http:\/\/www.public-domain-image.com\/free-images\/flora-plants\/fruits\/grapes-fruit-pictures\/crimson-seedless-grapes-on-the-vine.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Last time I mentioned a \u201csmall signal\u201d from Luke 11:11, \u201c\u2026it was already late.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nI might have missed that signal if it was the only one. But there are a few other signals that harmonized with it and help to make that initial signal stronger in my ear. I\u2019ll list them here to show how the signal in my inner ear transformed into a narrative thread before my inner eye.<\/em><\/p>\nFirst, it follows the Triumphal Entry.<\/strong> Only the most myopic interpretation of the Triumphal Entry fails to see the irony in it. One irony is often noted: in less than a week the cries, \u201cBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!\u201d will be replaced by, \u201cCrucify him!\u201d<\/p>\nBut there is another irony: their final condemnation follows his. Christ has come to judge. And it is through the judgment that he saves his people. But we shouldn\u2019t be all that surprised. Judging is one of the things kings do.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t know what kings are for anymore.<\/em> we equate them with Presidents or Prime Ministers. Democracies divide powers among branches of government. There\u2019s the executive, (what I think we think of when we think of a king), the legislative, and the judicial branches. But before these were divided into branches, they were united in the person of a king. Kings gave the law, judged the people, and executed those judgments.<\/p>\nWhen Jesus comes into Jerusalem, it\u2019s judgment time.<\/p>\n
Another signal is the curse of the fig tree.<\/strong> After visiting the temple briefly, the next day he sees a fig tree. He inspect it, sees no fruit, and in a stage voice everyone can hear, he says, \u201cMay no one ever eat fruit from you again.\u201d (11:14) But before this, the narrator tells us, \u201c\u2026it was not the season for figs.\u201d<\/p>\nThen why look for figs? Hold that thought.<\/span> If you feel a need to rush to an interpretation, suppress it. It isn\u2019t that Jesus was ignorant about the season for figs, and it is certainly not an aside to give us a little local color. It is another signal. But of what?<\/p>\nWhat comes next helps us. Jesus is back in the temple, this time chasing money changers around and knocking things off of shoulders and out of hands. And he pronounces judgment: \u201c\u2026you have made (my house) a den of robbers!\u201d (11:18)<\/p>\n
Now we might miss the connection to the fig tree if it were not for the fact that we\u2019re back at the fig tree the very next morning. And the fig tree is dead! Another clue!<\/p>\n
You\u2019d have to be pretty blind not to see that connection. (I\u2019m sad to say, I\u2019ve met plenty of blind people.)<\/p>\n
It helps to know that Israel is called both a vineyard and a fig tree elsewhere, particularly in the minor prophets. (Check out Hosea 9:10).<\/p>\n
So Jesus came to the Temple looking for something and didn\u2019t find it. And it isn\u2019t a long leap to arrive at the conclusion that what has happened to the fig tree will soon happen to the temple. The way the fig tree incidents come before and after the cleansing of the temple makes this an easy thread to follow. But wait, there\u2019s more!<\/p>\n
Naturally the temple authorities are not too pleased with Jesus.<\/strong> So they question him, \u201cBy what authority are you doing these things\u2026?\u201d (11:28)<\/p>\nThis is the first in a series of questions and the beginning of another thread. I won\u2019t talk about that here. I just bring it up to note that threads usually weave in and out, up and down, and sometimes two, three, and even more threads can be present simultaneously. Sometimes something can be apart of more than one thread at the same time.<\/p>\n
This implies, of course, that the Temple authorities are not on the same page with the crowd. Our narrator leaves no room for ambiguity here. (11:32)<\/p>\n
But Jesus doesn\u2019t answer them, but then again, he does. This is the set up for the parable of the tenants, (12:1-12) Here we receive a boat load of information: about the authorities, about what the prophets were doing, and about Jesus. And we see what will become of the authorities, and what will become of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Jesus, like the prophets before him, has come for the rent.<\/strong> This is paid in produce, in the parable, in grapes and wine presumably. But instead of paying the rent, the tenants kill the rent collectors. And even though thick-headed most of the time when it comes to parables, the authorities get it. (12:12)<\/p>\nWe\u2019re also told the vineyard will be given to others. (12:11)<\/p>\n
But what is the rent collector really looking for? Money?<\/strong> If that were the case then what Jesus found in the temple should have pleased him. But just in case there is any doubt left that money is not what he\u2019s after, we have a question about taxes.<\/p>\nHere we have another pericope that people often fail to connect with the bigger story. Yes, it does give us plenty to think about concerning our civic duty and about how religious institutions and civil institutions should relate to each other, but those are really secondary.<\/p>\n
If you follow the narrative thread, this is really about what God expects of his people. This is about the rent.<\/span><\/p>\nThe question is a trap, of course. (That\u2019s another thread, the question thread.) You have the Herodians, who owe their authority to Cesar, and the Pharisees, the party that loves laws so much they just can\u2019t stop making them (remind you of anybody?). Jesus artfully evades the trap, and he springs the trap on them.<\/p>\n
But is that really all there is to it? Or are we sent the message, \u201cWhat Cesar is looking for and what God is looking for really are different things.\u201d?<\/p>\n
\u201cMonty, I\u2019ll take door number 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
This whole thread of judgment goes on for chapters and chapters, by the way, woven in with other threads.<\/p>\n
When it comes to applying this to us, isn\u2019t it obvious?<\/strong><\/p>\nSo there you have it, an example of how I followed a narrative thread.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last time I mentioned a \u201csmall signal\u201d from Luke 11:11, \u201c\u2026it was already late.\u201d I might have missed that signal if it was the only one. But there are a few other signals that harmonized with it and help to make that initial signal stronger in my ear. I\u2019ll list them here to show how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2522,"featured_media":1458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167,258,40],"tags":[259,80],"class_list":["post-1454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-interpreting-the-bible","category-virtue","tag-biblical-narrative","tag-preaching"],"yoast_head":"\n
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