Archive | November 2024

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 312

Nov8

     Day 312—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 312 – Matthew 25 (Kingdom parables, final judgment)

Jesus continues to tell His listeners about the end times using parables. First is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. 

All ten went to wait for the bridegroom to arrive at the bride’s house for the wedding. They were to be the welcoming committee. There was a delay, but at midnight, the call came that He was approaching. All the lamps had gone out while the virgins were sleeping, but FIVE were able to relight theirs and go to meet the bridegroom because they had brought extra oil. They knew the wait could be a long one.

But the other five had not brought extra oil, could not relight their lamps, and could not go to meet Him.  They tried to buy some from the others, but the wise ones had none to spare.  The bridegroom came, the wise five went into the banquet hall with him, and the door was shut. The foolish five pounded on the door and begged to be let in, but the groom’s father said he did not know them.  Yikes. Jesus warns his listeners to WATCH because they don’t know the time of His coming.

In this case, I don’t think the oil represented the Holy Spirit but rather readiness and preparedness.

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The second parable was the Parable of the Talents.  In this one, a man going on a long journey, entrusted his servants with his property.  To one servant He gave FIVE talents (a measure of weight, not a specific coin), to another He gave TWO talents, and to the other He gave ONE. (Not favoritism, but according to each’s ABILITY to handle money.)

The five talent guy traded in the markets and earned five more.  Likewise, the two talent guy doubled  his money. But the one talent guy – lazy, more than fearful – hid the one talent…incase he lost it in a bad stock option.

When the master returned, the five and two talents men were praised and rewarded. However, the one talent man was berated. AT THE VERY LEAST, he should have invested the sum and gained interest – probably not double, but some!  As a penalty, the master gave the one talent to the guy with five. The “worthless fellow” was cast into outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The man’s own words condemned him.

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Then, Jesus gives a sheep/goats parable about the last judgment.  He compares all the world’s nations and peoples to sheep or goats.  The sheep are those with kind, love-filled hearts who minister to the poor, sick, and imprisoned with mercy and supplies in Christ’s name.  The goats represent those with hard, selfish hearts, who do not bother to give any help to the weak, sick, and needy.  (Let them go to the poorhouse, as Scrooge said.)

The loving sheep will be blessed with an eternal inheritance prepared for them by God from the foundation of the world.

The selfish, heartless goats will be cursed for an eternity, prepared for the devil and his angels.

(Wow. I need to examine my heart and confess my selfishness!!  And laziness. And unpreparedness.)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 311

Nov7

     Day 311—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 311 – Matthew 24 (more on the destruction of the temple, end-time warnings, antichrists, His coming)

This chapter covers what we’ve looked at in the last two days, with different details.  The conversation begins with the disciples admiring the temple building and ends with the Lord’s second coming.

The disciples naturally want to know the details, and Jesus proceeds to teach about short-term, long-term, and unknown-term happenings. I’m not sure the disciples understood any more after Jesus was finished. I don’t!

Jesus talks about false messiahs, wars, and catastrophes near and worldwide. They are not to fear but remain faithful.  Jesus says many will grow cold, and fall away, and betray each other, and that lawlessness will increase. They are to endure to the end.  And they are to consistently proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world. When that is complete, the end will come.

Further, in the end times, the abomination of desolation will appear that was foretold by Daniel. False Christs and prophets will perform great signs and wonders and try to lead even God’s elect astray.  DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!

Terrifying occurrences in the heavens will happen, and then the Son of Man will appear in clouds with power and great glory. And “all the tribes of the earth will mourn.”  When the disciples of that day see these things happening, they will KNOW the time of the end is near.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Jesus is and speaks the truth. We can always trust in what He says.

He compares the end times to those days of Noah. People will be eating and drinking as they normally do every day. They will marry and attend weddings until the DAY of judgment comes when they will be swept away.

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming.  Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do NOT expect.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 310

Nov6

     Day 310—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 310 – Mark 13 (destruction of the Temple, end times)

Mark 13 is similar to what we read yesterday. When the disciples comment on the beauty of the temple, Jesus tells them that soon, not one of the huge stones will be left standing on another.

They question Him when it will happen and what the sign is that it is about to happen. Jesus answers that first question at the end of the chapter, but first, he warns them of other more dangerous things like their being led astray by false Messiahs, rumors of unrest, and individual persecution. Jesus tells them that these things will happen, but they are not to be fooled or be afraid.  Instead, they are to “be on their guard.” They are to endure to the end.

