As Jesus entered the Temple that day, only approximately 4 days before He was crucified, there were the "money changers"...or "exchangers"...which had become nothing more than a type of "loan sharks"...basically selling you the right coinage for the Passover at exhorberant interest rates for the service...and when His eyes focused on...the selling of animals for a sacrifice...right in the outer courts of the Temple itself...which had been designated for a place for Gentiles (non-Jewish)...to pray and seek the Lord God of Israel...that was enough!
In the ancient writings of the Old Testament, there was no mention of a "marketplace" that would sell animals...particularly in the outer courts of the Temple. This had come as a result of a kind of "afterthought" ( when Israel returned to their homeland after 70 years in Babylonian captivity.
Yet now it had become quite a money-making business...at least for the priests and sellers of the livestock. Many had come to celebrate Passover, and make a sacrifice to the Lord God for His mercy to them. But...where did you get an animal for sacrifice? It was difficult to bring one from home...because it would more than likely be rejected because of some blemish on the animal itself...and so you were almost forced to buy one in the marketplace of the outer courts of the Temple...for they were all completely unblemished...or so you were told. After all, in the book of Deuteronomy it says (17:1) : "...any animal that has any defect whatsoever and is used as a sacrifice to Me...is an abomination to the Lord...".
As people came from all over Israel and Gentiles from other nations to the Passover, it became apparent that any animal brought for sacrifice...would most like be rejected unless it was an animal sold by the Temple. The whole intent of the sacrifice had changed from...being in a "spirit of repent" for the offenses one might have done against the Lord God of Israel...to a money making scam led by corrupt priests of the Jewish Temple.
So, as this lovely spring day began to unfold...Jesus enters the Temple.....
A Gleaning from Saint Matthew 21: 12-17
" Jesus then wasted little time...and went directly into the Temple. The first thing He does...is drive out all the merchants who had set up their booths in the Outer Courts...a place reserved for Gentiles to pray. Now...things were about to change...
Jesus grabbed the 4 foot tables of the money changers...and flipped them over! He focused on the merchants who were selling doves, knocked their chairs over and opened the cages where the doves were kept.
{NOTE: Doves were the primary sacrifice of the poor...the most they could afford}
Jesus then raised His voice to all the merchants, money changers, and anyone close enough to hear...and proclaimed: "It is written...My House is designated as a House of Prayer...a House of Worship!...yet you have turned it into a hangout...for thieves...a place for robbers to hide!"
After Jesus had cleared the area of all it's "debris", the blind and the lame began entering the Outer Courts...and Jesus healed them....right then and there!
On this nice and warm spring day...Jesus had directly and with intent of purpose...challenged the authorities with a conflict of interests...a types of "showdown" that would lead to...a direct confrontation...with the very chief priests and leaders of the Temple itself...the very ones who had set-up this "market" place in the Outer Courts, and to make money from the Innocent...ones who had come to honor...the very Lord God of Israel!
Now the poor, the lame, and the blind began to stream in and these Temple leaders watched as Jesus performed outrageous miracles...before all! Meanwhile, children had begun to run through the Temple shouting:
"Hosanna!...Hosanna!...to the very Son of David!"
The priests and leaders of the Temple began to question one another: " Do you hear what these children are saying?" Then they turned to Jesus...and asked Him this very question.
Jesus, who was jubilant Himself seeing others healed and given hope in God once more responds: " Why yes!...Yes I do! Have you not read in the Scriptures: "...Out of the very mouths of children...even those who have not been weaned...are provided with a way to shout a "perfect form of praise"!...and this has been made possible by My Heavenly Father!'
And then....Jesus left the Temple......".
NOTES:
A conflict is defined as a "serious disagreement that engages at least 2 parties experiencing a clash of opposing views, opinions, interests...a challenge to the very principles of a particular subject." The Latin base for the English word we use today is "conflictus", or contest.
A confrontation is defined as: "facing the opposing party...which could get hostile, of opposing views and struggle, a debate, even a collision of opposing thoughts. This might include a type of war, a "nail-biter", perhaps becoming a real "dogfight". The Latin base for this English word is "confrontare", meaning to turn around and face your opponent...face to face.
Sometimes in life we have tendencies to view Christianity as an "all passive" community of Believers, where we all join hands and sing "Kum-ba- ya"...24/7. Yet, this is far from Truth. When we know in our hearts something is wrong and needs to be addressed...and here is the key...for the benefit of others...it becomes necessary to not be fearful of a potential conflict...and not be afraid of a confrontation...for if you lose the "heart of passion"...for the things you believe in...what really is the point of Christianity anyway?
This doesn't mean we have to "take up arms" for a particular cause...I would render this thought: If we see others being "run over, neglected, or abused"...then we position ourselves and prepare for conflicts and/or confrontations...not to prove a point, rather, to help others and put their trust in this One...from Galilee....."
