Matthew has been about the ‘outsider being brought inside’, and the outsider is any human (because we are all sinners).
Jesus is now into His last week, before His crucifixion, in Jerusalem. It has not been a calm week – it has been a week of conflict and confrontation. It has been a week of plotting (by the religious and political authorities), and a week of truth-telling (by Jesus). The King has come to His ‘capital’ and His ‘people’, and they are actively opposed to Him. As we resume, the conflict and the traps are reaching their climax… and so is the revelation of who Jesus is!
The logic of Jesus’ last teaching time with His disciples is clear: the end is coming; no-one knows that day; be alert, working… and now, in two clear parables, He teaches what that looks like.
In the parable of the virgins (vs.1-13), to be alert is to be prepared. And what does that look like? Well, I suspect it is to know Jesus and His words deeply, it is to know Jesus and His mob consistently, and I suspect it is to live Jesus and His truth daily.
In the parable of the talents (vs.14-30), to be alert is to wholeheartedly work with everything God has given you, for Jesus. And what does that look like? Well, I suspect it is not pew-warming, but pew-working – it is not just wafting through life as one of Jesus’ disciples; it is to be actively using whatever gifts, resources, and faculties (and opportunities) for the sake of Jesus, and the proclamation of His good news.
In his closing statement of the ‘woes’, Jesus asserts that Jerusalem will be ‘desolate’ (23:38). It seems an impossible statement when the magnificence of the Temple is considered. But, Jesus again asserts its truth: Jerusalem, and the Temple, will be razed so that no stone is left on another. The disciples are curious—when, and what sign? In his reply, Jesus makes clear that the fall of Jerusalem (which happens under Rome in AD70) is a microcosm of the return of Jesus at the end of the world—and the responsibility of God’s mob is clear: be ready and working when that day comes, by not being distracted, by praying, by proclaiming the kingdom of God. Don’t get distracted!
For some time, Jesus has been patiently answering the questions from Jerusalem’s teachers and rulers. Last week we saw the final engagement with Jesus… now it’s His turn to speak.
For what might seem like an overreaction, Jesus is justly pointing out the failings of Israel’s leaders and how they have led the people astray. In one of the most emotionally charged exchanges, Jesus both severely judges, and deeply laments, the false religion He sees before Him.
While much of what Jesus says is directed to the Pharisees and scribes, it is the crowd to which He speaks. How will they respond? How are we meant to respond?
