Palm Sunday to Wednesday: What Jesus Did

Palm Sunday to Wednesday of Holy Week

Let’s say you know you are going to suffer a painful, tragic death by the end of the week. How would you invest your time? Would you make sure you said final goodbyes to friends and family? Would you live loose and wild to fill your earthly dreams? Jesus focuses on teaching His disciples and corrects the religious leaders who were leading people astray.

The famed entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey brings to mind great imagery. But what did Jesus focus on after His hero’s welcome? In the gospels we get the picture of Jesus' final week on earth. I will use the Gospel of Matthew here.

Jesus cleanses the temple. The corruption and greed that had crept into the synagogue surrounding the practice of sacrifice was heartbreaking to Jesus. The act that was meant to cleanse and heal and restore became just another mechanism for those in power to get richer and for the greedy to take advantage of the poor. Jesus turned the tables on this practice, literally.

Sunday evening was not spent in the city spending every last minute to address crowds. Instead Jesus and His disciples seek quiet and safety outside of the city, they leave Jerusalem and spend the night in Bethany.

Monday they walk back to Jerusalem, but Jesus is hungry. He approaches a fig tree, even though it is not the season for figs, he expects to find fruit anyway. When no fruit is on the tree Jesus curses the tree. When His disciples marvel, He teaches that faith will move mountains and whatever you believe you can have in faith will be received. The episode reminds us to be available to give fruit no matter what the season.

Throughout Holy Week, Jesus corrects and declares His divine authority to the Pharisees and religious leaders. He divides the politics and hypocrisy of the Jewish councils. They were given leadership to protect and serve the common people, but instead they became the stumbling block that kept people out of God’s presence.

Jesus spent time on the Mount of Olives with His disciples, giving them insight into what was going to happen, the destruction of the temple, and how to discern when the end times would come. He had a heart for the lost which included His disciples. He gave them the very best chance to endure what was about to come.

Curiously Jesus added warnings: that the disciples not be deceived by antichrists, and to pray that the destruction does not come in the winter, or on the Sabbath. I cannot guess exactly why Jesus instructed His followers to pray for the events to be stayed from winter and Sabbath, but He gave the instruction so we should heed His warning. (I will need to spend more time on this!)

Jesus did give hope in this instruction. That God has already shortened the time of the tribulation. Out of mercy and for the purpose that some might be saved, the tribulation would be bearable. The God of mercy granted that His wrath was not fiercer than His Love for us!

“And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:23)