Passion Week Journey -- On Tuesday Jesus Taught in the Temple
On Sunday – Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem. He went into the temple and looked around, but it was late in the day, so He went back to Bethany. This triumphal celebration greatly angered and offended the Pharisees. Against their objections Jesus rode in like a king.
On Monday – Jesus entered Jerusalem again and walked straight to the temple. This time He cleared out the money changers and pigeon merchants who had turned the temple of the Lord into a marketplace. He taught the chief priests and scribes, saying, “My house shall be called a ‘House of Prayer’ for all nations. But you have made it a ‘Den of Robbers.’” Then He left the city once again, but the church leaders remained – plotting about how they may destroy Him because He proved to be a better priest than them.
On Tuesday – Jesus once again entered Jerusalem and walked straight into the temple. Immediately the church leaders and Pharisees surrounded Him like a street gang and challenged Him, “By what authority are You doing these things?” (Mark 11:28). Defiantly, Jesus then proceeded to tell them three parables, entertain a Q & A session, and then pronounce seven woes upon them. Jesus knew that they wanted to destroy Him and He now stood toe to toe against them. No matter what they threw at Jesus, He overwhelmed them with His teaching. My favorite verse in this whole Tuesday teaching section (Matthew 21:23-25:46; Mark 11:20-13:37; & Luke 20:1-21:28) is Matthew 22:46, “And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions.” They argued with God – and lost.
We need a Savior Who not only stands for us, but Who also stands defiantly against anything that tries to snatch us away. Romans 8:31-34 offers this encouragement and words of strength, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”
Its Tuesday – a day Jesus shut down the opposition. But it was also the last time He would ever enter the temple before being crucified less than 60 hours later. We face a virus crisis that threatens our bodies, but Jesus faced a sin crisis that threatened our soul – and He redeemed us by His blood. Let us cast all our anxieties upon Him, for He truly does care for us (see 1 Peter 5:7).