What didn’t happen when Jesus died? That seems like an odd question, doesn’t it? Hopefully it catches your interest enough to keep reading.
Do you know why the timing of Jesus’ death is so significant? I’m not talking about the exact date and time – that’s a topic for another day. I’m talking about the length of His ministry on earth. Partly because everything had to be accomplished – and partly for another reason.
We celebrate Jesus’ birth – but not on the right day. In fact, not even at the right time of the year.
We don’t celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Although we know it’s about three years,
We do celebrate Jesus’ death – Good Friday,
And we do celebrate Easter – the day Jesus rose from the dead.
In some denominations the day Jesus ascended to Heaven seems to be more important than others.
But, do we talk about why the length of Jesus ministry was the length it was?
Everything had to be accomplished when Jesus died.
Starting with His birth, the image at the top, from Isaiah 9:6 is one of many, many Old Testament prophecies to be fulfilled.
From The new topical text book: A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers, we see sixty five (yes, 65) of the prophecies about Jesus. It’s not an exhaustive list – and I didn’t intend it to be that.
Prophecies Respecting Christ
1. As the Son of God. Ps 2:7.
Fulfilled. Lu 1:32, 35.
2. As the seed of the woman. Ge 3:15.
Fulfilled. Ga 4:4.
3. As the seed of Abraham. Ge 17:7; 22:18.
Fulfilled. Ga 3:16.
4. As the seed of Isaac. Ge 21:12.
Fulfilled. Heb 11:17–19.
5. As the seed of David. Ps 132:11; Jer 23:5.
Fulfilled. Ac 13:23; Ro 1:3.
6. His coming at a set time. Ge 49:10; Da 9:24, 25.
Fulfilled. Lu 2:1.
7. His being born a virgin. Isa 7:14.
Fulfilled. Mt 1:22, 23; Lu 2:7.
8. His being called Immanuel. Isa 7:14.
Fulfilled. Mt 1:22, 23.
9. His being born in Bethlehem of Judea. Mic 5:2.
Fulfilled. Mt 2:1; Lu 2:4–6.
10. Great persons coming to adore him. Ps 72:10.
Fulfilled. Mt 2:1–11.
11. The slaying of the children of Bethlehem. Jer 31:15.
Fulfilled. Mt 2:16–18.
12. His being called out of Egypt. Ho 11:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 2:15.
13. His being preceded by John the Baptist. Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 3:1, 3; Lu 1:17.
14. His being anointed with the Spirit. Ps 45:7; Isa 11:2; 61:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 3:16; Joh 3:34; Ac 10:38.
15. His being a Prophet like to Moses. De 18:15–18.
Fulfilled. Ac 3:20–22.
16. His being a Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Ps 110:4.
Fulfilled. Heb 5:5, 6.
17. His entering on his public ministry. Isa 61:1, 2.
Fulfilled. Lu 4:16–21, 43.
18. His ministry commencing in Galilee. Isa 9:1, 2.
Fulfilled. Mt 4:12–16, 23.
19. His entering publicly into Jerusalem. Zec 9:9.
Fulfilled. Mt 21:1–5.
20. His coming into the temple. Hag 2:7, 9; Mal 3:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 21:12; Lu 2:27–32; Joh 2:13–16.
21. His poverty. Isa 53:2.
Fulfilled. Mr 6:3; Lu 9:58.
22. His meekness and want of ostentatious. Isa 42:2.
Fulfilled. Mt 12:15, 16, 19.
23. His tenderness and compassion. Isa 40:11; 42:3.
Fulfilled. Mt 12:15, 20; Heb 4:15.
24. His being without guile. Isa 53:9.
Fulfilled. 1 Pe 2:22.
25. His zeal. Ps 69:9.
Fulfilled. Joh 2:17.
26. His preaching by parables. Ps 78:2.
Fulfilled. Mt 13:34, 35.
27. His working miracles. Isa 35:5, 6.
Fulfilled. Mt 11:4–6; Joh 11:47.
28. His bearing reproach. Ps 22:6; 69:7, 9, 20.
Fulfilled. Ro 15:3.
