Sharing in Christ or Betrayal?

Luke 22:1-23

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Jesus and His Disciples Prepare the Passover

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."

9 So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"

10 And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."

13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus Institutes the Lord's Supper

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"

23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

Do we share in Christ or seek to betray Him as the cursed Judas did for a pittance of silver out of a fear of loss of wealth in this life?  As Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread approached, the religious leaders looked for a way to stop Jesus in any way possible.  Satan provided that way in his willing and greedy servant Judas.  He possessed Judas (which is impossible to do for a believer in Christ) and promised to betray Jesus whom he had followed and embezzled from for three years in the guise of a true disciple (John 6:70, 17:12).  He looked for a time and place where the Lord would be away from the maddening crowd to hand Him over to be taken away to be killed as Judas very well knew they had purposed to do.  Meanwhile Peter and John were sent by Jesus to prepare the place to share in the Passover meal together (Psalm 22:26).  These are those who truly followed not to betray but to share in the fellowship and person on the Lord whom they followed with a pure and sincere heart.  They were given divine directions to the upper room made ready for their celebration of deliverance from the bondage in Egypt which was symbolic as a shadow of the Lamb of God (Isaiah 53:7) whose blood would take away sins by delivering those from the bondage of sin who partake with Him (1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Peter 1:19).  These would share in what became the Lord’s Supper as a Communion with Him through His body broken by suffering and His blood spilled as an eternally appeasing sacrifice for sins once for all who are in Him by faith like Abraham (Hebrews 11:28, Galatians 3:7-9) who heard God’s word and took it as true and to be relied upon fully.  Jesus then broke the bread and shared the wine of these symbolic truths with His true followers as they shared together.  Jesus told them and to us as well to remember Him as they celebrated the new and true Passover together, having their sins passed over (Romans 3:25) until He returns and not every year by a mortal high priest as before and remembering the sacrifice on the cross to come by the eternal and divine High Priest from heaven.  We share in His work to deliver from the Destroyer as we deserve for our sin, both inherited from Adam and committed daily from our corrupt fallen sin nature.  That is why we commune with Him together as we celebrate this Supper with our Lord as the disciples did then.  May we then be found true followers who share in Christ and not a deceiving one like Judas looking for what we can get for ourselves in using His name.  Only then can we truly partake in sharing with this communion in Him together.  This is the New Covenant which we will now live under and will celebrate once more with our Lord Lamb in the day of redemption and removal of the presence of sin on His return.  That is why He told the disciples that He would not partake of this meal again until His return to bring the kingdom of God to rule forever here.  The question then remains for all who read and hear these things, do you choose sharing in the sufferings of Christ or the betrayal of the world set against Him for personal and temporal gain?  The cost of bondage to sin is high and the reward of deliverance is infinitely great. 

Be Certain Before He Comes Back

Luke 21:29-38

The Parable of the Fig Tree

29 Then He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

The Importance of Watching

34 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. 38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Jesus told this parable of budding trees and followed that by warning us all of how we live until judgment falls on the world at His return.  The trees begin to bud and we all understand that means spring is here and summer soon follows.  This is a picture of the kingdom of God drawing near as the previous passages told of the signs and seasons of the approaching apocalypse of the end of time judgment.  The immediate promise for the generation Jesus warned was the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself in almost forty years as the Romans leveled it.  However, He also was warning about the signs pointing to the very end as certain as the words He spoke for not one word of the Lord ever fails to come true in His time because He is faithful and true (Isaiah 51:6, 1 Peter 1:25, Revelation 19:11).  Because of the impending judgment of all of creation we are to not be carried away with wild abandon and disregard for following the moral law and the word of God as if the cares and concerns of living this life apart from Him are more important than His will to walk circumspectly and that we instead depart from immoral and selfish living.  His return will be entirely unexpected no matter how we attempt to determine the time and day in our own reasoning even by studying the scriptures.  It will be unannounced until the trumpet sounds and the arrival comes as quick as lightning.  We are called therefore to watch and pray until that day as we live for Him alone and not our own passing pleasure.  We can only escape that sentence of judgment if we are in Christ before that day as our only hope and there will be no deathbed confession to alleviate that moment to grant salvation to any who waits until that time.  Now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)!  May we then all do like these who go early to hear His word every morning until we are certain we are in Him before He returns.  Know where you stand with Him and not assume you can wait based on when some say He will return.  Make your calling and election certain (2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10).  Amen. 

