Matthew: Passion the King
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MatthewSurvey of the New Testament: The Gospels & ActsWinter 2005 |
[Previous: Preparation by the King] [Next: Conclusion]
Jesus has been careful to keep his identity as the king under wraps until chapter 21. Often when performing miracles, he would warn people not to spread the news of the miracle (8:4, 9:30). After Peter 's confession in chapter 16, Jesus warns the disciples not to tell anyone his true identity.
But now in chapter 21, Jesus approaches Jerusalem , and He is ready to reveal to the whole town that he is the King. He rides into the city on a donkey with the crowd shouting “Hosanna!” According to Matthew , this is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9:
( Matthew 21:5 NASB ) “'SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION , 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT , THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'”
After Jesus entered the temple, He arrived at the temple, only to find that the outer courtyard of the temple had been turned into a marketplace. This outer courtyard was the place reserved for the Gentiles and the children to worship, and their place had been invaded by these greedy moneychangers. Jesus clears out the temple and restores it to its original purpose.
Jesus is defending the rights of the Gentiles and the children. Is there any question why children were shouting in the temple “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (21:15). Jesus had restored their place of worship.
Needless to say, this enraged the chief priests. They had not only allowed the moneychangers into the temple, but were very likely given a cut of the profits. So they approach Jesus and ask him what gave him the right to enter the temple and toss out the moneychangers (21:23). Jesus turns this on them and asks them where John the Baptist received their authority. This was a trap, of course, and the chief priests can't answer.
Jesus uses this occasion to confront the religious leaders by telling three parables illustrating the Israel 's rejection of the Messiah.
A man asked his two sons to work in the vineyard. One refused, but then later regretted it and went to work in the vineyard. The second agreed to go, but then never went. Which one did the will of his father. The former represents the tax gatherers and the prostitutes who believe in John the Baptist, while the latter represents the religious leaders. Jesus ' point is:
( Matthew 21:31b) The tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
A landowner prepares his vineyard and then hires a manager to care for it. At harvest time the owner sends his slaves to help with the harvest, but the manager killed the slaves. So the landowner sends his son, but the manager killed the son as well. Jesus asks what the landowner will do to the manager when he comes. His audience responded that the landowner will bring the manager to a “wretched end,” and give the vineyard to others. Jesus point is:
( Matthew 21:43) The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
A king gave a wedding feast for his son. He sent out and invitation, but those who were invited refused to come. So the king sends out his servants to invite anyone of the street to come, both the evil and the good. However when one of the guests came without proper wedding attire. But how could a guest who came off the street be expected to be wearing proper attire? Such ones would have been given proper attire by the host, yet this one refused to wear the garment.
Jesus seem to be referring to Isaiah 61:10 [1]:
(Isaiah 61:10 NASB ) I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Jesus point is that the religious leaders have been invited to the wedding, but they refused to participate. So now the feast has been opened to the tax collectors, prostitutes, and the Gentiles
All three of these parables illustrate the religious leaders rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. All of this is in fulfillment of Psalm 18:22-23, which speaks of a stone rejected by the builders, that, to the amazement of all ends up become the cornerstone of God's work. Jesus has clearly communicated to his audience that because they have not accepted Him as the Messiah, that God would be removing them from the kingdom and giving it to the undesirables of the world.
The chief priests and Pharisees clearly understood Jesus meaning, and they sought to seize Him (21:45). However, they could not do so in front of the crowds, for they believed in Him. However, they did then seek to set traps for him so they could accuse Jesus of some wrong doing (22:15). However this strategy failed (22:46). However, they continued to plot as to how to seize Him when the crowds were not around so as to not start some public disturbance (26:3-5). Finally their break came when Judas Iscariot agreed to betray Jesus at the right opportunity (26:14-16).
In chapter 23 Jesus then lets all the stops out and He bluntly and publicly condemns the Pharisees and religious leaders for their hypocrisy, and their leading the nation astray. The condemnation comes in a group of eight “woes.” He concludes with the condemnation of the nation because of there rejection of the kingdom, stating that this judgment would come upon this very generation (23:36). However, Jesus does not delight in the condemnation, but regrets it. He longs for the nation to accept Him and for Him to gather them under His wings (23:37). But that is not to be, for Israel has rejected her King.
In chapter 24, Jesus and the disciples are admiring the beauty of the temple in Jerusalem . However, Jesus told them that it would not be long before the temple would be destroyed. That destruction would come as a result of the rejection of the King by the Jews. Later that day, at the Mount of Olives , the disciples ask Jesus two questions:
In the mind of the disciples, these are the same question. They are asking when will the fullness of the kingdom will come. Jesus has already alluded to a time when the wheat and tares would be harvested and the dragnet would separate the good fish from the bad. The disciples have discerned that at a yet future time the Messiah would return to usher in the full kingdom and would reign over the entire earth.
Jesus answer is the fifth of five of Matthew 's discourses [1], known as the Olivet Discourse. However, Jesus ' answer reveals to us that the disciples question has two separate answers. That is, the time of the temples destruction will not be the same as time as the end of the age [3].
When looking at the Olivet Discourse, one must recognize that Jesus is not giving us a full systematic theology of the end times. The study of the Olivet discourse is a study of biblical theology , as opposed to systematic theology .
Systematic theology tries to determine what the entire bible teaches on a particular subject area. To do this, we would have to compare the Olivet discourse to the Old Testament prophets such as Daniel and Ezekiel, Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4-5 and 2 Thessalonians 2, and of course the book of Revelation.
