MATTHEW 21-25 MARK 11-13 LUKE 19-21 JOHN 12
It had been a busy week, and it wasn’t over yet. Things had started off with a bang and a parade, with Jesus looking like some Bizarro World version of a conquering king — riding into town on the back of a donkey with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of peasants throwing down their coats before Him and waving palm branches. It looked like the Messiah was coming to claim Jerusalem.
But all was not well.
The Pharisees complained about the level of excitement (Pharisees frequently do). Can’t you get those kids to calm down and be quiet? Jesus went toe-to-toe with the religious establishment and refused to back down. And He won, for the moment. The Pharisees lacked both the popular appeal and the official power to enforce their demands and could do nothing but stand there red in the face.
Jesus, however, did not rejoice in His temporary victory. Instead, He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He knew this would be the last time He would see the city like this. In a few short decades, Jerusalem would be ripped to shreds by the Romans. On top of that, He knew what this passionate week was going to cost Him. So He wept with undignified, gut-wrenching sobs.
Bright and early Monday morning, Jesus and His disciples made their way to the Temple. On the way there, He cursed a fig tree. Once He got there, He turned over the tables and benches where business was being transacted. People and animals scrambled this way and that. He had done this once before (Jn 2.13-25), but apparently His initial cleansing of the Temple had little or no lasting impact. So as a sort of bookend to His public ministry, He did it again.
The Sadducees must have joined the Pharisees now in their anger and hatred of this man. But He had the people on His side. If they tried to stop Him, they might have a real fight on their hands. And the ever-present Romans weren’t too far away, hands on swords, watching and waiting for their cue to quell a potential rebellion. And so they waited.
Tuesday was a day of conversation. Following two days of intense action, everyone wanted to have a word with Jesus. Some Greek people. Members of the Sanhedrin. Herodians. Sadducees. Pharisees. Regular folks. Everyone wanted to hear Jesus talk about who He was and what He intended to do. They questioned His identity, His authority, His politics, His eschatology, His ethics. The whole series of conversations built to a fever pitch, when Jesus launched into a tirade against the Jewish leaders (especially the Pharisees).
Afterward, He broke down in tears again. He had less than a week to live, and He knew it. Time was running out, and Jesus, meek and mild, seemed to have gone stark-raving mad!
If this is how the week begins, Lord only knows how it will end.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, the Law, the prophets and the other writings of the Hebrew Bible all pointed to You and anticipated, in unparalleled detail, the significant events of Your first and second comings. You are the Messiah. You came in humility as the suffering Servant in Your first advent, and I anticipate the day when You will come in power and glory as the reigning King in Your second advent. You are the Bread of life; You are the Light of the world; You are the Good Shepherd; You are the Resurrection and the Life; You are the Way, the Truth and the Life; and You are the True Vine. You did not come to be served but to serve, and to give Your life as a ransom for many. You came to seek and to save that which was lost. And You came to accomplish the work that the Father gave You to do. I glorify Your Name for who You are and for what You have done.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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