The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
TUESDAY
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
TUESDAY
Jesus spent Monday night in Bethany again. On Tuesday morning, as they went again to Jerusalem, the disciples noticed that the fig tree they had passed the day before was dried up from the roots and withered away. Peter said, “Master, see how quickly this fig tree has withered away.”
Jesus said, “If you have faith in God, you can do greater things than that.”
But Jesus did not want them to think that they could ask God to destroy anything because they did not like it; so Jesus told them when they prayed to be sure and forgive all who had done them wrong, that the Father in heaven might forgive them. Jesus then said, “But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive you.”
As soon as they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went into the temple. As He was walking through the courts some of the Children of Israel came to Him, and asked, “What right have you to come here and do these things, and who gave you the right?”
They meant such things as cleansing the temple and teaching there.
Jesus said, “You answer my question, and I will answer yours. Was the baptism of John from heaven or of men.”
This means, was John the Baptist really a prophet of God, or did he pretend to be one when he was not.
The Pharisees did not know how to answer the question. They thought, “For if we say he was from heaven, he will say, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him? But if we say he was from men, we fear the people, for every one thinks that John was surely a prophet.
So they answered Jesus, “We cannot tell.”
Jesus then said, “Neither will I tell you who gave me the right to do these things.”
“A certain man had two sons, and he said to the first, ‘Go, work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he repented and went. The father went to the second son and said, ‘Go work today in my vineyard.’ This son answered, ‘I am going, sir,’ but he did not go. Now which of those sons best pleased the father?”
They answered, “The first.”
Jesus said, “The publicans and sinners are like that son, and they will enter the kingdom of heaven before you do. For John came to tell you what you needed to do, and you did not believe him and you did not do what he told you to do. The publicans and sinners did believe him; you did not repent, but they repented.”
Then Jesus told them another parable: “There was a certain man who planted a vineyard and put a hedge, or fence, around it. Then he made a place where the grapes could be made into wine, and built a tower where the workmen could stay to guard it. Everything was done to make it safe, and to make the work easy. He then rented it to men who were to take care of it, and went into a far country. When it was time for the fruit to be ready he sent his servants to get what belonged to him. But these men who had rented the vineyard had not worked, and they had no fruit to give. They took the servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. The owner sent other servants to look after things, and they were treated just as badly. Last of all he sent his son, saying, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’ But when these men saw the son coming they said among themselves, ‘Here is the son, who will sometime own this vineyard. Let us kill him and take it for ourselves.’ And they caught the son and killed him, and threw his body out of the vineyard.”
Jesus said, “What will the owner of the vineyard do to these wicked men?”
The scribes answered, “He will destroy them, and rent his vineyard to other men who will do better.”
Jesus said, “That is what God will do to you, for he is the Lord of the vineyard, and you are his servants, who are planning to kill his Son.”
Jesus told another parable: “A king who made a feast when his son was married, and invited a great many guests. When the dinner was ready he sent his servants to tell those who were invited to come to the feast, but they would not come. He sent still other servants to tell them that everything was ready, and it was time for them to be there. But the guests paid no attention. One went to his farm and another to his shop; but some the servants were very roughly treated, and at last were killed. The king heard of it and was so angry that he sent his armies to kill the murderers, and burn their city. Then he said to other servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but the guests who were invited were not worthy to eat it. Go out into the streets and call in every one you meet.’ This the servants did, bringing in the good and the bad. At the door every one was given a robe which he was asked to wear during the feast. When the king went in to see the guests, he found one man who would not take the robe that was offered him, and was there in his old clothes. The king said, ‘Friend, how did you come here without a wedding robe?’ The man said nothing, for he had no excuse. Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and take him away and punish him.’”
The scribes and Pharisees knew that in all these parables Jesus meant to show them how unworthy they were. They badly wanted to put their hands on Jesus, but they were afraid to touch Him when He was among so many friends. They went out to think up some questions they could ask which might lead Jesus into trouble, but Jesus answered them.
