There are moments that are electric with building tension. Careful, don’t drag your feet on the ground, it might set off a spark. For some churches this describes every business meeting. It hasn’t been my experience, but I have heard stories fraught with outbursts of anger and smoldering hatred. And usually, this tension is between two opposing forces; two lions roaring out their dominance. And those who haven’t chosen sides are singed by the heat or even kicked out of the pride. Wait a minute. Come to think on it, this was my experience in the first church I worked with. Well, hmmm.
Luke 21:37-22:2 is all about building tension. And the time frame is all about national expectation. Many of the Jews believed that the Passover would be the perfect time for the Messiah to reveal himself. And here was this miracle working Jesus teaching in the Temple every day. Was this the moment? Would he secure an army and do battle with the Romans? Would he do away with the corruption within the Sanhedrin? The Qumran community believed that the only way the Jewish people could be cleansed was from the top down. They believed that the nation was in need of pruning and the first to go, in their minds, would be the leaders. I wonder how many of the average Joes among the Jews felt the same way. So, in this tension filled moment, Jesus is teaching by day and staying on the Mount of Olives by night.
I can find no evidence that he camped out in an underground olive press. It makes a nice assumption to fit someone’s theory. Here is what we know: many people camped outside of the city during the Passover and the weeks leading up to the Passover. Jerusalem would swell beyond capacity during this pilgrimage feast. And Jesus is identified among several other pilgrims who do not live in Jerusalem or have family members who live in Jerusalem; basically an outsider. He is teaching in the Temple with authority; teaching to an eager crowd who rise up early in the morning to get the good places. And at night, like every other pilgrim, he is camping outside of the city. And maybe we are intended to see the incongruity here. The Messiah is not a Jerusalem insider. If he were, he may not have been so disliked by the Jerusalem insiders. His teaching was God-breathed, but his daily resting was ordinary pilgrim resting. There is tension here as well, isn’t there?
And amidst this tension the Feast of Unleavened Bread; the Passover; is drawing near. Building. Electric. Luke uses these feast terms as if they are the same. They are not. The Passover, eaten on the 14 of Nisan, was a memorial feast, commemorating the Exodus out of slavery; the coming to the Promised Land; the becoming the people of God. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the 14th of Nisan but it lasted seven days. All leaven was to be swept out of the house. If anyone ate leavened bread during this feast they were to be kicked out of the camp. A phrase, which here means, no longer an Israelite. This feast was a yearly reminder that sin is not to be played with. There are many Jewish sources that combined the ideas of these feasts. They are technically differently, but so closely aligned that they became synonymous. This is intended to be a building of tension. Jesus is popular; the people eagerly pop out of bed to listen to him teach in the temple. He is one of them. He isn’t one of the elite. The Passover is the perfect time for the coming of the Messiah; for cleaning house; for going to war with the Romans; for establishing the nation of Israel as the predominant nation; the nation that all other nations come to for sustenance.
Now take a glance at the chief priests and the scribes. We may be intended to see the Sanhedrin here. The religious and political leaders of the Jews. They are not eagerly listening to Jesus teach. They are not eagerly anticipating the possibility. They may despise Rome, but Rome had become comfortable and a source of stability. They don’t want to disrupt that apple cart. See them there seeking for an opportunity to kill Jesus. They are looking for a Jerusalem insider to be the Messiah. Not someone who is a pilgrim. But they are afraid of his popularity. Ah, the tension.
Some tension is good. There ought to be tension between our expectations and the reality of God. That tension can be good. But only if we are willing to submit our expectation to that reality. This is never easy. Not for anyone. But better. Yes. So much better. There ought to be tension between what we want and God’s will. Same deal. And when others don’t like it, just smile and keep the tension electric.