Rejoice, The End is Coming!

Luke 21:20-28

The Destruction of Jerusalem

20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

Jesus continued to speak about the end times as both in their generation and at the end of all time when He returns in judgment and deliverance, judgment on the world for rejecting His Word and deliverance for those who believed and received Him according to that same word.  The near end was the destruction of Jerusalem which they had been given as a place to meet with the LORD to sacrifice and worship there.  They continually turned away to idolatry and immortality as they substituted lifeless gods to worship without accountability and lived contrary to the moral Law of God written by His very finger in front of Moses on tablets of stone.  He promised to write those same Laws on the heart tablets of those to come (Psalm 40:8, Jeremiah 31:33-34, 2 Corinthians 3:3) instead that we may be able to live with accountability out of love in a changed nature with this new heart softened to His word by His Spirit.  Yes, those still alive in 70 AD would witness the leveling of their holy city made unholy and razed to the ground as a result, but those who had ears opened to hear and eyes cleared to see would know the very end would come later than this as the nations were all given the chance to hear the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Romans 11:25, Revelation 11:2) and turn from sin to Him.  They were given general signposts to point the way to the final day which would overtake the world still lost in darkness apart from the light of Christ (Acts 26:23, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 5:14, 2 Timothy 1:10) shining bright until that day.  There will be heavenly signs and earthly traumas as hearts fail in fear at the pressing times of tribulation covering the world.  The heavens will be shaken along with the earth (Hebrews 12:27) but we who are in Christ are unmoved because we have a promised kingdom that can never be shaken (Hebrews 12:28) that we look forward to as we serve Him acceptably in godly fear and infinite awe instead of fear of condemnation (Matthew 25:46, 1 John 4:17-18) as the rest who are not in Christ when He returns.  We who know Him and are known by Him will be able to look up at His coming with joy and peace in our excitement at our redemption drawing near (Romans 8:19-20, 23, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 57-58) with the victory over sin’s judgment penalty and death’s rule by that penalty over our souls.  We have been made free indeed in Jesus the Christ and can lift our heads in hope at His coming because of His righteousness that alone makes us worthy to enter into His presence in heaven and in new eternal bodies which will never see corruption again!  Praise Him for showing what is to come in the end in His time!  Though we do not know the day or hour of His return, what matters is that we will not be caught unaware and unprepared.  Thanks be to God for His indescribable grace!  Rejoice, for the end is coming with a new beginning!  

Patient Endurance to the End

Luke 21:1-19

The Widow's Two Mites

1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 "These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

7 So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"

8 And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."

10 Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.

