Tuesday
Authority and Judgment

It’s Tuesday of Holy Week, and it’s filled with confrontation. The religious leaders challenge Jesus’ authority. He responds with parables of judgment and pronounces woes upon their hypocrisy. Later, from the Mount of Olives, he speaks of the destruction of the temple and the coming of the Son of Man. At the heart of these exchanges lies a single issue: authority.

Adam’s fall began when he rejected God’s authority and chose his own autonomy instead. The events of this Tuesday reveal that the same instinct is still alive. The religious leaders question the very one who came to fulfil the Scriptures they claim to defend. Jesus’ warnings are not exaggerated or emotional; they are covenantal. When God’s rightful authority is rejected, judgment follows. God’s judgment is not the opposite of his love; it’s the necessary response of a holy God to sinful rebellion. Redemption does not dismiss justice; it satisfies it.

Holy Week reminds us that the instinct to resist God’s authority lives in every human heart. Left to ourselves, we cannot solve this problem. If we are to stand before God, we need someone who can stand in our place. At the cross, Christ bears the judgment we deserved so that reconciliation becomes possible.

And yet the warnings of Jesus also point forward. History is moving to a final reckoning. Evil will not last forever. The coming resurrection of Jesus will inaugurate a new creation, but the final restoration of the world will include the judgment of all who oppose God.

Holy Week presses the question we cannot avoid: who truly rules your life?

1. Where do I quietly resist Christ’s authority in my life?
2. Are there areas where I trust my own wisdom more than God’s Word?
3. Do I want Jesus as Saviour, but hesitate to submit to him as Lord?

Righteous Father, search my heart and expose the places where I resist your authority. Give me humility to repent and faith to trust your Word. Teach me to follow Christ not only as my Saviour, but as my King. Shape my life so that it reflects joyful submission to your rule. In Jesus’ name. Amen.