Holy Monday Devotion

This Holy Monday Devotion is the second in a series of devotions for the week before Easter.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15

Whenever I think about Jesus cleansing the temple in His last days on earth, I usually think about Him flipping tables. But He didn’t just flip the tables. He also healed the sick and mingled among His people, sharing truth from God’s Word.

From the very beginning, His message was “repent and believe.”

Yes, in His righteous anger He rebuked those who needed it, but He didn’t stop there. He didn’t flip the tables, yell at the offenders, and then exit the temple. He stayed.

Yes, He rebuked them, but He also offered hope.

John 3:16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible, but that’s not the end of the Bible, the Gospel of John, John chapter three, or even the paragraph. And I love the next verse:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”
John 3:16-17, emphasis mine

God hates sin, but He loves sinners.

That’s why Jesus came and His clearing of the temple is such a beautiful example of that.

Yes, there are consequences for our sins, but Jesus doesn’t abandon us to them.

Yes, God is outraged when we sin against Him, but it doesn’t cause Him to turn His back on us.

Yes, we have all sinned and fall short (Romans 3:23). Yes, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But Jesus died for us (Romans 5:6, 8).

That had been Jesus’ message all along, and it was still His message as we step into the last days of His earthly ministry.

God hates sin, but He loves sinners. That truth is evident in His actions on Holy Monday. Share on X

Find all the devotions in the Holy Week series here.