Day 305: Jesus’ authority

Jesus goes berserk.  
Second cleansing of the Temple
Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48
Cursing of the fig tree
Matthew 21:18-19, Mark 11:12-14
The fig tree withers
Matthew 21:20-22, Mark 11:20-25
Jesus’ authority is challenged
Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 2-:1-8
The parable of the two sons
Matthew 21:28-32
The parable of the wicked tenants
Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19

Jesus makes an incredibly clear demonstration of his antipathy to the Jewish authorities. He accuses them of making money out of Temple worship, of excluding the marginalised, of saying with their mouths that they are faithful, but not backing it up with their deeds, of consistently disobeying and flouting God’s laws, to the extent that God will come and tear their precious Temple away from them and give it to others.
We all know about the cleansing of the Temple, and how Jesus was incensed at the buying and selling going on in the outer court, where Gentiles and god-fearers would be trying to pray. But what follows is equally meaningful - the cursing of the fig tree is an acted parable - God is fed up with waiting for his people to produce fruit, and after being challenged about his authority, Jesus tells two parables that are very very pointed and very very aimed squarely at the religious status quo. I can’t see the leaders taking this lying down. It’s now only the protecting crowds that are keeping Jesus from being arrested - the authorities will have him as soon as they can get him on his own.

Day 304:The triumphal entry

Nt proud of my church today - we sound more like the pharisees than Jesus.
The conversion of Zaccheus
Luke 19:1-10
The parable of the gold coins
Luke 19:11-27
Jesus arrives at Bethany
John 11:56-7, 12:1
The plot against Lazarus
John 12:9-11
Jesus is anointed at Bethany
John 12:2-8
The triumphant entry into Jerusalem
Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, John 12:12-19

The news today is full of the protest outside St Paul's cathedral in London. To me, it feels like the church is too scared to speak up, which is a real shame, when the protestors are doing it for us. We sound like we're on the side of the tax collectors and the pharisees. Oh I know that it's more complicated than that, but surely it wouldn't have been that dangerous to take the other side?
A chief tax collector, a man who has dedicate years of hard work to feathering his own nest, who has endured the hatred of his compatriots, decides that Jesus is reason enough to give it all up. He starts acting like a child - a wonderful sign of being set free from his sin. And though the people grumble, Jesus is happy to rejoice with him in his repentance. TO the surly crowd Jesus tells the story of the ten coins - how it isn’t enough to just trust in what you’ve already been given, you need to use your gifts for God’s sake.
Jerusalem is very near now. John tells us how Jesus lodges at Bethany with Mary Martha and Lazarus, and how Mary prefigures his death by anointing him with precious perfume, to the disgust of miserly Judas.
The feast has already begun, Jerusalem is heaving and Jesus finally makes his entrance. He deliberately sets out to fulfill a prophecy by riding in on a donkey. This is a claim to be the Messiah, and the authorities grind their teeth in frustration. They are ready to arrest Jesus now, but they can’t do so in the midst of this ecstatic crowd. They must bide their time.

Day 303: The over-ambitious disciples

It isn’t fair, it doesn’t make sense. Jesus isn’t fair and he’s better than sense.
The rich young ruler
Luke 18: 18-30
The parable of the workers in the vineyard
Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus speaks of the crucifixion
Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34, Luke 18:31-34
The ambition of James and John
Matthew 20:20-28. Mark 10:35-45
Two blind men are healed
Matthew 20:29-34
Blind Bartimaeus is healed
Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43

