Day two of the last week of Christ's life
Jesus casting out the money changers from the Temple by Giotto, 14th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The sun rises just before 6:30 A.M. in Bethany , the small village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives , just a mile and a half east of Jerusalem. It is Monday morning, March 30, A.D. 33. Jesus of Nazareth is staying in the humble home of his friends Martha (whose anxiety-driven hospitality had received his gentle rebuke), Mary (who chose the good portion), and Lazarus (whose body would still be in the grave apart from the wonder-working of the Christ). Just the day before — the first day of the last week of his life — Jesus had made his Triumphal Entry into the Holy City , riding on a donkey over a royal “red carpet” of palm branches and cloaks, hailed by his disciples and the Galilean pilgrims as the messianic king. But Monday would be different than Sunday. Jesus knew the heart of man (John 2:24–25). He knew the acclaim of the disciples and the crowd was built o