There are general signs of what will take place before the end of time here on earth before God ends the corrupted creation marred by our sin.  Some people intend to interpret and nail down exacting timelines and boast of how they know better than others when the Lord returns, but Jesus made it clear that His return will be as unexpected as a flash of lightning illuminating the entire sky (Luke 17:24) before we are even able to understand what just happened.  We will know then the general events as signposts along the way until that day, but only God knows the time that He may test our hearts and call every chosen child of His to Himself as His sheep who enter into the narrow gate of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  The message then is to be ready for His return long before His imminent and arrival when He returns to judge the world in His righteousness (Psalm 96:13, 98:9, Acts 17:30-31) and deliver those promised to Him without fail.  Therefore we are to be as the poor widow who gave everything she had and possessed to the Lord because we are bought at such a priceless cost by His suffering and de for our sin.  We are not to give leftovers to the Lord, but the first fruits (Proverbs 3:9) of all that is entrusted to us.  This includes out treasures and time and talents to be utilized for the kingdom of God through His church and to the lost world needing a certain hope of forgiveness and reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20) with God in Christ.  Just as Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple made by hands (Mark 14:58) here where every laboriously laid stone was cast to the earth where it came from, so will the rest of the world be destroyed and remade according to the heavenly plan (Hebrews 9:11) like the temple in the New Jerusalem to come down to us.  The disciples wanted to know the signs to look for as a way to prepare for the coming of the end and the beginning of Christ’s return, but He made it plain that the answers had no plain details to follow as a checklist of a timeline we can follow to the end.  He did, however, provide warnings not to follow those who claim to know the details and even make themselves into false deliverers.  There will be increased numbers of wars, confusion and disorder, earthquakes, famines, diseases, and signs in the heavens and on earth all around us.  We are not to stress the distress but put our hope in Christ and the perseverance He provides to us as a certain hope and destination in eternity with Him.  We who do so will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12) and be imprisoned and even tortured or killed for the truth of the gospel we are given to proclaim until His return.  God will give us the words and wisdom which we are unable to plan for that the truth may still open hearts and minds to be delivered from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).  We will find betrayal among friends and family and hated by those unwilling to repent, yet shall be sustained together in Him for eternity.  In such patience we possess our souls to endure to the end because He holds us firmly (John 10:28-29) in His hands. 

Whose Son is Jesus?

Luke 20:41-47

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?

41 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

'The LORD said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

44 Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"

Beware of the Scribes

45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

Whose Son is Jesus?  Beware imitators who deny His divinity (John 1:1, 14, 10:30, Romans 1:3-4, 1 John 4:2-3) and say He was just a man who descended from king David.  These imitators like the scribes of old will use unregenerate reasoning and knowledge to pick at the words of scripture without understanding and give false conclusions of who Jesus Christ was and is and forever will be.  These still are found among the Christian community as well as the cults outside who claim to be one of us (1 John 2:19-20) but deny the divine nature of Him (1 John 2:22-23) which we who have been reborn and regenerated alone can comprehend.  The scribes looked only at the physical lineage of Jesus and glossed over the fact that the Holy Spirit of God Himself conceived Him in the womb of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:35) so the offspring would be both of man and God.  Whose Son is He?   Both the son of God and Son of Man (Romans 1:3-4) as the union of the two to be divinely able to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, once for all and forever, and as one of us to stand in our place on the cross of suffering and death to pay the penalty for sin completely.  This means that Jesus Christ is God and walked among us as a man as well.  Therefore the scribes sought the scriptures but missed His identity because they were unwilling and unable (John 5:39-40) without faith in who He is to acknowledge what He was doing and what He would accomplish on the cross after suffering for our sin.  They only took a passage from Psalm 110:1 out of context to prove He was only the son descended from David and did not look at the other scriptures or even further in Psalm 110:4 which pointed to Zechariah 6:13 of His divine reign and work as our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 5:6, 9-10, 7:1, 3, 15-17) who alone is able to save His people from the penalty of our sin (Hebrews 7:25).  Only God has the authority and power of pure righteousness to be both priest and perfect sacrifice to pay the price (Romans 6:23, Colossians 1:13-14)!  Jesus therefore warned us all to beware of those who deny who He is and offer a false gospel without the hope of assured deliverance of salvation from the wrath of God on our sin which is both inherited from Adam and committed daily by us in word and deed.  Outward righteous dress and manners do not work the righteousness of God which only the divine great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1, 3:17-18) can do.  All who deny His deity deny His work and have no hope to offer themselves or anyone else.  His identity is what makes Him able to save us as no man or philosophy ever can.  We are therefore to beware those who act out supposed righteousness but offer no truth to deliver such as the cult of Mormonism who suppose that men become gods as Jesus did in their ungodly teachings.  We serve the true God and no idol of man’s philosophy or reasoning apart from the revealed truth in the word of God given us that we might know (John 3:36, 17:3) our great God and Savior Jesus Christ!  We know whose Son Jesus is. 

