In Matthew’s fifth book of his Gospel (chapters 21 through 25), he brings two worldviews together in a great conflict of ideas. It is the truth v/s tradition, the Kingdom of Heaven v/s the kingdoms of men, God in human form v/s men who infringe upon the authority of God. Who will win such a conflict? Which is stronger, the upside-down Kingdom of God with its Servant Messiah, who forgives his enemies and preaches true wealth is gained by giving or the kingdom of men who lord it over one another, vanquishing their enemies and spoiling the weak and powerless? When these two kingdoms clash, who will be left standing, when the dust settles? What will the **peace** look like, when the gavel of judgment comes down upon the kingdoms of man and God? Will the judgement of men be able to prevent or rise above the judgment of God?[1]
In the first four books of Matthew’s Gospel, we saw Jesus rise up suddenly to claim publicly that he was the Messiah, and he brought the good news (Gospel) of the coming Kingdom of Heaven or the Presence of God with men (a return to the Garden of Eden). In essence Light had come into the world exposing all that was wrong in man’s worldview. As Jesus preached to large crowds, he was believed by some, but opposed by many others including the Jewish authorities, and even some righteous, who trusted more in their own understanding (tradition) than the word of God. This resulted in Jesus retreating to privately teach his true disciples, while veiling the truth in parables, when he spoke publicly. Nevertheless, not even Jesus’ closest disciples understood the true nature of the Messiah and the Kingdom of Heaven, where he was King. The difference between these and Jesus’ would-be disciples and his enemies was that Jesus’ closest disciples were willing to admit they were confused but let Jesus lead them into the truth. To come into the Light, one needs to be willing to leave the darkness he loves (cp. John 3:19).
So, Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Galilee for the final time to celebrate the Passover, and in doing so, he entered the Eastern Gate on a donkey. Immediately thereafter, Jesus entered the Temple and cast out the moneychangers and those who bought and sold livestock for temple sacrifices, which was done with permission from the Jewish authorities. When the authorities saw what Jesus was doing, they confronted him over his right to do these things. Jesus replied, saying his Father’s House was a house of prayer, but they had made it a den of thieves. Three times in the days leading up to the Passover Jesus cast out the men doing business in the Temple compound, until the Jewish authorities decided to confront him again. When they did, they challenged his understanding of scripture and they questioned him about the scriptures, hoping thereby to trap him in his words. When they failed and were, themselves, embarrassed in their debates with Jesus, they decided they would look for a convenient moment and seize him and have him slain.
Jesus responded by hiding his movements to keep them from arresting him privately. With this in the background, Jesus took his disciples and taught them privately about what was about to take place. Although they didn’t understand the concept of the Servant Messiah who had to die, Jesus told them he would be taken by the Jewish authorities and slain. Nevertheless, this wouldn’t be the end of the matter. He would send them out to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, until the time, when he would return to judge Jerusalem and the world.
[1] The judgment of men culminated with the crucifixion, thinking to end the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Presence of God with men: Immanuel, or God with us, vis-à-vis Christ in (the believer – Colossians 1:27; cp. Luke 17:21). After a suitable grace period for a call to repentance, Christ returned in AD 70 to judge Jerusalem by bringing the Roman armies against her, destroying both the city and its Temple.
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