Monday – Cleansing of the Temple
March 29, 2010 (Monday)
(Read Mat 21:18-19,12-13 Mar 11:12-18 Luk 19:45-48). After visiting Jerusalem on Sunday, Jesus spent the night in Bethany. On Monday morning, He returned with His disciples. On the way, he was hungry and saw a fig tree in the distance, but when they arrived at the tree, they found it bore no fruit. Jesus said, “No one will ever eat fruit from you again!” Clearly this was an object lesson for His disciples, with the fig tree symbolizing Israel, whose rejection of their Messiah would bring about His crucifixion in four days. It was also a lesson about faith, as he would explain the following day when they would find the fig tree dead.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went into the Temple and drove out the merchants, saying to them, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”
(Read John 12:20-50). Afterwards, some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the festival came to His disciples, and said, “We want to see Jesus.” When Jesus was told, he responded by exclaiming, “The hour is now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory.” He went on to say that His death would mean glory to God, declaring, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” He was referring to death on the cross.
He continued to speak about His mission to bring salvation and light to the world which lay in darkness. Many were confused, because they could not think of a suffering and dying Messiah. Some of the Jewish leaders believed in Him, but kept it to themselves because they were afraid of what people might say.
And so it began. Monday evening He and His disciples returned to Bethany, and Day 2 of Holy Week came to a close.