Seven Days is a first-person account by John the Disciple of the final seven days before Jesus’ resurrection. Part 1 can be found here.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning we left Lazarus’ home to return to the Festival. We were walking back to Jerusalem to return to the temple when we passed the fig tree we had just seen the day before.
Yesterday it was green, with shoots growing from it, but now it was withered—dried out—from the roots up. How could such a thing happen in one day, we wondered? Peter said, “Teacher—look! The fig tree you cursed…it’s withered!”
Jesus said, “Listen carefully: have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, you could even say to that mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
We arrived in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, many of the religious authorities approached him. They asked him “By what authority are you doing these things?” “And who gave you authority to do this?”
Jesus replied, “Let me ask you a question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’….”
The truth was, they feared the people, for everyone said that John really was a prophet.
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Then a group of Pharisees and followers of Herod questioned Jesus about the payment of taxes to Caesar. It struck me as odd that these two were on the same side of anything, because each of these detested the other.
The Herodians, who were supporters of the Roman government of the Herods, detested the hypocritical Pharisees. And the Pharisees had nothing in common with Herodians—they hated their Roman overlords.
So the Pharisees didn’t want the Roman tax; but the Herodians did. The two came together to trap Jesus the same way two hunters would corner an animal.
They said smilingly, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But Jesus saw right through them.
“Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” He asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s” they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give fully to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God fully what is His.”
Jesus was amazing!
After that there were questions about marriage and heaven, the resurrection; the greatest commandment.
As I watched Jesus speak with the religious authorities, it was as if he were real and they weren’t…it was as if he were a master painter—his words were like beautiful, lucid strokes of truth—true truth! Words that burned in the hearts of everyone there…everyone but the religious hypocrites. Their words were filled with guile & insincerity.
It was as if Jesus knew what the questions would be before they were even asked. But then He asked them a question:
He said: “Tell me, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
“So,” Jesus said “how is it then that David—speaking by the Spirit—calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”
For the first time, these questioners had nothing to say!
A HUGE crowd had gathered and were drinking it in. They loved it! It was an amazing week!
After that, Jesus warned the Pharisees and scribes of the danger that would come on Jerusalem.
As we were in the Temple, there was a huge group of people with us. These people saw Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb and raise him from the dead. These same people were spreading the word about Jesus at Passover. Many people, because they had heard this, came out to meet him.
This made the Pharisees livid. They said to each other, “Look, this is getting us nowhere. The whole world is going after him!”
Even gentiles crowded in to speak with him. When this happened, Jesus said “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Immediately after He said this, Jesus became distressed. He prayed out loud to God the Father:
“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what is coming’? This is the very reason I have come! Father, bring glory and honor to your name.”
And to everyone’s amazement, God spoke back to Him!
I heard Him! He said “I have already done this, and I will do it again.”
Now, some who were there in the temple said it was only thunder, and others said it was an angel, but I know what I heard. It was the same voice I heard on the mountain when Jesus shone like there was sunlight coming out of Him.
On that mountain, God said, to us: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
I know it was God speaking to Him because I recognized His voice.
It was an amazing week.
Jesus told the crowd that darkness would be falling soon, and that they ought to trust in the light, while the light was with them.
We had no idea it would be so soon.
Wednesday
The Passover was still a couple of days away, so at sunset on Wednesday we returned to Bethany for dinner.
We were guests at the home of Simon the Leper—or should I say former leper, because Jesus healed him of that incurable disease.
As we were dining together, Mary poured the rest of this extremely expensive perfume on Jesus for the second time in one week, Only this time she didn’t just put it on his feet, instead, she poured it over His head.
Judas Iscariot said “do you know how expensive that is? This is a total waste. Why was’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”
When Judas said this, we all found ourselves mumbling in agreement with him — we had no idea what Satan had put into his heart.
But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why criticize her for doing a good thing? You always have the poor among you, and you can aid them whenever you want; but I won’t be with you much longer. She has done what she could and has anointed my body ahead of time for burial.”
I think that was the last straw for Judas.
As I think about it, whenever the master would teach us, Judas would sit in the back and look through the moneybox. Lately, it seemed like the only two things he showed any interest in was money and revolution against the Roman government.
None of us liked the Romans, or the way they mistreated us. But Judas thought Jesus was on the wrong track. Judas would have been happier planning and carrying out something violent, or revolutionary.
But when Jesus taught, his descriptions of the Kingdom of God were amazing! Everyone who came to hear him hung on every word. When he painted a picture of God’s kingdom, and God’s justice and His power, we were transported to another place.
But Judas? He had no idea what Jesus was talking about. By the look in his eyes, you could tell he was off somewhere opposing Rome, or running coins through his fingers.
Bill Herried is a pastor at CenterPoint Church in Tacoma, Washington and is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren. He has been the lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma since 2006.
Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay
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