Priesthood plotted Jesus' Death (HW03)

   'Compassionate or Holy Week'

Luke:20.1  Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him.

    The priesthood and Jewish leaders tried to destroy our Lord Jesus by finding faults in Him and His teachings so that they could condemn Him to be a false teacher or false prophet.

    Unfortunately for them, our Lord Jesus was sent to be the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God. As a Jew and for Him to stay sinless, He must keep the Mosiac law and the Prophets.

    So they found His teachings fulfilling the law and His mercy shown fulfilled the Prophets. He even helped John the Baptist in his preaching and water baptism.

    With all the evidence that He was sent by God, yet they plotted to condemn an innocent man, the Son of God their Messiah to death.

John:11.51, 53  Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation... Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

Faithless and Wicked Israelites

Our Lord was trying to get the Priesthood and Jewish leaders to obey the Mosiac law

Luke:20.9-10  Then He began to tell the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed."

    God gave the Israelites the Promise land and had blessed it abundantly. Yet they forgot His miraculous deliverance of the Israelites in Egypt and the conquest of Canaan land. Instead they fear the Romans more than the Almighty God.

   Because of their stiff neck and rebellious, they we're not able to produce good fruit for the master.  So they rejected and punished every prophet sent to get them to repent from their wickedness, unfaithfulness and abominations

Luke:20:11-12  "Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out."

Jesus Exposed His Death Plot

Our Lord knew that these fearful, covetous and stiff-necked priesthood and Jewish leaders were out to kill Him for they were fearful of His failure in revolting against the Romans. Out of His love for even His enemies, He was patiently exposing their plot hoping that some might repent and be saved.

Luke:20.13-15  "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him'. But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?"

    Our Lord exposed their plot, that they knew that He was the Heir or Messiah sent by God. Yet they would rather sacrifice Him than having to face the Romans. This faithlessness was not acceptable to the Almighty God whom they had reduced to be 'Myth' and all His mighty works as fables.

Luke:20.16  "He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others." And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"

    The Lord told them that He would destroy these faithless servants (Judaism) so that salvation will be given to others. To this they were quick to object.

Luke:20.17  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone'?

    Our Lord's final warning to the Israelites was that if they rejected their Messiah they would be lost forever, for God will make Him to be the Saviour of the world.

Jesus cleansed the Temple (HW02)

                'Holy Week'

Luke:19.45-46  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

    After His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, He went into the Temple. He drove out all those involved in buying and selling by telling them that they had defiled His temple for making it as  a den of thieves.

    A church is a gathering of Christians (an organization), where Christians come together to fellowship, praise and worship God and also to learn and understand His word so that they can be transformed into His image. So please do not let the world into the church to defile it.

    It is God's will that Christians make money or profits so that they can use them to support expenses of churches, missions and all His other various ministries so that God can bless these cheerful givers.

Why did our Lord Jesus cleansed the Temple when He was supposed to discard it at his death in about three days time?

Luke:19:47-48  And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

    The Jewish leaders were trying to destroy Jesus for they feared the Romans more than God, yet He wanted them to saved.

John:11.47-48  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."

Those who believe Moses will believe Jesus after His resurrection

John 5:46  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me._

    Our Lord and His disciples had been preaching John the Baptist's repentance and the kingdom of God was at hand, and many Jews repented and began to observe the Mosaic Law. However the Jewish leaders were unrepentant and they would be lost. Our Lord Jesus confronted them by exposing their covetousness in allowing businesses inside the Temple of God, hoping that some might repent and began to observe the Law and later be saved.

Luke:16.31  "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

Praised Jesus out of Gratitude (HW01)

          'Holy Week'

Luke 19:37-38  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: " 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

    Brethren, for this whole week starting from this Palm Sunday, let's be grateful by joyfully praising, thanking and honouring our Lord Jesus for the mighty works that He had done.

Luke 19:39  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."

    The Pharisees were jealous that the multitude were grateful to our Lord Jesus by joyfully praising and honouring Him, so they told our Lord to rebuke them.

Luke 19:40  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

    Our Lord told them that if men were not grateful for His mighty works which were done for men's benefits, the stones would immediately praise Him.

    Brethren, let's not be like the Pharisees but joyfully praise and honour Him at every opportunity for He always performed mighty works for our benefits because He loves us.

Death of Jesus on the Cross

Mat 27:50  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

    The disciples of Jesus confessed Him as the Christ or Messiah. They gave up everything to follow Him. He told them again and again that He would suffer, kill and on the third day rise from the dead.

    The greatest love of God shown to men was the death of Jesus on the cross. Men no longer need to fear death for by His grace, men will be saved just by believing Jesus as their Saviour or the gospel.

Mat 27:51  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

    Unfortunately, all His disciples were blinded by the fear that their King was dead and all benefits by being His disciples had vanished.

   They were unaware of their blessed hope of deliverance from death and damnation.

    Since no one praised Jesus for His death on the cross then, God caused the rocks to split resulting to a great earthquake.

Note Earthquakes cannot split rocks but only cause the ground to part.

Isa 55:11  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

    The word of God is perfect but only the faithless try to distort it.