When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Luke 19:45-46)
Yesterday we saw how a loving Jesus shows up in our dire circumstances and weeps for us. It is very important that we see that Jesus came to be a humble servant. We need to be careful though, not to limit how Jesus shows up – He is the lion and the lamb. I am reminded of a quote from C. S. Lewis’ popular book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the book, Lucy asks Mr. Beaver about Aslan the lion and the dialogue is quite memorable:
“Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
Today we consider another side of Jesus as we continue our focus on how He shows up in real ways in our lives, and how the Disciplines are manifested. During Passion Week and shortly after the entry into Jerusalem, Jesus enters the temple. Please prayerfully read the passage above and answer the questions below.
Today’s Questions for comments:
- What was the cause of the display of anger by Jesus, and what Disciplines do you see manifested?
- What lesson(s) can you apply?
March 31, 2015 at 2:13 am
Jesus was incensed at the disrespect and dishonour of His Father’s house and infact His Father Himself. The temple was meant to be a holy place where one would come humbly to be in the presence and to worship the true and living God. I identify stewardship and worship as the disciplines. The lesson for me is a stark reminder of the holiness of God and how serious this is.
March 31, 2015 at 4:35 am
I think Jesus’ love for God and His love for humanity were behind His response to the situation in the temple. He would have known, felt even, the pain of His Father’s heart at the scene in the temple and the irrelevance to which God had irreverently been relegated, and of all places, right here where He was to be worshipped. But I believe He also acted out of love for mankind, knowing that they (/we) were on such a wrong path, and needed dramatic correction, at the time, and also in the future whenever we allow this scripture to minister to us, like now.
The temple was Holy ground, and needed to be treated that way. The reminder for me is that we, His children, in being the Temple of the Holy Spirit, are also Holy ground, and do well to be reminded that we are not immune to stern correction, in His love, should we be /when we are irreverent in our words, thoughts or actions. I do not want to give my loving God cause to be angry with me, though I am not totally clear on whether there would have been ‘believers’ amongst the traders whose tables were overthrown. Comments anyone?
March 31, 2015 at 8:04 am
What was the cause of the display of anger by Jesus, and what Disciplines do you see manifested?
Jesus was angry because of a number of reasons. 1. His Father’s house was being used for a purpose for which was inconsistent with his Father’s desires. 2. Those who were expected to set the example (representation of God) were doing the exact oppositie – depicting what God was not. 3. Many who didnt know the character of God were at risk of being confused and misguided about the true character of God. The disciplines I see are Stewardship and Service. We are charged with a responsibility to be instruments who God uses to encourage others to have a true “picture” of who God is. This may require us at times to have to challenge a wrong depiction of Him. As stewards we are also responsible to encourage the proper use of what he has given us. I see “Service” evident because we are called as servants of God to live out his agenda. Encoraging proper use of God’s temple is in keeping with God’s agenda.
What lesson(s) can you apply?
I need to careful that my motive for going to church is a right motive. I must guard against not being in the ministry for monetary gain. I must remember that as an individual who is now the “temple” of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?), I may be far more vulnerable to the temptation of the misuse of the Temple of God than the people of Jesus day. May God have mercy on me for the many times I have misused His temple. (not getting enough rest; insufficient exercise; improper diet, etc)
Lester – I believe there could have been believers present in the temple. Like today (I stand guilty) believers can be guilty of sins an unbeliever is guilty of. For reasons (such as misusing our body, which as I shared above is the Temple of God) God often times gets angry. See also an incident in Galatians 2:11-16, where the apostle Paul shares an occasion where he was very angry with the apostle Peter for behaving in a manner inconsistent with the Gospel (and therefore the character of God). I see this an incident of God being angry. Thank God that unlike the unbeliever we have Jesus Christ as our eternal advocate – 1 John 2:1, My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:. If not for God’s grace and mercy many of us wouldn’t be alive. I/We truly need to comprehend the scriptures that speaks of God’s mercy _Psalm 103:10, He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” is one of my favorite verses.
March 31, 2015 at 9:59 pm
Commentators your rich comments sent me back to study even more the details of the Temple incident. There is certainly a lot of literature on the incident which I won’t try to recapture here, but as you implied in your comments, we could easily fall into the trap that the money changers fell into. Along with the Disciplines you highlighted I see Worship (Jesus jealously guarded the importance of distorted worship), Bible Study (Jesus actually quotes from Old Testament verses in reprimanding the commercial actors in the temple), and Spiritual Warfare (God’s intent was being distorted right in a place where you would least expect it). Seeing Jesus show up in this way reminds me that we should never lose our awe of God and end up disrespecting Him as Lee, Lester and Cuaco pointed out. “He isn’t safe, but He is good.”
March 31, 2015 at 10:01 pm
What was the cause of the display of anger by Jesus, and what Disciplines do you see manifested?
The temple was defiled. The very place that was to represent the law Jesus’ sacrifice would replace by His death and resurrection had been replaced with counterfeits profiting from their sin.
What lesson(s) can you apply?
My body is now the temple. The Holy Spirit resides in me. My thought life should bring glory. I shouldn’t do or meditate on thoughts that offend the Lord.