The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
1As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)
24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! 33“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:24-33)
The Tuesday of Passion Week is famous for Jesus’ prophetic teachings on The Mount of Olives (The Olivet Discourse). However, there are other important stories from that day. In the two passages above from Luke and Matthew, we see how Jesus described various classes of people that He encountered on the Tuesday – the rich, the poor, and the religious. As He exhibits God’s glory, we see that He just doesn’t do things the way the world does. His observations say a lot about the people He encountered and they also tell us a lot about Him.
Please prayerfully read the passages and answer the question below.
Question:
From the passages above, what aspects of God’s glory revealed in Jesus strike a chord with you?