Before long the scribes and Pharisees sent some men to Jesus. These men pretended to be friendly, and said to Jesus, “Master, we know that you are truly good, and will answer every question in the way that pleases God, whether it pleases men or not. So we want to ask you this question: ‘Is it right to pay taxes to the Roman emperor, or not? Shall we pay them, or shall we not?’”
They spoke kindly, but Jesus was not deceived. He knew that, though they seemed friendly, their hearts were full of hatred. Jesus also knew why they asked that question. They did not see how Jesus could answer it without making enemies. If Jesus said “No, do not pay the taxes,” they could give Him to the Romans to be punished. If Jesus said “Yes, you ought to pay them,” He would displease most of the Children of Israel, who hated to pay it after their king came.
Jesus said, “Why do you tempt me? Bring me a penny.”
Then, after they had given Him one, Jesus asked, “Whose face and title are these on the penny?”
They said, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
After this wise answer they left Jesus, and went away, trying to think of some other question to ask. They tried one after another, but the answers of Jesus were all given in such a way that they could find no fault with any of His answers. It seems strange to us that the very ones who were looking so eagerly for their king should be so unwilling to accept Him when He came. But they forgot that their king was to be poor and humble; they thought of Him only as a great soldier.
It was only a little earlier; on this same day that Jesus reminded them of an old story they all knew. When Solomon was building the great temple, the workmen came upon one stone of so unusual a shape that, after trying it in a lot of different places, they decided that it was a mistake, and threw it away. But when the great work was almost done, the most important stone was missing. After a long time hunting for it they found the one that they had thrown away, tried it, and found that it fitted. They knew what Jesus meant. They had treated Jesus as worthless, but they would find that He was the Christ, the Son of God, and their great Judge.
When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment of all?”
He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the second is like it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
This was a wonderful answer, for if we do these things we shall never break one of the commandments. If we love God with all our heart we will never want to worship idols, or take God’s name in vain, or miss worshipping Him. And if we love all those around us as well as we love ourselves, we will never want to do anything to hurt people or even to make any one uncomfortable.
Then Jesus turned to the Pharisees and asked them this question, “What do you think of the Christ? Who is he?”
They answered, “The son of David.” Jesus then said, “How can he be, for David called him his Lord.”
No one was able to answer, nor did anyone dare to ask Jesus any more questions.
Jesus turned to His disciples and to the people who crowded around Him, and said, “The scribes and the Pharisees teach you the law of Moses, and that you must follow; but do not follow their actions. They teach, but do not themselves do as they teach; they lay heavy burdens on other men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not carry them; they do all their deeds to be seen by men.”
Then Jesus told these wicked scribes and Pharisees what He knew about them; that, instead of being good teachers for the people, they did them harm; that, though they made a great show of loving God, their hearts were very wicked. Jesus was always loving and kind even to wicked people, if they were sorry for their sins and were ready to try and do better; but Jesus spoke very hard words to these hypocrites, words that they could never forget, words that have shown all the people in the world who have read this story how deceitful these men were. And it made them very angry.
The fact that they were angry shows that they were not sorry for their sins, for if they had been willing to become better men they would have been grateful to Jesus for showing them that they needed forgiveness, and for showing them the way to receive it. Their anger would have left them, as they thought over their lives, and they would have come to Jesus to be forgiven, and would not have tried to kill Him for telling them the truth.
Jesus then went out of the temple. As He passed through the Court of the Women, Jesus saw the people putting gifts of money into the boxes which were kept there for that use. Everyone was expected to give as much as he could, and there were many who were able to put in a large sum of money.
But as Jesus passed the box a very poor woman put in two mites. We have no money as small as a mite; the two mites were a very very small amount of money and made a very very small gift. But Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly this poor widow has done more than any one else here; for though the rich have given more money than she has, they still have plenty left, while she has given all she had.”
This teaches us that if we give away only what we do not need for ourselves, it is not being really generous, and Jesus will not be so greatly pleased with our gift. It is the giving until we have to go without something we would like to have that makes us really generous. And it is this kind of giving that Jesus loves and rewards with His blessing.
