easter week: the crowd begins to turn

Have you ever felt a shift in the people around you?

Just one day praising Jesus in the streets, the crowd began to turn - partially because Jesus cleansed a holy place from misuse, strangely cursed an unproductive fig tree and was praised by local children. For Him, it was important that everyone know eternal things matter... that He wasn't just their homeboy... that holiness, honor and fruitfulness matter; yet, for them, they wanted to tame Jesus into being their errand boy for a government uprising... that He might overthrow Rome's power so a new group of people might remake the world in their own image.

Have you ever felt a shift in the people around you?

Maybe it was always there. Perhaps those people had a motive you didn't know about, and it only took a day to be revealed. Or maybe they were your fan until you said "one thing" they disagreed with, and suddenly they targeted all of you.

As you nod your head, consider - what disruption might Jesus cause between your Palm Sunday and Holy Monday? He wouldn't do it to be mean (which might be our read) but to create a cleansing in you... to remind you to be productive... to let even the words of children sting with Truth you need to hear.

Have you ever felt a shift in the person inside of you?

Imagine yourself in the First Century.

Would you sharply stick with Jesus...

or would you grumble for something sharp to be stuck into Him?

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)