Chapter 36 - On the Way to Jerusalem

CHAPTER 36

ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM

IT WAS on this Sunday afternoon that Salome the mother of James and John Zebedee came to Jesus with her two apostle sons, and in the manner of approaching an Oriental potentate, sought to have Jesus promise in advance to grant whatever request she might make. But the Master would not promise. Instead, he asked her:

• "What do you want me to do for you?"

Then answered Salome:

• "Master, now that you are going up to Jerusalem to establish the kingdom, I would ask you in advance to promise me that these my sons shall have honor with you, the one to sit on your right hand and the other to sit on your left hand in your kingdom."

When Jesus heard Salome's request, he said:

• "Woman, you know not what you ask."

And then, looking straight into the eyes of the two honor-seeking apostles, he said:

• "Because I have long known and loved you, because I have lived in your mother's house, because Andrew has assigned you to be with me at all times, therefore do you permit your mother to come to me secretly, making this unseemly request. But let me ask you: Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?"

And without a moment for thought, James and John answered:

• "Yes, Master, we are able."

Said Jesus:

• "I am saddened that you know not why we go up to Jerusalem. I am grieved that you understand not the nature of my kingdom. I am disappointed that you bring your mother to make this request of me. But I know you love me in your hearts. Therefore I declare that you shall indeed drink of my cup of bitterness and share in my humiliation, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give. Such honors are reserved for those who have been designated by my Father."

On Counting the Cost

When Jesus and the company of almost one thousand followers arrived at the Bethany ford of the Jordan, Jesus climbed upon a huge stone and spoke to them:

• "You who would follow after me from this time on, must be willing to pay the price of wholehearted dedication to the doing of my Father's will. If you would be my disciples, you must be willing to forsake father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters. If any one of you would now be my disciple, you must be willing to give up even your life just as the Son of Man is about to offer up his life for the completion of the mission of doing the Father's will on earth and in the flesh.

• "If you are not willing to pay the full price, you can hardly be my disciple. Before you go further, you should each sit down and count the cost of being my disciple. Which one of you would undertake to build a watchtower on your lands without first sitting down to count up the cost to see whether you had money enough to complete it? If you fail thus to reckon the cost, after you have laid the foundation, you may discover that you are unable to finish that which you have begun, and therefore will all your neighbors mock you, saying, `Behold, this man began to build but was unable to finish his work.'

• "Now, then, must each of you sit down and count the cost of being my disciple. From now on you will not be able to follow after us, listening to the teaching and beholding the works. You will be required to face bitter persecutions and to bear witness for this gospel in the face of crushing disappointment. If you are unwilling to renounce all that you are and to dedicate all that you have, then are you unworthy to be my disciple. If you have already conquered yourself within your own heart, you need have no fear of that outward victory that you must presently gain when the Son of Man is rejected by the chief priests and the Sadducees and is given into the hands of mocking unbelievers.

• "Now should you examine yourself to find out your motive for being my disciple. If you seek honor and glory, if you are worldly-minded, you are like the salt when it has lost its savor. And when that which is valued for its saltiness has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? Such a condiment is useless. It is fit only to be cast out among the refuse. Now have I warned you to turn back to your homes in peace if you are not willing to drink with me the cup that is being prepared. Again and again have I told you that my kingdom is not of this world, but you will not believe me. He who has ears to hear let him hear what I say."

Teaching at Livias

Early on Thursday morning before the others were awake, Jesus called Andrew and said:

• "Awaken your brethren! I have something to say to them."

When Andrew had aroused his associates, and they had assembled off by themselves, Jesus said:

• "My children, you have been with me a long while, and I have taught you much that is needful for this time, but I would now warn you not to put your trust in the uncertainties of the flesh nor in the frailties of man's defense against the trials and testing that lie ahead of us. I have called you apart here by yourselves that I may once more plainly tell you that we are going up to Jerusalem, where you know the Son of Man has already been condemned to death. Again am I telling you that the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of the chief priests and the religious rulers, that they will condemn him and then deliver him into the hands of the gentiles. And so will they mock the Son of Man, even spit upon him and scourge him, and they will deliver him up to death. And when they kill the Son of Man, be not dismayed, for I declare that on the third day he shall rise. Take heed to yourselves and remember that I have forewarned you."