Jesus also mentions the “abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be.”  If they see that, they are to flee to the mountains fast.  They would have recognized the reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria who invaded Jerusalem in the 200’s BC and sacrificed a pig on the alter.  However, here Jesus is warning them both of the Roman invasion which would tear down this current temple, and in the days of “great tribulation,” the Antichrist would again defile the altar.

The warning to NOT believe every prediction of Christ’s appearance is to us, also. “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.  But be on guard, I have told you all things  beforehand.”

There will be days of great tribulation and terrors. The sun will be darkened, and the moon too, and stars will fall from heaven. But… the REAL THING they will see — “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

Then Jesus answers their first question – when it will happen.  “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  So then (and we) are to be on guard and keep awake, for we do not know when the time will come.

“What I say to you, I say to all; ‘stay awake’.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 309

Nov5

     Day 309—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 309 – Matthew 23, Luke 20 – 21 (seven woes to religious leaders, destruction of the Temple, end times)

Several things are repeated in these chapters, but Matthew begins with seven “woes” (or pronouncements) against the religious leaders who do not practice what they preach. Jesus tells the crowd to obey Moses’ Law, which they teach, but do not copy what they do, for they act righteously only to be seen, adored, and respected by others, not God. 

Jesus tells the people that their religious leaders (Scribes and Pharisees) scrub clean the “outsides” of their lives, but their hearts are full of greed and self-indulgence. God views them as white-washed tombs with rotting remains inside. (Whoa!)  Outwardly, they seem righteous, but inside, they are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

Jesus calls them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, serpents, a brood of vipers, and murderers. And even as they challenge His authority, Jesus turns back their words on them in obvious and condemning parables.  They burn inside and desire to seize Him and kill Him, but… they fear what the people would do to them.  And so, they watch and wait and send spies who pretend to be sincere that they might catch Him in SOMETHING to deliver Him to Pontius Pilate. But it all fails because it is not yet “His hour.”

Later, Jesus tells his disciples (in the people’s hearing) to “Beware the scribes!”

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Jesus uses their admiration of the Temple’s beauty to teach about the coming destruction.  “The days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Perhaps thinking of Jerusalem’s fall at the time of the Babylonians, they ask, “Teacher, WHEN will these things be? What will be the sign?”

Jesus gives them a list of horrors that will come first but are NOT the sign of the end. (Jesus’s prophecies combine the coming destruction of Jerusalem with the end times of all flesh.)  

Many will come saying they are the Christ. (Don’t go after them.)

Wars and tumults will come. (Do not be terrified.)

Nations and kingdoms will war. Earthquakes, famines, and pestilences will happen in various places. There will be terrors and great signs in heaven.  

But, before that happens, they will lay hands on YOU, deliver YOU up to persecute and imprison you. But use it as an opportunity to bear witness.  Settle in your minds not to meditate beforehand how you will answer, for the Spirit will give your mouth wisdom.

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies…KNOW that desolation is near. Leave the city and flee to the mountains. For there will be great distress and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and be led into captivity.  And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  (This last could be describing 70 AD when the Roman general, Titus, destroyed the city and led many Jews away as slaves who had not escaped.)

Then Jesus looks more to the future.  “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When you see these things begin to happen… straighten up and raise your heads… because your redemption is drawing near.”

Jesus then warns them to watch themselves, and not let sin or cares distract them. “Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Did they even understand what He was saying?

Do we?

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 307 and 308

Nov4

     Days 307 and 308—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

NOTE:  Both Sunday and Monday studies are posted on MONDAY.

Day 307 – Mark 11, John 12. (triumphal entry cleanses the temple, about His death and the reason foretold)

Six days before Passover, when Jesus will be crucified, he visits His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (whom He had raised). As usual, Martha was serving, Lazarus was reclining at the table with Jesus, and Mary – quite unusually – took a jar of expensive ointment and anointed Jesus’ feet, wiping the excess with her hair (a sublime gesture of love, and as Jesus says, a sign of his upcoming burial).  The fragrance from the perfume and her act of love “filled the house.”

All the disciples objected, but Judas spoke aloud. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to…. the poor? (He didn’t care about the poor. He had charge of the moneybag and was a thief. He wanted to help himself to some of the hard cash the ointment would have brought.)