No one can say that Jesus didn’t warn his disciples what was coming, They just didn’t listen. He told them in words of one syllable that he as going to Jerusalem to die, and that three days later he would rise, but they didn’t take it in. their minds were reeling with too many other things. Things like the extraordinary parable of God’s generosity that is the Workers in the Vineyard. Even today when I preach on this people come up to me afterwards and say “That is totally wrong.” My answer is usually “Who said God has to be fair?”
James and John (or their mother) display some ruthless ambition - wanting to climb the corporate tree and get the best seats in the boardroom. Jesus acts just as ruthlessly in explaining that they’ve just demoted themselves to the bottom of the pile, because his system of preferment works backwards. “The son of man came to serve, not to be served, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Then follows the healing of a blind man (or two men in Matthew’s version) which is the gospel in miniature. Someone who was stuck,. humanly speaking, unable to make any progress in life, is set free to follow Jesus on the way. He goes from zero to, well, not hero, but disciple in the blink of his newly working eyes. And in a stroke he outdoes his unflattering name - Bartimaeus means Son of Filth, but he is set free to be a disciple and to acquire his true worth in God’s eyes.

Day 302: Jesus and divorce

What did Jesus day about divorce? Does he allow it, or forbid it?
The parable of the persistent widow
Luke 18:1-8
The parable of the pharisee and the tax collector
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus’ teaching on divorce
Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12
He blesses little children
Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17
The rich young ruler
Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31

In our society, there are two things that we just can’t live without. Sex and money. Except that people do live without both of these.  So we do tell ourselves lies about these two objects of desire. Jesus neither forbids nor expressly permits divorce. He days the principle is one man, one woman, for life, but recognises that people can’t always live like this. And the rich young man who can’t bear to give up his wealth causes the disciples to panic - unnecessarily so, but Jesus makes it clear that money is a massive burden to someone trying to live life God’s way. Why be weighed down with such a care?

Day 301: The resurrection and the life

Wow! This is new. Jesus has been talking about dying, but now for the first time he’s talking about going beyond dying.
The unprofitable servant
Luke 17:1-10
The death of Lazarus
John 11:1-16
Jesus the resurrection and the life
John 11:17-27
Jesus weeps
John 11:28-37
The raising of Lazarus
John 11:38-44
The plot against Jesus
John 11:45-53
Jesus goes to Ephraim
John 11:54
The healing of the ten lepers
Luke 17:11-19
The coming of the kingdom of God
Luke 17:20-37

John 11 is a story rich in irony. I’m using irony in its technical sense, to mean where some people in the story don’t know what is going to happen, but we the readers do. I don’t mean that it’s sarcastic.
The people who don’t know what is going on in this story are the disciples (which is pretty normal, for them) Martha and Mary, and later on, Caiaphas the High Priest.
Let’s look at them in turn.
The disciples don’t understand why Jesus delays going to see Lazarus when he gets word that he is ill. Why isn’t he going to help his friend? Well, presumably it’s too dangerous to go south right now. Then suddenly Jesus announces that they are going after all.
Now what?? And what about Lazarus?
He’s asleep.
Oh well that’s good isn’t it? If he sleeps he’ll get better.
No he’s dead.
Well why then are we going south????
Then when they arrive, Martha comes to meet them and says “Where were you?”
Don’t worry - Lazarus will rise form the dead.
Yes - at the last day, along with everyone.
No Martha, now, because I have come. Do you believe in me?
Err...I think so.
Then Mary comes and says again, “Where were you when we needed you?”
they go to the tomb and Jesus tells them to roll away the stone.
But master, it will stink!
Just do it.
LAZARUS! COME OUT!!!
And he does.
Finally, Caiaphas, as High Priest, sets the policy of the Jewish leaders against Jesus’ life. “Better to let one man die for the people, that for all to die.” Well Caiaphas, you spoke the truth, but you probably never realised just how well you spoke it.