A great many people think that those who give great sums of money should be thanked and praised, but that those who only give a little bit are not worthy of praise. But it is not the largeness of the gift, but the love that prompts it, that should be measured. Even a child can give a gift with a great deal of love in it.
During the day, Philip and Andrew came in to ask Jesus if He would talk with some Greeks who were waiting in the Court of the Gentiles. Of course, these Greeks were not allowed to go into the court where Jesus was teaching, and so He gladly went out to them. The Bible does not tell us what they said to Jesus, but the answer that He gave them makes us think that, perhaps, knowing the wicked plan of the rulers of the Children of Israel, they invited Jesus to go to their country where He could do His work and be safe.
If Jesus had done this, perhaps He could have saved His life, but He did not. Jesus said to those Greeks, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it does little good; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; but he that loses his life in this world shall have the life that is everlasting. What shall I say? Shall I ask my Father to save me from this trouble? No, I came to this earth for the purpose of saving the people, and if my death will make them believe that I am the Son of God and that what I have tried to teach them is true, I am willing to die.”
Then Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify thy name.” Jesus stopped speaking. What was that sound that everyone heard? Some said it was thunder; others, that an angel had spoken to Jesus. But some of Jesus’ dearest friends, who stood near Him, heard a voice from heaven say, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Do you remember when Jesus was baptized a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
And do you remember that other time, when Jesus was on the mountain top with Peter, James and John, that the voice said, “This is my beloved Son, hear ye him.”
It was this voice which spoke now for the third time. Jesus said to those that heard it, “This voice came, not because of me, but for your own sakes, that ye might believe.”
Though they had just heard this proof that Jesus was the Son of God, many of the Children of Israel would not yet believe Jesus. Some of the rulers did believe in their hearts that Jesus was the Christ, but they were afraid to say so, for fear that the Sanhedrin, the great council, would put them out of the synagogue. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, and they were afraid that they would lose some of the honor that the common people had been paying them, if they should join this poor, humble man from the little town of Nazareth, and His fishermen disciples.
As Jesus and His disciples went through the temple gate in the afternoon on their way out, the disciples, looking back with pride, said, “Master, see what beautiful stones these are, and what great buildings!”
Jesus said, “Yes, they are beautiful buildings, but the time is coming when there shall not be left one stone upon another.”
The disciples said no more at the time, but as they sat down to rest on the way to Bethany, they asked Jesus, “Master, when are these things you spoke of coming?”
Jesus did not tell them the exact time, but He said that before that happened there would be great trouble in the land. They, Jesus’ friends, would be badly treated and put into prison, and some even killed. It would be hard to be a follower of Jesus, and some would give up trying, so that they might have an easier life. But Jesus told them that if they would always try to follow Him, no matter how hard it was, they would be saved.
Jesus told them to always be ready, for they did not know when their Lord would call for them. Jesus said much that we cannot yet understand; but there is enough for us to know what He wishes us to do while we are waiting for His coming.
Jesus told them that if a man left his house in charge of his servants, and went away, without saying when he would come back, the servants, if they were faithful, would always be ready, and always be on the watch for their master.
So, in just the same way, our Master, Jesus, has left us, and given us some work to do. We must be careful to do the work, and if we are faithful servants, we will always be watching for Jesus’ coming. But Jesus says in another place, that it would not please the master to find that his servants had stopped their work, and had been always standing at the door, wondering and guessing when he would come. So we must be careful to do our work, while we are waiting.
Jesus told several other parables that would make His disciples always remember the lesson. One was about ten virgins, or young women, who went out to meet a bridegroom. It was the custom at a wedding among the Children of Israel for the groom (the man who was to be married) to go with some of his friends to meet the bride at her home, where she was dressed in her wedding clothes, waiting for him.
Then the young friends of both the bride and the groom, with torches and music, went with them to their new home. After all the wedding party had gone into the house, the doors were shut, and no one else could get in. Then the marriage took place, and the feast that followed lasted for many days.
Five of the ten virgins in the parable were wise, for, not knowing how long they would have to wait for the bridegroom, they filled their lamps, and took some extra oil with them, for fear the lamps might burn out. The other five took only the oil that was in their lamps.
