This passage concludes the so-called “Olivet Discourse” in which Jesus answered His disciples questions about the end of days. At the end of this discourse, Jesus promised to return at that time to rule and reign. But Jesus was careful to point out that no one knows exactly when He will return, so we must be continually ready for His return which we await eagerly.
In this second part of the “Olivet Discourse” Jesus continues His answer to His disciples’ question concerning the signs of the end of the age and of His coming again. In particular, Jesus speaks of the “abomination which causes desolation” written of by Daniel the prophet.
The Olivet Discourse – Introduction
In this passage, Jesus continues to pronounce His seven “woes” upon the Jewish leaders of the day whom He repeatedly calls “blind guides,” “serpent,” and “hypocrites.” Toward the end of the passage, we find Jesus almost breaking down under the burden of His sorrow over His chosen people who just don’t understand the nature of His Gospel and failed to recognize their long-awaited Messiah in the hour of their visitation.
2 Woes for the Pharisees
The Seven Woes: Introduction
In this passage, we find Jesus answering some “questions” posed to Him by the Sadducees and Pharisees who asked them not because they were genuinely seeking to learn from His wisdom, but because they desired to catch Him in His words so they could smear His character in the minds of His followers and the others who were crowded around listening.
In this passage, we find Jesus teaching the parable of the wedding feast which was clearly directed toward the hypocritical and self-righteous Jewish leaders of the day who largely failed to recognize Him as their Messiah despite their clear invitation to join Him in His “wedding feast.” Afterward, we see them once more trying to discredit Him by asking whether it was “lawful” to pay taxes to the Roman occupiers. No doubt they saw their ploy as a dilemma from which Jesus could make no good choice, but Jesus didn’t fall into their trap.
Jesus taught two more parables concerning stewardship – one about a landowner who left his land in care of others until the time of harvest and anther about a man who had two sons, one of whom said he would obey his father but did not while the other said he would not obey, but in the end actually did his father’s will. Clearly the men in these parables symbolize God while the other characters in the stories represent the priests and scribes to whom God had entrusted the care of His people Israel.
After Jesus cleansed the temple of the merchants and money changers who had defiled it, the Jewish leaders challenged Him asking by what authority He performed the works He had done and taught the things He had taught. By this, they hoped to catch Him in what they and the people would deem as blasphemy. But Jesus turned the tables on them asking whether they believed John the Baptist had been a true prophet. When they refused to answer Him, He refused to answer them.
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