Passion Week Devotions 2021 – Tuesday
Tuesday, March 31, AD 33
On this day, Jesus and his disciples walk by the fig tree again and they see that it has withered. They are amazed at this, so Jesus uses this opportunity to teach them about exercising true faith in prayer. Later that morning, the crowds come to the temple to hear Jesus teach. Then the religious leaders confront Jesus, asking what right he had to drive out the moneychangers from the previous day? Jesus, in his classic form, replies to their question with a question of his own. “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” Oh boy. If they say, “From heaven,” then they would have to answer why they didn’t go to John, but if they answer, “From man,” then they would have to acknowledge that John was a fraud. They were stuck, so they said, “We don’t know.”
It was also on this day that Jesus gave a long teaching through parables. The fist was the parable of the two sons. Remember, the first son said, “I’ll do it,” and then didn’t do it; and the second son said, “I won’t do it,” and ended up doing it. In this parable, he was comparing the Jewish leaders with the first son, while common sinners were represented by the second son. Then, he shared the parable of the landowner and tenants -- another parable condemning the religious elite. This was followed by the parable of the wedding feast, once again criticizing the religious leaders who refused God’s invitation to his great banquet. Much more happened on this day; in fact, it was one of the busiest days of the week, but we’ll have to end it here.
Reflection:
Hypocrisy is a scary thing because sometimes we sometimes have no idea that we are being hypocritical. Hypocrisy aims to fool others into thinking we are something that we’re not, and in doing so we can even fool ourselves. That was the problem with the religious leaders. By the Gospel of Christ and the light of God’s Word, we must be on guard against our own hypocrisy. Jesus welcomes sincere, earnest worshipers of God, who acknowledge their need of Him.