Jesus rebuked his words (and the other disciples’ thoughts). “Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.  You always have the poor (Judas!), but you do not always have me.”  (Later, we will see that Judas used this rebuke as a final excuse to go to the Jewish leaders and “sell” Jesus to them in betrayal.  He WOULD get some money one way or another!!)

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The next day, a large crowd heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him.  Meanwhile, Jesus sent two of His disciples into the village, where they found a donkey colt tied up (Matthew says the colt’s mother was there, too) They were to bring it to Jesus. If anyone questioned their actions, they were to simply say that the Lord needed it (and that it would be returned).

They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it. Jesus mounted it and started into the city, where the waiting crowds cheered. They waved palm branches and threw them on the street so He could ride over them.

(NOTE: Remember, this young donkey had never been ridden before, and from one who has owned horses, I can tell you cloaks thrown over his back, wild cheering, and palm leaves waved and strewn in front of it would – typically – have caused him to “spook” and buck and try to run away out of fear.  But just as Jesus had calmed the wild, bucking waves and wind with a word, this young cold remained calm in its master and creator’s hands.)

Jesus’s actions were later recognized by His disciples as fulfillments of scripture, although at the time, they were probably caught up in the excitement and thought Jesus’ crowning day had come.

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! Hosanna in the highest!” (Psalm 118:25-26)

(From Zechariah 9:9) “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

Meanwhile, the Pharisees simmered in their hatred and jealousy and said to one another. “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him.”  They went after Jesus, indignant, and asked Him if he HEARD what the people were saying.  “Yep, have you never read (a jab at the very ones who knew the law), ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies, You have prepared praise?'”

Jesus then, in righteous anger, cleans out the Temple of cheating moneychangers and animal merchants.  “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”  Seeing their profit disintegrate, the chief priests and scribes sought all the more to DESTROY Jesus, but they didn’t act for fear of the people.

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Jesus then gives some heavy-duty teaching about His upcoming death and its reason. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” 

And then an astonishing incident. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!”  And a voice from heaven came, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”  The crowd heard thunder but not the words of the Father to the Son.

Jesus continued, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.  (This indicated that He would be lifted up on a cross to die.)

“We heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever,” the crowds say. “How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who IS this Son of Man?”  And Jesus answers that He, as the light, will be among them only a little while longer. It’s time to WALK in that Light and BELIEVE in that Light that they too, might become sons of Light.

But the people did not believe in Him, although He had done so many signs before them. This also fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 53:1 and 6:1.   Interestingly, MANY of the authorities did believe in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it.  (This puts in mind silent believer Nicodemus, who later openly sided with the Lord Jesus.)

Jesus then retires back to Bethany for the night.

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 Day 308 – Matthew 22, Mark 12. (Parables, paying taxes, questions answered)

Jesus returns to Jerusalem the next day and is continually confronted by religious leaders who try to trap him. He continues to teach in parables.  He compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who gives a wedding feast for his son. He sent out servants to call those who’d received invitations to come now, for the feast was ready. But, one after another, those invited guests came up with an excuse, sometimes even abusing the king’s servants. This angered the king, and he sent more servants to go to the main roads and invite as many as they could find to come to the prepared wedding feast. And so they did, bringing good and bad people alike and filling the wedding hall.  (First likely meaning – God’s chosen people were “invited” to come to their Messiah, but when they refused, God opened the doors to sinners and Gentiles.)

The second part of the wedding parable involved a man who had snuck into the feast without the proper wedding garment, which was given to everyone asked to come. This man was tossed out of the wedding feast “into outer darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Second likely meaning – only those whom God gives the robe of righteousness through faith in His Son – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven. All others who try to sneak in by any other means will end up in hell.)

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Okay, that didn’t end well for the Pharisees, so they plotted to test Jesus in another way. They tried to schmooze him with 1. “we know you are true and teach the way of God truthfully,” and 2. “you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances…..”  Then, the clincher — “Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  (They had tested Jesus before about paying the Temple Tax, and Jesus had sent Peter to get the coin from a fish’s mouth to pay it.)

Jesus now asked to see a Denarius coin.  “Whose image is on this?” He asked.  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  “Well, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”   I think the Pharisees must have stomped their foot at that.  “Darn! Foiled again!” (As Christians, we are obligated to live lawful lives under the government over us, so far as it doesn’t defy God’s law.)

