The Scriptures Are Real S5 E 25 Holy Monday with Hank Smith
Mar 30, 2026
Hank Smith, BYU scholar and faculty member, offers concise New Testament perspectives. He discusses Jesus’ walks from Bethany and the fig tree object lesson. They unpack symbolic teaching, the temple cleansing as a stand against spiritual extortion, and practical ways to observe Holy Monday like temple attendance and heart-examination.
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Fig Tree Object Lesson From Bethany
- Hank R. Smith imagines Jesus staying in Bethany and using a staged object lesson with a fig tree.
- He suggests Jesus may have knocked figs off the day before to teach about a pharisaical tree that looks fruitful but bears none.
What Hypocrisy Actually Means
- Hypocrisy means deliberately pretending to be what you are not, not merely failing to live perfectly.
- Hank R. Smith emphasizes the Greek root actor and distinguishes sincere imperfection from willful spiritual pretense that exploits others.
Symbolic Actions As Jewish Pedagogy
- Jesus used symbolic actions because his Jewish audience expected prophetic teaching through symbolic performance.
- Kerry Muhlestein highlights that symbolic action is a familiar pedagogical and prophetic method in the Old Testament and Jewish tradition.