Biblical theology looks only at what one biblical author says regarding a particular subject. For this study, we are looking only at Matthew 's eschatology. This is limited to Jesus answer to the specific questions asked of Him by the disciples: “when will the temple be torn down and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”
Jesus begins with a warning not to be misled. There will be many false signs. These false signs include:
These things will always take place and must not be seen as signs of the end of the age. Jesus is warning us against the danger of end time hysteria, which tends to paralyze the church from its primary mission. He reminds us that we must be about spreading the gospel of the kingdom to the entire world, for the end of the age will not come until that time. This is looking forward to the fulfillment of Jesus final command in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations, and reminds Matthew 's readers of the necessity of including the Gentiles in the church.
Jesus explains that the destruction of the temple will follow the abomination of desolation. The prophet Daniel ( Daniel 9:27) predicted the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes during the time of the Maccabean revolt. Jesus is saying that there will be a similar desecration prior to its destruction.
When this happens, Jesus warns the Jews to flee to the wilderness, for there would be a time of great tribulation for the Jews which surrounds the destruction of the temple. There will also be many false Messiah's rising up to lead the Jews against the Romans. But Jesus warns his listeners that these will indeed be false Messiah who will also be destroyed. These things are more imminent than the disciples might imagine, for Jesus warns them that this generation will not pass away until these things take place (vs. 34).
This is exactly what happens. Within 40 years of Jesus message, the Roman empire quashes a Jewish rebellion in what the historian Josephus calls “the Jewish War.” The Romans laid siege to Jerusalem , starving out the people. Then they entered the city, and desecrating and destroying the temple and abolishing the priesthood and the temple sacrifices. Many Jews fled to the wilderness, including some to the fortress of Masada , where the last remnants of the Jewish army committed suicide rather than be captured by the Romans.
Truly this was a time of tremendous tribulation for the Jews, and was a direct result of their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. But was this a time of “great tribulation” such as the world had never seen? Some see this “great tribulation” referring to the entire age between the temple's destruction and the second coming. Others believe that Jesus is “fast-forwarding” from the tribulation which surrounded the temple's destruction to a yet-future Great Tribulation corresponding to Revelation [4].
In either case Jesus seems to be making a transition to answering the disciples second question: what will be the sign of the end of the age? The answer to this question is, according to Blomberg, “'Don't worry, when it comes you won't miss it! [5]'”
When the Son of Man returns it will be readily apparent to all. It will be appear in the sky (24:30) and will be able to be seen by all, like lightening (24:27). There will be great astronomical events and the sun, moon will be darkened (24:29). Then he will appear in the sky, coming with power and might (24:30). The nations will tremble at his coming (24:30), for this time the Messiah comes to bring judgment. But He will also send forth his angels and gather his elect from the four corners of the earth (24:31).
But as to the exact timing of this event, no one knows, not even the Son of Man (vs. 37). He will come when he is least expected (vs. 44). Jesus then tells two parables with a single point. Because you do not know exactly when the end will come, you must be ready.
In the first parable there were 10 virgins awaiting the bridegroom. Five brought sufficient oil to keep their lamps lit all night. Five ran out of oil in their lamps, so they left to purchase more oil. The bridegroom came while the five were gone, and missed the wedding feast. (25:1-13)
( Matthew 25:13 NIV) Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
In the second parable a master gave three of his slaves 5, 2, and 1 talents before leaving on a journey. The first two doubled their money before the master came back. The servant with 1 talent buried his talent in the ground. The master rewarded the first two, but he threw out the other servant.
When the kingdom comes, the King will separate the people like one separates the sheep from the goats. The criteria for judging the people will be the way they treated the poor and destitute.
( Matthew 25:40 NASB ) And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
This matches the concept of the harvest of the wheat and the tares and the great dragnet mentioned in chapter 13. Through these concepts, Matthew is explaining to the skeptical Jew that the messiah-king's first mission on the earth was not to establish an earthly kingdom. That will take place in the second coming of the messiah.
But if that is the case, then what was the first mission of the messiah-king? That is answered in the trial, death, and resurrection of the King.
As we enter the trial scenes with Jesus , we see his crime explained by Matthew as his very claim to the messiah kingship. In the first trial with Caiaphas and the Jewish elders, Caiaphas asks him flat out, “…tell us whether You are the Christ , the Son of God.” Jesus , in the plainest response culminates his manifestation and states, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven (16:63-64).”
As the Jews deliver him up to Pilate , the Roman governor, the same question is asked of him by Pilate : “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus responds again, “It is as you say (27:11).” Even when Pilate is looking for a way to release Jesus , the option he gives the crowd is between Barabbas or “ Jesus who is called Christ . (27:17)” While Pilate saw no real reason for ordering his crucifixion, he knew it was the envy of the Jewish leaders. So almost in spite, the crime listed above Jesus head on the cross states that his crime was “King of the Jews (27:37).” Jesus was finally recognized as the King, but in a manner no one had expected.
On the Sunday after His death, two women go to the tomb to finish the preparation of Jesus body. The body had to be hastily placed in the tomb on Friday, for the Sabbath was rapidly approaching. Now that the Sabbath was over, the women were going to finish preparing the body for burial. However, when they arrive an angels tells them the body is gone, for He is risen! They are told that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee , and that they must tell the disciples to meet them there. Later that day, Jesus appeared in Jerusalem to the disciples and told them to leave for Galilee where they would see Him again.
When they had arrived in Galilee , Jesus gave the disciples their final mission. Jesus had all authority now, and he could have ushered in the fullness of His kingdom at that point. But there was one final mission for the disciples: they were to make disciples of all the nations.
This is Matthew 's final explanation for why the King came, but the kingdom didn't come in its fullness. This is Matthew 's final apologetic for the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. Because the coming of the full kingdom means judgment, Jesus is not yet ready for that. Instead, he desires first for all the nations to come to Him. Then, when that mission is accomplished, the kingdom will come.
[Previous: Preparation by the King] [Next: Conclusion]
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