198 The Authority of Jesus is Challenged Matthew 21 B

In the second half of Matthew 21 the authority of Jesus is challenged by the religious people who fled from the temple when Jesus arrived and sent everyone out that had made it a market rather than house of prayer. Jesus then tells the story of the two sons who the father asked to work in the vineyard. Jesus is illustrating the first shall be last and the last first yet again. The tax collectors and prostitutes who were the last in the religious people's minds were actually going to be the first into the kingdom of Heaven. The religious leaders were the last in Jesus eyes. The chapter concludes with the story of the parable the Evil Farmers with which Jesus draws them in to actually condemning themselves without realizing it util it was too late. The pdf can be found at www.rediscoveringgod.ca