MONDAY
“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matthew 21:13 NLT)
On Sunday Jesus had entered the city amidst joyous praises. They followed him to the Temple, where he looked around and saw everything. The blind and the handicapped followed him there and he healed them. The children shouted, “Praise to David’s son!” Immediately the chief priests and the teachers of the law became angry and what was being done and said, and they indignantly asked Jesus, “Do you hear what they are saying?” “Indeed I do,” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you ever read this scripture? ‘You have trained children and babies to offer perfect praise.’ ” During all this, the air was filled with the odors of animals, the shouts of the merchants, and the jangling of coins as money was exchanged from Roman to Jewish coins that would be acceptable in the Temple. The unbearable sights and sounds had caused Jesus to exit the Temple and go back to Bethany before day’s end on Sunday.
On Monday, he returned to Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple where he used a small whip to drive out the animals as he overturned the money tables and closed down the merchants. The people had been watching all this so Jesus turned to them and taught them: “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”
The negative “vibes” were soon replaced by positive as Gentiles who had come to the feast in Jerusalem found his disciples and said to them, “We want to see Jesus.” Jesus took their coming as reinforcement of what he already knew: he was going to die for the sins of the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike. He spontaneously uttered a prayer, “Father, bring glory to your name!” Then a voice spoke from heaven, “I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.” Knowing this meant he would die on the cross, Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” In saying this, he indicated that crucifixion was to be the method of his death.
The priests and teachers missed the meaning of Jesus’ words, and determined to put him to death as soon as possible. Their spiritual blindness would seal their doom, and in about 37 years, at the hands of the Romans, their city and temple would be destroyed and the remaining people scattered throughout the earth.
If they had accepted their Messiah, serving him under the banner of love, they could have fulfilled their mission and the world could have had a better history today.
March 25, 2013 (Monday)
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