Journey to Easter Sunday - Tuesday - Do You Know Him?

Tuesday - A Day of Challenges

According to scripture, Jesus was a very busy man on Tuesday.  To follow up from his unforgettable entrance into the temple on Monday, he begins the second day entering the temple courts finding his opposition targeting his authority.  Who was the opposition?  The religious leaders of the time, called the chief priests and elders of the church.  They were skeptical of his teaching, his miracles, his God.  If Jesus was who he claimed to be, the King of kings, then he would not come as a lowly carpenter born in the low estate and riding into Jerusalem on a colt.  Who was Jesus to claim that he was the Son of God?  Why were they to believe him and his teaching?  They challenged Jesus, and the response, to this day, is life-changing.

Jesus had the amazing art of storytelling and allowing his message to be heard through the eyes of everyday life.  For example, here are a couple of challenging attacks Jesus faced on this Tuesday from the religious leaders.

Matthew 21:23-27

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The religious leaders did not know what to do with Jesus.  They did not have an answer for him and his teachings.  What they did know is that they were being threatened - their entire belief system and religion was being challenged and that scared them.  Jesus followers were growing with great momentum, so the Pharisees began to plot a plan to get rid of Jesus.  Read more of his parables and learn.

Jesus teaches in stories and confronts the Jewish leaders

Matthew 21:28-46

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes"?

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

(For more reading, continue reading Matthew 22-23:36) 

Jesus continues to teach and reach out to the masses at the same time challenging the leaders on the truth of God.  His topics ranged from government to religion. Jesus spoke of the hypocrisy of those who claimed to know the truth but were living a lie.  His words were direct and seemingly harsh at times. Jesus’  art of sharing truth was delivered in such a way that made everyone think and be forced to take a side.  Because of this, look what happened next...

Judas agrees to betray Jesus

Luke 22:3-6

3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

His very own was plotting with religious leaders to take Jesus down.  Please note what Luke shares here.  “Then Satan entered Judas…”  Jesus has always had a plan, and he also knew Satan had a plan.  Do not think for a moment that this caught Jesus off guard.  He knew that this was the last week of his life.  He knew the betrayal was coming.  He knew the suffering that was ahead of him.  But he also knew that the truth must be spoken.  He was about to leave the earth, but the life-changing message was going to revolutionize the world.  Read the instruction Jesus gives his followers at the end of his day with them.

John 12:23-26

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Jesus was raising up followers of the truth.  He knew his death would produce many seeds, and his sacrifice would be the ultimate example to them of eternal life and eternal sacrifice for all mankind.

Response:

I know this is a lot to take in today.  Simply reflect on how Jesus challenged the culture of the religious leaders to hear and know the truth.    Now I ask you to challenge your culture . . .Do you know the truth today?  Do you believe who Jesus said he was?  Do you believe that he is the Son of God?  If you are struggling to believe, then pray for God to reveal himself to you. Ask him the difficult questions.  He will give you an answer as you seek him.  Do not go through another Easter without settling the question, “Do I believe who Jesus said he was?”

If you believe, then share Jesus with someone today!

If you do not believe, then I challenge you to wrestle with the hard questions of why your unbelief and do not let them go unanswered. My prayer is that you will personally know Jesus today.

Watch this music video on “Be Still My Soul” as you ponder this challenge today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zHn4QSH-8