Jerusalem is a Desolate House

JERUSALEM IS A DESOLATE HOUSE

                                                                                                            

The King, the Wedding Feast and the Citizens

Matthew 22:1-14 records a Kingdom of Heaven (God) parable told by Jesus.  A king (God the Father) was giving a wedding feast for His Son (Jesus).  Those initially invited to attend (the Judeans) refused.  In addition they mistreated and killed the messengers (prophets).  The reaction of the King as found in Matthew 22:7 is one of fury and destruction.

Matthew 22:7 NET  The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire.

The King sent His soldiers (Roman Military) and they set the city on fire (Jerusalem) and killed many of the murderers (Pharisees, Sadducees, experts of the law, and others).

Other messengers were sent into the streets (the nations) to invite others to the wedding feast.  Some attending were not properly dressed in garments of salvation and they were cast out.  The moral of the story can be found in Matthew 22:14:  “For many are called but few are chosen.”  This involves the first resurrection and the harpazo (catching away / rapture).  They will be the judges ruling with Christ during the Millennium. The remainder will await the 2^nd resurrection called the great White Throne Judgment.

Matthew 23 contains a series of “woes” given by Jesus to the Pharisees and the experts in the law residing in Jerusalem.  Jesus indicates, due to their knowledge concerning the death of prophets, they have the distinction of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.  Knowing He would soon be crucified by this group of legal experts and Pharisees, Jesus states, “Fill up then the measure of your ancestors”. 

All of Jerusalem at that time and today's current generation would be held liable for “all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah – Matthew 23:35”.  Jesus ends his discourse against the Pharisees and legal experts with the words recorded in verses 39 and 39, “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate”

Matthew 23:38-39 NET  Look, your house is left to you desolate!  (39)  For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Verse 39, “For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!' " may be saying they will not be included in the first resurrection but will have to wait for the second resurrection at the White Throne judgment occurring at the end of the Millennium.

Jeremiah’s Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem

The desolation of Jerusalem first occurred when the city was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C.  It was again desolated in 70 AD by the Roman military. The third major desolation has yet to take place but it may be occurring soon.  This third desolation has been made known by Jeremiah who prophesied that the city would be destroyed so completely that it would not be repaired or rebuilt again.

The 18^th and 19^th chapters of Jeremiah contain a prophecy concerning the nation of Israel which was conquered and the inhabitants dispersed by Assyria around 640 BC.  The next section of the prophecy concerns the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. 

For the nation of Israel, in chapter 18, Jeremiah is told to go to the potter’s house and watch the potter shape wet clay into any form he desired.  Because Israel is still malleable as wet clay (and open to the Gospel) God would shape Israel in their dispersion among the nations as a potter shapes wet clay.

Jeremiah 18:6 NET  "I, the LORD, say: 'O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter's hand.'

However, for the nation of Judah, Jeremiah was told to buy a previously made clay jar from the potter.  With several of the leaders of Jerusalem present to watch, Jeremiah was to take the jar and smash it to pieces in the valley of Ben-hinnom (Gehenna).  This clay jar would represent the nation of Judah and Jerusalem.  The pieces would not be put back together.

Jeremiah 19:11 NET  Tell them the LORD who rules over all says, 'I will do just as Jeremiah has done. I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter's vessel which is broken beyond repair. The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.'

Hagar and Sarai

The current city of Jerusalem will not be spared at the last minute, as so many exegetes and Bible teachers have claimed.  Its destruction has been prophesied and proclaimed by God, even prior to the rebuilt city and temple by the Babylonian returnees.  Paul states in Galatians chapter 4 that Jerusalem is the slave woman named Hagar and she represents Mt. Sinai and the Old Covenant.  Only the New Jerusalem from God represents Sarai and the New Covenant.

Galatians 4:24-25 NET  These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar.  (25)  Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

Verse 30 further proclaims that Hagar (Jerusalem) and her children (Jews / and currently self-proclaimed Jews) will be thrown out and will not share the inheritance with the Son (Jesus Christ) and the New Covenant which will be the New Jerusalem.

Galatians 4:26 NET  But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

It has been said the return of Christ (2^nd Coming) will occur somewhere around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.  When He returns, everyone will see Him.

Revelation 1:7 LITV-TSP  (7)  "Behold, He comes with the clouds," and "every eye will see Him, and the ones who pierced" Him, and all the tribes of the earth "will wail on account of Him." Yes, Amen. Dan. 7:13; Zech. 12:10

Everyone on the planet will mourn (wail / be sad / beat their breasts / be grieving / have bitter sorrow) at various levels of intensity.  The Jews may be the biggest mourners because:  they will finally realize at being duped and lied to by their religious leaders and historians; they will understand the Kingdom of God has been lost to them and that it was never in their power to gain; their desire to rule the world will be forever gone.  The ones reigning with Christ will be the first fruits (also called the overcomers, and the remnant of grace).  They will be reigning over the survivors of the wrath of God.

Repentance at the return of Christ will not change the previous verdicts that Jesus rendered just before He was crucified. It will not change Jeremiah’s prophecy of the utter destruction of Jerusalem. Instead, repentance will give Jews (and all other people) the opportunity to become citizens of the New Jerusalem, whereby they may be blessed along with all of its citizens.

