Lesson 30

STUDY NOTES on previous study

Triumph and Tragedy (Luke 19:28-47)

&= nbsp; As you can tell, the story of Jesus’ ministry is coming to an end. Howev= er, roughly half of the content of the gospels concerns the week in Jesus’ life that we have just entered in our study. It is clear by the amount of t= ime and focus these days receive that we are at the heart of the “Christ event.” There is more to say about these happenings than can be cover= ed in a year, much less in a few lessons. But note that we will be spending th= ree months in these last few days of Jesus’ ministry. And clearly, that is proper. Here is the difficulty – you most likely know these events ve= ry well. It will be hard to encounter them with an open mind and heart. That is certainly true for me. But let’s allow the Spirit of God to do His wo= rk in us as we study these events. We have focused our study on authentic discipleship. We have learned much at the feet of Jesus. Now we must learn = more from the bleeding feet of the Lamb of God.

&= nbsp; Jerusalem is now = on the horizon. The band of disciples and spiritual pilgrims with Jesus will soon = be breaking the crest of the Mount of Olives, and the holy city will rise into view. Jesus is fully aware of what is to happe= n. That is the purpose of Luke’s telling of the colt or donkey that has never been ridden that will be made available at His request (by sending two disciples the account is thereby verified as true) is to both fulfill Zechariah 9:9 and to show that Jesus knows ex= actly what is about to happen. No surprises here. Jesus is willingly walking to H= is death.

&= nbsp; The crowd is almost delirious with joy. For them, the moment has surely come. <= span class=3DGramE>THE moment. Messiah is coming to receive His glory, ju= st as the prophets had said. He was indeed the miracle worker, the authoritative spokesperson of God. He would now enter Jerusalem, ascend to the throne of David, and cast out the Romans from their land. So = the people honored Him with extravagant displays, throwing their cloaks on the ground in a sign of submission and delight. Th= ey would make His way to the throne one of honor a= nd comfort. And they cried out with loud shouts the Messianic cry, “Bles= sed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” This wording from Psalm 118= :6 was to be reserved for Messiah, and it is for this reason that the Pharisees “came unglued.” They wanted Jesus to refuse the sacred psalm of messianic anticipation, but He would not. For He was exactly who they thoug= ht He was. Unfortunately, their view of Messiah was pitifully inadequate. But = even in their ignorance, they were shouting truths. And so Jesus responded to the impertinent Pharisees by saying that the rocks would shout this truth even = if all were silent. Creation itself was now paying attention because the events that were about to take place would affect all that God had made.

&= nbsp; Now the city is in view. From the high hills east of the city Jesus weeps over = it. He knows what will happen in just a few years. The city that Jews traveled for months to see would be reduced to unsigh= tly rubble. This was not the first time the Spirit of God had longed to see repentance in the city. Read the haunting account of Ezekiel’s vision= in chapters 10 and 11. The Glory of the Lord left the temple because it was fu= ll of idolaters, and it drifted to “the mountain at the east of the city”, and then it left. In a matter of days, the mighty armies from Babylonia would march in and tear the city to pieces. The Glory of God had been on Mount of Olives before and seen the devastation whi= ch was to come. Alas, history would repeat itself. Once again the city refused to = hear the good news of the Lord God Almighty. The Glory of the Lord was again entering the city, the very Son of God, yet the people would not accept Him – at least on His terms. In the midst of His triumphal entry, Jesus k= new that in just a few years the city would receive judgment for not accepting = Him as king. The Romans would put a horrible siege on Jerusalem and then tear it down to noth= ing more than rubble.

&= nbsp; &= nbsp; As would be expected, the triumphant procession ended at the temple. What Jesus did is still hotly debated. It was a powerful act of protest against what h= ad developed at the temple. What should have been a “house of prayerR= 21; had become a “den of robbers.” If we just read Luke’s acc= ount of the cleansing of the temple, we get the idea that Jesus was preparing it= for His final week of teaching. The other gospel accounts of the event give us = more information about the location of the merchants and the reason for Jesus= 217; anger. But here, Luke provides the information of the clearing out of the merchants as setting the stage for the teaching that is to follow. The story serves to “wake us up” to the importance of that which is to co= me. There was a strong tradition among the Jews that when the Messiah came, there wou= ld be a renewed focus on the purity of the temple. Jesus’ driving out the merchants would have been seen as such an act. So, as Jesus began teaching,= the chiefs priests, the teachers of the law, and the spiritual leaders began to seriously plot for His death. In this act of cleansing the temple, Jesus had fully challenged the powers that be. He was directly threatening the system of worship that had been in place for quite some time. If it were inappropriate for these merchants to be at the temple, then it would have been an issue the religious leaders in Jerusalem should have addressed. Jesus “usurped” their authority with His behavio= r. Of course, He had every right to do so. But this was the “straw that broke the camel’s back.” He would have to die. But this would b= e no simple plot. For the people had claimed Him as Messiah,= and they “hung on His words.” They were listening to the good news of the kingdom. The leaders could only see the possible end to their p= ower.

&= nbsp; What are we to do with these stories? This actually brings us to the heart of the question of authentic discipleship. How will you receive Jesus? What kind of Messiah will you allow Him to be? The city of Jerusalem, of all places, should have b= een ready to receive their new king. Instead, as we all know, they would crucify Him.= As long as He was their champion, their miracle worker, their great teacher, as long as they could hope for personal empowerment, betterment, and a great n= ame, they hung on His every word. But it would not take much for them to shout “Crucify him!” How could this be?

&= nbsp; The story continues. And we have to ask ourselves, where would we be in this st= ory? Would we be the religious establishment seeking to maintain the system we b= uilt? Would we be open to Jesus cleansing our temple? Would we allow Him to redir= ect our worship toward the One to whom we owe all? Would we allow Him to overtu= rn the tables of our comfort and call us to a dynamic, life changing table of prayer?

After having read the st= udy notes, answer the following questions:

1. Is it important to you that Jesus = knew exactly what was going to happen to Him when He arrived at Jerusalem? Why or why not?<= /p>

2. How might we celebrate Jesus’ arrival (like the triumphant entry) in our lives only to reject Him in our daily lives?

3. What would Jesus change if He walk= ed into the temple courts of our lives? What would He find that He would disrupt or cast out?

Jesus’ Authority (Luke 20:1-21:4)

Read Luke 20:1-19

1. Why did the religious leaders ques= tion Jesus’ authority?

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2. Why do you think Jesus refused to = answer their question?

3. What was the point of the parable = of the tenants?

4. What lesson should we learn from t= his parable?

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Read 20:20-26=

1. Why was Jesus asked about paying t= axes?

2. What was Jesus’ response?

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3. This is one of the more famous say= ings of Jesus. How does it apply t= o our lives?

Read 20:27-40=

1. Why did the Sadducees ask Jesus ab= out post-resurrection relationships if they did not believe in the resurrection= ?

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2. Why did Jesus respond with His tre= atment of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

3. Why did the people stop asking Jes= us questions?

Read 20:41-21:4

1. Why do you think Jesus initiated t= he discussion concerning Psalms 110:1 (Luke 20:42-42)?

2. Why were the disciples to beware o= f the teachers of the law?

3. What does this last paragraph in c= hapter 20 have to do with verses 1-4 of chapter 21?

4. Did the poor widow actually put in= more than the others, or was this just a figure of speech?

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