There were many teachings of Jesus that are recorded as happening on Tuesday of the Holy Week. However, is acknowledged that nothing is documented as occurring on the Wednesday, so I will add some commentary for Tuesday’s events in the
Wednesday portion of this passion week.
For now, we will simply read the scriptures. All scripture is from Mark except for the
passage in Matthew 23 which is also attributed to Tuesday. All headings and sections below are from the Phillips NT in Modern English.
Jesus' authority is
directly challenged
Mark 11:27-28 - So they came once more to Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in
the Temple, the chief priests, elders and scribes approached him, and asked,
"What authority have you for what you're doing? And who gave you
permission to do these things?"
Mark 11:29-30
- "I am going to ask you a question," replied Jesus, "and if you
answer me, I will tell you what authority I have for what I do. The baptism of
John, now - did it come from Heaven or was it purely human? Tell me that."
Mark 11:31-32
- At this they argued with each other, "If we say from Heaven, he will
say, 'then why didn't you believe in him?' but if we say it was purely human,
well ..." For they were frightened of the people, since all of them
believed that John was a real prophet.
Mark 11:33
- So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Then I cannot tell
you by what authority I do these things," returned Jesus.
Mark 12:1a
- Then he began to talk to them in parables.
Mark 12:1b-11
- "A man once planted a vineyard," he said, "fenced it round,
dug out the hole for the wine-press and built a watch-tower. Then he let it out
to some farm-workers and went abroad. At the end of the season he sent a
servant to the tenants to receive his share of the vintage. But they got hold
of him, knocked him about and sent him off empty-handed. The owner tried again.
He sent another servant to them, but this one they knocked on the head and
generally insulted. Once again he sent them another servant, but him they
murdered. He sent many others and some they beat up and some they murdered. He
had one man left - his own son who was very dear to him. He sent him last of
all to the tenants, saying to himself, 'They will surely respect my own son.'
But they said to each other, 'This fellow is the future owner - come on, let's
kill him, and the property will be ours! So they got hold of him and murdered
him, and threw his body out of the vineyard. What do you suppose the owner of
the vineyard is going to do? He will come and destroy the men who were working
his vineyard and will hand it over to others. Have you never read this
scripture - 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our
eyes?'"
Mark 12:12
- Then they tried to get their hands on him, for they knew perfectly well that
he had aimed this parable at them - but they were afraid of the people. So they
left him and went away.
A test question
Mark 12:13-15a - Later they sent some of the Pharisees and some of the Herod-party to
trap him in an argument. They came up and said to him, "Master, we know
that you are an honest man and that you are not swayed by men's opinion of you.
Obviously you don't care for human approval but teach the way of God with the
strictest regard for truth - is it right to pay tribute to Caesar or not: are
we to pay or not to pay?"
Mark 12:15b
- But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, "Why try this
trick on me? Bring me a coin and let me look at it."
Mark 12:16
- So they brought one to him. "Whose
face is this?" asked Jesus, "and whose name is in the inscription?"
Mark 12:17
- "Caesar's," they replied. And Jesus said, "Then give to Caesar
what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God!" - a reply which
staggered them.
Jesus reveals the
ignorance of the Sadducees
Mark 12:18-23
- Then some of the Sadducees (a party which maintains that there is no
resurrection) approached him, and put this question to him, "Master, Moses
instructed us that if a man's brother dies leaving a widow but no child, then
the man should marry the woman and raise children for his brother. Now there
were seven brothers, and the first one married and died without leaving issue.
Then the second one married the widow and died leaving no issue behind him. The
same thing happened with the third, and indeed the whole seven died without
leaving any child behind them. Finally the woman died. Now in this
'resurrection', when men will rise up again, whose wife is she going to be -
for she was the wife of all seven of them?"
Mark 12:24-27
- Jesus replied, "Does not this show where you go wrong - and how you fail
to understand both the scriptures and the power of God? When people rise from
the dead they neither marry nor are they given in marriage; they live like the
angels in Heaven. But as for this matter of the dead being raised, have you
never read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke
to him in these words, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob'? God is not God of the dead but of living men! That is where you make
your great mistake!"
The most important
commandments
Mark 12:28
- Then one of the scribes approached him. He had been listening to the
discussion, and noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he put this question
to him, "What are we to consider the greatest commandment of all?"
Mark 12:29-31
- "The first and most important one is this," Jesus replied - 'Hear,
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength'. The second is this, 'You shall love your
neighbour as yourself'. No other commandment
is greater than these."
