Contents
Introduction
The chief priests and the elders of the people were the worst opponents of Jesus, and therefore, of truth and justice. This was because Jesus refused to partake in their corruption and selfishness. Without mincing words, Jesus told them their sins and offences. The Gospel reading of this Sunday is directly addressed to them (cf. Matt 21:23) and it is a further example of Jesus’ zero tolerance to evil. Jesus is now found in Jerusalem, the final destination of his mission. After his triumphant entry into the city, his first move was to enter the Temple, the supposed holy place of God. What he saw baffled him that he had to drive out those merchants out of the Temple. Unfortunately, the same problem continues today in various Churches and Christian communities. People doing their business under the disguise of worship, adoration, breakthrough, miracle and healing. Who knows what Jesus is thinking of this ugly and ungodly situation? Back to our topic. Jesus’ action in the Temple created a serious confrontation between him and the Temple authority – the chief priests and the elders of the people (cf. Matt 21:11–27). It was after such intense discussion that Jesus continued to address them with the message found in Matthew 21:28–32.
The way of righteousness
Jesus said that John the Baptist came to show the way of righteousness (Greek: dikaiosunē). Now, when the tax collectors and prostitutes heard such message of righteousness, they realised their mistakes and repented. But when the priests and elders heard the same message, they never cared and consequently, did not see the need of repenting. They even opposed both the message and the bearer of the message. John only preached the way of righteousness. He did not preach success, breakthrough, gospel of progress, favour, total healing, wealth without effort, spiritual battle with the devil, and fighting imagined enemies. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus advised his disciples to seek the kingdom and righteousness of God first, so that those things they worry about in Matt 6:25–32 will be given to them. Righteousness refers to that which God has approved. Whatever God has examined and deemed right is righteous and this is what should be practised. Priests and elders of the Church, then and now, tend to substitute God’s righteousness with their own a‑righteousness. Every spirit must be thoroughly examined to see if it is God’s spirit or simply human spirit, because there are too many false prophets in the world (cf. 1John 4:1), who pretend to be God’s messengers, when actually, they are working for their own personal and selfish gratification and enrichment.
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