As the apostle John closes his gospel account, he states of the ministry of Christ,
…there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.(John 21:25)
Quite simply, we do not have all the details of Jesus’ work and teaching while upon the earth. But what is given is sufficient
…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.(John 20:31)
There are days, maybe even weeks of Jesus’ life that are not recorded in the gospel accounts. Other days and weeks are recorded in great detail; in particular the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion.
In that final week, the Lord went into Jerusalem to teach regularly at the temple (Luke 21:37-38). He went to teach the people, but their leaders confronted Him (Matthew 21:23). His day was spent answering attempts by the Herodians, Sadducees, and Pharisees to discredit Him. In the midst of this, He was able to clearly display the hypocrisy of the chief priests and scribes before the crowd. Matthew used 4 ½ chapters of his gospel to record the events of this day (21:23-25:46).
His accusers asked Him,
By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority? (Matthew 21:23)
They likely asked this of His cleansing the temple a few days earlier (Matthew 21:12-13). He’d done the same at the beginning of His ministry – they asked Him what He was doing then also (John 2:15-18).
He was willing to tell them by what authority He did such things, if they would tell Him whether John’s baptism was from heaven or from men. They would not answer, so He did not answer their inquiry either (though He had revealed the Father as His authority countless times before).
He would not let them off the hook regarding their rejection of John. He gave a short illustration to show their dishonesty about this man of God. He spoke:
A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? (Matthew 21:28-31)
They were like the latter son, who told his father he would go and do his will, but then did not. The scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat (Matthew 23:2). They’d committed to being religious leaders among God’s people. But they were not faithful in this duty. They agreed to it, but they did not go. A fellow worker came in the “way of righteousness,” and they did not receive him. Throughout the day, Jesus would give further example of hypocrisy.
In contrast, tax collectors and harlots received John as a prophet of God and were baptized by him (Luke 7:29). Luke would go on to say,
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.(Luke 7:30)
It is easy for us to look at the scribes and Pharisees and point out the areas where they failed in their service to God and their fellow man. On that day, Jesus had much to say about their failures. Any in the crowd who were paying attention to Him speak would have a good grasp on what He meant at the beginning of His ministry when He said,
…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
Their righteousness was a façade; it was an outward show of false piety. They were not concerned with pleasing God or with serving others – it was all about the show (Matthew 23:5-7, 13, 28). The Lord called them hypocrites seven times in His rebuke (Matthew 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). He said they were blind five times (Matthew 23:16, 17, 19, 24, 26). He called them fools (Matthew 23:17, 19) and a brood of vipers (Matthew 23:33). There is no question, these were evil men who did not keep their commitment to God and His people faithfully.
But let’s take our focus off the scribes and Pharisees. What about you and I? Which of the two sons in Jesus illustration describes us? Are we among those who had rejected the will of the Father at one time, but now have gone out into the vineyard to put our hands to the work? Or are we among those who have affirmed our intent to do the will of God, to be busy in His kingdom, and then we do not go? What is our response to the gospel of Christ?
The Lord has commanded
…go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place… (Matthew 6:6)
Are we faithful in prayer? How often do we speak with God about the issues of life? Do we devote time to speak with our Father about others? If we’ve told others that we will pray for them, do we do so?
Again the Lord said,
…if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. (Matthew 18:15)
What do we do if another offends us in some way? Jesus tells us to go to the person, that it might be worked out privately. Do we go? Or do we go to everyone but the one who offended us?
Jesus commanded,
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.(Mark 16:15)
When is the last time you shared the gospel with someone? The Lord said, “Go!” We can’t let others go for us. We cannot tell others about Christ vicar-iously. Are we of the sort who say that we will go, but then do not?
The apostles were told to go preach in the temple (Acts 5:20). Philip was to go speak to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:29). Saul had Ananias go to him at the command of God (Acts 9:15). Peter was to go with the men from Cornelius (Acts 10:20). What if none of these obeyed God’s command to go?
After giving the parable of the good Samaritan, displaying true mercy & goodness, Jesus said we should “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Do we show mercy?
When her accusers had left, the Lord told the adulterous woman to “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Have we ceased from sin, or are we satisfied to sin less?
When the Father tells us to go, what do we do? May we show ourselves to be different than the Pharisees.
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