The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (51 page)

Discourse 5: The Olivet Discourse, Kingdom Parables (24–25)
Jesus' final discourse in Matthew commences with a section on the impending destruction of the Jerusalem temple and the Second Coming. He prophesied that the temple would be completely destroyed and then outlined the events that would precede this destruction. He explained the horrible suffering that his people would endure during that period of tribulation and assured them that he would shorten the period of suffering for their sakes. He also assured his chosen ones that they would not be deceived by the false messiahs and false prophets who would appear. Jesus' own coming would be unmistakable and easily distinguished from the appearance of the false messiahs.

Jesus taught that the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem would occur within one generation. However, he implied that the Second Coming would occur in the most distant future and taught that no one but the Father knew the day or hour of that great event. He used a powerful parable to urge his disciples to remain in a state of constant preparation (24:42–50), and he challenged them to live every day as if it were the day that Jesus would return.

Jesus continued by telling several other parables related to the importance of preparing for his return. The parable of the 10 virgins (25:1–13) warned the disciples to prepare immediately for the Second Coming but to anticipate a lengthy delay. The parable of the talents (25:14–30) emphasized the importance of living faithfully and responsibly during the lengthy delay before the Lord's return. The parable of the sheep and goats (25:31–46) demonstrated that one of the most important steps in preparing for Jesus return was treating Jesus' followers kindly and compassionately.

D. The Passion (26–27)
After the conclusion of Jesus' final discourse, several Matthean features indicate that Jesus' death is drawing close. Jesus offered another prediction of his Crucifixion (26:1–2). The Jewish leaders met to conspire to kill him (26:3–5). A woman anointed Jesus with myrrh in preparation for his burial (26:6–16). One of Jesus' own disciples approached the Jewish leaders offering to betray Jesus for a price (26:17–25).

While Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples, he announced that one of them would betray him (26:26–30). Then he specifically identified Judas as the betrayer. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by using the bread and cup from the Passover to portray his body and blood that would be sacrificed to seal the new covenant and to provide forgiveness of sins.

After this Jesus quoted an OT prophecy to demonstrate that his disciples would abandon him after his arrest (26:31–35). Peter and the other disciples strongly denied that this was possible, yet Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the
rooster crowed at sunrise. At this Jesus led his disciples into the garden of Gethsemane (26:36–46), gathering his inner circle (Peter, James, and John) to join him in prayer. Jesus asked that the Father might allow him to escape the cross, but he submitted himself to the Father's will whatever it might be. Then Jesus approached the disciples, and when he found them sleeping, he urged them to be alert and to pray.

This scene was repeated three times until Judas entered Gethsemane accompanied by an armed mob that had been dispatched by the Jewish officials (26:47–56). Judas identified Jesus by greeting him with the kiss of friendship, and Jesus was seized by the mob. One of the disciples intervened, drew his sword, and struck off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus rebuked the disciple and reminded him that his Father was more than capable of rescuing him if he chose to do so but that his arrest and death were necessary to fulfill the promises of the Scripture.

After this Jesus was led to Caiaphas, the high priest, and an assembly of the scribes and elders (26:57–68). Peter followed closely but discretely and waited in the courtyard to hear the outcome of the proceedings. The Jewish leaders sought false witnesses whose testimony might justify executing Jesus. Two witnesses appeared who charged that Jesus had claimed that he was able to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Jesus remained silent in the face of the charges until the high priest placed him under oath and demanded to know if he were the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus replied by quoting Ps 110:1 and Dan 7:13. The high priest accused Jesus of blasphemy. Then the assembly sentenced Jesus to death. Members of the assembly began to abuse Jesus by spitting in his face, punching him with their fists, and slapping him.

In the meantime others present in the courtyard recognized Peter as a disciple of Jesus (26:69–75). He denied knowing Jesus three different times. Each denial was more adamant and angrier than the previous denial. Immediately after the third denial, the rooster crowed, signaling the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy and sending Peter out to weep.

While Jesus was led away to Pilate, Judas regretted his decision to betray Jesus (27:1–10). He returned the betrayal price to the Jewish leaders, proclaimed Jesus' innocence, and then hanged himself. The Jewish leaders used the money to purchase a plot of land for the burial of foreigners who visited Jerusalem.

