Holy Week: Monday

Jesus came to seek and save the lost, divide the righteous and unrighteousness with a sword, and fulfill the Law of Moses. On day one of what we call Holy Week, leading up to the Passion of Christ, we look back onto two different yet similar prophecies; Malachi 3:1-4 and Jeremiah 7:9-11

 

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.

4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.  (Malachi 3:1–4, ESV)

 

 

     “Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known? Then do you come and stand before Me in this house called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.” This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jeremiah 7:9-11)

Jesus now fulfills Malachi, but in a way the people would not have expected. He fulfilled it in a way that is more like the words written Jeremiah 7. 

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”  (Matthew 21:12–13, ESV) 

You see the Jewish leaders and Pharisees were using the temple to extort money from the people they were supposed to be leading to God’s favor. The gentiles were paying 2 and 3 times more for their sacrifices than they should have been, and the Pharisees and other leaders were pocketing the money. So yeah, Jesus came in and laid down His righteous anger upon them, flipping the tables and whipping the all out God’s House of prayer! 

The same way in which a lot of the world is today, sadly. They “believe” in Jesus, yet they pervert the Gospel to suit the sinful life in which they lead. You see, either Jesus is your King and you submit to Him as Lord…or you are the king of your life, and you submit to the enemy in rebellion against God. There is no other way, and this is likened to the table turning that Jesus did physically; we must allow Him to turn the tables of our own selfish desires, and let Him lord over us for God’s glory. 

 

Holy Week: Tuesday

Two separate passages come to mind, for me, on this Tuesday of Holy Week;  

Matthew 21:23-27 

 The Authority of Jesus Challenged 

 23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  

You see, the Sanhedrin is now challenging Jesus’ authority; they were confused, and intimidated by His teachings, and the authority in which He spoke to people. They were so worried that His TRUE teaching would tear down every bit of the falsehood that they had built and controlled the Jewish people by. They didn’t care that He was the Messiah and wouldn’t believe it because they were so worried about the traditions they had built, and that Jesus was taking “their” followers away. J 

Jesus knew this, and was certainly not going to tell them, as their hearts were hard, and their eyes were blinded by their own egos.  

The second passage that comes to mind for me, John 12:1-8, is a complete opposite of the last.  

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” 

We read here about Mary, Lazarus’ sister, took the expensive ointment and poured it out upon Jesus’ feet. This is a foreshadowing of His impending death on the cross; however, it is also a pouring out of love and worship by Mary unto Jesus. Directly after that, Judas Iscariot condemns her for “wasting” the ointment, but Jesus allows it and then explains that He will not be around forever, and that her praise and love for Him is warranted.  

The application I find in these two passages leads to one or the other. You are either trying to stand proud and known among the world, using “I’m a Christian” as a platform for self-gain. OR you are fully devoted to eternal life that Jesus has promised us in His payment for our sin. You pour out the “ointment” of your soul to Christ and forsake all things of this world.  

We must decide today, either we pick up our cross and follow Jesus, and lay down everything that isn’t glorifying to God, or you can pick and choose the things you feel are worthy of YOUR time. Which is the same as saying, “Jesus, I will take care of myself and fit you in where I find time.” Which side of the line do you choose?