29. His being rejected by his brethren. Ps 69:8; Isa 63:3.
Fulfilled. Joh 1:11; 7:3.
30. His being a stone of stumbling to the Jews. Isa 8:14.
Fulfilled. Ro 9:32; 1 Pe 2:8.
31. His being hated by the Jews. Ps 69:4; Isa 49:7.
Fulfilled. Joh 15:24, 25.
32. His being rejected by the Jewish rulers. Ps 118:22.
Fulfilled. Mt 21:42; Joh 7:48.
33. That the Jews and Gentiles should combine against Him. Ps 2:1, 2.
Fulfilled. Lu 23:12; Ac 4:27.
34. His being betrayed by a friend. Ps 41:9; 55:12–14.
Fulfilled. Joh 13:18, 21.
35. His disciples forsaking him. Zec 13:7.
Fulfilled. Mt 26:31, 56.
36. His being sold for thirty pieces silver. Zec 11:12.
Fulfilled. Mt 26:15.
37. His price being given for the potter’s field. Zec 11:13.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:7.
38. The intensity of his sufferings. Ps 22:14, 15.
Fulfilled. Lu 22:42, 44.
39. His sufferings being for others. Isa 53:4–6, 12; Da 9:26.
Fulfilled. Mt 20:28.
40. His patience and silence under suffering. Isa 53:7.
Fulfilled. Mt 26:63; 27:12–14.
41. His being smitten on the cheek. Mic 5:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:30.
42. His visage being marred. Isa 52:14; 53:3.
Fulfilled. Joh 19:5.
43. His being spit on and scourged. Isa 50:6.
Fulfilled. Mr 14:65; Joh 19:1.
44. His hands and feet being nailed to the cross. Ps 22:16.
Fulfilled. Joh 19:18; 20:25.
45. His being forsaken by God. Ps 22:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:46.
46. His being mocked. Ps 22:7, 8.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:39–44.
47. Gall and vinegar being given him to drink. Ps 69:21.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:34.
48. His garments being parted, and lots cast for his vesture. Ps 22:18.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:35.
49. His being numbered with the transgressors. Isa 53:12.
Fulfilled. Mr 15:28.
50. His intercession for His murderers. Isa 53:12.
Fulfilled. Lu 23:34.
51. His Death. Isa 53:12.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:50.
52. That a bone of him should not be broken. Ex 12:46; Ps 34:20.
Fulfilled. Joh 19:33, 36.
53. His being pierced. Zec 12:10.
Fulfilled. Joh 19:34, 37.
54. His being buried with the rich. Isa 53:9.
Fulfilled. Mt 27:57–60.
55. His flesh not seeing corruption. Ps 16:10.
Fulfilled. Ac 2:31.
56. His resurrection. Ps 16:10; Isa 26:19.
Fulfilled. Lu 24:6, 31, 34.
57. His ascension. Ps 68:18.
Fulfilled. Lu 24:51; Ac 1:9.
58. His sitting on the right hand of God. Ps 110:1.
Fulfilled. Heb 1:3.
59. His exercising the priestly office in heaven. Zec 6:13.
Fulfilled. Ro 8:34.
60. His being the chief corner-stone of the Church. Isa 28:16.
Fulfilled. 1 Pe 2:6, 7.
61. His being King in Zion. Ps 2:6.
Fulfilled. Lu 1:32; Joh 18:33–37.
62. The conversion of the Gentiles to him. Isa 11:10; 42:1.
Fulfilled. Mt 1:17, 21; Joh 10:16; Ac 10:45, 47.
63. His righteous government. Ps 45:6, 7.
Fulfilled. Joh 5:30; Re 19:11.
64. His universal dominion. Ps 72:8; Da 7:14.
Fulfilled. Php 2:9, 11.
65. The perpetuity of his kingdom. Isa 9:7; Da 7:14.
Fulfilled. Lu 1:32, 33. 1)Torrey, R. A. (2001). The new topical text book: A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Bible Software.
