Holy Week
“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. Mark 11:14 ESV
For us, many Mondays are “quiet” because we’ve had a busy Saturday and Sunday.
For Jesus, the first day of the week (Palm Sunday) was indeed a busy day, beginning with his ride into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey’s colt. After a busy day, Jesus retraced the steps of the colt back over the Mount of Olives, returning to the village of Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. (Mark 11:11)
The next morning Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem. Along the way they came upon a fig tree having no fruit. The fig tree had spent all its energy producing leaves, not figs. Jesus said: “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” It wasn’t a loud sermon, but a quiet word on the way.
The noise on Monday of Holy Week didn’t come from Jesus, but from those who exchanged money and sold pigeons in the temple. There was a place for sales, but it wasn’t in the temple. The temple was to be a place of quiet meditation and prayer. The loud haggling made that difficult, if not impossible. Jesus drove the earthly-minded loudmouths from the Temple courts.
Today let’s make it a quiet day. Let’s take some time for quiet meditation on God’s Word. Let’s speak with our God in prayer. The shouts of “Hosanna” still ring in our ears, and they remind us that God hears our prayers because Jesus went the way of the cross and the grave. He is God’s Anointed Savior.
Bowed down beneath a load of sin, By Satan sorely pressed,
By wars without and fears within, I come to Thee for rest.
The Lutheran Hymnal 456:3