Day 300: The challenge of discipleship

I never thought I’d get this far. Day 300!  
The parable of the great banquet
Luke 14:15-24
The cost of discipleship
Luke 14:25-35
The lost sheep
Luke 15:1-7
The lost coin
Luke 15:8-10
The lost son
Luke 15:11-32
The unjust steward
Luke 16:1-13
More teaching
Luke 16:14-18
The rich man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31

The theme that is dominating Jesus’ mind at the moment is the sheer ungratefulness o the Jews. After all that God has done for them, they spurn his gifts, refuse his offer of love and go their own way. Time after time. The parable of the great banquet shows people committing a terrible social crime - first accepting an invitation and then making last minute excuses. People in Jesus’ culture would never dream of doing this. But they do it to God. The parable contains a final slap in the face - the master ends up inviting the poor, the blind the crippled and the lame, the very people that would be excluded from Jewish worship.
He goes on to demonstrate God’s amazing persistence in the three stories of something lost - the sheep, the coin and the son. In each case, the one who has lost something never gives up. The final parable is more complicated, and includes an older brother who has been a good boy. Presumably the pharisees would associate themselves with the older brother. But he can’t cope with the mercy shown to his younger brother. It seems that the pharisees can cope better with God’s wrath than with his mercy.
All Jesus’ parables at the moment seem to be aimed at the pharisees - attacking their love of money, attacking their brittle righteousness that is scandalised by forgiveness, and builds barriers against people not like them. They are uncomfortable to read, because so many Christians, myself included, are just like that.

Day 299: The Kingdom of God

Jesus continues to confront his opponents with uncomfortable truths.  
Watchful servants
Luke 12:35-40
Faithful and unfaithful servants
Luke 12:41-48
Jesus, the cause of division
Luke 12:49-53
Interpreting the times
Luke 12:54-59
Repent or perish
Luke 13:1-5
The unfruitful fig tree
Luke 13:6-9
Jesus heals on the sabbath
Luke 13:10-17
Parables about the kingdom of God
Luke 13:18-21
The narrow door
Luke 13:22-30
Jesus’ love for Jerusalem
Luke 13:31-35
Jesus heals a sick man
Luke 14:1-8
Humility ad hospitality
Luke 14:7-14

Jesus tells a couple more pointed parables, implicitly accusing the Jewish leaders of being lazy, good for nothing servants, wasting away their time while their master is away. He is continuing his wake up call to the scribes and the pharisees, asking them to listen, and repent before it is too late.
There we have yet another incident of a healing on the sabbath. By now, this is seeming to be more than a coincidence - maybe Jesus is deliberately healing people on the sabbath in order to wind up the Pharisees, or maybe he healed plenty of people on other days but they never complained about that, so the gospel writers didn’t bother to record those incidents. Whatever the reason, this time Jesus offers a justification for healing on the sabbath. The sabbath is a good day for healing someone - God’s special day. It’s not a day for denying people something good - you don’t refuse to give your animals a drink on the sabbath, he tells them, so why not heal someone on this day?
Jesus’ reckless mood surfaces again as he rejects advice to avoid Herod. “Go tell that fox...” he says, not words calculated to please. he is on his way to Jerusalem, and on his way to die there. He sees himself in the line of prophets who were murdered in Jerusalem, whose tombs are there to this day in a show of piety that conveniently ignores the fact that the first hearers of their message rejected them to the point of killing them.

Day 298: Warnings and encouragements

God and bad today. From Jesus and his opponents.  
Jesus’ teaching on prayer
Luke 11:1-13
His teaching on Satan’s kingdom
Luke 11:14-26
True happiness
Luke 11:27-28
The demand for a miracle
Luke 11:29-36
The light of the body
Luke 11:33-36
Blind guides
Luke 11:37-54
Warning against hypocrisy
Luke 12:1-3
God’s care
Luke 12:4-7
Confession or rejection
Luke 12:8-12
The parable of the rich fool
Luke 12:13-21
Trust in God
Luke 12:22-31
Treasure in heaven
Luke 12:32-34