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Next, a group of Sadducees (who do NOT believe in the resurrection of a person after death) came to test Jesus. They tell him a “hypothetical” story of a woman married to one man. He dies without her giving him offspring.  According to Jewish tradition and Moses’ ok (so that a tribe’s or person’s inheritance in the land of Israel didn’t go out of existence), a brother would then marry the woman and the first son would carry on the first husband’s legacy. In this story, the Sadducees said the woman was married over and over without producing a child.  So…. they grinned slyly, “In the “resurrection,” whose husband would she be?”  (Ha-ha, we got Him now!)

Jesus looks straight at them and says, “You are wrong because you know neither 1. the Scriptures nor 2. the power of God. In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. (So the woman would be wife to NONE of them.)

Then Jesus confronted their unbelief about the resurrection (the power of God) by saying that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  “Is,” not was. He is the God of the living.  Even the crowds understood that one and were amazed at his teaching. The Sadducees slunk away, disgruntled.

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One more test loomed, but this challenge seemed to be asked by a sincere Pharisee, who inquired of Jesus which of God’s laws was the “greatest.”  Jesus, of course, recited Deuteronomy 6:4.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  THIS is the great and first commandment.” Then Jesus added a two-for-one answer that was not asked. “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these TWO commandments depend ALL the law and Prophets.”

“You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that He is the one, and there is no other besides Him. And to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Note, that the religious leaders would not say the Holy Name of God from Deuteronomy.)

Jesus saw this Scribe’s heart and said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Hopefully, this man took the final step and believed in Jesus.)

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Later, Jesus told his followers, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces, and have the best seats in the synagogues, and places of honor in the feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Then, Jesus looked across at the treasury, where people were putting money in the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums with a great show, but a poor widow came and slipped in two small copper coins, which together made up one penny.  “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  THEY all contributed out of their abundance, but SHE, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

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In all this teaching in parables and testing, the chief priests and Pharisees “perceived that He was speaking about THEM.  And although they were seeking to arrest Jesus, they feared the crowds because the people held Him to be a prophet.”

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 306

Nov2

     Day 306—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 306 – Luke 19 (Zacchaeus, ten minas, [Jerusalem])

Luke 19 backs up a little on the timeline and tells about another happening in Jericho besides the healing of blind Bartimaeus. (From a poor blind beggar to a hated, wealthy tax collector.)

Zacchaeus was not a regular tax collector but the chief tax collector in Jericho. He had cheated and stolen so much that Luke says he was RICH. He heard about Jesus coming to town (maybe news about Bartimaeus reached him), and he was curious to see this healer.  BUT this hated. Roman-collaborator was a shortie.  He couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd surrounding Him. So Z climbed a nearby sycamore tree to get a better look. But the one who sought to see was seen instead. 

Jesus came to the place, looked up, and said his name. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  Wow, and Whoa!

Z hurried down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully into his home. (The crowd grumbled about Jesus dining in the house of a sinner!)

Jesus’ visit (and no doubt conversation) changed the heart of this diminutive Publican. He repented of his cheating and scheming, greediness and pride.  “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  Willingly, Z gave to the poor far beyond what was required in the law for charitable giving.  Only one-fifth of restitution (20%) was required by law to pay back someone defrauded.  Z pledged more, saying he was no better than a common robber.

Unlike the “rich, young ruler” whose money meant more to him than eternal life, Z showed he had found incalculable spiritual riches in knowing Jesus, the Messiah.  “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus said, “since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (How this must have cheered Jesus as his death drew closer.)

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Amazed by what happened in Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus’ disciples and the crowd needed some clarification. (Wicked sinners coming to salvation, while self-righteous Jews being turned away.) 

So, Jesus told the parable of the Ten Minas (Greek form of money, about a 60th of a talent). It symbolized the work that He would entrust to His servants while He went away and the hatred of the citizens who told Him they did NOT want Him to reign over them.

A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then to return. (This pictures Jesus going to Heaven to receive His Kingdom and then returning.) The nobleman left his servants in charge of his business. He gave them each one mina to manage for their master (equal gifts). When the nobleman returned, he rewarded each servant for what they had gained. The one who did nothing with what his master gave him was rewarded nothing. Indeed, the one mina was taken from him. 

And for those citizens who did NOT want the nobleman to reign over them…they were all slaughtered.  This was directed towards the Jews who actively opposed Jesus, and it “could” depict the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD…or the final wrath of God in the end times.

