MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK

Well, it's five twenty on the Monday of Holy Week.  By this time on that day, Jesus had already entered Jerusalem on a donkey, with palm branches being waved and people shouting "Hosanna."  At the end of the parade, he was confronted by the Priests and Pharisees and Saducees who questioned his authority.  He told them he would reveal the source of his authority if they would answer one question: did John's authority come from man or God.  Knowing that, if they said "man," John's disciples who followed Jesus would probably kill them, and that if they said "God" it would reveal their complicity in having John killed as blasphemy and they would be killed; they chose silence.  Jesus then refused to answer their question.

Shortly after that, he went into the temple and dealt with the money changers rather harshly.  This was a blow to the temple rulers, for it was a prime source of their lavish incomes and lifestyles.  They firm up their intention to have Jesus killed.

Then, Jesus returns to Bethany, which many scholars note to be a distance of about 1 1/2 miles, or about a half-hour's walk.  He is often shown to have stayed in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  It is generally assumed he stayed there during Holy Week.

And so, we leave Monday, with Jesus with his disciples and friends at Mary and Martha's home in Bethany.

As they gathered for the evening meal, I wonder if there was a shadow upon the gathering: the shadow of the cross?

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