Holy Week - Part 1

Hey all, 

Happy Holy Monday! Wanted to share some thoughts as we head into the week. This is mainly to keep my heart and mind on Jesus as Good Friday and Easter Sunday approach. 

May or may not share every day, but I’m aiming to. 

To set the stage: 

On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” My personal favorite account of Palm Sunday is in Luke 19. The city was likely in uproar, with hoards of people surrounding the road that Jesus was riding on. Their Savior was on the road! How could they be silent? 

But the Pharisees being the Karens that they are, try and get Jesus to tell everyone to calm down. And my favorite part of the story:

³⁹ And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

A response fitting only for the Creator of the Universe. 

And now we head to Holy Monday. 

The timeline of Holy Week, specifically Monday - Wednesday, is not clear from what’s written in the Gospels. Jesus taught many parables during this time, and it’s not immediately clear on what days he taught which parables. 

But Holy Monday does have 2 specific events that the Gospels of Matthew and Mark agree on: 

1. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

2. Jesus Cleanses the Temple

I’ll focus on those 2 events for today. 

Firstly, the fig tree. This passage always stumped me. Why would Jesus go to the fig tree looking for fruit and be angry about not finding any? Mark’s account even says, “it was not the season for figs” in Mark 11:13! And then to curse it so that it withers away? Seems a bit harsh. 

Here’s a fun fact that I learned today: Fig trees bear fruit at the same time they sprout leaves. So if the leaves are on the tree, you can assume that it will have fruit too. 

So when Jesus sees the tree from afar “in leaf,” he approaches assuming that there will be fruit there, even if it wasn’t the right season. (Mark 11:13)

Sound familiar? 

The unfortunate reality is that the church is filled with fig trees like this one. People who show outwardly that they believe in Christ, that they prayed the “sinner’s prayer” and think that they’re good to go. And yet they bear no fruit! 

2 Passages to consider:

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 

John 15:5-8

¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Colossians 1:10

Are we abiding in Jesus? Are we producing fruit? Can others see evidence of our belief in God when they look at our lives? 

Or are we fig trees with leaves but no fruit? 

Next, we come to the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. It’s a well-known scene, when Jesus overturns the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the people selling pigeons. 

¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Mark 11:17

2 things to note: 

• Jesus wants the Church to be a “house of prayer” 

• The Church is for all the nations

The first point might be a bit obvious. 

But how big of a priority is prayer in our churches today? Sure, we pray before we start worship and at the end of the sermon, but really, how important is prayer in our churches? In our lives?  

Think about what prayer is. 

Communication with God. The Creator of the Universe. And we get to commune with Him freely? What an incredible blessing and privilege that is! Being in the presence of God was literally something that was once exclusive to the high priest, once a year. And now you’re telling me that we get to live with the freedom to speak to God, to worship Him, to speak to Him? 

C’mon now. 

If that doesn’t get you going, I don’t know what will. 

The second point may not be as shocking to us in the modern age, since Christianity has spread to most of the nations already. But back then, the Jewish people were pretty exclusive about their religion. God didn’t mean it to be. And it shows by Jesus’s statement here. 

God had His plan from the very beginning, to bring all the people of the world to Him. To give us all access to Him. To life. 

I think that’s pretty cool. 

One last thought about the cleansing of the temple: 

It’s really easy for us to think we need to add things to church. We can get so excited about church programs, events, and activities. And all those things are great, don’t get me wrong. 

But in doing so we can sometimes lose focus of what it’s all about. It’s easy for church servants to get burnt out because we lose sight of why we’re serving. 

But what does God want from us?

To love Him and to love His people. 

It’s really that simple. But so easy to forget. 

Hope this wasn’t too rambling, but these were just some thoughts that I wanted to share. 

God Bless! 

-Caleb