Month: May 2019

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Matthew 27-28

Matthew 27

This chapter starts with the chief priests and elders deciding that Jesus should be put to death and sent him off to Pilate. Judas hears of this, tries to return the silver, explaining that he betrayed an innocent man, and hung himself.

Jesus is questioned by Pilate. The only response he gives is when Pilate asks him if he is King of the Jews and Jesus replies ā€œThatā€™s what you say.ā€ Pilate clearly wanted to release Jesus, knowing that Jesus was in front of him simply because of jealousy by the priests. Apparently it was the custom during this time of year to release a prisoner to the crowd, whomever they chose. He told the crowd to pick between Jesus Barabbas or Jesus himself. The elders and priests convince the crowd to ask for Barabbas and demand that Jesus be crucified. Clearly Pilate doesnā€™t want to do this, but this happens according to the text (27:24-26; CEB Study Bible, p. 60 NT).

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Matthew 26

Matthew 26: Just a quick little note, thereā€™s a lot going on in this chapter. The text is just bouncing around from topic to topic.

This chapter starts with Jesus telling his followers that it was just a matter of time before he would die. The text then tells us that Jesusā€™ opponents were plotting to capture and kill him. We then see a woman pour expensive perfume on Jesus and his followers admonishing her because they thought the perfume could be sold and given to the poor and needy (honestly, this is what I wouldā€™ve done). Jesus tells them to back down, making it clear that what she is doing is actually preparing his body for burial. We then see reference to Judas approaching the chief priests asking what they would give him for betraying Jesus.

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Matthew 25

Matthew 25: This chapter starts with the parable of the 10 bridesmaids. They went out looking for the groom, each with a lamp. Only 5 brought extra oil. The 5 foolish ones (those that didnā€™t bring oil) ran out of oil, had to go buy more (because the other 5 wouldnā€™t share), and missed their chance to enter with the groom. The bridesmaids represent the people and the groom represents God. The notion here is that people need to remain faithful so they are always prepared. This means that people need to always follow Jesusā€™ teachings.

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Matthew 23-24

Matthew 23: Jesus tells the people to trust what the legal experts and Pharisees tell them, but donā€™t do what they do. He recognizes that they know what they are talking about, but their actions donā€™t reflect what they say. He then condemns the legal experts and Pharisees for all of their actions, calling them hypocrites. This chapter has a lot of examples of all of the bad things theyā€™ve done.

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Matthew 21-22

Matthew 21: Thereā€™s a lot going on in this chapter and Iā€™m struggling to unpack it. We first see a story about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey and a colt. This apparently fulfills what was foretold in Zechariah. I sent off an email to Father Greg asking if the NT writers had access to the OT scrolls. I just wonder if since this was written AFTER Jesusā€™s death, did the authors add things like this to strengthen his story. For example, hereā€™s what the notes say for this part of the text:

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