On the Monday of Holy Week

The day after Palm Sunday, Jesus walked the same path down the same mountain through the city as he did the day before, but there was no fanfare on the road or at the temple. All that greeted him was a fig tree with no fruit – a symbol of the spiritual climate of the people who did not turn their hearts toward them. Jesus turned to the plant and exclaimed: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” He struck the land with a curse.

In the city, he cleared the temple of the money changers who had made it a den of robbers rather than a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). This was a direct reference to Isaiah 56:6-7, which states, “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him…and who hold fast to my covenant- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

This was a direct reference to the covenant! You see, the Temple in Jerusalem at that time was surrounded by four outer courts which were considered more sacred as you came closer to the temple, entering from the east to west. Depending who you were, you could only get so close to the Temple, which is clearly indicated by the names of the courts. The first court one would come upon was The Court of the Gentiles, then The Court of the Women, the Court of Israel, and the Court of the Priests. These merchants who were exchanging money were set up directly in the Court of the Gentiles making the only area for Gentiles to worship completely inaccessible. They couldn’t come close to the temple, let alone offer sacrifices. God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 was that he would be blessed in order that he might be a blessing to all nations. Israel had forgotten the covenant.

When the chief priests and the teachers of the law heard what Jesus had done, they began looking for a way to kill him (Mark 11:18). Jesus had expected welcome and worship; he received only murder plots. Jesus prayed in his heart, “Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors… I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life” (Psalm 31:11, 13).