.  Being a religious leader might even be a hindrance!?  The Passover Week is filled with conflict between Jesus and the legalistic religious leaders.

Matt 21:33-39
"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. `They will respect my son,' he said.

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other,  `This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and  killed him."

Another story.  Do the leaders understand the analogy?

Matt 21:40-46
"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "`The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its  fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Jesus repeatedly resorts to parables, a very distinctive type of teaching.  He has been doing this throughout his three year ministry.

The quotation in verse 43, on the "capstone" (or "cornerstone") is from Psalm 118:22-23.
Some ancient manuscripts do not have verse 44.

The sparring between Jesus and the religious leaders continues throughout the Passover Week.

Matthew 21:1-22, Entrance into Jerusalem

Jesus's popularity, which has fallen lately due to his "hard sayings" and his refusal to be politicized, has begun to return.  He approaches Jerusalem in advance of the Passover feast.

Matt 21:1-9
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, `See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed  shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he  who comes in the name of the Lord!"  "Hosanna in  the highest!"

The crowds welcome him into Jerusalem as a prophet.  Somehow the people know something is happening on this day; they all interpret this as a Messianic fulfillment of some kind.

The quote in verse 5 is from Zechariah 9:9. The quote in verse 9 is from Psalm 118:26.

NIV footnotes: "Hosanna" is a Hebrew expression meaning "Save!" which became an  exclamation of praise.

Matt 21:10-11

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

The Passover Week has begun.  It will end with a crucifixion and then something miraculous on the first day of the week after that.  The remaining seven chapters in Matthew will cover that week.

Matt 21:12-13
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "`My house will be called  a house of prayer,' but you are making it a `den of  robbers.' "

It is not clear how Jesus drove out the money changers.  He may have begun by driving out the animals they were selling for the sacrificial system.

The quotes in verse 13 are, respectively, from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  The Isaiah quote implies that the temple is to be a model for "all nations", which includes the Gentiles.  Jesus is incensed that the religious leaders have degraded what was to be an example to the world.

Matt 21:14-17
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the  temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant. 

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked  him. 

"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "`From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise' ?" And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple; this, of course, attacked a certain moneymaking element of the religious power.  But the religious leaders seem most upset that the children are worshiping Jesus, instead of following them!

The quote in verse 16 is from Psalm 8:2.

Matt 21:18-22
Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city,  he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in  prayer."

A metaphor in action.  (But Jesus seems to be reacting in frustration?)

In the next passage, Jesus preaches in the temple courts.  The religious leaders cannot miss him.