It is Tuesday of the Passion Week of Christ. Jesus goes back into Jerusalem (Mark 11:27) and is immediately challenged by the religious leaders of the day: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” (see Matt. 21:23). These two questions set off a theological explosion and it is these two inquiries that now focus on the epicenter of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders – the identity of Jesus Christ.

The religious leaders of the day thought that Jesus’ authority was fake, he was simple a poser that needed to be exposed as a heretic. Clearly, the religious leaders have refused to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah sent from God (see Matthew 9:1-8; John 9), substantiated through signs and miracles that only God’s power could authorize. Given the rejection of the religious leadership of the Jews, Jesus now begins to dismantle the life and practice of the Pharisees in an effort to clearly expose them for what they are—spiritual counterfeits. Jesus will not allow the people to be seduced any longer by wolves in sheep’s clothing. We see this effort through three rounds of interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.

Round One
Jesus silences the Sadducees by exposing their ignorance (Matt. 22:29-33).

Round Two
The Pharisees seek to do to Jesus what He had done to the Sadducees – confuse and expose Him as a fraud by asking questions regarding their specialty, the Law of Moses (Matt. 22:34-40). When their objective fails, Jesus takes advantage of the opportunity and begins to ask them questions regarding the identity of the Messiah (Matt. 22:41-45).

Because the Pharisees had rejected Christ, they were unable to recognize that the Messiah spoken of by the prophets was Jesus standing in front of them posing the very question! The principle is abundantly clear: The Pharisees are physically silenced because they are spiritually blind (Matt. 22:46).

Round Three
Jesus rails against the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees and sets out to expose the “religious” leaders (Matt. 23:1-39) of their hypocrisy.

As Jesus is leaving Jerusalem, the disciples call attention to the Temple building. Jesus begins to address the coming judgment. In order to prepare his disciples regarding the end, Jesus addresses the two questions posed by his Apostles: When will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? (Matt. 24-25) Jesus then leaves Jerusalem and travels to Bethany (approx. 2.2 miles away) to spend time in the home of Simon the Leper (see Mark 14:3) in his home.

As I meditate on these truths, I am amazed at the focus and intensity of Jesus. He refused to be discouraged or dissuaded from following the road to the cross. Take time to voice your adoration to Jesus. Ask Him to lead you into the lives of people who desperately need Him today.

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