Jesus, when he3 is talking about prayer, wants to encourage people that God is listening and  will help. So he tells the story of a grumpy friend, who is reluctant to get up and midnight. No one in that culture would refuse to offer hospitality, just as no parent would give something dangerous to their child. This is the “how much more” argument - if you can do this, how much more will God, who is perfect, do this and more for you?
Jesus accepts another Pharisee’s hospitality, but after he is criticised for not washing his hands in the prescribed way, he lets rip. “Woe to you, blind guides!” Something tells me he won;t get invited back there again.
Jesus’ rhetoric against the scribes and pharisees is getting harsher. Attitudes are hardening on both sides. They have decided that he is bad news, and needs to be stopped. Jesus has decided that they will never listen, and it’s time to tell it like it is. Sometimes it feels like he’s being reckless, but I guess he is provoking them to a point where they will act to kill him. And that’s the plan.
Now comes the first of many parables that attack the religious leaders, the wealthy and comfortable. The rich fool thinks he’s got it made, but actually he is running out of time. Fast.
Then he turns to some words of comfort - don’t put your trust in material things, store up your treasure in heaven, it’s safer than a bank.

Day 297: The Good Shepherd

Jesus keeps prodding his opponents, trying to make them see.
The parable of the good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37
Jesus visits Martha and Mary
Luke 10:38-42
The healing of the man born blind
John 9:1-41
The parable of the shepherd
John 10:1-6
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
John 10:7-21
Jesus at the Feast of Dedication
John 10:22-38
Many believe in him
John 10:39-42

One of Jesus’ most famous parables is told in response to a Pharisee who tried to test him. Jesus deliberately makes the good guy in the story a despised foreigner,and tells the pharisee to go and be like him. That’s not calculated to make him popular.
Then there is the case of the man born blind. Of course, the joke is, who is really blind here, and the answer is, it’s the Jewish leaders. Some of them say “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” (9:19) while others reply “How can a sinner perform such signs?” They can’t decide about Jesus - is he good or is he bad?
So they mount an inquisition, and the blind man ends up teaching them.  “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (9:33)
Come on! It’s staring you in the face! Admit it!
But they won’t.
Now Jesus confronts them, comparing them to dodgy shepherds. They are like hired servants, who don;t really care for the sheep, so run away when there is trouble. Jesus is the good shepherd who is willing to do anything to save the sheep, even to lay down his life for them.

Day 296: The return of the seventy

More controversy
Jesus and the Jewish authorities
John 8:1-20
Spiritual freedom
John 8:31-38
Sons of Abraham
John 8:39-41
Children of the devil
John 8:42-47
The claims of Jesus
John 8:48-59
Samaritan opposition
Luke 9:51-56
The cost of following Jesus
Matthew 8:19-22, Luke 9:57-62
Jesus sends out the seventy
Luke 10:1-2
The unbelieving towns
Luke 10:13-16
The return of the seventy
Luke 10:17-20
Jesus’ joy
Luke 10:21-24

Who are you? the Jews asked Jesus, but only some of them understood his answer. Those who did believed, the rest just dug themselves deeper into a hole of misunderstanding. Today’s argument centres on who is a son of Abraham, in other words, a legitimate Jew. Jesus trumps them in the end with the remarkable statement: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” The fact that they react by trying to stone him for blasphemy shows that they got the point - Jesus was claiming to be God.
Luke tells us that Jesus has now set his face to go to Jerusalem. Never mind the personal danger, now it is time to bring things to a head. Nothing will swerve him now. He sends out not 12, but 70 (or 72) ahead of him to copy his mission. Where they are received, Jesus is full of joy, Where they are not, he utters a terrible warning.
It’s time to count the cost. Jesus rejects fair weather followers now - saying to one such who offered to follow once he had buried his father: “Let the dead bury their own dead.” Death is beginning to loom large in his thinking.

