Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 18)

• For the entire itinerary, see Ministry Itin'ry;
• in (parentheses) is the location per today's geography.

[18] in Galilee; along the border of Galilee & Samaria; in Judea;

[19] 3rd time in/around Jerusalem-- mid-fall, Feast of Tabernacles:

1. in Jerusalem-- halfway through the Feast, to the Temple courts;
2. to the Mount of Olives (south-central West Bank)-- for 1 night;
3. back in the Temple courts of Jerusalem;
4. Jesus spoke again to the people; as He went along...;

[20] 4th time in Jerusalem-- winter, Feast of Dedication;

[21] to Judea & surroundings (southern West Bank & E of the southern Jordan River):

1. went on the other side of the Jordan R. (west-central Jordan);
2. approached, entered & left Jericho, NE of Jerusalem (southeast-central West Bank);
3. in Bethany (El-Azarireh, SE of Jerusalem; south-western West Bank) on the Mount of Olives, less than 2 mi. from Jerusalem-- raised Lazarus;
4. in Ephraim (NE of Jerusalem; central West Bank);
5. back in Bethany, 6 days before the Passover-- Jesus' feet anointed;
6. came to Bethany & Bethphage (between Jerusalem & El-Azarireh in the West Bank), at the Mount of Olives-- 2 disciples sent;

D. (cont'd) During the 5th time in/near Jerusalem 

  3. The "authorities" questioned Jesus' authority, & were denied an answer [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt 21:23-27 Jesus entered the temple courts, &, while He was teaching, the chief priests & the elders of the people came to Him & asked 2 questions. By what authority are You doing these things? They asked. And who gave You this authority. Jesus replied, I will also ask You 1 question [ask you your 2nd question]. If You answer Me this 2nd question, I will answer your 1st & tell by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism [method of baptizing]-- where did it come from? Was it from Heaven, or from men? They discussed it among themselves & said, "If We say, 'From Heaven, He will ask, 'Then why didn't You believe Him?' But if We say, 'From men'-- We are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a true prophet." So They answered Jesus, We don't know. Then He said, Neither will I answer even the 1st question & tell You by what authority I am doing these things. I.e., if they would have answered his question truthfully (by whose authority), there would already be the simple answer to their 1st question (by what authority).
• Mark 11:27-33 They arrived again in Jerusalem, & while Jesus was walking in the Temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law & the elders came to Him. By what authority are You doing these things? They asked. And who gave You authority to do this? Jesus replied, I will ask You 1 question. Answer Me, & I will tell You by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism-- was it from Heaven, or from men? Tell Me! They discussed it among themselves & said, "If We say, 'from Heaven,' He will ask, 'Then why didn't You believe Him?' But if We say, From men'...." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So They answered Jesus, We don't know. Jesus said, Neither will I tell [instruct] you to believe by what authority I am doing these things-- note below that he was preaching the gospel.
• Luke 20:1-8 1 day as He teaching the people in the Temple courts & preaching the Gospel, the chief priests & the teachers of the Law, together with the elders, came up to Him. Tell Us by what authority You are doing these things, They said. Who gave You this authority. He replied, I will also ask You a question-- keeping the gospel about simple faith. Tell Me, John's baptism-- was it from Heaven, or from men? They discussed it among themselves & said, "If We say, 'From Heaven,' He will ask,' Why didn't You believe Him?' But if We say, From men,' all the people will stone Us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet-- it was this fear that inspired them to seek Roman support.  So they answered, We don't know where it was from. Jesus said, Neither will I tell You by what authority I am doing these things-- the gospel requires faith 1st, after which fear is gone.

  4. Parable: Those who believed John; those who did not [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt 21:28-32 What do You think? There was a man who had 2 sons. He went to the 1st & said, 'Son, go & work today in the vineyard.' 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind & went. Then the father went to the other son & said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. Which 1 of the 2 did what his father wanted? The 1st, They answered. Jesus said to Them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors & the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of GOD ahead of You. For John came to You to show the way of righteousness, & You did not believe Him, but the tax collectors & the prostitutes did. And even after You saw this, You did not repent & believe Him.
• Mark
• Luke

