Holy Tuesday | Truth in the Tension

5 Days Until Easter

 Once again, lot’s of scripture this week as we lead up to Easter. Ready today’s in your own bible or at bible.com

Matthew 21:23 through Matthew 24

Holy Tuesday is one of those days that, if you really sit in it, it gets heavy in the best kind of way. This is not a quiet teaching moment. This is not Jesus easing people into truth. He walks back into the temple after what happened on Monday, and immediately the tension is there. The religious leaders step in and start questioning His authority, but this is not curiosity. This is control. They are trying to trap Him, discredit Him, and protect what they have built.

And Jesus does not sidestep it.

He leans all the way in.

He answers them, but then He goes further. He starts telling parables that expose what is really going on underneath the surface. The two sons, the tenants, the wedding feast. Every one of them is pulling back another layer. On the outside, everything looks right. Structure is there. Language is there. Position is there. But underneath it, there is resistance. There is a refusal to actually submit to what God is doing.

And this is where the day really sharpens.

Jesus is not just correcting behavior. He is confronting a heart posture. In Matthew 23, He speaks in a way that is direct, clear, and impossible to ignore. He calls out the reality of looking clean on the outside while being out of alignment on the inside. He calls out the danger of knowing the truth but not living it. He calls out the weight of leading others while not being surrendered yourself.

And here is what stands out.

He does all of this knowing exactly where the week is going.

He knows the cross is coming. He knows this is escalating everything. And He still speaks with full clarity. No softening. No pulling back. Because truth matters that much.

Then the conversation shifts, and this is where it goes even deeper. In Matthew 24, Jesus begins talking about what is coming. Not just what is about to happen in Jerusalem, but what is coming at the end. And the theme is the same. Be ready. Be watchful. Do not confuse proximity with alignment. Do not assume that being around spiritual things means you are actually walking with God.

That is the thread running through the entire day.

And if we are honest, this is where it starts to hit.

Because it is very possible to be around the things of God and still be out of alignment with Him. It is possible to know the language, to be in the environments, to be doing the right kinds of things, and still have areas of life that are not surrendered. It is possible to want truth when it comforts, but resist it when it corrects.

And Jesus is not okay leaving that alone.

Not because He is trying to push people away, but because He is trying to bring them into what is real.

Holy Tuesday is a day of alignment. It is Jesus stepping into the middle of everything and drawing a clear line between appearance and reality. Between knowing and living. Between being close and actually following.

And the question it leaves us with is simple but weighty.

Do I want to be affirmed, or do I want to be aligned?

Because truth will always do one of two things. It will either humble you, or it will harden you.

As we move closer to Easter, this is a moment to let truth do its work. Not just to hear it, not just to agree with it, but to actually let it shape the way we live.

Prayer

Lord, search my heart and show me anything that is out of alignment with You. Help me not settle for appearances when You are calling me to something deeper. Give me the humility to receive Your truth and the courage to walk it out. In Jesus’ name, amen.