Section 132b
Jesus' response with his own question and three parables
Jerusalem, in the temple
Matthew 21:28-22:14
Mark 12:1-12
Luke 20:9-19
28“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to his first son and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ 29His son answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30Then the man went to his second son and said the same thing. His second son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Yet even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
33“Listen to another parable: There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, leased it to farmers, and left the country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. 35But the farmers took his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned yet another. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. But the farmers treated them in the same way.
1Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, built a tower, leased it to farmers, and left the country. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to receive from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4Again he sent to them another servant, and they threw stones at him, struck him on the head, and sent him away after dishonoring him. 5Again he sent another, and that one they killed. He also sent many others, some of whom they beat, and some of whom they killed.
9Then he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to farmers, and left the country for a long time. 10At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11So he proceeded to send another servant, but they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12Then he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded him as well and threw him out.
37Last of all, he sent them his son, saying, ‘They will have respect for my son.’ 38But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take possession of his inheritance.’ 39So they took him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?” 41They said to him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
6Now he still had his one beloved son. He sent him to them as well, last of all, saying, ‘They will have respect for my son.’ 7But the farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.
13So the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps when they see him they will have respect for him.’ 14But when they saw him, the farmers discussed it among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “Certainly not!”
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures,‘The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone;this was the Lord's doing,and it is amazing in our eyes’? 43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was speaking about them.
10Have you not read this Scripture:‘The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone; 11this was the Lord's doing,and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
17But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is the meaning of this Scripture:‘The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone’? 18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
46Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet. 1Once again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and the fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own field and another to his business. 6The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7When the king heard about it, he was furious. So he sent his armies, who destroyed those murderers and burned down their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore to where the roads exit the city and invite to the wedding feast anyone you find.’ 10So the servants went out to the roads and gathered together all whom they found, both evil and good, and the wedding feast was filled with guests. 11“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not clothed with a wedding garment. 12So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ But the man was speechless. 13Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind his feet and hands, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.”
12Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders were looking for a way to arrest Jesus because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
19Then the chief priests and the scribes wanted to arrest him at that very hour, for they knew he had spoken this parable against them, but they were afraid.
Notes
Temple Mount
For many people, their first view of the Temple Mount is from the Mount of Olives to the east. The most easily recognized area of Jerusalem; the Temple Mount is located within the walls on the eastern side of the Old City. The site of the Temple of Solomon, and of the later Temple built by Herod the Great (which is the temple Jesus visited), is now an enormous stone platform upon which stands the golden covered Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque.
Here Jews come to pray at the Western Wall; here Muslims come to pray at the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque. Here Israeli soldiers and the Arab Temple Mount Police protect what may rightly be called the most revered spot on the face of the earth.
Solomon built the First Temple on the threshing floor that his father David had purchased from Arunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:18 25). The site was hallowed as the place where God stayed the hand of Abraham as he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), and where God stopped the plague against the Israelites (2 Samuel 24:15 18). In addition to the Temple and its associated buildings, Solomon built other magnificent structures between the City of David and the Temple Mount.
Southern Steps of the Temple
The main public access to the Temple was from the southern steps. People entered and exited through a double and triple gate, together called the Huldah Gate. These gates had to handle enormous crowds during feast days; estimates as high as 500,000 people at a time. The triple arched gate was the entrance and the double arched gate served as the exit. Although the double and triple gates have been filled in, you can still see their outlines in the walls near the well-preserved steps of the monumental staircase.
The triple gate to the east led to a tunnel that brought worshippers up to the Temple and the columned porches. To leave the Temple they would exit the double gate on the west and go down a staircase 4 times larger than the entry staircase, since everyone was leaving at the same time. The steps below the wider staircase are well preserved and are one of the few places you can walk where you are sure Jesus walked. An interesting exception to the rule about entry and exit gates regarded mourners. According to the Talmud, they were to go in and out against the traffic in order that people would know of their loss. People would then extend their condolences by saying, “May He who dwells in this House give you comfort.”
In this area we will also see ritual baths from the time of Christ, important inscriptions from the Temple, the street that runs inside the Western Wall tunnels, and the ruins from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.
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Jerusalem, in the temple
Footnotes
Matthew 21,42 | Mark 12,11 | Luke 20,17
Psalms 118:22-23