“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city.
As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.””
Have you ever known someone who seemed to just be going through the motions?
Jesus has finally reached Jerusalem for the last time.
As He approaches the city, He sends two disciples to find a colt. Then He rides into Jerusalem while crowds spread their cloaks and branches along the road, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
and welcoming Him as the One who comes in the name of the Lord. In Jesus’ day, when a king entered a town, it was common for the people to come out of the town and escort him in with songs and celebration.
Jesus is entering Jerusalem as a king.
But He is not the kind of king many expected. He does not arrive on a warhorse at the head of an army. He comes humbly, riding on a colt, fulfilling what God had promised through the prophets.
He has not come to overthrow Rome. He has come to overthrow a greater power.
The next day Jesus enters the temple and finds people buying, selling, and exchanging money. He drives them out, declaring that God’s house was meant to be “a house of prayer for all the nations,” but they had made it a den of robbers.
Jesus is not simply angry about commerce taking place in a religious building. The temple was supposed to be the place where sinners came into the presence of God, where sacrifices were offered and God’s mercy was proclaimed. Yet the religious system itself had become corrupt, both in how it carried out the religious duties with the Jews, but also in that the Jews had not been a light to the Gentiles as they were supposed to be.
The King has come, and He is judging what He finds.
That helps explain the fig tree surrounding this account. Jesus finds leaves but no fruit, and the tree withers after His judgment. Like the tree, Jerusalem’s religious life may have looked impressive, but outward appearances could not substitute for genuine faith. There was no genuine fruit of repentance and faith.
That warning applies to us as well.
It is possible to have the outward appearance of Christianity while our hearts remain far from God. Church attendance, religious knowledge, and Christian habits are good, but none of them can replace faith in Christ.
Thankfully, the King who exposes empty religion has come to do more than condemn it.
Jesus is heading toward the cross, where the old system of sacrifices will find its fulfillment in Him. He will offer Himself once for sinners and open the way into God’s presence. He would then send His Word into the world to lead people of all nations to repentance and to create faith in their hearts. Thankfully, He comes to us humbly, like Jesus on the colt, and for our salvation.
So our confidence is not in how religious we look.
It is in the King who came to save us.
Let’s pray…
Lord Jesus,
Forgive me when my faith becomes merely outward habit. Keep my heart fixed on You and Your saving work. Thank You for coming as my King and giving Yourself for me.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