All of the things above had to be accomplished, as well as other prophecies that I didn’t include. I just wanted to make the point that there were a lot of them. Assuming you’re reading this from the web site, the links are active and you just need to hover the cursor over them, or click if it’s a longer passage and you want to read all of it.
In fact, I’m not even going to talk about them here. It would be way too long. And it’s not the main thing I wanted to talk about.
Well – almost not going to talk about them..
Something that wasn’t accomplished when Jesus died.
We are going to talk about one of them –
32. His being rejected by the Jewish rulers. Ps 118:22.
Fulfilled. Mt 21:42; Joh 7:48.
You see, there’s something we read about in the Gospels that wasn’t accomplished. At least not on the schedule that was hoped for.
Normally, when the topic of Old Testament prophecy and what happened in the Gospels is covered, things like the passages listed above are what get talked about. The prophecies were made. This one person fulfilled them – so Jesus must be the Messiah.
That’s hard for some people to accept. It can seem too “convenient”. Too simple. It’s not enough.
For many people, with the lives we’ve had, it’s hard to “believe”, just because a list of things was done.
This is for you – the people who have a hard time. Because it’s not just a list of things that could be checked off as “accomplished”. It’s also about things that weren’t done. Things that couldn’t be done. I could go on here, but I don’t want to give it away too early – so please, read on, and see what I mean. It’s probably something you haven’t considered before – at least I’ve never seen it.
Let’s start by looking at the verse from Psalms – as usual, with surrounding verses to get the full context –
Ps 118:17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
Ps 118:18 The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Ps 118:19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
Ps 118:20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
Ps 118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
Ps 118:22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
Ps 118:23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Ps 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Ps 118:25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.
Ps 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
Ps 118:27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
Ps 118:28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Ps 118:29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
In the midst of that, the referenced verse is –
Ps 118:22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
It seems straightforward enough, with Jesus as the capstone / cornerstone (depending on your translation), and also as the stone the builders (the Jewish rulers) rejected.
If you’re not aware, the cornerstone is the single most important stone in a building – or at least it used to be. These days. with concrete, metal and glass – that whole concept may not even be known by young people anymore. So, just to be sure we’re all on the same page, it was the first stone laid in a building – and everything else was built on / around that.
One thing that isn’t obvious at all is the thought behind the word rejected. It’s a whole lot more intense than the way we normally use the word rejected today. Here’s what the original Hebrew word was about at that time –
3988 מָאַס, מָאַס, נָמֵס [maʾac /maw·as/]. A primitive root; TWOT 1139, 1140; GK 4415 and 4416 and 5806; 76 occurrences; AV translates as “despise” 25 times, “refuse” nine times, “reject” 19 times, “abhor” four times, “become loathsome” once, “melt away” once, and translated miscellaneously 17 times. 1 to reject, despise, refuse. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to reject, refuse. 1A2 to despise. 1B (Niphal) to be rejected. 2 (Niphal) to flow, run. 2)Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
With the usage of the word within the Psalm, it’s the despise, abhor, refuse that applies to the feelings the Jewish Leaders had for Jesus. It’s not like we rejected a shipment of something because it was damaged, the way we’d use it today. Obviously, that doesn’t apply, given that Jesus was perfect. No, it’s the strongest usage of the word in the sense of they really, really, didn’t like Him – to the point they wanted to kill Him.
And that’s what we’re going to talk about – their desire to kill Jesus. Something that wasn’t accomplished – on their schedule.
Right after Jesus was born
Mt 2:7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Mt 2:9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
Mt 2:13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Mt 2:14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
While not a leader within the Temple, or probably even considered a Jewish leader by the Jewish people, Herod was technically, but not in practice – a Jew. His plan to kill Jesus as a baby certainly would have put a crimp in God’s plan if this had succeeded. But it didn’t. Because it wasn’t time. Yet.
The beginnings of “rejecting” Jesus
The Calling of Matthew
9:9-13 pp — Mk 2:14-17; Lk 5:27-32
Mt 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Mt 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
Mt 9:12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
No threats or plans to kill Jesus yet, but clearly, the Pharisees were not happy about what just happened. It wasn’t just what Jesus said, although that was bad enough. It’s what we don’t read that’s also important – apparently the Pharisees had no response – no comeback to refute what Jesus had just said about them. For them to not have the last word would have been embarrassing. The fact that the sinners and even the hated tax collectors were their would only have added salt to their wounds.
