March 30 Reflections

Jesus Confronts the Religious Teachers

• Why does Jesus use the image of an unhealthy tree to describe the religious teachers of His day?

• What attributes of the Pharisees and the temple make anger Jesus when He enters Jerusalem?

• How can we avoid the mistakes of the religious teachers in our world?

• Consider: Jesus uses the imagery of a sick tree with no fruit to describe the religious practice of the temple. The temple mount has leaves like a healthy tree but it’s not bearing the fruit of God’s kingdom. Instead of loving the poor neighbor, the temple priests are taking advantage of the poor widows, selling their houses, and profiting off the misery of others. Jesus rebukes those who bear the name of the Lord do not represent the Lord’s heart. As His Church, we should always care for those that Jesus cared for. We should fight for the vulnerable and love the downtrodden while bearing the fruit of repentance and the fruit of the Spirit.