Day 295: An unforgiving spirit

Understanding and misunderstanding
The parable of the unforgiving servant
Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus’ unbelieving brothers
John 7:1-9
Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
John 7:10-13
He teaches at the Temple
John 7:14-31
Guards sent to arrest him
John 7:32-36
The water of life
John 7:37-39
The dispute
John 7:40-53
The woman caught in adultery
John 8:1-11
The light of the world
John 8:12-20


Jesus’ family don’t understand what he is up to. They urge him to go to Jerusalem, put himself about, get seen. That’s how to get famous, isn’t it? No celebrity avoids publicity, because there’s no such thing as bad publicity. They are ignoring, or just not appreciating, the danger Jesus would be in if he went to Jerusalem. The authorities have made their minds up about him now. They think he’s dangerous, and they want him removed. They’re not yet prepared to come and get him in Galilee, but if he came to Jerusalem, they would act.
Nevertheless Jesus does travel to Jerusalem, but he goes up late, not with the main company of pilgrims. He appears in the Temple courts and boldly begins teaching the people, arguing with those who think he is a sabbath-breaker. He seems to be leading a charmed life - the authorities can’t lay a hand on him. Jesus calmly says “My time has not yet come.” It seems that God is protecting him until the moment when he will be handed over into his enemies’ power.
He even launches a demonstration at the climax of the festival, interrupting (or at least rivalling) the main act of worship. The guards can’t really explain why they didn’t arrest him, except to say that they were impressed: “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (46).
Jesus acts against the unforgiving spirit that makes people obey the letter of the law not its spirit, as he refuses to condemn a woman caught in adultery. This is a question that politicians get asked time and again today, “Do you condemn so and so for an act of violence?” and they are forced to say yes, even when they might have some sympathy with their position. In this country, when the government wanted to begin talks with the IRA to end the troubles in Northern Ireland, they had to do in secret, while publicly saying they would never negotiate with terrorists. Being quick to condemn is a dead end policy, but still attractive today. Jesus claims to be bringing true light to the world, to dispel such stumbling in the dark.

Day 294: Who’s the greatest?

Jesus battles against human meanness of spirit.
Jesus’ ministry of healing and deliverance
Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43
Jesus speaks again about his death
Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-32, Luke 9:44-45
Payment of the Temple tax
Matthew 17:24-27
Who’s the greatest?
Matthew 18:1-5, Mark 9:33-37, Luke 9:46-38
Causes of sin
Matthew 18:6-9, Marl 9:42-50
The parable of the lost sheep
Matthew 18:10-14
John is rebuked
Mark 9:38-41, Luke 9:49-50
Teaching on forgiveness and prayer
Matthew 18:15-20

As soon as Jesus comes down from the mountain, he is met by a scene of failure. The disciples have tried unsuccessfully to heal an epileptic boy. He is a difficult case, and Jesus ends his suffering and that of his parents by winning a brief battle with the evil spirit who had controlled him. It brings a cry of exasperation from Jesus’ lips - fresh from a mountain top experience, he is immediately plunged back into the grime and misery of human existence. He tells the disciples again that he is going to die, but they can’t accept it. He breaks up a quarrel between them over who is the most important, and tries to teach them to see things from the other side - a child is greatest in God’s kingdom, because he is dependent on God, not arrogantly assuming he can go his own way.
There’s a little string of episodes in which the disciples misunderstand, display the wrong attitudes, fail in trying to imitate Jesus, and generally display the human condition in a poor light.  Perhaps this serves to make it clear that Jesus’ radical way of salvation is the only one that will work - it’s no good assuming that humans can get better by their own efforts - we just can’t carry it through.

Day 293: The transfiguration

So that’s who he is!
Peter’s declaration
Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21
Jesus speaks of his suffering and death
Matthew 16:21-23, Mark 8:31-33, Luke 9:22
Jesus speaks about self-denial
Matthew 16: 24-28, Mark 8:34-9:1, Luke 9:23-27
The transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36
Question about Elijah
Matthew 17:9-13, Mark 9:9-13
Jesus ministry of healing and deliverance
Matthew 17:14-21