They had to wait so long for the groom that every one of the ten virgins fell asleep. At midnight they were aroused by hearing some one call out, “The bridegroom is coming.”
Up they jumped, and looked to see if the lamps were all right. No, they had gone out. As the wise maidens took the extra oil and filled their lamps, the other five said, “Give us some of your oil.”
But the wise ones answered, “No, we cannot do it. There is not enough for us and for you too. Go to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.”
So the foolish virgins, who had not been careful to see that they had enough oil, went to those who sold, bought more, and filled their lamps. But before they were back at the house the bridegroom came. All those who were ready went with him and the bride, in the happy procession, to his house. Then the door was shut.
When the foolish maidens had filled their lamps, they too went to the bridegroom’s house. But they were too late. They knocked on the door, but no one would let them in, and they must go sadly away.
In this parable, Jesus is the bridegroom; we are the friends who are waiting for His coming. Love for Jesus is the oil which we must burn in our hearts, which are the lamps. If we have not enough of this love to keep our hearts as bright as they should be until Jesus is ready for us, we cannot enter His home to be with Him.
We do not know when Jesus will come, and we must be careful and watchful so that we may be ready. There will not be time to get ready after we know Jesus is coming. We cannot borrow the oil of love from those around us, for, no matter how kind and loving our friends are, they are not as loving as Jesus was, and even if they were, they could not help us be loving if we are not willing to try ourselves all the time.
Another parable that Jesus spoke was very much like the one of the man who went into a far country and left his money for his servants to take care of. But in this case the servants did not all have the same amount of money, as they did in the other story. One had five talents which was a large sum of money; another had two talents; and a third had one talent.
But the servants did the same with this money. The one who had the five talents did business with it, and made more money with it. The one who had the two talents tried as hard and really did as good as the other, though the amount of money he earned was less.
But the third one in this story, as in the other story we read about, did not try at all. He said he was afraid of his master, and so he had hidden the money in the ground, where he could find it and return it when the master came home. And then he gave back to the master the same amount of money the master had given him.
Another parable was about the time when we shall all have finished our work on earth, and shall stand before our Father in heaven, to hear whether He thinks our work has been good or bad. Jesus called the Father “the King” who, when His servants came before Him, separated them, putting some on His right hand and some on His left.
To those on the right hand He said, “Come, you blessed, into the home which has been prepared for you; for I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to see me.
Then those on the right hand said, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed you; or thirsty and gave you drink? When did we see you a stranger and took you in? or naked and clothed you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison, and visited you?”
The King answered, “Because you have done these things for my children on the earth you have done them for me.”
Then turning to those on His left hand, the King said, “You cannot stay here with me, for I was hungry and you did not feed me; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not help me; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison, but you did not visit me.”
Then these people on the King’s left hand answered the King, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick in prison, and did not try to help you?”
And the King answered, “Because you did not do these things for my children on earth you did not do it for me.”
After finishing this long talk with His disciples, Jesus said to them, “There are only two days now before the Passover feast, when I shall be taken away from you.” It was with sad hearts that they went back to Bethany that night.
And now we come to a very sad part. One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, decided to give Jesus up to the people who hated Him so, if only Judas could get some money for doing it. Remember? Judas had the purse and carried all the money for Jesus and the disciples, and loved it more than he loved Jesus.
There was a meeting of the Pharisees this Tuesday evening. The Pharisees were very angry with Jesus because He dared talk to them as He did in the temple that day, and they were planning what they could do to Him. They were still determined to kill Jesus, but they did not know how to do it, for Jesus seemed to have so many friends.
The Pharisees had just decided that whatever they did to Jesus must be done secretly, and not until the feast was over, and the people from the country had gone home (for they were the ones who would defend Jesus). When Judas came before them, and asked them, “How much will you give me if I tell you where you can find Jesus?”
The Pharisees were glad to make any kind of a bargain with Judas, for they knew that Judas would show them a place where they could find Jesus alone, without any of His friends near Him. So they offered Judas thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Judas agreed to do it for that amount of money, and left them. From that time Judas watched for a chance to sell his Master, Jesus.