The Judeans Reject Themselves

THE JUDEANS REJECT THEMSELVES

As an introduction to the vineyard parable Matthew 21 begins with Jesus and His disciples returning to Jerusalem.  Two men are sent to get a donkey and her colt which they will find waiting for them.  Riding on the colt, Jesus goes through town and stops at the temple, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey — on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.  (Zechariah 9:9 NET)

Arriving at the temple courtyard Jesus drives out the buyers and sellers, money changers, those selling doves, and turns over their tables.  Charles Swindoll claims this group was controlled by Annas a former high priest who had been replaced with Caiaphas.  According to Swindoll, Annas remained in power as a type of mob boss and was responsible for the mafia type corruption of the temple courtyard of buying and selling for profit.  This courtyard cleansing apparently infuriated the Sadducees who were profiting from the sales.  The next day Jesus returned to the temple courtyard and began teaching.  The chief priests approached Him and asked “by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority”?  Jesus answered them with a question concerning John the Baptist and then a series of parables.

The Vineyard and Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-31 NET  "What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'  (29)  The boy answered, 'I will not.' But later he had a change of heart and went.  (30)  The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 'I will, sir,' but did not go.  (31) Which of the two did his father's will?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Two sons are individually requested by their father to work in the vineyard.  The first son answers that he will not, but later changes his mind and goes to work.  The second son answers that he will go and work but does not go at all.  When asked which son did the will of the father, the listening crowd answers the first son.  Jesus explains the first son represents tax collectors and prostitutes who will enter the Kingdom of God, but the self-righteous, represented by the second son, did not accept the repentance and baptism offered by John the Baptist although they initially showed interest.

Warren Wiersbe:  When John came ministering, the religious crowd showed great interest in his work, but they would not repent and humble themselves and be baptized. The nonreligious crowd, however, confessed their sins and obeyed John’s words and were baptized.  The leaders committed two sins: They would not believe John’s message and they would not repent of their sins. Of course, the leaders felt that they had no need to repent. But when they saw what repentance did for the publicans and sinners, they should have been convinced that John’s message was true and salvation was real. Again and again, the religious rulers rejected the clear evidence God gave them.

Is has been said the rejection of John the Baptist was actually a rejection of God the Father who had sent John. Rather than sending judgment, due to the graciousness of God, He instead sends His Son, which is the subject of the next parable.

The Landowner and the Vineyard

Matthew 21:33-41 KJV  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:  (34)  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.  (35)  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.  (36)  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.  (37)  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.  (38)  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.  (39)  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.  (40)  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?  (41)  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

A landowner planted a vineyard complete with a surrounding hedge, a winepress within it, and a tower.  This parable has a strong resemblance to a message in Isaiah 5 from God to the Israelites. 

The vineyard is frequently a symbol for the nation and people of Israel. This particular parable is the most allegorical of the three presented in Matthew 21. The servants represent the prophets. The son represents the Messiah (notice there is a son in each of the parables in this chapter, but used in different senses). The tenants represent the nation of Israel or at least the religious leaders.

When the Hebrews entered the area of Canaan after their deliverance from Egypt it was described as a land of “milk and honey”.  Conquest was simple if they remained faithful to God.  Under David and Solomon the kingdom almost, according to some, expanded to the limits as promised to Abraham.  The nation of Israel was extremely wealthy during this period of time and the majority of the inhabitants were prosperous.  However, with prosperity comes self-reliance and the sense that trust in God and the protection of God are no longer needed or necessary.  This leads to idolatry and false religious systems along with promiscuity and degenerate behavior. 

He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead. So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard!  (Isaiah 5:2-3 NET)

God provided the Israelites with material and spiritual blessings and asked only that they bear fruit for His glory symbolized by edible grapes. On occasion, God would send His prophets, symbolized as servants, to the people to receive the fruit. But the people, particularly the leaders, refused to listen to the prophets on many occasions.  They also mistreated the prophets (symbolized as servants), and even killed some of them.  During Old Testament days God would send armies to destroy the Israelites and the current Judeans were occupied by Rome and Roman soldiers. 

On this occasion, the landowner, represented as God the Father, sends his Son.  Surely, thought the landowner, the tenants will respect my Son.  In the parable the tenants kill the landowner’s son thinking to gain his inheritance.  At this point in the parable, Jesus asks the listeners a question, “When the vineyard owner arrives, what will he do to the tenants who killed his son”?  The listeners replied, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”

The listening audience was completely immersed within the story-telling and did not realize they had just implicated themselves and that they had passed sentence on themselves as guilty of the same crime in the near future.  They would be future participants in the crucifixion of the Son the Father had sent.

The Stone

Matthew 21:42-46 NET  Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?  (43)  For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.  (44)  The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed."  (45)  When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.  (46)  They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.

Jesus quoted from Psalm 118:22-23 as an explanation that He was that Son sent by the Father and the religious leaders were the husbandmen. The crowds had quoted from Psalm 118:26 when Jesus rode through the city on the back of a colt, so this Scripture should have been fresh in the minds of the religious leaders and the people.

The Jewish religious leaders must have known the messianic prophecy associated with the Psalm quoted by Jesus.  They were the builders who were rejecting the stone.  They may have accepted a warrior Messiah if they could retain their leadership privileges and opulent lifestyle, but apparently were not interested in a righteous life as a subject in the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone.  (Acts 4:11 NET)

The consequences of the crucifixion of Jesus resulted in the kingdom primarily being taken away from Israel (not totally) and given to another nation, or all the nations of the world referred to as gentiles which came to be called the Church.  In his first letter, Peter reiterates the Messianic prophecy of Psalm 118.

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For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame." So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.   (1 Peter 2:6-8 NET)

Those who attack this stone would and will be tripped and broken into pieces, while those whom Christ judges will be crushed by the weight of the stone.  I view the current population of the world turning away from the Kingdom of God. This turning away began several years ago but is presently more aggressive and violent in some parts of the world. The identical trials and issues of the early church appear to be returning as distress and anguish (tribulation) begin to apply to the end of the age church.  Yes, I believe we are close.  How close?  I don’t know but keep watch and don’t allow your house to be broken into.

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.   (Matthew 24:43 NET)