Holy Tuesday Devotion March 26, 2024

RISING TENSIONS

“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) 

On Tuesday, following his clearing of the temple according to Mark, tension between Jesus and religious authorities began to rise, thus, setting the stage for the epilogue of God’s redemptive story told to us through the life and death of Jesus Christ. The chief priests and the elders had either observed or heard of Jesus exercising his authority in the temple the day before. Now just as a pack of wolves would surround its prey to devour it, the religious leaders gathered before Jesus to trick him so that they might discredit him and condemn him to folly. With every attempt to trick Jesus through their flawed earthly assumptions and their misunderstanding of the scriptures, the religious leaders missed the true wisdom and truth offered to them by Jesus. Though they sought to criticize and condemn Jesus, they could find no fault in him as Jesus is the source of all wisdom and truth. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that true knowledge and power comes from the fear of the Lord, as it is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. However, the religious authorities saw wisdom through their own eyes, while Jesus attempted to change their view to see true wisdom through God’s eyes.

As you reflect on the several moments of rising tension between Jesus and the religious authorities described in Matthew chapters 21 and 22, consider for your own lives what it means to seek and find truth that can only be found through Jesus Christ. Though the world might consider the ways and the teachings of Jesus to be foolishness, as believers we know the wisdom of Jesus is far from that. It is not foolishness, but it is the gospel that is the power of God, bringing salvation and eternal life to all believers.

Prayer: Dear Lord, may we always trust in your authority and in your word. You are the source of all truth which is the holy sibling of both wisdom and understanding. May we seek all truth, wisdom, and understanding through God’s eyes and not through our own eyes or the eyes of the world. In faithfulness to the reign of Christ. Amen.  

Contributed by Dwight O. Peace