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We still have the same heading above that we commenced with yesterday: The King Ascends His Throne. Today, we see Jesus well and truly exercising his authority to sit on that throne.

Have you noticed the new heading above? The King Ascends His Throne. This great Ascension to a throne, the like of which has never been since before nor since, began with a remarkable event. At the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (v51).

This is the last reflection under this heading of The King Establishes His Kingdom. Tomorrow’s reading will show Jesus ascending his throne. But today, we have a massive amount of material to show him still in the final phase of his establishing of his Kingdom.

There is a lot of chaos and movement behind this quite calm prose. Verse11 makes it sound as if Jesus is on his own before Pilate, but v20 indicates that the priests and elders were still there, making trouble.

This short reading in the context of Jesus Establishing his Kingdom serves as a severe cautionary tale. Each of the first eight verses that precede the reference to Jeremiah contain at least one pointer to a common theme (I'm using my NIV Bible here):

Peter’s mind must have been sorely distressed. He was only too well aware that he had run away from Jesus at the time of his arrest. Now he had slunk back like a hit-run driver who circles back to drive past slowly and look at the scene of carnage he has left behind.

Have you noticed the change in the heading above? Jesus has finished Revealing and Claiming his Kingdom; now he is Establishing that Kingdom. Note carefully the means he employs.

A very short reading today – I know, there have been some very long ones! Why did Jesus have to warn the disciples that they would all become deserters because of me this night?

It would appear that Jesus celebrates the Passover might be a suitable heading for this section – if we were into headings. But wait! Think about that for a moment. Let’s review what the Passover meal was for the Jews.

I am struck by the humanity of this long narrative, that goes for 56 verses in total. When I first sat down to read it, I couldn’t put it down. The narrative just dragged me along. But I’ve divided it into four separate days for these reflections.

We said yesterday, that the two chapters – 24 & 25 – are really one continuous passage. Today, we are listening to the conclusion of Jesus’ sermon. And what a sermon it is!

In the last reading, we said that in his critique of the Pharisees and religious leaders, we encountered Jesus the Prophet, echoing the harsh words of the Old Testament prophets.

This is a difficult passage in which to find gentle comfort or encouragement. It is a long, severe denunciation of the religious leaders of the day. But it is in scripture, and we must deal with it. Let us do so as gently – but as truthfully – as we can.

After Jesus’ full-frontal assault on the religious leaders, it is no wonder that there was an immediate response to try to bring him down. Superficially it looks as though Jesus is addressing such matters as paying taxes to Caesar, marriage in heaven, and so on.

The first event in this passage – the cursing of the fig tree – is often misunderstood. Matthew included it as a metaphor for everything that has just happened and that would happen in the next couple of days. (I don’t mean it wasn’t a real event, just that Matthew included it in his Gospel with a particular purpose as a metaphor for larger events.)

So, now at last, it begins! You will notice the change in heading at the top of this reflection: The Messiah Claims His Kingdom on Earth. When we pray: Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven, we are praying that the work that Jesus commenced on this day of his entry into Jerusalem will be brought to completion.

This passage opens with a shocking moment. After Jesus’ demolition of any kind or prestige or hierarchies of power in his new Kingdom – no first, no last – Jesus calls the Twelve together. They are travelling in a large crowd; we hear about that elsewhere – all the carers and cooks and followers generally. But now Jesus calls aside his special Twelve.

This parable is a direct continuation of the previous chapter. There should be no chapter division here at all. It’s worth going back and re-reading the last couple of verses of the previous chapter as the introduction to this one. Verse 16 of our reading shows this link clearly; Jesus repeats his words from 19:30 to press home his point.

On a superficial reading, this sounds as though Jesus is saying that rich people – whatever that means in a global setting – cannot enter heaven.

I wonder how many dinner tables, synods and anxious, guilt-ridden men and women have puzzled, argued, attacked, wondered, and wept over the first 13 verses of this chapter!