Oh...one more thought,,,after Jesus had finished His "conflict and confrontation" about what was going on that Spring day, He didn't hang around to work out the details...He simply...left. He didn't pray with them, He didn't hang around and look at the Scripture about "Temple proceedings", nor did He mention about resolving the issue...He left."
In the ancient writings of the Old Testament, there was no mention of a "marketplace" that would sell animals...particularly in the outer courts of the Temple. This had come as a result of a kind of "afterthought" ( when Israel returned to their homeland after 70 years in Babylonian captivity.
Yet now it had become quite a money-making business...at least for the priests and sellers of the livestock. Many had come to celebrate Passover, and make a sacrifice to the Lord God for His mercy to them. But...where did you get an animal for sacrifice? It was difficult to bring one from home...because it would more than likely be rejected because of some blemish on the animal itself...and so you were almost forced to buy one in the marketplace of the outer courts of the Temple...for they were all completely unblemished...or so you were told. After all, in the book of Deuteronomy it says (17:1) : "...any animal that has any defect whatsoever and is used as a sacrifice to Me...is an abomination to the Lord...".
As people came from all over Israel and Gentiles from other nations to the Passover, it became apparent that any animal brought for sacrifice...would most like be rejected unless it was an animal sold by the Temple. The whole intent of the sacrifice had changed from...being in a "spirit of repent" for the offenses one might have done against the Lord God of Israel...to a money making scam led by corrupt priests of the Jewish Temple.
So, as this lovely spring day began to unfold...Jesus enters the Temple.....
A Gleaning from Saint Matthew 21: 12-17
" Jesus then wasted little time...and went directly into the Temple. The first thing He does...is drive out all the merchants who had set up their booths in the Outer Courts...a place reserved for Gentiles to pray. Now...things were about to change...
Jesus grabbed the 4 foot tables of the money changers...and flipped them over! He focused on the merchants who were selling doves, knocked their chairs over and opened the cages where the doves were kept.
{NOTE: Doves were the primary sacrifice of the poor...the most they could afford}
Jesus then raised His voice to all the merchants, money changers, and anyone close enough to hear...and proclaimed: "It is written...My House is designated as a House of Prayer...a House of Worship!...yet you have turned it into a hangout...for thieves...a place for robbers to hide!"
After Jesus had cleared the area of all it's "debris", the blind and the lame began entering the Outer Courts...and Jesus healed them....right then and there!
On this nice and warm spring day...Jesus had directly and with intent of purpose...challenged the authorities with a conflict of interests...a types of "showdown" that would lead to...a direct confrontation...with the very chief priests and leaders of the Temple itself...the very ones who had set-up this "market" place in the Outer Courts, and to make money from the Innocent...ones who had come to honor...the very Lord God of Israel!
Now the poor, the lame, and the blind began to stream in and these Temple leaders watched as Jesus performed outrageous miracles...before all! Meanwhile, children had begun to run through the Temple shouting:
"Hosanna!...Hosanna!...to the very Son of David!"
The priests and leaders of the Temple began to question one another: " Do you hear what these children are saying?" Then they turned to Jesus...and asked Him this very question.
Jesus, who was jubilant Himself seeing others healed and given hope in God once more responds: " Why yes!...Yes I do! Have you not read in the Scriptures: "...Out of the very mouths of children...even those who have not been weaned...are provided with a way to shout a "perfect form of praise"!...and this has been made possible by My Heavenly Father!'
And then....Jesus left the Temple......".
NOTES:
A conflict is defined as a "serious disagreement that engages at least 2 parties experiencing a clash of opposing views, opinions, interests...a challenge to the very principles of a particular subject." The Latin base for the English word we use today is "conflictus", or contest.
A confrontation is defined as: "facing the opposing party...which could get hostile, of opposing views and struggle, a debate, even a collision of opposing thoughts. This might include a type of war, a "nail-biter", perhaps becoming a real "dogfight". The Latin base for this English word is "confrontare", meaning to turn around and face your opponent...face to face.
Sometimes in life we have tendencies to view Christianity as an "all passive" community of Believers, where we all join hands and sing "Kum-ba- ya"...24/7. Yet, this is far from Truth. When we know in our hearts something is wrong and needs to be addressed...and here is the key...for the benefit of others...it becomes necessary to not be fearful of a potential conflict...and not be afraid of a confrontation...for if you lose the "heart of passion"...for the things you believe in...what really is the point of Christianity anyway?
This doesn't mean we have to "take up arms" for a particular cause...I would render this thought: If we see others being "run over, neglected, or abused"...then we position ourselves and prepare for conflicts and/or confrontations...not to prove a point, rather, to help others and put their trust in this One...from Galilee....."
Oh...one more thought,,,after Jesus had finished His "conflict and confrontation" about what was going on that Spring day, He didn't hang around to work out the details...He simply...left. He didn't pray with them, He didn't hang around and look at the Scripture about "Temple proceedings", nor did He mention about resolving the issue...He left."
No comments:
Post a Comment