What About the Resurrection?

Luke 20:27-40 

27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."

34 Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."

39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

The Sadducees asked, “What about the Resurrection?” because they did not believe in an afterlife or angels or even that we have a spirit and not just a body that live and dies to leave nonexistent afterwards.  They also tried to catch Jesus in His words by spinning a yarn about a woman who died childless after marrying each of seven brothers.  They asked Jesus shrewdly about which man would have her as his wife after they all died and then she did as well.  They did this without any understanding of the nature of life and death and the resurrection to life after death in the spiritual realm as if their reasoning could confuse the Son of God!  Such is the reasoning of all men and women who are ignorant of God’s word or who reject it and all the answers found there of these matters of this life, death, and eternal existence to follow.  The Lord who created and sustains all things (Colossians 1:16) set them straight as to how these things really work to answer their rationalizations and philosophies of death.  We see such people who question God’s word and world even today, who deny a resurrection to life after death leading to suffering judgment as eternal death or a life of peace and joy of reward in believing the Lord (John 6:29).  These Sadducees were so sad you see because they had no hope of eternity and found peace in having no supposed accountability to answer to their Maker after death by explaining the truth all away.  Jesus told them and the entire audience of His word here throughout history that we will all rise again and have everlasting new bodies which are incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Peter 1:4, 23) like the angelic beings who live forever and never die.  This means there will not be the need for marriages to be fruitful and multiply to fill heaven as Adam was entrusted with to fill the earth, for each one invited there will never need to be replaced.  He demonstrated this fact further with scripture by pointing out the Lord God is “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” as it is written in Exodus 3:15 and repeated in Acts 7:32.  This of course means that they are all living still for Him to be their God or He would have said that He was their God in the past tense.  When the Sadducees heard this irrefutable truth they were unable to argue further against or subvert the word of Christ because God had written and said these things which they read and accepted as truth.  Why then do many hear and refuse to accept the truth that God has been telling us since the beginning of time and our creation?  Why do we deny life after death and accountability to our Maker?  It is far better to accept His irrefutable word demonstrated and proven time and again over history and put aside our faulty reasoning and rejection of the only truth that can set us free from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15) and give assurance of life (John 5:24) in Christ by His word of promise in the resurrection to life in peace and not with unending suffering for rejecting this free gift of eternal life.  We then ask ourselves, “What about the Resurrection?” and are assured by the answer by the burden of proof given by Jesus Christ Himself rising from death to life to show the way is certain. 

Give Your Tribute Appropriately

Luke 20:20-26

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?

20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

21 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?"

They answered and said, "Caesar's."

25 And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

This answer of Jesus to the conniving contrarians concerning taxes was a lesson from life about where and who and why we give tribute to God and man.  The pretenders to righteousness tried to catch the Lord of all creation in a trap by misusing His words or trying to make Jesus slip in His response to their cunning craftiness (Ephesians 4:14), but met a divine response to their devilish attempt.  They thought to use a legal argument to hand Him over to the authorities to stop Jesus from telling the truth and healing the body and souls of men and women as He set them free from the tyranny of the Law (Romans 8:2) which no person is able to fully keep (Deuteronomy 27:26, Galatians 3:11-12, 13, 23-25, James 2:10).  These self righteousness ones therefore feebly attempted to throw Him off guard by first commending the teachings of Jesus as being truth from God but then shifted in the same sentence to slyly asking Him if it was lawful in God’s eyes to pay taxes to the occupying government under Caesar.  Jesus of course knew their heart motives and intent (Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 1:16) as the living Word of God and the divine creator and ruler over them all, and so wisely answered straight to the point of that sword pointed back at them.  He asked them simply who owned the money they did not want to pay in taxes based on the image of the creator on the coin.  Of course they had to answer it was the king of Rome who owned it and Jesus told them to give the tribute of taxes back to its owner.  This is a picture of our tribute to God which holds His image that includes each of us as well as all creation which are made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).  He even clarified this to the self-righteous who tested Him by not only commanding them to render the tribute of Rome in taxes to Caesar, but also the tribute of their lives and all they possessed to God in heaven above as their rightful King.  The saying, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” still holds true and is repeated often and observed very little today by those refusing to pay taxes as tribute to the leaders God puts over us (Romans 13:1) and holding back all tribute of honor and obedience with praise and glory to God for all we have and are.  The world is utterly unable to resist the word of God in these matters yet daily does so to its own disadvantage and accountability.  May we instead give proper tribute to Whom it is due in all things as we follow Jesus in spirit and in truth.  Let us give our tribute appropriately. 

