Reading: Matthew 25-26, Psalm 93

As we have progressed through the book of Matthew, you may have noticed a kind of acceleration. While the book always moves pretty quickly (ancient writing lent itself to this… nobody wrote particularly long or wordy works. It was too expensive) it picks up more and more as we get closer to the end. In the first chapter we are reading today, Jesus continues his parables about paying attention and keeping faithful to the task as hand. In the second, Matthew covers the anointing at Bethany, return to Jerusalem, last supper, praying in Gethsemane, the arrest, the trial before Caiaphas, and Peter’s denial. Whew. I’m pretty sure there are a few dozen sermons in there, and probably several books of commentary. I’m going to cover this is a few hundred words. You are welcome.

Recall that yesterday we left off with Jesus speaking about the greatest commandment, and answering the disciple’s questions about the end of the age. He basically declines to answer the question with any specificity, but begins telling stories about how important it is to act as if the coming final judgment is coming at any time. It is an interesting bit of history that pretty much every age of the Church has believed they were living in the “end times,” starting with Paul and the disciples right up to the present day. It seems Jesus’ storytelling strategy worked out, though I’m not sure the behavior of those who believe they are living near the final judgment matches the expectation very well.

What is the expectation? Jesus leans really hard into the greatest commandment. When he describes the moment of final judgment at the end, with the famous separation of the sheep from the goats, what are his conditions for eternal life versus eternal fire? Caring for the least of your brothers and sisters. One might say, the question on which the judgment hangs is this: did you love your neighbor as yourself? If so, you have loved the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This of course begs the question as to whether it is possible to love your neighbor as yourself in all cases, a question that we will be dealing with later in the New Testament when we talk about salvation by grace. But I’m pretty sure that right here Jesus is saying that it is desperately important to try, and that the more one does so the closer they are to the way humans are supposed to be.

Then Matthew turns to a narrative that covers an enormous range of events. I’ll hit some high points. First, after all his talk about authority and the signs that Jesus did proving that he was at least a prophet and probably the Messianic King, the present authorities, represented by Caiaphas, decide to do him in. They hold a kangaroo trial- it is totally set up as a mockery of justice- and decide he should die. There is something easy to miss here that is worth pointing out: they base their sentence of death on their zeal for the laws of Moses. But then, once they have passed it, they do not carry it out. Why? Why not just stone him to death, as the law proscribed for a blasphemer? If they were really so full of zeal for defending the law of the God of Israel, they were responsible to do this themselves. That they do not reveals something of their motives: afraid of the repercussions, they choose to get Rome involved. I guess we know who they think is really in charge.

Another event worth noting is the two betrayals in this chapter. They are both famous, but rarely have I seen them dealt with together. The betrayal of Judas is one of the best known stories in the world. Even the price, 30 pieces of silver, has become a trope for betraying a friend. The denial of Peter is also famous, but for different reasons. Because he is later restored (spoiler!), Peter’s denial is rarely thought of in terms of betrayal. But is it really all that different? Judas takes action against Jesus, Peter denies that he even knows who he is. One of those events is said to be in fulfillment of Scripture, the other is a response to a claim of faithfulness. In both cases the men involved bitterly regret their actions. One is restored, the other destroyed. We will pick up this thread later one.

Well, there is a great deal more to say here. We haven’t even covered the last supper and the prayer in Gethsemane, which are a pretty big deal. Fortunately, we have three more Gospel accounts and can deal with some of these things in those contexts. I think Matthew has largely made his point. Jesus is the authority, we are to act in belief that a man like Jesus is in charge of the universe, and listen to what he says is most important. The evidence of his authority is the rest of the story. We’ll see that play out tomorrow in the closing chapters of the book.