Why is it that Mondays are often the hardest day of the week? Maybe it’s because you go from a place of rest to a place of activity, frustration and conflict. Most Mondays, I’d rather be hiding out in a coffee shop.Palm Sunday was great, but the Monday after Jesus must have felt depressingly human. The scene, as Mark describes it, is oddly encouraging insofar as it shows us Jesus wrestling with his humanity.
Jesus wakes up in Bethany wanting to get to the temple in Jerusalem. Of course, being homeless, he’s hungry.
In the distance he sees a hopeful sign – a fig tree.
But it’s not fig season. So then Jesus has his kick-the-dog moment. He’s so hungry and ticked that he curses the poor tree: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!”
At this point, no doubt the disciples must have been muttering amongst themselves. “Whoah. Poor tree.” I can imagine Peter saying to John, “Hey, just give the master some space. Who knows what’s going to happen next.”
And then, sure enough, the next we see him, he’s going on a rampage in, of all places, the church. There we see him throwing furniture around and calling it “a den of robbers.”
Of course none of this excuses my behavior. But it helps me to realize the truth of the verse, he was “tempted in every way, just as we are.”
If we have a bad Monday here or there, Jesus can empathize. People expect life to be easy just because they follow Jesus – what do you think? My thought is it just dials up the pressure.
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“tempted in every way…” but without sin. I get kinda sensitive if people cross the line from Jesus’ humanness to actually sining, like losing his temper. If He sinned, none of us have any hope. I believer Jesus had a reason and a lesson in everything he did, which is obvious in the lesson of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple. Not saying He didn’t get “frustrated” (I don’t know what word to use) with His disciples, such as the case with the demon-possessed boy, etc. Or that He didn’t get angry. But again…without sin. That’s my two cents worth.
I love the picture of Jesus blowing off a little holy anger at church I try to practice this very thing periodicaly,problem being I suck at it.Not quite sure if its my sin nature,or maybe fear of man.Im just glad hes the lover he says he is.I think Jesus loves our honesty and wants us to be angry rightly.Theres a famous qoute by a ancient philosopher who talks about being angry to the proper degree at the right time at the parties responsible.GOD help us all.
Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
There is nothing easy about following Jesus.
Unless you consider denying self…and taking up your cross…easy.
Ease, comfort, and prosperity are anathema to the cross. A false gospel that lures people to believe they can have a life of ease and abundance and still follow Jesus.
To respond to your other point: What a comfort it is to me that Jesus empathizes with our struggles, frustrations, and weakness.
The fact that He overcame temptation and, as Kathy said, did not succumb to sin, does not preclude that in facing each temptation in His humanity, He can and always will identify with us on our “bad” days.
Thank you, Seth, for so many things…not the least of which is the transparent expression of your humanity on these pages.
Blessings this Christmas season,
Judith