Tuesday of Holy Week

Tuesday

Clashes with the religious leaders, the end of the age, and back to Bethany

The Passages

Matthew 23: 1-8

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.

Matthew 24:1-8

As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

The Story

On Tuesday, we have Jesus directly challenging those who would eventually arrest, try and hand him over to Rome to be crucified. John’s gospel repeatedly speaks about Jesus’ “time” either not yet coming, or just about, and then finally that the time had come. As Jesus nears his “time,” it appears he holds nothing back. He speaks as directly here as anywhere in the gospels.

Jesus and the disciples once again leave Bethany and head down the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. At the start of the day, Jesus has positioned himself at the teaching steps near the Temple. This place was a gathering spot for the hebrews and a place to hear news and updates. As Jesus interacts with his followers, the religious leaders begin to pester him. They ask questions and they try to challenge him with trickery. Jesus doesn’t budge.

At first, Jesus enters into a sort of verbal sparring, but that ends quickly as He moves to direct confrontation. Jesus praises the teaching of the Pharisees and scribes (notice he doesn’t include the sadducees in this collection), but then warns everyone else – “do as they say but don’t do what they do.” Jesus calls them hypocrites, actors who put on masks and hide their true identity. They look holy, but it’s a show.

At one point, he begins to pronounce a series of “woes” upon the religious elite – they are as embarrassing to read today as they would have been intended on that audience. Jesus is poking a hornets nest when he says “you (the religious leaders) travel the world to find one single convert, and then you make them twice the son of hell that you are.”

Toward the end of the day, Jesus and the disciples head back to Bethany and Jesus speaks about a pretty devastating time. It begins with an innocent comment about the splendor of the temple, and turns into a judgment and prophecy. “Not a stone will be left standing” – the temple will fall. And if that’s not bad enough, Jesus says that people will be persecuted – those who call Jerusalem home, but also those who remain faithful to Jesus’ teachings. War isn’t going to end – violence will increase – it’s going to look pretty bleak.

But the Son of Man will come again – and glory and great power is going to overwhelm the whole world. An end will come.

A Devotional Thought

I don’t like Tuesday of holy week. It’s really an unsettling day. There is a lot of teaching that, if I’m honest, hits me square between the eyes. I used to think that Jesus disagreed with all the religious folks – that they all had missed the point and Jesus had come to set them straight. The gospels appear to paint that picture, but it’s not an accurate assessment.

Jesus certainly had a big problem with the Sadducees – they were the political arm of the Hebrew religion (often cozied up next to Rome). They were the power brokers. They were in charge of religion at the temple. They had become very wealthy “leading” the people in their religious duties, but they wouldn’t be what we would consider orthodox, or theologically sound.

The Pharisees were the heart of the religion. They were interested in the holiness that the Law of Moses demanded. They had a deep love of God and wanted to “protect” the gift of God’s revelation. Jesus was perfectly fine with most of the teachings of the Pharisees. He too was about holiness and loving God. When he is asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus doesn’t say “don’t kill” or “don’t lie” – he quotes the Shema, the prayer of the Pharisee – “hear o Israel, the Lord our God is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength.”

Jesus’ problem with the pharisee was that they talked a great game, but their talking was a mask for dark motives and intentions that consumed them. They weren’t wiling to be real about their own brokenness – it’s far easier to point out everyone else’s wrong rather than deal with your own. And so, “woe to you teachers.”

We live in a world that is constantly at odds with itself. We argue and fuss about everything. In America, we currently are fighting over the safety of our children and the polarization of how to protect them ignores the fact that deep down we all want the same thing – safety. What we don’t want to admit is that there maybe something underneath our masks that needs dealing with – again, it’s easier to say how wrong “they” are.

After Jesus denounces the religious hypocrisy, He looks to the symbol of the problem – a building that had taken the place of the God it was meant for. How often do I slip into a pattern of honoring some special sacred thing over the God who that thing is supposed to honor? I love my church but it can be consuming and it can distract me from true worship. I love the gifts God has given me – wife, kids, family and friends – but they too can become idols.

Tuesday of Holy Week reminds me that my mask is a danger, not only to myself, but to those around me. This day reminds me to pursue not just good teaching but good living. This day reminds me that walls tumble when they are put up in place of the Savior.

What masks are you wearing today? What gifts have become more important than the giver? Where do you hear the woes of the Master in your life?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you spoke so clearly to the religious leaders. As I read these words I shudder. Could you be saying them to me too? Keep me from falling into the trap of the Pharisees. Help me put down my mask. Help me not just talk about following you, nor let me hide my own imperfections behind good words. Instead, let me walk openly and honestly – let me follow you and love you with my heart, mind and strength. Keep me from raising up idols – even the great gifts you have given me. And let me yearn and work for the time when you come again and when everything will be made right. Amen.