When our youngest daughter was about five, we were sitting in the family room after dinner watching reruns on television. It was a steamy, summer’s evening and the thought of something cold was stirring in my mind. While ice cream trips always sounded good to me, sometimes carting everyone to a Dairy Queen was more trouble than it was worth to my wife.
Wanting to be discreet and to not stir the hopes of a five year old, I softly spoke to my wife, “Would you like to run and get some ‘I – C – E – C – R – E – A – M?” spelling carefully the dangerous word. The eyes of older children perked, anxiously awaiting the verdict of their mother.
The youngest leaped from the floor, shouting, “LET’S GET ICE CREAM!”
I believe I had spelled the secret word once too often. It was no longer a secret.
Tuesday Teaching
We have been considering the activities of Jesus during the traditional Holy Week. Following his ascent to Jerusalem on a donkey on Sunday, Jesus spent a great deal of time in the Temple area on Monday. He performed what is known as “The Cleansing of the Temple,” where he chased merchants and money-changers from the courtyards of the Temple. Jesus also spent some time in confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders who were questioning his authority and trying to trick him into saying some incorrect things.
On Tuesday, Jesus was back in the Temple courtyards, teaching people through the use of parables – object lessons if you will – one of his favorite methods of teaching. In a sense, the parable performed the same function spelling “ice cream” in front of children. Some would understand the meaning, but it would go over the heads of many.
The day started on the road to Jerusalem as Jesus and the disciples passed the fig tree a second morning. This time the fruitless tree had withered away to almost nothing. The tree, with leaves but no fruit, represents people with the outward appearances of faith but lacking an inward fruit. Many things give the impression of the real thing, but falls short upon closer inspection.
Parables Thrown Alongside
Some of Jesus’ parables were directed solely at the religious leaders, criticizing their actions and attitudes. He tells the story of the owner of a house who planted a vineyward and hired servants to care for the crops. Eventually, the owner sent servants to collect the profits from the vineyard. The vineyard workers beat and killed the servants. Eventually, the owner sent his son whom the workers also killed. Jesus concludes the story by asking, “What shoud the owner do?”
The religious leaders became angry because they knew the point Jesus was trying to make. Somewhere in the process of being put on a pedestal because of their biblical knowledge, the religious leaders of Jesus day had lost sight of the flaws of their own nature. Rather than have their own spiritual weaknesses exposed, the religious leaders sought to build hedges around their own behavior.
Today’s Headlines
Sounds like a story out of today’s headlines, doesn’t it? Everyone has been prone to hypocrisy at one point or another. It’s next to impossible to live up to one’s own moral standards, let alone a standard given by the Creator of the universe. We may sincerely believe in objective standards, but we tend to turn a blind eye when it comes to our own shortcomings.
If these lessons sound as if they could have been given in a number of churches today, the next message of Jesus will amaze you. The religious leaders of the day had no power to arrest Jesus, so they tried to trick him into saying something that would allow others to arrest him. They asked Jesus whether it was lawful to give tribute money to Caesar or not. Jesus responded by saying, “Let’s look at a coin. Whose name is on the coin?” When they responded, “Caesar’s,” Jesus replied, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:13-17).
An Amazing Teacher
While we have just scratched the surface of what Jesus taught on Tuesday, it is important to conclude with an important observation. After Jesus spoke, even the religious leaders were “utterly amazed at him” (Mark 12:17).
This evening I will watch the news and listen to the President of the United States as he addresses the nation. There may be some new information of which I was unaware, but I will likely be confused by some of his verbage. I will wonder about the validity and honesty of the spins he will likely put on things. I will probably question the appropriateness of some of his comments.
The day before, I saw a post on Facebook by Max Lucado. Max is a Christian preacher and a prolific author of inspirational Christian books. Lucado spent the afternoon with 91-year-old Charles Swindoll, another legendary preacher and author. The wisdom and biblical insight shared by these two men over the years would be practically immeasureable.
But they are human. They are prone to making mistakes. They can be tempted to sin.
But when Jesus taught, even his enemies marveled that no one teaches like this man. When the walk of an individual perfectly matches the words that come from his mouth, an amazing dynamic occurs – stunning the listener completely.
Presiding over the sham of a trial, Pilate conceded, “I find no fault in this man’s witness.”
Years ago, insurance companies put forth the slogan “no-fault insurance” – not because people were not at fault, but because everyone was at fault.
Everyone sins.
Everyone falls short.
That is, everyone but the Lord of Tuesday