Associating Jesus with the devil
Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute
Mt 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Mt 9:28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Mt 9:29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
Mt 9:32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
Mt 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
Again – no plans to kill Jesus yet. However, there was a comeback, and it was clearly designed to turn the people against Jesus. This time, the Pharisees were more prepared. Sort of. They had a quick answer. But as often happens, the quick answer – given without thinking – wasn’t a good one. As we” soon see, the Pharisees messed up big time with that answer.
Plotting to kill Jesus
Lord of the Sabbath
12:1-8 pp — Mk 2:23-28; Lk 6:1-5
12:9-14 pp — Mk 3:1-6; Lk 6:6-11
Mt 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
Mt 12:3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Mt 12:9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
Mt 12:11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mt 12:13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Yes – here it comes. The Pharisees – who would have been considered the best of the best – want to kill Jesus. They have gone, as we saw in Psalms, from just rejecting the cornerstone to now abhorring (to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly;loathe; abominate.) Jesus. They continue to dig a deeper hole for themselves. One that they should have known better than to ever even pick up the shovel in the first place.
Calling Jesus the devil – again
Jesus and Beelzebub
12:25-29 pp — Mk 3:23-27; Lk 11:17-22
Mt 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Mt 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
Mt 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Mt 12:29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.
Mt 12:30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Mt 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
So – the Pharisees are going back to the devil again. Unlike the first time, before they wanted to kill Jesus, this one now looks like an attempt to justify their decision – sort of like what we’d call justifiable homicide today.
But look what Jesus did. Some might call this “doubling down” – responding the way He did. I’d call it more like “quintupling down”, since he had not just one or two paragraphs in His response – but five.
Jesus is essentially telling them that if they want to take Him down – just try, because He’s ready for whatever they’ve got.
Had enough yet?
Just in case that wasn’t enough for the Pharisees, Matthew records this in the very next section of his Gospel –
The Sign of Jonah
12:39-42 pp — Lk 11:29-32
12:43-45 pp — Lk 11:24-26
Mt 12:38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
Mt 12:39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
Mt 12:43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
The section header here asks – Had enough yet? Apparently, some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law hadn’t yet had enough. Actually, it’s more like they didn’t know when to stop. It’s not “quit while you’re ahead”. It should have been “quit before you get even further behind”.
And – since they wanted more – Jesus gave it to them.
Matthew didn’t record the response from the Jewish leaders, if there even was a response – but it’s impossible to think it did anything to make them not want to kill Him. If anything, the whole scenario made it even more of a “to do” item for them. Unfortunately, when we pick up the shovel for someone else’s grave, all we do is dig our own. And even when it should have been obvious to stop digging, somehow we just can’t. We have to keep going.
Jesus calls the Pharisees “blind guides”
Clean and Unclean
15:1-20 pp — Mk 7:1-23
Mt 15:1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Mt 15:3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he is not to ‘honor his father’’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
Mt 15:8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Mt 15:9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”
Mt 15:10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ”
Mt 15:12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
Mt 15:13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Mt 15:15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
Mt 15:16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”
Keep in mind, the Jewish leaders already “rejected” Jesus. They can’t stand Him. Want to kill Him. And He talks to them like this – calling them blind guides. They’re supposed to be the one leading God’s people – and Jesus tells them they’re blind! Can it get any worse? We’ve got to be past the point of the justifiable homicide we looked at earlier. This is going to be a crime of passion.
Jesus calls the Pharisees and Sadducees wicked and adulterous
The Demand for a Sign
16:1-12 pp — Mk 8:11-21
Mt 16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
Mt 16:2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
Can you kill someone more than once?
That’s a trick question – Jesus will die – but He will also be raised and ascend to Heaven.
My point was really to give an idea of just how furious the Jewish leaders would have been by this time.
