WATCHWORD:
24 Blind guides! […] 27For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness […] 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” Matthew 23:24,27-28,33
Meditation:
Holy Tuesday
When we follow Jesus’ ministry, we find it filled with parables, miracles and teachings, but rarely think of Jesus as a prophet. That all changed on this Tuesday of Holy Week.
After spending Monday night in Bethany, Jesus and his disciples return to Jerusalem. Back in the Temple, the Pharisees and others renew their efforts to trap him. Jesus continued to teach and it was here that he made the shocking statement that this temple would be completely leveled, “Not one stone shall be left here upon another.” That prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD.
Jesus had another encounter with religious leaders who were upset with Him for creating a scene the previous day and for establishing himself as a spiritual authority. It was at this point that they set in place a plan to arrest Him, and found a cooperative disciple in Judas Iscariot.
Later that afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives where they had some privacy from the crowds. The disciples asked Him: “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?”. It was here that Jesus gave a lengthy and elaborate prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age, later referred to as the Olivet Discourse. In this time of instruction, He spoke in parables, using symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment. All of this can be found in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21.
After a tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, once again, Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany to stay the night. Wednesday would be a better day.
Prayer for Tuesday:
I bless you for the day you have made, Mighty Lord God, and pray that I may spend this day rejoicing in your creation. I pray for your Holy Spirit to fill me with the joy of my salvation, so that your light may shine through me into the world, that your honor and glory may be known to all people. Remind me of your blessings, I pray, with every tribulation I may face, so that I may act with energy, forgiveness and love, ever mindful of the grace You have shown to me. Through Christ I pray, Amen
