The Days Leading up to the Best Day Ever
Let’s start with Palm Sunday, the day Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem and began His last week of ministry on the earth. He told the disciples they no longer had to be quiet about who He really was. He rode down the Mount of Olives and into Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed donkey’s colt. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord’s. Instead of demanding a show horse covered with royal cloths, He rides a donkey covered with the cloaks of His disciples. This is humility. The people cheered, threw down their cloaks and palm leaves to cover the road, singing “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” The people understood that He was the Messiah, but they didn’t understand that it wasn’t time to set up the temple just yet. They wanted Him to save them politically and nationally, but He came to offer something far better - spiritual salvation. When He didn’t meet their selfish expectations, their praises diminished and later in the week changed to “Crucify Him”. Are we guilty of the same? Do we praise Him and declare His goodness when we get our way, but let our praises wane when we don’t understand His ways? Pause and ask yourself - here during this difficult time we are experiencing (Social Distancing during the Coronavirus), is our belief sound or are we questioning Him?
As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, He arrived at the temple and was saddened by what was taking place there. He “cleansed” the temple by throwing out those who were dishonoring it. He reminded them, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”. The blind and lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them. The children shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The chief priests and scribes who were indignant asked, “Do you hear what they are saying?”
He went out of the city to Bethany where He was staying. As he returned to the city in the morning, He and the Disciples saw a fig tree covered with leaves. He was hungry and desired to eat the fruit. It looked full of promise - but was empty and bore no fruit. He cursed the tree and it withered away. Hmm... why did He do that? Here are some takeaways from this event.
A fig tree was a symbol for the nation of Israel.
Cleansing the temple and withering the tree, Jesus was forecasting His coming judgement and the power and authority to carry it out.
Religion is not enough. We may look good on the outside, but Jesus is concerned with our heart. When we have a relationship with Him, we bear spiritual fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
God judges fruitlessness. Jesus said that He is the vine and those who abide in Him will “bear much fruit”. (John 15:5-8)
James echoed this truth as well when he said, “Faith without works is dead.” So, believing “in” is not the same as believing “on” Jesus and having a personal relationship with Him. Our love for Jesus propels us to be obedient to Him and to love as He loved and serve as He served.
The withering fig tree also served to teach the disciples that faith works miracles and is the basis for answered prayer.
Jesus came into the temple only to have the chief priests and the elders of the people question His authority. Here they were -face to face with Jesus- and they just did not get it. They were self-righteous and refused to believe. Jesus shared the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, and the Parable of the Wedding Feast. (Take a few minutes to read them in Matthew 21 & 22.) All three focused on the acceptance or rejection of Jesus. The priests and elders were stung by His words, although they did not have Paul’s teachings to help them understand like we do. Still, they despised Jesus and His message. Can you imagine? They could have sat at the feet of Jesus and learned so much. Instead, they clung to their pride and were blind to the truth.
So... they plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. They prepared trick questions. The Pharisees asked about taxes. The Sadducees asked about marriage in Heaven, and the Scribes asked about the greatest commandment. Of course, Jesus answered truthfully.
This was the day Jesus told of the widow who gave two mites and those 2 mites were worth much because she gave out of devotion to God - not to impress others. Then He spoke the 8 Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees. Remember? He called them hypocrites and said they “cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. “ It’s not about how we appear to be - it’s all about the condition of our heart. ❤️
In Matthew 23:37 Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Jesus left the temple. (The first temple was built by Solomon and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The second was completed in 516 B.C. under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. It was completely and lavishly renovated by Herod the Great 20 B.C. - A.D. 64. Only 6 years after completion the Romans destroyed it. Today a Muslim mosque sits on the site.) He and His disciples went up to the Mount of Olives. He predicted the destruction of the temple. He sat and the disciples asked Him when these things would happen, what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age. He shares what should be expected in the last days, about the great tribulation and His return. (Matthew 24) As He often did, He taught through the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins and The Parable of the Talents. He told them the Son of Man will Judge the Nations.
He finished by saying to His disciples, “You know that after two days is Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” He went to the home of Simon the leper where the woman with the alabaster flask poured costly oil on His head and feet. The expensive oil teaches us of the value of His death and the cost of devotion to Him.
In the meantime - the chief priests, scribes and elders met at Caiaphas’ house to plot how to take Jesus and kill Him. Judas asked them how much they would give him if he delivered Jesus to them. They offered him 30 pieces of silver - the price of a slave.
We will stop here today. Things are getting dark in our story. The disciples had assumed that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to overtake the government and reign. They assumed they would sit at His right hand. Things were not going as they thought. It makes me stop and think, what would I have done - remained faithful or failed Jesus? Isn’t that the question we should ask ourselves every single day? Will we remain faithful or will we fail Him? Friday was dark - black dark, Jesus was dead, they were hopeless. Oh, but… Sunday is coming! (See pics from Jerusalem below.)
Stay tuned for a special blog post on Saturday morning recapping the rest of this amazing week! Let the celebration begin! Sunday is coming!!!!! Hope is on it’s way!
(And… in case you missed it, you can participate in a free video series called, Unstuck. Most of us understand this place, regardless of what we call it - stuck, in a pit, complacent. God has a plan for you. If you are not stepping boldly into that plan, you might want to sign up so you can experience the MORE He came to offer you. Let’s get Unstuck! Click and sign up so you can receive encouragement to step into the purpose God has for you. This is a separate sign up. You must sign up to receive the videos.)
If you are not sure that you have believed on Jesus, today is a great day to do so! Sunday is coming! Hope is on it’s way! Hope has a name and His name is Jesus! He can be yours and you can be His. All you need to do is first confess that you are a sinner and cry out to Him and ask for forgiveness, feel your shame wash away. Acknowledge who He is and what He has done for you. Declare that you believe Jesus is the Messiah and that God sent Him so that if we believe on Him we could have everlasting life. He was crucified to be the sacrificial lamb for our sins, His blood covers us, washes us clean. He arose and ascended to the right hand of God. He lives! Ask Him into your heart, to sit on the throne of your life. Make Him your King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Tell others what you have done. Tell me! Then get busy getting to know Him. How? Read His Word, study it, talk to Him, listen to Him, grow to now Him more and more and more until you see Him face to face. (Plan of Salvation offers scriptures to help you know ask Jesus into your heart.)