Getting back to digging the hole – when we start with a wicked intent, all that digging does nothing but make us more and more blind to the truth. More and more wicked. Less and less able to remember the good that we (maybe) once knew and lived by.
Just in case …
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
Mt 16:5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Mt 16:7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
Mt 16:8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Jewish leaders certainly knew what Jesus was saying about them. But here, Jesus wants to be sure His disciples also knew what He was saying about them.
Today, at least one of them would have been right on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and a bunch of other social media apps on their cell phones. While those things didn’t exist back then (how did they survive?) gossip is as old as The Fall, so one can be pretty certain it didn’t take too long for the Jewish leaders to find out about this meeting.
Jesus reveals the level of hatred from the Jewish leaders
Jesus Predicts His Death
16:21-28 pp — Mk 8:31—9:1; Lk 9:22-27
Mt 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
The disciples didn’t get it – Peter, of course it was Peter, said it would never happen (at least not while he was around). Even though they didn’t get it, Jesus was telling them just how bad this whole thing with the Jewish leaders had gotten. The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus. But it didn’t happen. Now, Jesus is saying He’s going to be killed by those very same Jewish leaders.
The death thing – again
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
20:17-19 pp — Mk 10:32-34; Lk 18:31-33
Mt 20:17 Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
They still didn’t get it, but Jesus explains the reality of the situation one more time.
The Jewish leaders have bad memories? Or is it still blindness?
Jesus at the Temple
21:12-16 pp — Mk 11:15-18; Lk 19:45-47
Mt 21:12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’’”
Mt 21:14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
Mt 21:16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“ ‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise’ ?”
Mt 21:17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
The Jewish leaders were indignant – they were judging the children for what they were saying. No doubt, also judging Jesus for causing it in the first place – and not putting a stop to it in the second place.
Then, they make the incredible mistake of asking Jesus about it. Given the opportunity, he questions their memories of scripture. Or was He questioning their ability to see what was right in front of their eyes. Or maybe both.
Jesus asked a question –
“have you never read,
“ ‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise’ ?”
That’s from Psalms.
Ps 8:2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
Oops. The Jewish leaders would certainly have read – and remembered – that quote.
In any case – Jesus was most certainly not endearing Himself to these Jewish leaders. If their feelings about Jesus could have gotten any worse, they surely did. This was a whole new audience, and it was in “their” house. Notice – “their” in quotes – because it was the temple they were supposed to care for, but if it belonged to anyone, it was God.
However, it’s even worse than that. Here’s some context for the quote Jesus made. We’ll start with just the remainder of verse 2.
Ps 8:2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
Unfortunately, the 1984 translation of this verse isn’t really that good. It’s quite different from other translations. Let’s go to the ESV, since it’s readable in today’s terms, and still holds the original intent.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger. 3)The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 8:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Do you see what just happened? Jesus is quoting the verse that says God is using babies and infants (the weak) to establish strength against His enemies. Given the targeted audience, those enemies would be the Jewish leaders. And while that may not be obvious from a quick reading by someone today, the Jewish leaders at the time had to have known that’s exactly what Jesus called them – enemies of God.
But they were too blinded by evil. Too busy digging that hole to realize what was happening. Too busy to stop and think. Too busy to realize they were in fact fulfilling the very prophecies that they knew and had no doubt taught.
But it’s worse.
Let’s look at all of Psalm 8.
Psalm 8
Ps 8:1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
Ps 8:2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
Ps 8:3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
Ps 8:4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
Ps 8:5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
Ps 8:6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
Ps 8:7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
Ps 8:8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Ps 8:9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
After all that – indeed – what are we that God is mindful of us? After all the things God has done for us – even while we are His enemy. But still, He gives us a way out of our condition – through the mouths of babies and infants. A way out – through the weak. And ultimately, a way out both through and because of the One these Jewish leaders are about to kill. In fact, through the One the Jewish leaders must kill.
Time for the chief priests and elders to face Jesus
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
21:23-27 pp — Mk 11:27-33; Lk 20:1-8
Mt 21:23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
Mt 21:24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But
