HOLY WEEK DEVOTIONAL DAY THREE: Courageous Tuesday

one church: columbus, ohio- Easter sunday

jesus confronts hypocrisy

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38.

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT: On Tuesday morning, Jesus returns to the Temple, where religious leaders had planned a strategy that we call entrapment. Entrapment is luring a person into committing a crime for the purpose of prosecution. They were upset with Jesus for establishing Himself as a spiritual authority. However, Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced harsh judgment on them, saying: “For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” We live in a time in history when standing for truth and doing the right thing is not always the popular thing. In Jesus' case, it sent Him to the cross and cost Him His life, but He “walked His talk” and called all followers to do the same.  Jesus sets a beautiful example of what it looks like to be aware of the culture of the day, and be led by God on how, when, and where to courageously stand firm in the faith…there is no better witness! An interesting note is that historians say it was on Tuesday that Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). Here hypocrisy is on full display and it is also called betrayal.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:  What areas of my life do I say are principles I believe but are not behaviors I practice?  How can I be passionate about my faith but also compassionate towards those around me so they feel Gods’ love and grace from my life and not judgment and hate? 

GUIDED PRAYER: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,courage to change the things I can,and wisdom to know the difference. Jesus, I commit myself to live out the principles and practices that You lived and taught.  I want to be righteous without appearing to be religious.  I can only do that by experiencing a close relationship with You, so help me to be authentic without being judgmental or hypocritical. Amen.

We would love for you to join us for Easter Services at One Church, Saturday 5:30pm and 7pm- Sunday at 9:00am, 10:30am and 12:00pm. CLICK HERE for more details.