"The Cleansing of the Temple"
The day starts with a bang. I like to imagine what it must be like for someone on the outside of the temple. One moment you're enjoying your breakfast and you see this grand procession pass by. You notice that leading the procession is the man who everyone was making a big to do about. There are still palm branches strewn about. And so you watch this procession go into the temple and just as you are about to get up to follow them in, people start streaming out. Some are furious, others are frightened and as you make your way through the doors, you see this man Jesus flipping tables and yelling at the moneylenders that have been there for so long. And if you listen close enough, you can hear what he's yelling. "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!"
You're shocked. You realize that this man is not like the other religious leaders. He points out that instead of the moneylenders trying to help the poor and weary travelers that had been arriving to make their Passover sacrifices; they had been taking advantage of them, using their devotion to God as a way to take more money from them than was actually fair. Essentially they were worse than tax collectors because they were using God as an excuse to take advantage of people.
And as you wait for a while, people start trickling back in. Not the moneylenders, no. They went straight to the high priests and corrupt religious leaders in protest. The people who were arriving were the broken people that so often flocked to this man. They were the blind and the lame. The undesirables. And then you see this man heal the blind. He causes the lame to walk. This is something that is impossible. And amazing. And miraculous. Maybe there is something to the claim that this man is the Son of God. Maybe people were right, because who else could do these things?
But then the priests walk in and confront this Jesus. This man who has done the impossible. Who has seemingly done all the right things. And these priests start berating him. They yell at him for what he claims to be. They point to the kids who are running around the courtyard yelling "Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David!" and tell him to shut them up.
And then Jesus turns. He turns and looks at them and quotes from a Psalm saying, “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.'" And then he walks out.
I can't imagine how I'd feel if I experienced that. I'm sure I'd have a mix of emotions. The man who healed and cared for the hurting put the religious leaders, who I'd trusted with my spiritual wellbeing, my very soul, in their place.
There were other things Jesus did this day. He cursed a fig tree for not giving fruit, which can be seen as analogy for the religious leaders. And he looks over the city of Jerusalem and weeps for it. These are the events that were recorded on the day after Jesus' triumphal entry. And though it's hard to imagine what it's really like, it helps us understand what Jesus valued…and in turn, what we should.
The Holy Holidays - goTandem
Grace and Peace
God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace. (1 Peter 1:2)
How do you experience God's grace and peace?
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