90. Jesus Enters Jerusalem as Popular Leader

After about one year of teaching in the cities and villages on the outskirts of Judea, Jesus finally comes to Jerusalem, the spiritual epicenter of his people’s religion. What’s more, he comes during the preparation for Passover, one of the holiest of Jewish celebrations. It is a calculated moment to enter the holy city, because it promises to give Jesus his greatest audience, and his greatest impact.

It is clear from the first part of this passage that as Jesus enters Jerusalem, he receives a hero’s welcome. In fact, his reception is so enthusiastic that Jesus is moved to declare it virtually uncontainable: “I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.”

This outpouring was not some happy accident, but the outcome of a calculated strategy. Jesus knew that when he came to Jerusalem, he would be entering the lion’s den – the power base of the Jewish leadership who were most threatened by his teachings. By first preaching in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, beyond the clutches of those who would destroy him, he knew he would build up a following that would give him some protection when he finally came to preach in his enemies’ midst.

It would be a strategy that would only buy Jesus so much time, as he seemed fully aware. In the next passage, Jesus foreshadows his fate when he says: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her!” It appears his anguish is not so much over his personal fate as the fate of his people. Because they would not heed his message, he sees clearly the coming annihilation at the hands of the Romans: “For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another…”

And finally we have the last paragraph, where Jesus, while in Jerusalem, does a little reconnaissance – checking out the situation in the temple before retreating to Bethany, where we can imagine he is making his plans for the next day.

91. Jesus Casts Commerce from the Temple

This passage is often used to make the point that even Jesus could lose his temper if given sufficient cause. This interpretation, however, is not consistent with the Jesus we have come to know. The Jesus we have studied has taught that we should love, not resist, our enemy; that we should live in a state of constant forgiveness; and that we should be merciful, even as our Father is merciful. Is he now, in this final stage of his mission, throwing all of his teachings out the window? The suggestion here is, not likely.

Instead, it makes more sense to view this as a calculated act. Our first clue is in the final paragraph in the last section, where we read that Jesus enters the temple and “when he had looked round about upon all things, it being now eventide, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.”

Jesus, no doubt an extraordinary tactician, came the day before to take in the situation in the temple, so that he could evolve a conscious, premeditated plan – one that he may have finalized in prayer during his rest time in Bethany. And to what purpose? To make an impact, gain attention, and draw a following, so that he may quickly begin what he came there to do: Teach.

92. Jesus Teaches in the Temple

Here is Jesus, in Jerusalem, in the temple, at the time of Passover, teaching a radically new understanding of humankind’s relationship to God while undermining the authority of the Jewish leadership. It is amazingly bold.

Given the threatening nature of Jesus’ message, the Jewish leaders were not pleased. But their hands seemed tied: Jesus was a popular figure, protected by the multitudes. That, and the fact that in the evening Jesus always left Jerusalem to stay in Bethany, frustrated their attempts to have him arrested.

93. Jewish Rulers Challenge Authority of Jesus

In this passage the chief priests, scribes and elders are trying to trap Jesus. If Jesus were to answer that he was given his authority by God, they would attempt to discredit him as a heretic. But Jesus cleverly avoids their trap by setting his own, asking them first to answer the question whether the baptism of John was from heaven or from men – which he knows they cannot answer honestly. Like Jesus, John was well loved by the people; and, again as with Jesus, that popularity helped protect him from persecution. At least for a while.

94. Parables in Condemnation of Jewish Leaders

And Jesus began to speak unto them in parables:

A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in the vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented himself, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

What think ye? Whether of the twain did the will of his father? They say, The first.

Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him.

Jesus here conveys a simple message: To acknowledge wrong-doing and make amends brings us closer to the kingdom of God than to do wrong and hide from that truth.

In the kingdom of God, when you see the need for change, you change.

Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, which planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a pit for the winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country. And at the season of the fruits he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard. And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and him they wounded in the head, and handled shamefully, and sent him away empty. And he sent another; and him they killed: and many others; beating some, and killing some. And the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my son: it may be they will reverence him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir: let us kill him and take his inheritance. And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the owner of the vineyard do unto them? He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

We have seen throughout our study that Jesus believed that the Jewish religious leaders had abdicated their responsibility to God and failed to serve the interests of their people – instead, they used their authority to advance their own cause and to gain status, prestige, wealth, and power.

This parable continues that criticism. It is a searing indictment of the Jewish leadership’s corruption – an unambiguous accusation that they had betrayed the word of God to satisfy their own egocentric desires. And it is delivered at the heart of the leadership’s power-base.

In this parable, the householder is God. The husbandmen represent the Jewish leadership, who are given the responsibility of nurturing their people’s spiritual growth (represented by the vineyard). But the husbandmen have gone astray, perverting their responsibilities for selfish gains. When the people come to reap the fruit of the husbandmen’s knowledge of the way of God, they end up betrayed and mistreated and led further from truth rather than closer. Dismayed at their behavior, the householder then sends his son – symbolic of a prophet – in the hopes that this will gain the husbandmen’s attention and motivate them to mend their ways. But the son too is rejected, and killed.

Jesus’ parable ends with a prophesy: That God’s mission for the Jews – which Jesus believed was to bring the knowledge of the path to God to the Jews and Gentiles alike – would be taken from them and passed on to others.

And Jesus spake again a parable unto them, saying, A certain king made a marriage feast for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come. Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Behold, I have made ready my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found: and the wedding was filled with guests.

The marriage feast is the kingdom of God, and the king’s chosen people are all invited to enter. But like the husbandmen in the previous parable, they ignore the king’s request and go about laying up treasure among men – “one to his farm, another to his merchandise.” So what does the king do? He invites others in their place. Once again, Jesus is saying that because the Jewish elders have turned a deaf ear to God’s will, the mission of bringing the knowledge of the way to enlightenment to all humanity shall pass on to others.

95. Efforts to Accumulate Evidence Against Jesus

And they watched Jesus, and sent forth spies, which feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor.

And when they were come, they say unto him, Teacher, we know that thou art true, and sayest and teachest rightly, and carest not for anyone: for thou regardest not the person of men, but of a truth teachest the way of God. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?

But Jesus perceived their craftiness, and said, Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a denarius. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marveled at his answer, and held their peace.

Once again the Jewish elders are trying to trick Jesus into saying something that will get him in trouble – this time with the Roman authorities. But again Jesus is far too clever, giving an answer that is at once unambiguous, yet completely sidesteps the trap set for him.

And there came to Jesus certain of the Sadducees, they which say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless; and the second; and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.

Jesus said unto them, Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the scriptures, nor the power of God? The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage: for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

But that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. Ye do greatly err.

And when the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Let’s imagine that thus far the Jewish elders have found themselves outsmarted by this upstart prophet at every turn. Each trap they have set, Jesus has avoided – and in the process the elders have most likely felt embarrassed, humiliated and frustrated. With that as a backdrop, it is easy to imagine the delight of the Sadducees when they finally confront Jesus with what is clearly an unsolvable riddle, at least for anyone who believes in the resurrection -- which they seemed to assume that Jesus did.

The problem is simple: A woman, who had married and been widowed by seven brothers in succession, but bore no children with any of them, dies. In the resurrection – where God raises from the dead all true believers and restores their human form and lifts them up to heaven to be reunited with their families – whose wife would she be?

Jesus’ response seems to be along the line of, “You guys must be kidding. If you had even a clue about what is in the realm of possibility and what is not, you would never ask such a question.” He then goes into what seems to be a very different conceptualization of the afterlife and of the resurrection than his inquisitors. Clearly Jesus does not believe in a physical resurrection, but rather a spiritual one, and in such a resurrection there is no marriage as we conceive it here. That is why he says to the Sadducees “ye do greatly err.”