When Jesus was questioned by Pilate and accused by the Jewish leaders, he remained silent (27:11–26). Although Pilate attempted to release Jesus by appealing to a Passover custom in which he released one prisoner, the people, prompted by their leaders, pled for Pilate to release Barabbas instead and to crucify Jesus. Pilate washed his hands in a symbolic attempt to alleviate his guilt in Jesus' execution while the Jews accepted full responsibility for Jesus' death, had Jesus scourged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Soldiers from the Roman cohort responsible for Jesus' execution stripped him and ridiculed his messianic claims by adorning him with a mock robe, crown, and scepter, and bowing before him in fake homage (27:27–50). They then spit on Jesus and brutally beat him. Due to weakness from his severe scourging, and since Jesus was unable to carry his cross to the place of execution, the soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross for him. Jesus was offered a mixture that could have diminished his sufferings, but he refused to drink it. While he was suffering, onlookers mocked Jesus, particularly the chief priests, scribes, and elders, as well as those crucified along with him.

Something to Think About: All Authority Is Jesus'

“A
ll authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (28:18). Who is the man who can claim to have been given all authority in heaven and
on earth? Has a more amazing statement ever been made, a more startling claim ever been registered? In the climactic moment in Matthew's entire Gospel, here is Jesus, with the Eleven, in Galilee, ascended onto the mountain, uttering what has become known as “the Great Commission”: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:19–20).

How can Jesus have all authority in heaven and on earth? In the context of Matthew's Gospel, the reader is reminded of the gambit proposed to Jesus by “the tempter,” the devil, Satan, who took Jesus “to a very high mountain” and showed him all the kingdoms of this world and their splendor and said to him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me” (4:8–9). Jesus refused, rebuking the devil, “Go away, Satan!” Later in the Gospel, Jesus told his closest followers that he must suffer, and be killed, and be raised the third day; and when Peter took him aside and rebuked him, denying the necessity of the cross, Jesus, in similar terms, told Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (16:21-23).

Only after the crucifixion does Jesus claim to have all authority in heaven and on earth. The risen Christ, in the manner of a conquering, victorious general, ascends the mountain and commissions his followers to go and conquer the worlds, similar to Alexander the Great and other military leaders who set out to subdue the universe and subject it to their will. But Jesus' conquest would be gentle, in keeping with his invitation, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (11:28-30).

And as his followers go into all the world in order to disciple the nations, Jesus himself, Isaiah's Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us” (1:23), would be with them: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” How, then, can the church's mission possibly fail, if Jesus, the risen Christ, the conquering general, will himself be present with his people in the power of the Holy Spirit? Indeed, “This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come” (24:14). In the original scene, as Matthew tells us, “When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted” (28:17). Will you and I worship, or will we doubt?

Several remarkable signs accompanied Jesus' sufferings and death (27:51–56). While he hung on the cross, the sky was black although it was midday. When Jesus died, the heavy curtain that separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple complex was torn from the top to the bottom while an earthquake split the rocks and opened the tombs of the city. The Roman centurion and his soldiers who supervised the Crucifixion were terrified by these supernatural events and confessed that Jesus truly was the Son of God.

Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in his own new tomb and sealed it with a stone (27:57–66). Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of two of Jesus' disciples, observed the burial and thus were aware of the location of the tomb. This familiarity with its location ensured that the tomb that they later found empty was, in fact, the tomb where Jesus had been buried. At the request of the Pharisees, Pilate secured and sealed Jesus' tomb and ordered a Roman
custodia
to guard it in order to prevent Jesus' disciples from stealing the body and staging a resurrection.

E. The Resurrection and the Great Commission (28)
At dawn on Sunday morning, the two women who observed Jesus' burial returned to the tomb (28:1–10). An earthquake occurred as an angel appeared and rolled back the stone that sealed Jesus' tomb. The Roman guard was immobilized with terror. The angel announced that Jesus had risen from the dead and commanded the women to report this to the disciples and to urge them to travel to Galilee where Jesus would meet them. As they raced to the disciples, Jesus himself intercepted them. The women fell to the ground, threw their arms around Jesus' feet, and worshipped him.

Meanwhile, some of the soldiers from the Roman
custodia
reported to the chief priests what had happened (28:11–15). The Sanhedrin gathered and decided to bribe the soldiers to give the false report that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body while they were asleep. Later Jesus appeared to his disciples in Galilee and commanded them to acknowledge his authority over both heaven and earth by making disciples of people from all ethnic groups (28:16–20). These new disciples should be baptized and taught to obey all of Jesus' commands. Jesus promised his presence would empower his disciples to fulfill this commission.

THEOLOGY

Theological Themes

Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic Predictions
One of the most significant theological themes in Matthew's Gospel is that Jesus is the Messiah predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. This fulfillment is highlighted especially in Matthew 1–4 in the form of several fulfillment quotations. Virtually every significant event in Jesus' life is shown to fulfill Scripture:

Table 4.4: Jesus' Fulfillment of OT Prophecy in Matthew's Gospel