Holy Monday

The Monday after Palm Sunday. Jesus has been through the procession. The people laid down coats and palm branches. The King entered on a colt. Prophecies fulfilled. The people were chanting. The King is used to crowds forming where ever he goes, so this crowd was no different. He heard their chants.

“Hosanna! 

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! 

Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 

Mark 11:9b-10

The King went to the temple, its late, and he leaves.

The next day, this Holy Monday, the King reenters Jerusalem and goes back to the temple. The King takes in what is happening all around in His father’s house. He sees those who are exchanging money, making a mockery of the sacred holy place before them. A place to be set a part from the rest of the world has turned into a common marketplace just like the rest of the world. The King shares His mind:

 “Is it not written, 

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? 

But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Mark 11:17

This stokes the flame of the already burning chief priests and scribes. They push with their plan to kill the King. A tale we are familiar with. A tale of fear driving people to mad conclusions. Fear was the one putting their foot to the pedal. Fear was the one clogging their ears so they could not hear. Fear was the static.

The King is holy. The King is set apart. This King is different. The King desires deeply to have people and places made pure. To have a deep and connecting relationship as we strive to live in the way of the King. The way of full life, as promised by the King. A way of living that WILL BE different than the rest of the world. It’s a dangerous way to live, but a life worth living. Friends, may we experience the King’s holiness in our live today on this Holy Monday.