Read Mark 11:12-19 and Matthew 21:12-14 (and see John 2:13-17)
Monday of Passion Week begins with a tree.
Yesterday, Jesus entered Jerusalem to wild acclaim—a forest of palm branches, cheering crowds, his disciples clearing a path for the humble beast and its humble rider. Today, Jesus returns to the Temple in Jerusalem to take care of unfinished business.
On the way, he and his disciples pass a grove of the fig trees that grow in abundance in this area. He approaches one particularly leafy specimen. This must mean early fruit. But no. Not one fig.
Let no fruit grow on you ever again.
Really? But with Jesus, nothing is ever insignificant, and tomorrow will reveal the why.
He continues determinedly into the city, through the masses of people. Jesus had already “cleansed” the Temple three years earlier. It did not stay cleansed. The noise and smells and traffic of merchants and buyers fill the courtyard.
In the temple complex moneychangers have a permanent presence—not to mention a guaranteed, lucrative income in the Passover business.
This time, instead of a whip, Jesus wields only His righteous anger, overturning tables and the seats of cheating currency traders. He is furious, shouting as He drives them away:
My house shall be called a house of prayer! You’ve made it a hangout for thieves!
At last there is room for the real work of that once-holy place. In the wreckage of graft and greed, the blind and the crippled approach him without fear. Come, he motions, I will heal you. And Jesus performs acts of healing and mercy in place of the sacrilege.
I have never thought of that scene in quite this way before. My mind sifts through what I’ve read. Righteous indignation for resolute transgression. Also, reverence and compassion. And that crown jewel of Christian discipline— prayer. Jesus draws attention to them all on this day, as both Judge and Savior.
“The opposite of love is not hate,” said holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, “indifference is.” One of the main reasons we preach and teach the absolute necessity of the Word and prayer is so we will know what is important to God. When we do, those things must be non-negotiable in our lives. No place for apathy or indifference.
As Monday draws to a close, Jesus returns to Bethany for rest in the house of his friends. He will need it in this week of all weeks.
The things so obviously important to Christ —are they important to you and me?