  5. Parable-- 'given to a people who will produce its fruit' [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt 21:33-48 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it & built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers & went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat 1, killed another, & stoned a 3rd. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the 1st time, & the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him & take his inheritance.' So they took him & threw him out of the vineyard & killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, They replied, & he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crops at harvest time. Jesus said to Them, Have You never read in the Scriptures: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (cornerstone); the LORD has done this, & it's marvelous in Our eyes (Psa 118:22-23)? Therefore I tell You that the Kingdom of GOD will be taken from You & given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. When the chief priests & the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, They knew He was talking about Them. They were angry, for they recalled the prophecy in Isaiah: for both houses of Israel He will be a stone that causes men to stumble & a rock the makes Them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap & a snare. Many of Them will stumble; They will fall & be broken, They will be snared & captured (Isa 8:14-15; note that many will stumble & brake-- some will be snared & crushed-- but not all, for some will become converted Jews.  They looked for a way to arrest Him, but They were afraid of the crowd because the people held that He was a prophet--  we just saw in D.3. above that they were afraid because the people held that John was a prophet). BTW, note that Isa 8:16 goes on to say, Seal up the Law among My disciples.
• Mark 12:1-12 Then He began to speak to Them in parables: A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress & built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers & went away on a journey. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him & sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head & treated him shamefully. He sent still another, * that 1 they killed. He had 1 left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But the tenants said to 1 another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, & the inheritance will be ours. So they took him & killed him, & threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come & kill those tenants & give the vineyard to others. Haven't You read this in scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, & it is marvelous in Our eyes? Them They looked for a way to arrest Him because They knew He had spoken the parable against Them. But They were afraid of the crowd; so They left Him & went away.
• Luke 20:9-19 He went on to tell the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers & went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him & sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that 1 also they beat & treated shamefully & sent away empty-handed. He sent still a 3rd, & they wounded him & threw him out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, & the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard & killed him. What then will the owner of vineyard do to them? He will come & kill those tenants & give the vineyard to others. When the people heard this, They said, 'May this never be!' Jesus lokked directly at them & asked, Then what is the meaning of that which is written: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (Psa 118.22). Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. The teachers of the Law & the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Him immediately, because They knew He had spoken this parable against Them. But They were afraid of the people.

  6. Again in parables-- 'many are invited; few are chosen' [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt 22:1-14 Jesus spoke to Them again in parables, saying: The kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those that had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants & said, Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen & fattened cattle have been butchered, & everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' But they paid no attention & went off-- 1 to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them & killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army & destroyed those murderers & burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Thus far this equates to the stone that the builders rejected we've already seen about. But now we focus on the cornerstone, a side of it we haven't seen-- having a standing invitation hardly suffices! Go to the street corners & invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets & gathered all the people they could find, both good & bad, & the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He had responded to the standing invitation (& was thus a friend), but he lacked the wedding garments which are freely bestowed upon being born again. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand & foot, & throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping & gnashing of teeth.' For many are invited, but few are chosen-- said choosing hinging upon their 1st choosing to be reborn.

  7. The Pharisees' & Herodians' failed plans to trap Him [22] above (2nd pt.)

• Matt 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went out & laid plans to trap Him in His words. They sent Their disciples in disguise to Him along with the ruling Herodians-- 1x before he had a run-in with the Pharisees & Herodians: way back in Galilee, after the 2nd time in Jerusalem (see PerMtMkLk2 B.3.). Teacher, they said, we know You are a man of integrity & that You teach the Way of GOD in accordance with truth. You aren't swayed by men, because You pay no attention to who they are-- thinking flattery would get them there. Tell us then, what is Your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, as usual telling his father's truth, discerning maliciousness, fearless, & answering a question with-a-question, knowing their evil intent, said, You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me? Show Me the particular coin used for paying the tax. They brought Him a denarius, & He asked them, Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription? Caesar's, they replied. Then He said to them, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, & to GOD what is GOD'S-- I once commented how irksome it is that some people, including ministers, resent paying taxes-- going so far as to set up off-shore accounts with that design-in-mind (see PerMtMkLk9 B.36.). When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him, my hero, & went away.
• Mark 12:13-17 Later They sent some of the Pharisees & Herodians to Jesus to catch Him in His words. They came to Him & said, Teacher, we know You are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because You pay no attention to who they are; but You teach the Way of GOD in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we? But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. We already saw Jesus telling his disciples to be on guard against men (Matt 10:17) & yeast (Matt 16:6,11-12). Paul counselled Christians to be on guard against the customs of Our ancestors (Acts 28:17) & against Alexander who opposes Our message (2ndTim 4:15)-- & to watch out for those who cause divisions (Roma 16:17). Indeed Paul said, If You keep on biting & devouring each other, watch out or You will be destroyed by each other-- as in loosing your reward (Gala 5:15). John said it this way, that You do not lose what have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully (2ndJoh 1:8). Why are you trying to trap Me? He asked. Bring Me a denarius & let Me look at it. They brought the coin, & He asked them, Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription? Caesar's, they replied. Then Jesus said to them, Give to Caersar what is Caesar's & to GOD what is GOD'S. And they were amazed at Him.
• Luke 20:27-40 Keeping a close watch on Him, They sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something He said so They might hand Him over to the power & authority of the governor. So the spies questioned Him: Teacher, we know that You speak & teach what is right, & that You do not show partiality but teach the Way of GOD in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? He saw through their duplicity & said to them, Show Me a denarius. Whose portrait & inscription are on it? Caesar's, they replied. He said to them, Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, & to GOD what is GOD'S. They were unable to trap Him in what He had said there in public. And astonished by His answer, they became silent.