Mark 12:32-33
- "I am well answered," replied the scribe. "You are absolutely
right when you say that there is one God and no other God exists but him; and
to love him with the whole of our hearts, the whole of our intelligence and the
whole of our energy, and to love our neighbours as ourselves is infinitely more
important than all these burnt-offerings and sacrifices."
Mark 12:34
- The Jesus, noting the thoughtfulness of his reply, said to him, "You are
not far from the kingdom of God!" After this nobody felt like asking him
any more questions.
Jesus criticises the
scribes' teaching and behaviour
Mark 12:35-36 - Later, while Jesus was teaching in
the Temple he remarked, "How can the scribes make out the Christ is
David's son, for David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, 'The Lord
said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool'.
Mark 12:37
- David is himself calling Christ 'Lord' - where do they get the idea that he
is his son?"
Mark 12:38-40 - The vast crowd heard this with great delight and Jesus continued in
his teaching, "Be on your guard against these scribes who love to walk
about in long robes and to be greeted respectfully in public and to have the
front seats in the synagogue and the best places at dinner-parties! These are
the men who grow fat on widow's property and cover up what they are doing by
making lengthy prayers. They are only adding to their own punishment!"
Mark 12:41-44
- Then Jesus sat down opposite the Temple
almsbox and watched the people putting their money into it. A great many rich
people put in large sums. Then a poor widow came up and dropped in two little
coins, worth together about a halfpenny. Jesus called his disciples to his side
and said to them, "Believe me, this poor widow has put in more than all
the others. For they have all put in what they can easily afford, but she in
her poverty who needs so much, has given away everything, her whole
living!"
Matthew 23
He publicly warns the people against their religious leaders
Matthew 23:1-12 - Then Jesus addressed the crowds and
his disciples. "The scribes and the Pharisees speak with the authority of
Moses," he told them, "so you must do what they tell you and follow
their instructions. But you must not imitate their lives! For they preach but
do not practise. They pile up back-breaking burdens and lay them on other men's
shoulders - yet they themselves will not raise a finger to move them. Their
whole lives are planned with an eye to effect. They increase the size of their
phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of
their robes; they love seats of honour at dinner parties and front places in
the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect in public places and to
have men call them 'rabbi!' Don't you ever be called 'rabbi' - you have only
one teacher, and all of you are brothers. And don't call any human being
'father' - for you have one Father and he is in Heaven. And you must not let
people call you 'leaders' - you have only one leader, Christ! The only 'superior'
among you is the one who serves the others. For every man who promotes himself
will be humbled, and every man who learns to be humble will find promotion.
Matthew 23:13-14
- "But alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors that you are!
You lock the door of the kingdom of Heaven in men's faces; you will not go in
yourselves neither will you allow those at the door to go inside.
Matthew 23:15
- "Alas for you, you scribes and Pharisees, play-actors! You scour sea and
land to make a single convert, and then you make him twice as ripe for
destruction as you are yourselves.
Matthew 23:16-22
- "Alas for you, you blind leaders! You say, 'if anyone swears by the
Temple it amounts to nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the Temple he is
bound by his oath.' You blind fools, which is the more important, the gold or
the Temple which sanctifies the gold? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the
altar it doesn't matter, but if he swears by the gift placed on the altar he is
bound by his oath.' Have you no eyes - which is more important, the gift, or
the altar which sanctifies the gift? Any man who swears by the altar is
swearing by the altar and whatever is offered upon it; and anyone who swears by
the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by him who dwells in it; and anyone who
swears by Heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the one who sits upon
that throne.
Matthew 23:23-24
- "Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you utter frauds! For you pay your
tithe on mint and aniseed and cummin, and neglect the things which carry far more
weight in the Law - justice, mercy and good faith. These are the things you
should have observed - without neglecting the others. You call yourselves
leaders, and yet you can't see an inch before your noses, for you filter out
the mosquito and swallow the camel.
Matthew 23:25-26
- "What miserable frauds you are, you scribes and Pharisees! You clean the
outside of the cup and the dish, while the inside is full of greed and
self-indulgence. Can't you see, Pharisee? First wash the inside of a cup, and
then you can clean the outside.
Matthew 23:27-28
- "Alas for you, you hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! You are like
white-washed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead
men's bones and all kinds of rottenness. For you appear like good men on the outside
- but inside you are a mass of pretence and wickedness.
