Holy Tuesday
MARCH 26
Parables, Their Purpose, and the Promise of God
Devotional by Nathan Metcalf, Pastor for Youth
Holy Tuesday was a busy day according to scripture!
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke dedicate several chapters to covering the teachings that Jesus spoke on this day during what is known as the Olivet Discourse. It is similar to the Sermon on the Mount in that it is a central stopping point in our study of Jesus where we get many detailed teachings in one long stretch. Many of his teachings on this day were parables and many of these parables were speaking to people who were seeing the long-standing disagreement between Jesus and the Pharisees coming to a boiling head. It would lead to the Pharisees deciding this day, once and for all, that Jesus must die! Depending on how you read the timelines, it could also be the day that Judas decided he had had enough of this and went to the leaders to discuss his part in the unholy betrayal of the holy and innocent Jesus.
The parables of Jesus in this section of scripture are unique: the parables of the two sons (Matthew 21:28–32), the tenants (Matthew 21:33–47), and the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–14) all have a flavor about them that should leave the reader thinking, “Wait, that's not right!” Why would one son listen to the father right away and the other did not? Why would the tenants beat and kill the servants, and why would they beat and kill the child of the master? Who would refuse the invitation from a king to a wedding feast?
But that is where we get to the point of these parables and how it fulfilled God's purpose. God intends for salvation to come as a blessing to all mankind. The goal of Jesus' redemptive work on the cross is to make salvation available for all humans who will believe in his redemptive work, but they have to believe and not reject it. In order for this to happen, the scriptures tell us that the Cornerstone must be rejected (Matthew 21:42) by the builders first so that it can become the Chief Cornerstone of all. Jesus as the Jewish Messiah is rejected and the redemptive work spreads outward to all because of that rejection. Jesus is the One worthy of all, rejected by the Jewish leaders so that he may fulfill prophecy to become the Savior for all mankind.
Who would dare not listen to the Father? The Pharisees! Who would beat the servants, the prophets of the Old Testament foretelling the coming Messiah and Day of the Lord? The Jewish leaders of their time! Who would kill the Son? The Pharisees go on from this day and plot the very words Jesus spoke. And who would refuse the invitation from the king? The people of that day. Jesus foretells exactly what would happen and what had to happen.
But worry not! As sorrowful as it is to know the most innocent of all will face the most horrific death, there is a promise of God in this Holy Tuesday reading. Jesus goes on to teach about these horrible woes (Matthew 23), and the abomination of desolation, this lamenting over Israel and what was yet to happen to the great city of Jerusalem and God's chosen nation (Matthew 24). And in the midst of these Parables about rejecting Jesus, and in these prophecies about destruction and desolation, there arises above all of it the glorious purpose of God revealed:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, Then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.––Matthew 25:31–32
The day is coming when all things will be made right, the evil rejection of Jesus and the unholy killing of the perfect Messiah will make perfect sense. The King will be restored, the Son raised from the dead, the tenants will not be left unchecked for their wrong treatment, the wedding feast will happen and glorious will be the King of Kings as he is seated on the throne, and the culmination of the work of God to bring about salvation to people from all the nations will happen.
So what do we do on this day as we are reminded of this truth? We ask ourselves some important questions:
Do I see all the work of Jesus as having a purpose? If we are honest, sometimes we only like part of what Jesus is doing. Do we delight in all of his plans and purposes in our life today?
Do we anticipate the coming final judgment with hope and joy and a spirit of Maranatha that says “Come, Lord Jesus, come”? Or is there a hang up in our heart that worries about that day? Are you confident that on that day you are found in him? If you are not confident of this, please reach out to talk to someone at church about this and we can point you towards Jesus.
Do I have a heart and call and a way to help bring the message of salvation to the nations so that they may be a part of that glorious gathered group before the throne upon those last days?
