Day 5 (Continued) - 2 days before Passover
Tuesday, after cursing the fig tree "to death" Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for his fourth and final day of teaching and testing. The Gospels include a huge amount of material attributed to this day. It was a very busy day. We often disassociate Jesus' teaching from time, place, circumstance and sometimes even the immediate scriptural context. The Gospels, however, always set Jesus' teachings in a particular time, place, and context. It is not appropriate to interpret scripture by asking, "What does it mean to me?" Rather we should ask, "What was it actually saying?" I think it is instructive to note that these teachings were taking place the day before Jesus was crucified. What is he teaching and to whom? Why is he teaching it now? How does that shape my faith?
"Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching..." Matt 21:23
"They arrived in Jerusalem and while Jesus was walking in the Temple courts..." Mark 11:27
"One day as he was teaching..." Luke 20:1
Test: By what authority do you do these things?
Counter Test: Was John's Baptism of man or God?
Matt 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke20:18
Parable of the Two Sons
Matt 21:28
The Parable of the Tenants
Matt 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19
Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Matt 22:1-14
Test: Paying Taxes to Caesar
Matt 22:15, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26
Test: The Resurrection and Marriage
Matt 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-40
Test: The Greatest Commandment
Matt 22:34-39, Mark 12:28-34
Counter Test: Who's Son is Christ
Matt 22:41-45, Mark 12:35-40, Luke 20:41-47
The Widows Offering
Mark 12:41-43, Luke 21:1-4
7 Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees Matt 23:1-37
1. Shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces
2. Converts become "twice as much a son of hell as you are".
3. Make foolish rules about swearing oaths.
4. Give a 10th of everything yet neglect the more important matters of the law
5. Clean on the outside, filthy on the inside
6. Appear righteous but are full of hypocrisy and wickedness
7. Self-righteousness testifies that their ancestors killed the prophets
Signs of the End of the Age
As they were leaving Jesus prophesies about the destruction of temple and the end of the age. There is a tremendous amount of future prophecy in this section alluding to not only the burning of the temple in 70 CE and the complete destruction of Jerusalem in135 CE, but also to the end of the age and the return of the Messiah on the clouds. Matthew's question and the content of the prophecy clearly indicate that the destruction of Jerusalem was not the only subject involved.
Destruction of Jerusalem Prophesied
Matt 24:1-3 Mark 13:1-2 Luke 21:5-6
The Temple was burned in 70 CE. The actual demolition of the Temple and Jerusalem does not occur until 135 CE as the Roman General Titus crushes the Barkokba revolt.
The Question
"Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?" Matt 24:3
"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?" Mark 13:4
"Teacher, " they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?" Luke 21: 7
False Prophets, Wars & Natural Disasters
Matt 24:4-8 Mark 13:5-8 Luke 21:8-11
Persecution
Matt 24:9-14 Mark 13:9-13 Luke 21:12-19
Jerusalem Surrounded Luke 21:20-24
The Abomination (Spoken of by Daniel)
Matt 24:15-22 Mark 13:14-20
Time of the Gentiles Luke 21:24
False Messiahs
Matt 24:23-28 Mark 13:21-23
2nd Coming
Matt 24:29-31 Mark 13:24-27 Luke 21:25-28
Lesson of the Fig Tree
Matt 24:30-35 Mark 13:28-31 Luke 21:29-33
Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
Hour Unknown / Watch!
Matt 24:36-44 Mark 13:32-37 Luke 21:34-36
The Faithful Servant
Matt 24:45-51
Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matt 25:1-13
Parable of the Talents
Matt 25:14-30
The Sheep and the Goats
Matt 25:31-46
One can approach this prophecy and its attendant parables in several ways but which way is correct? The question here, is not "what do you think?" but rather "what is Biblical?" How has prophecy been fulfilled in scripture in the past? This prophecy has been interpreted in three basic ways.
1. This prophecy was completely fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem. If so, how do we handle the portion of the prophecy, which is not explained by that event? Do we simply ignore it?
2. The prophecy must be dissected into that pertaining to Jerusalem and that pertaining to the 2nd coming. This is difficult to do. What is future and what is history? What Matthew describes as an end time event, Luke uses to explain the destruction of Jerusalem.
3. The destruction of Jerusalem was an intermediate fulfillment of this prophecy but it primarily applies to the events surrounding the Second Coming of Messiah. The Jerusalem events of 70 and 135 CE did not fulfill this prophecy in all its detail so there is yet another fulfillment to come.
The "End of the Age" prophecy is built upon previous prophetic oracles. Most pronounced is the "abomination that causes desolation."
"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-- let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15
Most scholars understand that the "abomination that causes desolation" refered to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose title means "God made manifest" and who ruled 175-164 BC. He conquered Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC, erected a statue to Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed pigs on the alter (Josephus, 1,1,1). Yet Jesus applies the "abomination" to the future indicating that Antiochus was not the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy but only a "type".
There are many examples of this "multiple" fulfillment pattern in scripture. Observing how Jesus fulfills the Passover Feast is a good example. The Jews connected the Feast with their escape from Egyptian bondage yet scripture applies it to Jesus, the Lamb of God as well. Even though Jesus filled the Passover full of new meaning, he seems to point to still another future fulfillment yet to be enacted.
"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." Matthew 26:29
The destruction of Jerusalem was surely part of the fabric of the "End of the Age" prophecy, but there is too much about the Son of Man coming on the clouds to restrict it to that event alone.
Passover is Two Days Away
"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." Matt 26:1-2
"Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away??p;quot; Mark 14:1
"Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover." Luke 22:1
The 2 days refer to Tuesday and Wednesday. The official Passover meal begins on Wednesday evening at twilight.
The people came early each morning to hear Jesus teach. When he arrived in Jerusalem taught daily in the Temple courts. But every night he left and lodged on the Mount of Olives in Bethany. (Luke 21:37)
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