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Then Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, rides into the city on a donkey, weeps for it, and cleanses the Temple. We’ll look at that more tomorrow. 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 305

Nov1

     Day 305—We are in the ELEVENTH month of Bible reading and studying the New Testament Gospels.

Day 305 – Matthew 20-21 (Parables, healings, triumphal entry, the temple, the fig tree, angered leaders)

Matthew 20 continues to recount the parables of Jesus as His time grows near. It seems the people cannot “hear” the plain truth. 

At first, the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard seems unfair, especially to our commercial minds. Five sets of workers are hired to work in a man’s vineyard. The first comes early in the morning, then more workers are hired at 9:00 am, noon, 3:00 pm, and finally at 5:00 pm, only an hour before quitting time. When it comes time to hand out paychecks, the vineyard owner pays ALL the workers the same day’s wages.

“Wow!!” think the last of the crew.

“Unfair!!” proclaim the ones who worked all day in the heat.  

We would think it unfair, too, right?  But remember, this is a parable; it is meant to teach truth. Jesus had just been telling His disciples who can be saved (after His encounter with the rich young ruler). The criteria is that only those who forsake all and follow Him will inherit the Kingdom. Jesus said then that “many who are first (to follow) will be last (least in the kingdom), while some later followers will be first.”

Now to the parable of the equally paid and unequally worked laborers.  Jesus is still teaching about eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t matter when in life a person begins to follow Jesus or how long he serves Him before he dies; the same salvation is given.  Take the two brothers, James and John.  James was the first martyr in the early church, while his brother John lived to be over ninety and wrote the Book of Revelation.  Then think of the thief on the cross (Luke 23:29-43) who, just before death, becomes a true follower of Jesus, compared to a saint who has spent his entire life serving his King.  NO MATTER the length or hardness of labor, the “inheritance” is the same.

Jesus then brackets this parable by again saying, “The last will be first, and the first last.” to make sure we understand. 

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Matthew 21 shows Jesus, at the beginning of “Holy Week,” triumphally entering Jerusalem on a donkey’s foal. But we’ll look at it more closely in a day or two in the other Gospels.

In the temple, Jesus continues to heal the blind and lame and teach the people. The religious leaders were indignant when they saw this and heard the children calling, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” 

“Do you hear what they are saying???” they asked Jesus.

“Yep. Haven’t you ever read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained praise?” (Psalm 8:2).  Saying that, Jesus turned His back to them and left the city. He lodged in Bethany (maybe in the home of Martha and Mary.)

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In the morning, heading back into Jerusalem, Jesus did another “weird” and controversial thing.  He curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit, and instantly, the tree withers. Huh?  Was this Jesus in a fit of early morning “hanger?”  No, of course not.  From Hosea 9:10 and Joel 1:7, we learn that the fig tree is often a “picture” of Israel. The curse on the barren fig tree symbolizes judgment on them for spiritual fruitlessness despite all their privilege and the prophecies about their Messiah.  (Jesus also uses this as a teaching point to His disciples about having faith when you pray.)

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In the temple, the religious leaders are still after Jesus. They want to arrest him at any cost, so they try to catch him by asking about His authority to teach and act as He did.  Jesus throws the question back at them, asking about John the Baptist, and they cannot answer.

Then, He tells a parable that surely the disciples recognize as pointing to another failure of Israel to obey God despite their privilege.  Two sons.  One command. (Work in the vineyard today.) The first son says, “No way!” but changes his mind and obeys.  The second son says, “Sure, Dad.” but it’s a lie, and he does his own thing. 

“Which son did the will of the father?”  Jesus asks them.  When they answer correctly, Jesus basically tells them that sinners (tax collectors, etc.) are like the first son, but they turn and follow Jesus, while THEY, the religious leaders who had access to the very Word of God, refuse to obey.  (How clear can Jesus get??)

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To heap more coals of condemnation on their heads, Jesus tells another parable about a King with a vineyard, some worthless tenants, several servants, and finally, the King’s Son, who go to receive the harvest. All are killed by the greedy, black-hearted tenants.

When Jesus asks what they think, the religious leaders proclaim their own condemnation and punishment, “The king will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”  (Talk about your own words coming back on your head!!)

Jesus agrees with them and says to their chagrined, angered faces, “Therefore I tell YOU, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

“GRRRRR…..” they think, but are afraid to arrest Jesus because the crowd reveres Him as a prophet.