Grant Fishbook, Lead Teaching Pastor
Three Moments on Holy Monday
1. A moment to
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. – Mark 11:11
What happens the next morning…
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” – Matthew 21:12-13
2. A moment of
The righteous anger of Jesus was , not regular.
Jesus was not by his anger.
Anger was the , not the rule.
Mark 11 tells the same story with some different details:
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” – Mark 11:15-17
Three reasons why Jesus was righteously angry:
- The money changers were turning what was supposed to be God’s house of prayer into a marketplace.
- The market cut off Gentiles from their place of worshiping the God of Israel.
- The temple had become a shortcut for travel, not a place of worship, reverence, and respect to the Lord.
3. A moment of
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. – Matthew 21:14
Small Group Questions
- What do you love or dread about Mondays?
- Do you have an issue with anger? Why or why not?
- Read Matthew 21 and Mark 11 for the whole context of Jesus flipping tables. What can you learn about your own anger from Jesus’ example? What does righteous anger look like in your own life?
- Review the reasons for Jesus’ anger. What else could you surmise was happening his heart that provoked his response?
- How could you reclaim some sacred space—clear your own temple courts—during this Easter season?
- How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?