Again were the apostles amazed, stunned; but they could not bring themselves to regard his words as literal. They could not comprehend that the Master meant just what he said. Here at Livias, just after breakfast, certain friendly Pharisees came to Jesus and said:

• "Flee in haste from these parts, for Herod, just as he sought John, now seeks to kill you. He fears an uprising of the people and has decided to kill you. We bring you this warning that you may escape."

When Jesus heard what the Pharisees had to say, he replied:

• "I well know about Herod and his fear of this gospel of the kingdom. But, mistake not, he would much prefer that the Son of Man go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die at the hands of the chief priests. He is not anxious, having stained his hands with the blood of John, to become responsible for the death of the Son of Man. Go you and tell that fox that the Son of Man preaches in Perea today, tomorrow goes into Judea, and after a few days, will be perfected in his mission on earth and prepared to ascend to the Father. From olden times the prophets have perished in Jerusalem, and it is only befitting that the Son of Man should go up to the city of the Father's house to be offered up as the price of human bigotry and as the result of religious prejudice and spiritual blindness.

• “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets and stones the teachers of truth! How often would I have gathered your children together even as a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, but you would not let me do it! Behold, your house is about to be left to you desolate! You will many times desire to see me, but you shall not. You will then seek but not find me."

And when he had spoken, he turned to those around him and said:

• "Nevertheless, let us go up to Jerusalem to attend the Passover and do that which becomes us in fulfilling the will of the Father in heaven."

The Visit to Zaccheus

As Jesus passed by, he stopped, and looking up at Zaccheus, said:

• "Make haste, Zaccheus, and come down, for tonight I must abide at your house."

And when Zaccheus heard these astonishing words, he almost fell out of the tree in his haste to get down, and going up to Jesus, he expressed great joy that the Master should be willing to stop at his house. While the Master and his apostles lingered with Zaccheus before the door of his house, one of the Jericho Pharisees, standing near by, said:

• "You see how this man has gone to lodge with a sinner, an apostate son of Abraham who is an extortioner and a robber of his own people."

When Jesus heard this, he looked down at Zaccheus and smiled. Then Zaccheus stood upon a stool and said:

• "Men of Jericho, hear me! I may be a publican and a sinner, but the great Teacher has come to abide in my house. And before he goes in, I tell you that I am going to bestow one half of all my goods upon the poor, and beginning tomorrow, if I have wrongfully exacted aught from any man, I will restore fourfold. I am going to seek salvation with all my heart and learn to do righteousness in the sight of God."

When Zaccheus had ceased speaking, Jesus said:

• "Today has salvation come to this home, and you have become indeed a son of Abraham."

And turning to the crowd assembled about them, Jesus said:

• "And marvel not at what I say nor take offense at what we do, for I have all along declared that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost."

Parable of the Pounds

The parable of the pounds was spoken more exclusively to the apostles and was largely based on the experience of Archelaus. Said Jesus:

• “You think that the Son of Man goes up to Jerusalem to receive a kingdom, but I declare that you are doomed to disappointment. Do you not remember about a certain prince who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, but even before he could return, the citizens of his province, who in their hearts had already rejected him, sent an embassy after him, saying, `We will not have this man to reign over us'? As this king was rejected in the temporal rule, so is the Son of Man to be rejected in the spiritual rule. Again I declare that my kingdom is not of this world. But if the Son of Man had been accorded the spiritual rule of his people, he would have accepted such a kingdom of men's souls and would have reigned over such a dominion of human hearts. Notwithstanding that they reject my spiritual rule over them, I will return again to receive from others such a kingdom of spirit as is now denied me.

• “You will see the Son of Man rejected now, but in another age that which the children of Abraham now reject will be received and exalted. And now, as the rejected nobleman of this parable, I would call before me my twelve servants, special stewards, and giving into each of your hands the sum of one pound, I would admonish each to heed well my instructions that you trade diligently with your trust fund while I am away that you may have wherewith to justify your stewardship when I return, when a reckoning shall be required of you. And even if this rejected Son should not return, another Son will be sent to receive this kingdom, and this Son will then send for all of you to receive your report of stewardship and to be made glad by your gains.”

The apostles sought to know the difference between the meaning of this parable and that of the parable of the talents, but Jesus would only say, in answer to their many questions:

• "Ponder well these words in your hearts while each of you finds out their true meaning."