Matthew 23:29-36
- "What miserable frauds you are, you scribes and Pharisees! You build
tombs for the prophets, and decorate monuments for good men of the past, and
then say, 'If we had lived in the times of our ancestors we should never have
joined in the killing of the prophets.' Yes, 'your ancestors' - that shows you
to be sons indeed of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead then, and finish
off what your ancestors tried to do! You serpents, you viper's brood, how do
you think you are going to avoid being condemned to the rubbish-heap? Listen to
this: I am sending you prophets and wise and learned men; and some of these you
will kill and crucify, other you will flog in your synagogues and hunt from
town to town. So that on your hands is all the innocent blood spilt on this
earth, from the blood of Abel the good to the blood of Zachariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the
sanctuary and the altar. Yes, I tell you that all this will be laid at the
doors of this generation.
Jesus mourns over
Jerusalem, and foretells its destruction
Matthew 23:37-39
- "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You murder the prophets and stone the
messengers that are sent to you. How often have I longed to gather your
children round me like a bird gathering her brood together under her wing - and
you would never have it. Now all you have left is your house. I tell you that
you will never see me again till the day when you cry, 'Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord!'"
Jesus prophesies the ruin of the Temple
Mark 13:1 - Then as Jesus was leaving the Temple,
one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Master, what wonderful stonework,
what a size these building are!"
Mark 13:2
- Jesus replied, "You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will
be left standing on another; every one will be thrown down!"
Mark 13:3-4
- Then while he was sitting on the slope of the Mount of Olives facing the
Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew said to him privately, "Tell us,
when will these things happen? What sign will there be that all these things
are going to be accomplished?"
Mark 13:5-11
- So Jesus began to tell them: "Be very careful that no one deceives you.
Many are going to come in my name and say, 'I am he', and will lead many
astray. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, don't be alarmed. such
things are bound to happen, but the end is not yet. Nation will take up arms
against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in
different places and terrible famines. But this is only the beginnings of 'the
pains'. You yourselves must keep your wits about you, for men will hand you
over to their councils, and will beat you in their synagogues. You will have to
stand in front of rulers and kings for my sake to bear your witness to them -
for before the end comes the Gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. But when
they are taking you off to trial, do not worry beforehand about what you are
going to say - simply say the words you are given when the time comes. For it
not really you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit.
Jesus foretells utter
misery
Mark 13:12-13
- "A brother is going to betray his own brother to death, and a father his
own child. Children will stand up against their parents and condemn them to
death. There will come a time when the whole world will hate you because you
are known as my followers. Yet the man who holds out to the end will be saved.
Mark 13:14-20
- "But when you see 'the abomination of desolation' standing where it
ought not - (let the reader take note of this) - then those who are in Judea
must fly to the hills! The man on his house-top must not go down nor go into
his house to fetch anything out of it, and the man in the field must not turn
back to fetch his coat. Alas for the women who are pregnant at that time, and
alas for those with babies at their breasts! Pray God that it may not be winter
when that time comes, for there will be such utter misery in those days as had
never been from the creation until now - and never will be again. Indeed, if
the Lord did not shorten those days, no human beings could survive. But for the
sake of the people whom he has chosen he has shortened those days.
He warns against
false christs, and commands vigilance
Mark 13:21-23
- "If anyone tells you at that time, 'Look, here is Christ', or 'Look,
there he is', don't believe it! For false christs and false prophets will arise
and will perform signs and wonders, to deceive, if it be possible, even the men
of God's choice. You must keep your eyes open! I am giving you this warning
before it happens.
Mark 13:24-25
- "But when that misery is past, 'the
light of the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light; stars
will be falling from the sky and the powers of heaven will rock on their
foundations'.
Mark 13:26-27
- Then men shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and
glory. And then shall he send out his angels to summon his chosen together from
every quarter, from furthest earth to highest heaven.
Mark 13:28-33
- "Let the fig-tree illustrate this for you: when its branches grow tender
and produce leaves, you know that summer is near, at your very doors! I tell
you that this generation will not have passed until all these things have come
true. Earth and sky will pass away, but what I have told you will never pass
away! But no one knows the day or the hour of this happening, not even the
angels in Heaven, no, not even the Son - only the Father. Keep your eyes open,
keep on the alert, for you do not know when the time will be.
Mark 13:34-37 -"It is as if a man who
is travelling abroad had left his house and handed it over to be managed by his
servants. He has given each one his work to do and has ordered the doorkeeper
to be on the look-out for his return. Just so must you keep a look-out, for you
do not know when the master of the house will come - it might be late evening,
or midnight, or cock-crow, or early morning - otherwise he might come
unexpectedly and find you sound asleep. What I am saying to you I am saying to
all; keep on the alert!"