Who is this Jesus? — Cross and New Creation (Matt 26-28)

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Finally, we come to the end of the story. But, this is not just one story, but three—a story within a story within a story. These chapters form the climax not just for the story of Jesus, but also the story of Israel and the story of creation.

Perfect Obedience — The Story of Jesus

We began this story with God entering our world as a human, entering into our frailty as a newborn baby. We have seen him tempted as we are tempted. We have seen him suffer as we suffer. All of this culminates with Jesus sharing in the final inevitability of every human life—death.

Who is this Jesus? — End Matters (Matt 23-25)

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Coming into Matthew 23-25, we see Jesus deliver one more discourse, divided into three main sections—each reflecting on end matters and judgment.

Woes

First, Jesus launches into a series of seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees. This serves as a contrast to the beatitudes in the sermon on the mount—seven beatitudes and seven woes. Whether or not there is a one-to-one correlation is debatable, though there are certainly some parallels. For example, the first beatitude and woe both make reference to the kingdom of heaven. The fifth of each make reference to mercy, and the sixth both reference inner purity¹. Finally, both lists conclude with reference to persecution—the beatitudes blessing those who are victims of persecution and the woes pronouncing judgment on those that are perpetrators of persecution.