After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said. Luke 19:47-48
After His fanfare entrance and then spending a full day in Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went back to spend the night in Bethany. There they prepared for another day of going into Jerusalem for Passover festivities. It was going to be another time that Jesus would use events to teach a deeper meaning to help His disciples understand the Kingdom of God.
On their way from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus saw a fig tree with leaves and said He was hungry. But once He got close to it, He could see there were no figs on it. So He made an object lesson out of it by cursing the tree, saying may it never be fruitful again. Although they heard Him speak to the tree, they wouldn’t understand the lesson until the following day.
As they entered Jerusalem Jesus made His way to the Temple, where what He saw broke His heart. The merchants who sold sacrificial animals to the people were not only overcharging the people, but selling blemished ones. These things were keeping the people from being able to truly worship God as He always intended. So He began to overturn their tables stopping them from hindering the worship and prayers of His people. God the Father has always wanted an intimate relationship with them and Jesus came to show us the Father, yet these merchants were causing others to miss out on that. Jesus knew how important prayer was to stay close to His Father, and He was not going to let anyone hinder that.
Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48
Something to Consider: Both the cursing of the Fig tree and clearing the Temple were lessons to show how we can let a religious spirit, distractions and compromise hinder our relationship with the Lord. The reason it happens is because we don’t see them. Ask Holy Spirit to show you what might be hindering your relationship with Him.
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