When you get overwhelmed, remember Jesus can relate

Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Hebrews 4:14-16

Teachers will tell you most students thrive under clear instruction. Even if a topic is difficult, if a teacher models how to do it first, students are far more likely to understand and be successful when they get home and have to do it themselves. 

Jesus, being a teacher, knew this. And right up to His death, He was giving His followers an example they could follow. When life gets hard, and we don’t know what to do next, we can look to what Jesus did in the hours leading to His arrest.

Is your life as fruitful as it seems?

Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14

Imitations have gotten better and better over time. It’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between the artificial succulents and live plants. We need to be cautious in a friend’s kitchen because those beautiful apples on the counter may be for decor purposes only. 

We’ve all experienced a moment when we realized things are not as they seem. In Matthew 21, Jesus sees a fig tree full of beautiful leaves, a sign that it should be bearing fruit. But when He gets closer there’s no fruit. The tree had all the outward signs of fruitfulness, but nothing below the foliage. Jesus cursed the tree, and it withered. 

Jesus is the king people weren’t expecting Him to be

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, it was the equivalent of walking the red carpet at the Oscars. He was at movie star status. Except, in this case, the red carpet was made of palm fronds spread out for Him to walk on. 

Palm fronds were a sign of respect and adoration but also insurrection. The Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah, their promised deliverer who would save them from oppression (Isaiah 9:6-7). They looked to Jesus to be their liberator and future king.

What happens when you’re looking to be right rather than understand

Matthew 21:23-46, Matthew 22:1-25, Mark 12:1-37, Matthew 22:26-46

The religious leaders needed to get rid of Jesus without causing a stir with Rome, so they hit Jesus up with a bunch of questions. The goal was to trick Jesus into blaspheming so they could prove He was not the Messiah, but a lunatic. 

If Jesus was merely a man claiming to be a god, He would be a traitor to Rome and a heretic among the Jews. But Jesus answered every question with wisdom, and His popularity grew instead of shrinking (Matthew 22:33).

The greatest question you’ll ever answer

Is Jesus the Messiah or not? That question marked the lives of everyone Jesus interacted with, just like it does for us today. What people did with Jesus, whether they decided to believe Him and how they positioned their hearts toward Him, was the greatest decision they would ever make.

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