Authority Questioned and Denied

Luke 20:1-19 

Jesus' Authority Questioned

1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him 2 and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?"

3 But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?"

5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." 7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

8 And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.' 14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."

And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"

17 Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone'?

18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

Jesus’s authority was questioned by the chief priests and the scribes and elders of Israel as He taught the people and preached the gospel to them as the account is recorded here for us to see and hear.  The people were listening but the religious leaders thought that they would lose followers and their control over them by this teaching of the gospel which they rejected along with Jesus.  They rejected His authority and the Lord then told a parable to expose their questioning rejection of His divine authority.  Before He did this, however, Jesus first questioned them in return as to the authority given John the Baptist to baptize people for repentance and preparation for the gospel which the Lord then brought.  They refused to acknowledge the authority of John and would not commit to an answer of whether he baptized in the purview of God in heaven or from man.  Jesus wisely pointed out that their answer was a refusal to answer honestly and either reject God’s work or confess it.  The. The parable of the wicked vinedressers was told to expose those who had been given the word of God and His commandments but refused to follow or acknowledge them as God gave them, substituting their own rules in place of God’s word and rejecting the prophets who were sent to check their stew of that word time and again.  Their ancestors did as the greedy and corrupt winedressers of the parable, mistreating, beating, and murdering (Matthew 23:34-36, Acts 7:52, 1 Thessalonians 2:15) the ones sent by the Master to hold them accountable.  They had rejected their solid foundation of Jesus the Christ as the Rock of their deliverance and cornerstone which the house of God is built upon.  When confronted with the truth of their dealings against God and man they tried to lay hands on Him to beat and kill as well, but the time was not right yet according to God’s plan of the suffering death and resurrection to come soon for redemption of those who did listen and hear without rejecting Jesus, but believing and receiving Him and His word of the gospel.  May all who hear draw near in this same faith and not kick against the goads of God’s Spirit urging them to repentance and faith! 

Triumph in the Air with Care and Cleansing

Luke 19:28-48

The Triumphal Entry

28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"

32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"

