Monday's Wrath Teaches Lessons of Faith
The Holy Week may have started off with a blast of triumph and rejoicing but within a period of a few hours, on Monday, Jesus showed his wrath at the selling, trading marketplace in the place of worship. Jesus was establishing His house of worship as what He wanted it to be rather than what the money changers had decided it would be. Jesus said loud and clear so that his followers and His disciples could hold the standard high for the House of Worship, “My Temple will be a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Luke 19:46)
Jesus set out strong on Monday with specific guidelines that He wanted the disciples and the followers to know and speak to others about even after he was gone. The Pharisees may have been offended, but Jesus followers were not because they flooded to Him right after this asking for healing and shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David.” All these shouts of joy brought condemnation from the Chief Priests, Scribes and those that did not want to see Jesus with such a following.
Jesus encouraged the children and adults to praise Him and shout for joy but he rebuked the Elders by telling them, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise.” Then He walked away. Those who will mock us will never be appeases with our explanations, so Jesus set the example…… just walk away.
Then There was a Fig Tree
Then the fate of the fig tree. It may not have been so much that Jesus was hungry as He wanted to teach His disciples a lesson. The wilted dried up fig tree was the closest example of the power He had to change things and He wanted his disciples to understand they could have that same power. Later in the day when the group passed by the wilted dried up fig tree, the disciples were amazed.
Now was Jesus’ chance to teach about the power of faith over doubt. He also wanted to show that true faith is more than pompous religiosity. Living faith bears fruit in a person's life and that is how the world will know God’s Children. But Christ had another lesson to teach to His disciples that day standing in front of the fig tree. He said to them, If you have faith and doubt not, you can do even greater things than I have done to this fig tree in making it die.
He continued to tell them that with faith they can move mountains but there is a condition. You cannot doubt. Lastly, Jesus said one of the things that thousands of Christians have repeated down through the ages, “And all these things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Monday ends by Jesus lifting His followers up to the realms of all things being possible with faith.
Monday’s happenings are detailed in Matthew 21:12-22, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17.