James and John had got into trouble with the other disciples. Their mother had asked Jesus if her boys could have the top jobs in His government when He came to power (Matthew 20:20-23). It was not a private conversation, James and John were there as well and Jesus rebuked them. The rest of the disciples soon knew what had been discussed, and they were angry that their friends had sought such favouritism.
They were on their way to the cross. Within a week or so, Jesus would be dead and yet He continued to train His apostles as He allowed all kinds of ministry opportunities to invade His last days. These proved to be important lessons for the leaders of the Early Church to understand. This tutorial was all about mercy.
Two blind beggars were sitting beside the road to Jerusalem, at the outskirts of Jericho. Hearing that Jesus was passing by, they called out to Him for mercy (Matthew 20:29-31). Although the crowd wanted to silence them, they persisted until Jesus stopped to talk to them. Their cry was focussed on Jesus: they wanted Him to hear them and heal them.
Jesus was within a week of the end of His life. The King of Heaven was coming to the heart of the worshipping community in Jerusalem to face a hostile welcome and be rejected as an imposter (John 1:10-11). Jesus was not heading for a military confrontation though, but simply demonstrating what had already been prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. He was the King but instead of a fine horse, He chose an unbroken donkey.
The feast of Passover was one of the three great feasts of Israel. Every able bodied man was expected to be there. Many Jews who travelled from Galilee, in the north of the country, avoided Samaria by coming down the road to the east of the Jordan River and then crossing near Jericho. From there it was an uphill path for about 17 miles. The closer they got to Jerusalem, the more excited they became.
After Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He went into the temple to see the market of stalls selling animals and birds; and the money changers. Why were they there, in the temple? Well, the temple authorities decreed that people could not use the common coinage to give to God or to buy sacrifices - because the Roman money was 'unclean'. So worshippers had to buy temple money from a money-changer who added a large commission. They also purchased (apparently ceremonially clean) doves or lambs for sacrifice (at an inflated price).
Christ's journey to Jerusalem on (what we know as) Palm Sunday was a noisy scene. The excited crowds laid their cloaks on the road for His donkey transport to walk on, while they were singing and chanting from Psalm 118: "Hosanna to the Son of David"; and, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord". The children were more perceptive than many of the adults and realised that Jesus was indeed somebody so special that they could not keep quiet about Him.
We do not usually think that Jesus would do anything destructive; we think of His healings, the power over the storm, and turning water into wine. On all those occasions He was demonstrating His divine power to create and recreate, to undo the ravages of evil and bring new joy. But this passage is different. Jesus sees an unproductive fig tree and curses it so that it would never again bear fruit. His words had an even greater effect because it was subsequently found to be dead with withered leaves.
Jesus had just cursed the fig tree. Although it looked a healthy tree, it was without fruit and therefore useless. The words of Jesus to the tree, saying that it would never bear fruit again, instantly removed the fig tree's purpose, and even its bright leaves withered instantly. It was dead.
In any society some recognised system of authority is essential. It determines who has the right to take action and tell others what to do. It applies in the workplace, the civil society, the military ... and in homes too. Religious groups also need an authority structure; and Israel was no exception. God had divided the nation into tribal groupings with land entitlements, a leadership structure which was scaled according to ability, and a complex system of civil laws and religious practices.
