Holy Week: Tuesday, a long contentious day

 When Jesus came to Jerusalem,

   the chief priests, and the scribes and the elders,

   confronted him. (Mark 11:27)

The religious powers are ticked at Jesus for what happened Monday when he messed with their temple. When Jesus dares to show up the next day, they have at him. Jesus hangs around—he shows up, answers every accusation, and every challenge, and every question. By the end of the day, “no one ventured to ask Jesus any more questions” (Mk 12:34).

When the chief priests, scribes and the elders confront Jesus about that Monday thing, he responds with a story about a farmer who had two sons. The farmer, as Jesus tells it, “went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go.” Then Jesus asks “Which of the two did the will of his father?" They get it right: "The first." Jesus then says to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Mt 21:28-32). Or again, Jesus will say, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (Mt 21:43).

Those who control the temple do not control God. God remains free from all the powers to form a Kingdom of His Own taken “from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Rv 7:9).

Towards the end of this contentious day, a particular scribe—a singular individual, who was taken by how Jesus answered the manipulative questions of the powers, comes to Jesus with his own simple and honest question: “Which commandment is most important of all?" He asks, Jesus answers, “’…Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ And, second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’” Jesus likes him: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:28-34 & Mt 22:32).

I'm glad he asked the question? Without his question, we would not know. Jesus likes honest questioners. Maybe that’s why he adds “with all your mind” to the Shema’s “heart and soul and strength” (Dt 6:4-5). Jesus would often ask, “What do you think?” He likes how this scribe thinks—how he questions with an open and honest mind.