Holy Week - Monday

Monday of Holy Week

There were two responses from the crowd in Jerusalem on Monday. The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but the children praised Him.
 
We also see how the lame and blind came to Him for healing and how everyone hung on His every word.

What is your response to Jesus during this Holy Week?

Will you trust His word? Will you seek healing from Him? Will you praise Him?

Let’s let Jesus clean out our temple so we can live for Him.

Mark recorded, “The next day [Monday] as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it’ (Mark 11:12-14).

Regarding Monday, Matthew documented, “Jesus entered the temple area [in Jerusalem] and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant. ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked him. ‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night” (Matthew 21:12-17).

Luke described Monday in his writings. “[B]ut the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words (Luke 19:47a-48).

From John’s report, we can now recognize that Jesus cursing the fig tree and cleansing out the Temple foreshadowed the coming destruction of the Temple in AD 70. God is not pleased with the people of Israel's rebellion. The people of Israel act like they are bearing fruit with all their activity in the Temple, but their efforts are fruitless, just like the fig tree. When there is no fruit, the branches need to be cut off (John 15:1, 2).

The people of Israel need to accept Jesus and His message. They need to remain in the Vine so they can bear fruit, and we need to remain in the Vine so we can bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).

“[Jesus said,] I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Jesus cleared the Temple, running those selling and buying out of the Court of the Gentiles so God’s people could worship. He wanted people who had come to worship to be able to worship in peace. If we are going to be able to worship, we need to let Jesus clear out our temple. As Christians, we are the Temple of God.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

What do you need Jesus to clean out of your temple so you can worship Him and bear fruit in His name?

What sin are you continually committing that you need Jesus’ cleansing power to heal?

What fruit of the Spirit do you need to grow in so God is glorified?

It is painful for Jesus to turn over the tables of our hearts, but it is necessary for our Eternal Life.