Paper 175 Overview: The Last Temple Discourse

Shortly after two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, Jesus arrived at the temple with his apostles and others to deliver his last speech there. His speech was meant to be his final appeal to the Jewish people and his final judgment against those who were trying to destroy him. The various groups had opportunities to question Jesus throughout the morning, but no one asked him anything during this final address.

The temple court was quiet as Jesus began to speak, very different from the previous day when he had driven out the money-changers. Jesus looked at his audience with tenderness before beginning his final public message of mercy along with his strong criticism of the false teachers and strict rulers of the Jews.

Shortly after two o'clock on this Tuesday afternoon, Jesus arrived at the temple with eleven apostles, Joseph of Arimathea, thirty Greeks, and other disciples. He began delivering his last speech in the sacred building. This speech was meant to be his final appeal to the Jewish people and his final judgment against those who were trying to destroy him—the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and the chief rulers of Israel.

Throughout the morning, various groups had opportunities to question Jesus, but no one asked him questions during this final address. The temple court was quiet as Jesus began to speak, very different from when he had driven out the merchants the day before. Before starting his speech, Jesus looked tenderly at his audience, who would soon hear his final public message of mercy combined with his strong criticism of the false teachers and strict Jewish rulers.

Jesus began by reminding the people that he had spent a long time traveling through their land preaching about the Father's love for all people. Many had seen the light and entered the kingdom of heaven through faith. The Father had performed many wonderful works, including raising the dead, but those who refused to see the light and rejected the gospel remained blind to the truth.

Jesus explained that he and his apostles had tried to live peacefully with their Jewish brothers, following Moses' laws and Israel's traditions. They constantly sought peace, but Israel's leaders rejected it by refusing the truth of God and the light of heaven. Jesus warned that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed because they did not recognize the time of their divine visit, and they were about to reject God's gift, causing all people to reject them.

The fact that Jewish religious leaders once rejected Jesus and worked to bring about his cruel death does not affect how God views any individual Jew. This should not cause followers of Christ to be prejudiced against Jews. The Jewish nation paid a terrible price for rejecting the Prince of Peace and stopped being the spiritual light-bearers to mankind.

This does not justify making individual Jews suffer for what happened long ago. Many times, this unreasonable and un-Christlike hatred has caused innocent Jews to suffer and die, even though their ancestors accepted Jesus' gospel and died for that truth. Kingdom believers must stop mistreating individual Jews as if they were guilty of rejecting Jesus. God and Jesus have never stopped loving the Jews, and salvation is available to Jews just as it is to non-Jews.

At eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, the important meeting of the Sanhedrin was called to order. Many times before, this supreme court of the Jewish nation had informally decided that Jesus should die. But this time, just before midnight on Tuesday, April 4, A.D. 30, the Sanhedrin officially and unanimously voted to give Jesus and Lazarus the death sentence.

This was their answer to Jesus' last appeal to the Jewish rulers that he had made in the temple just hours earlier. It showed their bitter anger toward Jesus' final strong criticism of the chief priests and unrepentant Sadducees and Pharisees. By passing the death sentence before even giving Jesus a trial, the Sanhedrin rejected the last offer of heavenly mercy that would ever be given to the Jewish nation as a whole.

After Jesus finished his last speech in the temple, the apostles were once again confused and upset. Judas had returned to hear the second half of Jesus' speech, but unfortunately missed the first part where Jesus offered mercy. While listening to Jesus' strong criticism of the Jewish leaders, Judas finally decided to leave the gospel movement completely.

That night, while the Sanhedrin was deciding to put Jesus to death and while Jesus was with his apostles on the Mount of Olives predicting the destruction of the Jewish nation, everyone in Jerusalem was seriously discussing just one question: "What will they do with Jesus?" The Sadducees wanted to kill Jesus because they feared his popularity threatened the nation, his temple reform affected their money, and they worried about the social impact of his brotherhood teachings. The Pharisees wanted him dead because he opposed their authority, they thought he broke the law, they accused him of blasphemy, and they were angry about his criticism of them.