Holy Week Tuesday

Holy Week

Tuesday

Scripture References-

Fig Tree Withered- Mark 11:20-25 (Matthew 21:18-22)

Jesus Teaching in the Temple (confrontation with religious leaders)- Matthew 21:28-23:39 (Mark 11:27-12:44, Luke 20:1-21:4)

Jesus Teaching about the End of the Age- Matthew 24:1-25:46 (Mark 13:1-37, Luke 21:5-38)

Jesus Anointed at Bethany- Matthew 26:6-13 (Mark 14:1-9, John 12:1-11)

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus- Matthew 26:14-16 (Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:1-6)

Tuesday was a very busy day for Jesus. He arose early and went to the temple with His disciples. On the way, they passed the fig tree that He had cursed on Monday. The disciples were amazed that it had died. Jesus used the opportunity to teach them about faith. When they arrived at the temple, the religious leaders approached Him and started asking Him questions to try to trap Him. They knew that the people believed He was the Messiah and they wanted to trap Him into saying something that was against their beliefs and traditions. They demanded to know who gave Him the authority to teach and perform miracles. He didn’t fall into their trap and instead told three parables that they recognized were a rebuke of them and their teachings. They again tried to trap Him by asking Him if they should pay taxes to Caesar, about marriage in the resurrection and about the greatest commandment. He answered all of their questions and they were unable to trap Him. Matthew 22:46 says that no one was able to say a word in reply and from that day on no one asked Him questions. He warned against outward ways of trying to impress people like standing up saying long prayers and giving money where people could see you. He stressed that God is concerned with our hearts and not how we appear on the outside.

After His exchange with the leaders in the temple, He and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives where He spent the rest of the day teaching them about His Second Coming and the Last Days. He spoke to them in parables and stressed the importance of being prepared because we do not know when He will return. We must be diligent so that when He returns He will find us faithfully following Him.

That evening they went to Bethany for dinner. Martha, the sister of Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead a little over a week earlier was preparing a meal in honor of Jesus. Mary, her sister, took a bottle of perfume and poured it over Jesus’ head and feet and the aroma filled the house. Judas became angry and told her she had wasted the perfume and she should have sold it and given it to the poor. Jesus explained that she was preparing Him for burial and that wherever the gospel was preached, what she did would be told in memory of her. She gave this precious gift out of love and reverence for Jesus. He had given her back her brother. She believed He was the Messiah and she was demonstrating her love to Him with this gift. She probably did not understand the significance of what she was doing. Jesus had told his followers that He was going to die, but they didn’t seem to understand. They were not prepared for what was ahead.

When Judas left the group that night, he went to the chief priests and asked them what they would pay him to hand Jesus over to them. He agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.