As soon as the disciples have worked out for themselves who Jesus really is, he begins to tell them that his ministry is not what they think. They think he’s come for glory and victory and ultimate triumph for God’s people, actually he’s come for suffering, sacrifice and death. Not surprisingly, they can’t accept this.
It probably became clear pretty quickly to Jesus that words alone wouldn’t convince them, not even harsh words, so he tries something else. He decides to let the veil between heaven and earth slip a bit, so they can see something of his heavenly nature. Luke tells us that while he was talking to Moses and Elijah on the mountain tip, the discussed his “departure.” His Exodus, literally. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that they were in the midst of events every bit as momentous as the Exodus, all those years ago.
Peter’s not doing so well, today. First he earns a stinging rebuke when he tries to persuade Jesus not to suffer and die, then he starts babbling a load of nonsense on the mountain top. If I was one of the other disciples and I felt like teasing Peter, I’d remind him of his words, and then duck or run away very quickly.

Day 292: Peter’s momentous confession

Time for answers. Who is this man?
The Syro-Phoenician woman
Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30
Jesus heals many
Matthew 15:29-31, Mark 7:31-37
Jesus feeds the four thousand
Matthew 15:32-38, Mark 7:31-37
The demand for a sign
Matthew 15:29, 16:1-14, Mark 8:10-12
The yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
Matthew 16:5-12, Mark 8:13-21
Jesus heals a blind man
Mark 8:22-26
Peter’s declaration
Matthew 16:13-20

What are we to make of Jesus’ insulting words to a Gentile woman in distress? He refuses to help her, saying “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Jews called Gentiles “dogs.” Nehemiah and Ezra would have nodded in approval. Harsh but fair. Israel must be kept pure. But the woman is persistent and witty, and Jesus is forced to smile, despite himself, and heals her daughter. He’s had no problem is dealing with Gentiles before - there was the centurion’s servant who he healed, while commending the Roman solder for his faith. I’m sure Matthew and Mark record this story to demonstrate that Jesus has a different attitude to the Gentiles than many, but I still don’t get why he’s so rude. Maybe it’s my 21st century post-modern tolerance that’s offended.
Then another puzzle. Why do Matthew and Mark waste precious words telling a story that’s a carbon copy of the feeding of the 5,000? And why are the disciples so dumb that they panic about feeding the crowd and don’t remember the last time they were in this situation? The only answer seems to be Jesus’ symbolic use of teh numbers: 12 baskets represent the 12 tribes of Israel, 7 baskets represent the Gentile nations. Jesus feeds Gentiles and Jews alike, Jesus is saviour of all.
This leads us in to the key moment in the way that Mark in particular structures his gospel. He asks the disciples who people think he really is, and Peter nails it. You’re the one. There is no other.

Day 291: The bread of life

John reflects theologically on the feeding of the 5000 as he describes one of Jesus’ arguments with the Jews.
The people seek Jesus
John 6:22-24
Jesus teaches about spiritual food
John 6:35-33
Jesus the bread of life
John 6:34-59
Many disciples desert Jesus
John 6:60-71
The hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees
Matthew 15:1-9, Mark 7:1-13
Things that make a person unclean
Matthew 15:10-20, Mark 7:14-23

In a manner reminiscent of his discussion with the woman of Samaria, Jesus begins telling the crowds that they shouldn’t be looking for bread, but looking for BREAD. I am the bread of life, he tells them. They are skeptical, this is just Joseph’s son, how can he be the bread from heaven? Jesus insists, and makes it more graphically clear by saying that they must eat his flesh. This idea clearly repels people, but Jesus doesn’t care, he just repeats it more and more graphically.
This is a stumbling block for many. Even the 12 disciples are taken aback. Jesus asks if they want to leave him, but Peter says for them all, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Matthew and Mark record another argument with the scribes and pharisees, about what makes someone unclean. For the Jews, it’s to do with externals, for Jesus, it’s internals. This is another example of Jesus being out of step with Jewish thinking. We’ve seen how he thought good could positively affect evil, as opposed to worrying that evil will corrupt good. Now he tells his opponents that it’s not what they take on board they should worry about, it’s what they give out.