Tuesday: Controversy Day

In Mark it is the day after Jesus' action in the temple that he has a series of arguments with various parties and individuals in Jerusalem. He leaves Bethany in the morning (Mark 11:20) and the disciples now see that the fig that Jesus cursed the preceding morning has in fact withered. In Matthew, the cursing and the withering occur at the same time (Matt. 21:18-22). Jesus uses the opportunity to teach his disciples about prayer and what faith can do. Luke does not tell the story.

This is a busy day. It is, first, a day in which Jesus has a series of challenges from various Jerusalem parties. It is also the setting for the "eschatological discourse," Jesus prediction that the temple will be destroyed.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record four challenges from various parties and a challenge from Jesus to others. These are honor challenges, and Jesus "shames" his opponents.

Challenge 1: On what authority do you do these things? (Mark 11:27-33; Matt. 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8)
This question is brought by chief priests, elders and scribes. Jesus meets their challenge with a counter question: Where did John the Baptist get his authority? They did not want to say from God, for they didn't listen to him. They didn't want to deny it was from God because of the people.

Immediately following this "challenge-riposte," Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have at least one parable. Mark and Luke only have the parable of the vineyard, where Jesus indicts the leaders of Israel who have ignored the owner of the vineyard and in fact were about to kill the Son of the vineyard's owner. The moral of the story is that the owner will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to another, which seems to be a prediction of Jerusalem's coming destruction.

Matthew has two additional parables at this point. The one is the parable of the two sons, which is Matthew's equivalent to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus' point is that prostitutes and toll collectors will enter the kingdom before the Jerusalem leaders. The other is the parable of the wedding banquet, which foreshadows the burning of the city of Jerusalem (by the way, the way Matthew seems to edit this material is an argument for a date for Matthew after the temple's destruction).

Challenge 2: Pay taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13-17; Matt. 22:15-22; Luke 20:19-26)
They hope to catch Jesus again. This time it is Pharisees (and Herodians in Mark, possibly individuals who preferred to have a Herod ruling rather than a Roman procurator; it is chief priests and scribes in Luke). Should they pay taxes? If Jesus says yet, the revolutionary sentiment of the crowds will move against him. If he says no, they can use it with the Romans.

Jesus points out that it is Roman coinage they are talking about. Jesus comes from an agricultural world where Roman coinage is not the preferred option. It is a barter world where goods are traded, not paid for. "Give Caesar his coin back."

Challenge 3: Does resurrection make sense?
The third challenge is Sadducees, who don't believe in a resurrection. They pose a woman who has had seven husbands legally with no children... Whose husband will she be in the so called resurrection? Jesus' answer, woman aren't subordinated to husbands in the kingdom. All become like the angels (is this the nature of our spiritual bodies?).

Challenge 4: Greatest commandment
This is the least confrontational of the challenges, "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus answers "Love God and love neighbor," the sum of the law. The questioner is satisfied with Jesus' answer.

Jesus' challenge: Whose son is the Messiah?
Now Jesus asks a question. If the LORD calls the Messiah, Lord, in the days of David, then how is the Messiah David's son? The gospels don't record an answer, but Jesus may allude to his pre-existence.

Jesus comments on the Pharisees
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have at this point a criticism of the hypocrisy of some in Jerusalem. In Mark, Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of scribes (12:38-40) and tells of how a poor widow gave much more than any of these (12:41-44). Luke has the same (Luke 20:45-21:1-4). Matthew, who is the hardest on the Pharisees, has an entire chapter condemning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees at this point (Matt. 23).

The eschatological discourse
It is at this point in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple. The disciples remark at the huge stones of the temple, and Jesus predicts that not one of those stones will remain on top of each other. In Matthew and Mark, then, on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, the disciples ask when this will happen.

The way in which these questions are worded in each gospel probably reflects on the time when the gospels were written:

Mark: "When will this [destruction of the temple] be, and what is the sign that these things are about to be accomplished?"

Matthew: "When will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?"

Luke: "When will this be, and what will be the sign of when this is about to take place?"

Luke in particular speaks almost exclusively of portents surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. Luke puts the wording of 21:20-24 so that it clearly reflects the destruction and has little that might connect to the end of the age. In fact, the destruction of Jerusalem for Luke inaugurates the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24), in which we might still consider ourselves to be.

Matthew divides the questions into two distinct questions. As such 24:4-28 almost all can be taken in relation to the events surrounding the destruction of the temple. Then 24:29-44 speak more about the end of the age. It is difficult not to hear in Matthew the expectation that the second coming will happen soon after Jerusalem's destruction.

Mark's prophecy is more mixed together. But it substantially has the same content as Matthew.

Matthew is known for its five large sermons that it seems to have "added" to Mark. The final one is Matthew's expanded version of Mark 13. Matthew 25 goes beyond the eschatological discourse of Mark 13 to give the parable of the ten virgins, the five talents, and the parable of the sheep and the goats.

In my opinion, these parables are more challenges to the church of Matthew's day than challenges to the Jews of Jesus' day. They warn us to be ready for Christ's return, to work for the kingdom, including reaching out to those in need with the resources God has given us. The most natural way to take these parables in Matthew is to recognize that it is not those who start off with the master who enter into the joy of the Lord, but rather those who do the will of the Father.