Passion Week - Tuesday Devotional Thoughts

Tuesday (March 31, AD 33) was a full day for Jesus - sharing parables, answering questions, pronouncing judgment on the religious leaders and even sharing a prophecy regarding the future destruction of the temple. Matthew provides the most thorough account of Tuesday's events so I encourage you to take some time today to read Matthew 21:18-25:46.

Tuesday includes...

• Jesus cursing the Fig Tree
• Jesus authority challenged 
• Parable of the two sons 
• Parable of the tenants 
• Parable of the wedding feast 
• Jesus is questioned about taxes 
• Jesus is questioned about the resurrection 
• Jesus is questioned about the greatest commandment
• Jesus applies Psalm 110:1 to himself 
• Jesus pronounces "woes" on the Scribes and Pharisees (I love his creativity in this section)
• Jesus laments over Jerusalem 
• Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple 
• Parable of the ten virgins 
• Parable of the talents 
• Jesus speaks to the final judgment

So as you can see it was a "full day." Many of the passages and parables that we know well came to be on the Tuesday of Passion Week. But for the Scribes and Pharisees this day's interactions with Jesus only solidified their resolve to end him.

Jesus threatened their authority. Jesus humiliated them. This is why the Parable of the Tenants stands out to me among all of the other events. Matthew records this parable in 21:33-46. In the parable the Vineyard creator and owner (Yahweh) leaves his Vineyard (Israel) in the care of Tenants (Religious Leaders) but when the owner sends his servants (Prophets) to gather fruit from the vineyard the tenants beat one, killed one, and stoned another. This cycle continued, until finally the owner decided to send his own son (Jesus) saying, "they will respect my son." But they do not respect him, instead they plot against the son, desiring his inheritance for themselves, and kill him. Jesus asks, "what do you think the owner will do to those tenants?"

At the conclusion of the parable Matthew records, "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parable they perceived that he was speaking about them." Their perception was right.

Matthew records these words (which seem to bring Tuesday to a close), "When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, 'Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.'" Matthew 26:1-5

Did none of them make the connection between Jesus parable and their actions? Whether they did or not the wheels are turning and there is no stopping what is coming.