BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Jesus’ showdown with Jerusalem’s Bible experts and religious rulers escalates toward murder today (Matt. 26), but not before Jesus rolls out three more kingdom parables (Matt. 25).

Each parable offers a different way to imagine life in God’s Kingdom. Each suggests that entering in is far more important than anything else. With two stories, one about 10 bridesmaids and another about money and investing, Jesus encourages his apprentices to stay active and alert.

Some mistakenly assume that “stay alert” means “watch out for signs of the end times.” To Jesus in this context, “stay alert” is about staying attentive toward—and practicing—the way of Jesus every moment, every day.

The story about goats and sheep provokes a question: How does one become a sheep? The sheep imitate the shepherd, Jesus, and his way of tangibly loving others—feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and tending the sick.

After this third parable, the story darkens. Jesus inches closer to his crucifixion.

A woman anoints Jesus with expensive perfume, valuing him as the true King, loving him above anything else. Though Jesus’ disciples are shocked and confused, Jesus wants them to see her good attitude and recognize that she is alert and attentive to the right things.

Then Jesus faces his test in the garden of Gethsemane, the same test Adam and Eve faced in the garden of Eden. The first humans chose their own will over God’s. The result was loss of life. But Jesus stays alert. As you’ll see in today’s video, Jesus follows his own teaching—he keeps his attention on the Father’s will.

“Not my will, but your will be done,” he prays (Matt. 26:39), which does lead to his death. That death may be a loss of life, for a while, but it’s not the end of life.

Reflection Questions

• How would you summarize the opening three parables in today’s reading? What do they make you think about in terms of “being prepared” for God’s Kingdom? What questions do they raise?
• After Peter chops off a man’s ear, Jesus miraculously reattaches and heals the ear. He tells Peter to put away his sword, noting that everyone who uses violence to get their way will die by violence. How might Jesus’ quick healing of the ear challenge the disciples’ assumptions about God’s Kingdom? How might it challenge their ideas about the best way to engage with enemies and establish God’s Kingdom?