By Eric D. Huntsman
This is excerpt from God So Loved the World and from Dr. Huntsman’s blog.
The Monday of Holy Week is what I sometimes refer to as one of the “overlooked days” of Holy Week. Even churches, such as the Roman Catholic or Anglican, that are heavily liturgical do not tend to have specific services for Monday and Tuesday (or even Wednesday, as far as I know), though sometimes they have general Passion Week collects (or communal prayer) on the mornings of those days.
For those of us who are using the scriptural accounts of the Savior’s last days as the focus of our personal or family study this week, however, there are plenty of episodes to read, each of which I see as being connected to Jesus’ status as the rightful king and his coming atoning sacrifice. Jesus appears to have spent most of this day in the courts of the Temple, where he was questioned by the authorities and taught the people.
Scriptural accounts for Monday: Mark 11:12–12:12; Matt 21:18–22:15; Luke 19:47–20:19; John 12:20–36
Episodes for Personal Study
Cursing of the Fig Tree and the Marcan Cleansing of the Temple (following sequence in Mark: Mark 11:12–19; Matthew 21:18–22)
Some Greeks Wish to See Jesus (John 12:20–26)
Jesus’ Pattern of Teaching in the Temple (Luke 19:47-48)
Teachings in the Temple: Old Israel and Its Leaders Rejected (Matt 21:23–22:15; Mark 11:27–12:12; Luke 20:1–19)
Jesus and the Coming Hour (John 12:27–36)
For Further Reading: R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark, NIGTC (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002), 435–450.
For lovely images and blocks of scripture quotations that nicely supplement what I am doing on this blog, please see the blog of my friend Chad Emmett, Beit Emmett, Holy Week: Monday.
For illustrations and more discussion, see Dr. Huntsman’s blog.