He goes on to make the point that, in any case, we need to consider the things which make for life, rather than what happens after death. It is the here and now that should command our attention.

And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her?

And this they said, trying him, that they might have whereof to accuse him.

But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? And she said, No man, Master. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more.

While the meaning in this passage is clear, it is worthwhile to reflect on how intelligently and creatively Jesus deals with what is a life and death situation -- both for the accused woman and for him.

The woman’s life hangs in the balance because she has been accused of adultery, the punishment for which is death by stoning. Apparently a crowd of people have gathered, ready to carry out the sentence. At the same time, Jesus is aware that the Jewish authorities are using this situation as bait: If he wants to save the woman’s life, which the leadership knows would be his desire, he can only do so by contradicting Jewish law, in turn making him vulnerable to arrest.

But once again Jesus is able to out-maneuver his enemies. Rather than attack the validity of the law, he simply sets out a condition for its execution: whoever is without sin, cast the first stone.

As we study Jesus it is hard not to marvel at the intelligence, presence of mind and creativity he brings to whatever situation is thrust before him.

And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that Jesus had answered them well, asked him a question: Teacher, what commandment is the first of all?

Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord the God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as yourself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

And the scribe said unto Jesus, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.

And no man after than durst ask Jesus any question.

Here again we have the essence of Jesus’ teaching – what is referred to as the first and second commandment. The commandments have a prologue: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. That statement alone is worth a lifetime of pondering and investigation. Why is it at the beginning of the teaching? And what is meant by that word, “God”? Our mind struggles to comprehend. Some call God ultimate reality; some ultimate mystery; others truth and spirit; still others, love. Jesus spoke of God the father. We also speak of God as creator, the source of all life. And we speak of doing God’s will – indicating that we believe God has an intention, a direction, a purpose. All of these – and much more -- are aspects of what we mean when we say God.

What does it mean to say God is one? And why is that such an important insight? Earlier Jesus expanded on the meaning of God’s oneness: “For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and his rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” In other words, there is one creator, one creation, one “set of rules” that applies to everyone. All of us are equally subject to God’s will – which we primarily experience through the laws of cause and effect.

If all creation is one interconnected whole, then alienation from any aspect of creation is ultimately dysfunctional and unsustainable. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” As human beings, we mostly experience alienation in our relationships with each other. By alienation we mean a subjective attitude or feeling of rejection, anger, hurt; or lack of forgiveness, mercy or compassion. When we are in such a state we are not happy – perhaps an evolutionary mechanism meant to motivate us to resolve our alienation so that a deeper, more satisfying existence can be achieved.

If you think about it, all alienation is the result of an unmet expectation. There was something that we wanted that we did not get. Usually it comes down to not getting love, although its manifestation may take myriad forms, such as not getting approval, respect, obedience, admiration, to name just a few. By letting go of these expectations, by being willing to surrender and go deep into the abyss to confront our worst fear – that we are unlovable -- we learn that there, at the foundation of our existence, our very soul, we are one with a magnificent, awesome and mysterious process that goes back to the beginning of time.

We realize, in short, that we have been, and continue to be, loved into existence.

But seeing that truth requires a total surrender, which is why the first commandment is to love God totally -- with all our soul, mind, heart and strength. Loving God totally requires that we surrender our own ego-driven priorities and desires. We put nothing ahead of our commitment to discover and do God’s will.

The first commandment is the pathway to freedom, to realizing who we truly are. The second commandment is the gymnasium within which the first commandment is exercised. Love your neighbor as yourself. How we treat others is a measure of how deeply we are aware of our own identity as a vehicle of God’s will and spirit.

All this and more is implied by Jesus’ teaching. And it may be that the scribe to whom he is speaking actually understands these implications. So why then does Jesus say that he is not far from the kingdom of God? Why is he not in the kingdom? Because understanding is only part of the requirement. We also have to live it.