After entering the city of Jerusalem, Jesus made the Temple his headquarters. There he intellectually confronted his opponents and taught some value-related lessons that would be useful after he was gone. He also talked about the return of the son man, a title he’d consistently used to describe himself, and the coming judgement. For example, as it relates to his return, this was what the Evangelist Mark wrote:
As he walked away from the Temple, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at that stonework! Those buildings!”
Jesus said, “You’re impressed by this grandiose architecture? There’s not a stone in the whole works that is not going to end up in a heap of rubble.”
Later, as he was sitting on Mount Olives in full view of the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew got him off by himself and asked, “Tell us, when is this going to happen? What sign will we get that things are coming to a head?”
Jesus began, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history, and no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. But these things are nothing compared to what’s coming.
“And watch out! They’re going to drag you into court. And then it will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’re placed there as sentinels to truth. The Message has to be preached all across the world.
“When they bring you, betrayed, into court, don’t worry about what you’ll say. When the time comes, say what’s on your heart—the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you.
“It’s going to be brother killing brother, father killing child, children killing parents. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me.
“Stay with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.
“But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up where it should never be. You who can read, make sure you understand what I’m talking about. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you’re working in the yard, don’t go back to the house to get anything; if you’re out in the field, don’t go back to get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won’t happen in the middle of winter.
“These are going to be hard days—nothing like it from the time God made the world right up to the present. And there’ll be nothing like it again. If he let the days of trouble run their course, nobody would make it. But because of God’s chosen people, those he personally chose, he has already intervened.
“If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. So watch out. I’ve given you fair warning.
“Following those hard times,
Sun will fade out,
moon cloud over,
Stars fall out of the sky,
cosmic powers tremble.
“And then they’ll see the Son of Man enter in grand style, his Arrival filling the sky—no one will miss it! He’ll dispatch the angels; they will pull in the chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.
“Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. And so it is with you. When you see all these things, you know he is at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
“But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable. It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch.” [Mark 13:1-37, MSG]
Of course, a lot of Christians don’t really believe this business about not knowing “the exact day and hour.” As a matter of fact, they’ve made predicting the second coming a cottage industry, one where you don’t have to be right in order to sell your book. I mean, these prophets of the end continue to be wrong over and other again, and yet, many Christians still flock to buy their latest opus, which just goes to show that trusting God is a whole lot more challenging than wanting to know.
And along with talking about the return, Jesus also offered some insight into the coming judgement. And even though a lot of Christians focus on what’s felt in one’s heart rather than what’s done by one’s hands, Jesus’s perspective was different, as reflected in this passage from Matthew:
“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.” [Matthew 25:31-46, MSG]
Personally, I think it’s important to note that Jesus talked about “the nations,” as though the people are judged based on what their nation has done. Now I recognize that most Christians would probably disagree with this connection. Still, I think it may behoove us to consider these words of Christ as we elect men and women to public office. I mean, regardless of how they promise to benefit us, it just makes sense to think about whether their vision will move our country toward the sheep or the goats.
Of course, none of this was offered in Jesus Christ Superstar. Instead, there’s what you could call the big song in the musical, “I Don't Know How to Love Him.”
Jesus wasn’t the only character in either the story nor the musical. Judas was also involved, and he was going to be the one who moved both toward their conclusions. And he started that process by betraying Jesus to the religious authorities. And even though both Luke and John had the Devil enter Judas first, this was how Matthew described what happened: “That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the cabal of high priests and said, ‘What will you give me if I hand him over to you?’ They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for just the right moment to hand him over.” [Matthew 26:14-16, MSG] In the musical, I think some of his motivations were already established in the first song, “Heaven On Their Minds.”
And the betrayal itself was covered in the song, “Damned For All Time/Blood Money.”
And now the stage was set for the finale, the passion. After Jesus shared a meal with his disciples, he’ll be heading to the cross.
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