34 And they said, "The Lord has need of him." 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."

40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

There is triumph in the air as Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem and the expectant crowds pour out their praise while quoting from God’s word in Psalm 118:26-29 with joy and awe at seeing all His wonderful works He has been doing!  Before entering the city of the great king (Psalm 48:2, Matthew 5:35), Jesus instructed tw disciples to go fetch a never been ridden colt and bring it to Him for the grand entrance as a humble ruler (Zechariah 9:9) and not a conquering sovereign ready to free His people from Roman occupation as many expected or demanded even.  He came to rescue His own from the tyrant of sin’s bondage instead.  As He entered coming down from the Mount of Olives, the shouts of the yet unseen triumph filled the air as they spread their clothes on the road as their forefathers did for royalties (2 Kings 9:13) before Him in acknowledgement that He was the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14) come to reign.  When they cried out that He was fulfilling the scriptures by their declaration of the King who comes in the name of the LORD and raised praises heavenward to glorify Him, the Pharisees demanded that the disciples rebuke such blasphemy as they imagined it to be, ignorant of the truth from the mouths of babes proclaiming His sovereign identity in fulfilling the scriptures (Luke 24:26-27) which foretold His coming for their deliverance from sin’s penalty.  Jesus told them that even if they could stifle the crowd, the very rocks of His creation would cry out their praise for Him!  Because of this hardness of heart among many, Jesus looked over the city meant to be the center of worship with sadness for their denial and sins of immorality and idolatry that had ruled them for so long in place of their LORD who had met them in the sanctuary and heard their prayers (1 Kings 8:30, 35-36) with repentance from there.  He was calling them to repent and believe Him and His work according to His Word.  He was saddened that it would come to Jerusalem being overrun and the temple leveled just seventy years later.  All this was because they failed to recognize that God had walked among them as Immanuel who visited the sheep of His fold and would soon turn against Him.  Jesus then entered that temple and cleansed it from the sin of greed and desecration as thieves who took it over (Jeremiah 7:8-11) while pointing out that it was the place to pray for forgiveness in contrition of heart for forgiveness and salvation as originally intended.  He kept teaching the kingdom of God against the distortions of the religious leaders who tried to destroy Him but were unable to stop Jesus because the people were listening closely as their hearts drew nearer to the kingdom of God.  The Lord’s triumph would soon fill the air as He suffered, died a cruel death on the cross, was buried, and rose from death to life to prove who He was as the divine One worthy of praise.  He came with the Father’s loving care as well as the intent to cleanse His house to make the way to deliverance for all sinners called and chosen as His sheep of the heavenly pasture.  Praise Him for calling us out of this present darkness into His marvelous light! 

Our Accountability of Willing Stewardship

Luke 19:11-27

The Parable of the Minas

11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'

15 "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' 19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'

20 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'

24 "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' 25 (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.') 26 'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

Jesus loved to talk in parables so only those who God granted understanding could grasp the full implications of the surface stories He told with definite purpose and precision to the soul.  Here He began to explain why the kingdom of God would not immediately come as they had imagined it would because He had come to tell them many things which they still did not grasp.  He spoke of a nobleman traveling away from his home and servants to claim a far off kingdom as his own and return to them after entrusting them each with a different amount to steward over in business transactions in his absence.  Unfortunately, some of the citizens of his home tried to stop him from gaining that distant land to rule over and sent messengers to stop him or dissuade those of that land to give him the kingdom.  They failed.  He returned after receiving that kingdom to rule over and required an account from the three servants he left in charge of his affairs.  This is a picture of Christ and those who rejected Him and His rule (John 1:11) over them and tried to stop Him at the cross from going to His Father to bring the Kingdom to earth and reign even over those opposing Him like the Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes who reinterpreted the word of God to rule over others themselves.  The stewards are like us who have been entrusted with His rule in this world until His return and are held accountable (Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 3:11-13, Galatians 6:4-5, 2 Timothy 4:1-2) for what we have been given responsibility to manage for Him until then.  These first two servants were faithful to invest in the present and coming kingdoms and received appropriate rewards (Luke 3:8, Colossians 3:24, 2 John 1:8, Revelation 22:12) for their faithfulness and loyalty to their master.  However, there was the third man who resented the master and buried the treasure given him to invest and multiply to give back to his master when he returned, and this one was held accountable and lost everything he had to another who was faithful.  Whoever has, will be given more.  Whoever does not have fruit of true faithfulness will lose it all.  Whoever is his sworn enemy and rejects or tries to overthrow His kingdom will be eternally punished as if slain like those in this parable who opposed their master and tried to keep Him from the cross and resurrection to rule over them and us all in this coming kingdom of God.  These are those who reject this king as Lord, just as they deny Jesus is the Lord.  These truths are meant to inspire our faithful living for the Lord and not to instill fear of losing our place in the kingdom of God in Christ.  We are accountable, but never forsaken (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) as those who oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ.  May we then be inspired to be faithful stewards of the gospel as examples to others and well pleasing (2 Corinthians 5:9, Hebrews 13:21) to our Lord and Master by His working in and through our willing stewardship.  This is our accountability of a willing stewardship.