Grace Community Church of Ramona Podcast

Many people in our culture believe that the universe and all that is in it is the result of natural forces acting over billions of years to produce life as we experience it today. One of the implications of evolution is that we are simply physical beings and when we die physically, we cease to exist. There is no afterlife, no heaven, no hell, no God. These beliefs don't surprise us; they are logical conclusions of evolution.

What may be surprising are the people we're going to meet in our study this morning. They were theists, they believed in the existence of God. They served in God's Temple and spiritually led the nation of Israel in the days of Jesus. But they, like evolutionists today, believed that when a person died physically, they ceased to exist. They did not believe in an afterlife and they certainly didn't believe in that which we are celebrating today - the resurrection.

Before we meet these people, let's put our passage in its historical context. Jesus and His disciples were in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover 33A.D. (11:1-11). Three times Jesus foretold that this journey would result in His rejection, murder and resurrection (8:31, 9:30-32, 10:32-34). He specifically predicted that the chief priests, elders and scribes of Israel would reject Him and hand Him over to the gentiles (Romans) to be executed (8:31, 10:33). Mark records three occasions on which the chief priests, elders and scribes or their representatives attempted to trap Jesus (11:27-33; 12:13-27). In this third attempt, they sent a delegation from the party of the Sadducees.

Jesus and His disciples were in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover 33A.D. (11:1-11). In fulfilment of His prediction, the chief priests, elders and scribes went on the attack to find cause to accuse and execute Jesus (8:31). They attacked Jesus directly after the cleansing of the Temple (11:27-33). Having failed themselves, the chief priests, scribes and elders sent others to trap Jesus on this issue of paying the poll tax. It was a "trap" in the sense that it seemed impossible for Jesus to answer without alienating one side or the other. If He said they should pay the poll tax He would alienate devout and patriotic Jews who would see it as a pro-Roman answer. If He said they should not pay the poll tax it would give His enemies opportunity to denounce Him to the Roman authorities as a rebel (cf. Luke 20:20).

How did Jesus handle this trap?

I've heard that no matter how hard you try and vet prospective tenants, you may still end up having problems. Even God had tenant problems! He sent Jesus to deal with them.

Following the cleansing of the Temple (11:15-19), the chief priests, scribes and elders went on the attack against Jesus. Earlier, Jesus foretold that these three groups would reject Him (8:31). Mark recorded several of their attempts to trap and discredit Jesus (11:27-12:28) all of which failed.

In the midst, Mark recorded a parable Jesus told against His enemies. The setting of the parable was a vineyard; a well known Old Testament image for Israel and her relation to God (e.g. Psalm 80:8–18; Isa. 27:2–6; Jer. 2:21; 12:10; Ezek. 19:10–14; Hosea 10:1). Jesus may have had Isaiah 5:1-7 in mind when He composed His parable.

Jesus has absolute authority, regardless of how we respond to it.

The Jewish Temple was the heart and soul of Judaism. Solomon's Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The second Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel in 520 B.C.; it was not nearly as grand as Solomon's. Then, in 20 B.C., Herod the Great began the work of expanding and remodeling the Temple mount and Temple proper. The scale of this project was such that it would not be completed until the early 60's A.D.

The Temple mount was greatly expanded with much of the area dedicated to a paved court to which both Jews and Gentiles had access. It was named the Court of the Gentiles. The Court of the Gentiles surrounded the Temple proper.

A number of tunnel walkways and arched bridges connected the Temple complex to the city streets to the south, west and north. In the days of Jesus the majestic beauty of the Temple was the source of both national pride and spiritual security for many Jews. Here the priests offered the morning and evening sacrifices and facilitated the burnt offerings, sin offerings etc., of worshippers all through the year. At Passover, the national Passover Lamb was sacrificed here. On Yom Kippur the blood of a bull and goat were sprinkled on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant for the sins of the High Priest and the nation. The Temple was the central focal point for the Jewish faith. The Temple and its ceremonies brought many in Israel a sense of security.

Jesus had something very different to say about the Temple.

Before we take up the actual story, let's consider circumstances surrounding this event. First, Jesus was at the end of a long journey which had begun many months before zigzagging through Galilee, Samaria, Perea, and finally Judea.

During this final journey he had ministered, according to one Bible teacher, in at least thirty-five localities, timing the journey so he would end up in Jerusalem for Passover. In the course of this journey He had come to Bethany previously and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11). News of this miracle spread and many believed in Him. But the Pharisees, chief priests and members of the Sanhedrin reacted by counseling together how they might kill Jesus (John 11:45-53; 12:9-11). After raising Lazarus, Jesus withdrew from the area until He returned in time to celebrate this Passover in AD33. So the tensions were already high between Jesus and the religious leaders before Passover AD33.

One estimate places the number of worshippers in Jerusalem to celebrate this Passover at 2.7 million. The Passover was only a few days away. People were wondering if Jesus would make some kind of move? And if He did, what would their leaders do?

As we discover, Jesus indeed made a move that was very calculated and clear in its meaning.

One of the characteristics of true heroism is courage and determination in the face of certain danger. We have heroes in our church family; combat veterans of our armed forces, law enforcement officers, fire fighters and others who run towards danger.

For me, one of the most powerful moments in the movie Saving Private Ryan is the sound of German bullets pinging off the landing boats of the Allied soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy. Facing a wall of machine gun fire they pushed forward and won the day and war; every one a hero.

Jesus is a hero in the same way.

Children are a living illustration to us of the essential attitude necessary for salvation - helpless dependence.

Self-sufficiency, the opposite of helpless dependence, is the attitude often engendered by wealth. This is why wealth is so often a barrier to salvation in the lives of the rich.

Our culture aggressively promotes self-centeredness, but puts a shine on it by calling it "self-fulfillment". By elevating our happiness as the highest good we are reaping the storm particularly in the most basic of our relationships - our marriages. We need to get back to the basics of marriage as created by God.

A confrontation with a group of Pharisees provided an opportunity for Jesus to take His disciples back to the basics of God’s intent for marriage.

When I was in 5th grade I begged my mom to let me go to school a half hour early to play basketball. Every morning the 6th graders would play full court basketball and they would pick a few 5th graders to play as well. I wanted to get picked in the worst way because getting picked by a 6th grader meant you were "in"; everybody else was "out". Whenever I was picked I felt great. Whenever I wasn't picked, I felt terrible.

We long to belong. It is our very nature and it begins at birth with our need to especially bond to our mothers. If there is failure to bond, if rejection happens in infancy, that person is scarred for life. Our need to belong and to be accepted runs deep and is undeniable. Rejection is devastating. It is the devastating hurt of rejection that is driving much of the racial violence in our country today. Rejection in the church is particularly damaging because there is a general expectation that the church is a place of love and acceptance.

When Jesus discovered that His disciples had excluded a man of genuine faith because he was not part of their group, Jesus sternly corrected them.