by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
As a prelude to the Olivet Discourse; the 5th great discourse in the Gospel of Matthew, we will briefly take a look at a pronouncement by our Lord Jesus related to this teaching event and the previous triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
Recall that Matthew 21:9 had a direct Greek translation of the first part Psalm 118:26 in Hebrew used in the acclamation of the Messiah-King as he triumphantly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. The Hebrew line was: בָּר֣וּךְ הַ֭בָּא בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה (“Baruk haba beshem Adonai”) which is translated as “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD” (https://biblehub.com/wlc/psalms/118.htm). “Adonai” is how Jews articulate, or pronounce the Tetragrammaton (4-Hebrew letter) name of God (i.e., LORD).
As stated before, the Greek of Matthew 21:9 for this part exactly matches the LXX translation of Psalm 118:26. Furthermore, we already learned that Psalm 118:26 is part of the entreaties a well as a praises to the LORD. But we now will see a different use for this acclamation: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”
The conflicts between the Lord Jesus and the Jewish authorities, Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes and other religious leaders come into sharper focus in the succeeding verses of chapter 21, 22, 23 and leads up to the Olivet Discourse in chapter 24.
The testy argument between the Lord and the ruling religious leaders goes on and on, even as the Lord keeps warning them of impending judgment for their unbelief. The Lord gives his warnings in the form of the parable of the wicked vine-growers in Matthew 21:33-46; alluding to the fate he expected for himself and his opponents. He warns them again in Matthew 22:1-14 with another parable: the parable of the wedding feast. Then in Matthew 23, the Lord not only warns these religious leaders opposing them, he now condemns them as he pronounces the “7 Woes” found in verses 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27 and 29. The Lord then pronounces judgment upon his opponents in verses 34-36. This is the context of the prelude judgment that would come upon the Temple (and their nation) and the Olivet Discourse about the End Times.
The prelude is actually found in Matthew 23:37-39. Here, the Lord Jesus grieves over the hard-hearts of the religious leaders and the unbelief of his nation. My NASB Study Bible points to an allusion to Ruth 2:12 for verse 37 (about an image of a hen gathering her chicks under her wings but the people were not willing). Then in verse 38, the coming desolation of the Temple, in particular, and Jerusalem itself is a close allusion to Jeremiah 22:5 (about the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.). Note that the common Hebrew word for the Temple in Jeremiah 22:5 is בּיִת (“bayith” meaning house; https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1004.htm). It is translated in the Greek Septuagint (LXX), as οἶκος (“oikos” also meaning house). And the Lord’s warning to his opponents in Matthew 23:38 uses the same Greek word and refers to this same οἶκος (“oikos” house; https://biblehub.com/greek/3624.htm). In the warnings found in Jeremiah 22:5 as well as in Matthew 23:38, this “house” or Temple (as well as Jerusalem) would be desolated (or in ruins). In both Jeremiah 22:5 and Matthew 23:38, the destruction would be future events.
Now in the next verse, the Lord repeats a clause he used during his earlier triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as part of his warning to the unbelieving religious leaders. Matthew 23:39 records that the Lord Jesus warns his opponents: they will not see him again until they realize and recognize who he really is. The Jews must declare: בָּר֣וּךְ הַ֭בָּא בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה (“Baruk haba beshem Adonai”); “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD” (see also Luke 19:41-44). The implications are eschatological and points to his Second Coming. It also sets a condition for his return. It is a prelude to the Lord’s teaching about the Last Days.
We will continue next week with the Olivet Discourse.
God bless us all.