He passes. Matthew 22.

For some reason, the series of tests that Jesus goes through in Chapter 22, reminded me of a scene in one of our family's favorite movies, The Court Jester. There really is no comparison in terms of importance or application to our life, but sometimes that's the way my mind works. In fact, in the movie scene, there is no merit at all in the fact that the jester, played by Danny Kaye, passes. Whereas, Jesus not only passes with merit, but rebukes and teaches in the process. And even though this is deadly serious business for Jesus, considering what will happen in just a few days, there is also something farcical in the behavior of the various groups trying to trap Jesus.

If you don't know the movie, here's the wikipedia entry. Briefly, in the movie which is a comedic Robin Hood-like tale, Danny Kaye poses as a court jester to infiltrate the castle of the king, who has usurped the throne from the rightful heir. Needless to say, he goofs up and is entangled in a series of misadventures culminating in him being mistaken as the notorious Black Fox. The king can't just kill him outright, because his daughter the princess is in love with him. So he decides that if this jester becomes a knight, then he can be challenged by the grim and grizzly Griswold to a battle for the hand of the princess. Pretty goofy so far, huh? You may remember the dialog just prior to their contest -- "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true."

Here's the scene I was thinking of this morning. The king wants the jester to be a knight, but to become a knight requires successful completion of a series of arduous tasks, which could take years to accomplish. Frustrated, the king decides to speed things up:

King Roderick: Rules of Chivalry be hanged! Ravenhurst, take that nincompoop, and knight that nincompoop by noon tomorrow!

Here's the screenplay for the scene (Hawkins is Danny Kaye):

Captain of the Guard: [Hawkins is being tested for Knighthood] He must scale a wall in full armor.
[Hawkins is tossed over the wall]
Captain of the Guard: Candidate passes!
[later]
Captain of the Guard: He must bring down a hawk in full flight.
[a hawk with an arrow is tossed on the ground]
Captain of the Guard: Candidate passes.
Hawkins: But I didn't even shoo...
Captain of the Guard: [shouts] Candidate passes!
[later]
Captain of the Guard: He must capture a wild boar with his bare hands.
[a piglet comes out of a chute followed by sound effects of splashing in the mud]
Captain of the Guard: He passes!

If you know the movie, you're probably at least smiling. If not, you can borrow my copy. The knighting ceremony that follows is hilariously slapstick.

Back to the Bible. Jesus is in Jerusalem after His entry into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. After teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus is challenged in turn by the Pharisees' disciples (under direction of the Pharisees and accompanied by supporters of Herod), some Sadducees, and then one particular Pharisee described as an expert in the religious law. And in each case -- He passes!

Each of these verbal tests was designed to trap Jesus into either saying something the leaders could object to or something the people would object to. Not only does Jesus work His way out of these tests, but He incorporates a useful teaching in the process. This is the teacher that I want to be like! He passes. Quickly. Elegantly. Truthfully. Even compassionately, when you take into account all who would be hearing the lesson.

And He'll pass the harder test that lies ahead.