Matthew 21:20-25:46; Mark 11:19-13:37; Luke 209:1-21:36

Day One - Sunday - Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, took a quick tour of the temple, and went back to Bethany.

Day Two - Monday - Jesus returns to Jerusalem.  He curses a fig tree for producing no fruit on his way.  Once in Jerusalem, Jesus clears the temple of it's commerce and teaches the people that the temple is a place of worship.  A "place of prayer." 

Day Three - Tuesday - Lots to read today as Jesus spent the day teaching in the Temple.  I'm going to break it up by chapter, so there will be a few posts.

Fig Tree - As Jesus and the disciples walk back into Jerusalem, the disciples see the fig tree that Jesus cursed the previous morning withered and they are amazed. I want to say, "Really?"  Don't you get it by now?  Jesus has healed every sort of disorder, cast out demons, walked on water, miraculously fed thousands of people, and raised the dead & you're still shocked?  It shows how blind we really are, doesn't it?  Anyway, Jesus tells them that with faith you can move mountains.  He has told them this before.  It means that with God anything is possible.  The Gospel of Mark adds that you need to also forgive others.  For as you forgive, you will also be forgiven.  Hmmmm . . . so God will forgive as I have forgiven?  Yep.

Authority of Jesus Challenged - Yesterday, Jesus cleared the temple, wiping out a nice little business the chief priests had going.  So, they ask Him by who's authority He did this?  By who's authority is He teaching?  By who's authority is He healing.  Jesus, as so often is the case, answers with His own question.  Basically, He's asking this question to point out their deception and lies. See, they know the answer, but they don't want to acknowledge the truth.  However, they know if they lie, the people will lose revolt.  They put themselves between a rock and a hard place and refuse to answer this simple question.  Therefore, Jesus does not answer theirs.  Now take a minute and think about your own questions of God.  Your own attitude with Him.  Are you refusing to believe?  Asking foolish questions to get your way?  Do you refuse to acknowledge the truth because to do so would mean you will need to make some changes in your life? 

Jesus now tells three parables to show God's judgment on the leaders for refusing to acknowledge the Messiah:
The Parable of the Two Sons - Those who answer the call will enter the kingdom of Heaven, not those who only pretend to hear it.
The Parable of the Tenants - The religious leaders are the tenants of God's vineyard.  They are called to tend the earth and take care of God's people.  But somewhere along the line, they got greedy.  They  didn't want to listen to God anymore.  They beat His prophets and killed His Son.  They rejected His authority.  So, He took the vineyard away from them and gave it to the world.  The prophecy found in Psalm 118:22, 23 tells us that Jesus will be rejected by the religious leaders, but God will make Him the cornerstone, the essential piece, in His church.  To his is the only parable Mark & Luke list.  However, Matthew is writing his gospel to the Jewish nation, so he focuses much more on Jesus' teachings.  Whereas Mark is writing to show Jesus' power, authority, and Messiahship; and Luke is giving a overview of Jesus' ministry.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast -  The religious leader's refused to come and celebrate the arrival of the Messiah.  In fact, they rejected Him.  So, God opened up the celebration to everyone.  However, those who come without faith are no better than those who refused to come.  They will not get to inherit eternal life without faith.  This is what is meant by the wedding cloths.  Many will follow Jesus around and learn a little about Him, but they will never truly believe that He is the Son of God. 

Paying Taxes to Caesar - I love that the Pharisees attempt to flatter Jesus with worthless words, "You don't care about opinions, You aren't swayed by appearances."  Jesus knows who He is & if He truly isn't swayed, then you don't need to butter Him up to ask your questions.  But once again, they are simply trying to trap Him into saying something they can use against Him.  Don't be fooled by flattery - stay true to the truth.  The Herodians where a loosely organized Jewish group that sought to advance the political and economic influence of the Herodian family, so this political question would have been rather important to them - kind of like a up and coming politican who is making campaign promised in order to win the people's loyalty.   "You don't like taxes?  Well, I will cut your taxes."  The people of Jerusalem were taxed twice- once by the temple, and once by the Roman government.  I look at it like us being taxed both by the State and Federally.  However, these people truly resented paying taxes to the Roman government.  (sound familiar?  I know many of us don't like paying taxes, nor do we like how they are spent.)  Jesus says something pretty incredible - the coinage has been given to them by Rome.  It has Rome's likeness on it.  Therefore, they need to follow Rome's rules in dealing with it.  Yikes.  Currency is issued by the government you live under.  They get to make the rules regarding it & you, as a member of that society, must follow them.  Plain and simple. 

We will continue this reading tonight -