When Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem and heralded as King He wasted no time in doing what Kings must do. Kings must establish their authority and enact the vision they have been given for how things should be.
The next day Jesus entered the temple area, the Court of the Gentiles to be specific, with whip in hand and chased out those who had no right to be there. This produced predictable results as the Jewish leaders stepped up their scheme to eliminate His influence.
Mark 11:15-18 (NKJV) So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.
Why was Jesus so angry? It was because those entrusted with opening the way to God had closed the door in the face of those with the least access. The Court of the Gentiles was the one place where non-Jews could get close to God. But they had made it into a marketplace full of thieves, noisy animals, and foot traffic. Who could pray in such a place?
What kind of king would allow such a deplorable status quo to continue unchallenged? When the crowds cheered and welcomed Him as King they were giving Him authority to rule over them.
When each of us make Jesus Lord in our own lives we are giving Him authority to "cleanse our temples". We may be surprised at what He chooses to remove, but we must accept and bow to His vision of who we are to become. He sometimes finds something very precious to us and says NO! it must go!
Jesus comes to make things right, and also to bless and to heal. Until we allow Him to establish His authority His blessings cannot flow.
The next day Jesus entered the temple area, the Court of the Gentiles to be specific, with whip in hand and chased out those who had no right to be there. This produced predictable results as the Jewish leaders stepped up their scheme to eliminate His influence.
Mark 11:15-18 (NKJV) So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "
And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.
Why was Jesus so angry? It was because those entrusted with opening the way to God had closed the door in the face of those with the least access. The Court of the Gentiles was the one place where non-Jews could get close to God. But they had made it into a marketplace full of thieves, noisy animals, and foot traffic. Who could pray in such a place?
What kind of king would allow such a deplorable status quo to continue unchallenged? When the crowds cheered and welcomed Him as King they were giving Him authority to rule over them.
When each of us make Jesus Lord in our own lives we are giving Him authority to "cleanse our temples". We may be surprised at what He chooses to remove, but we must accept and bow to His vision of who we are to become. He sometimes finds something very precious to us and says NO! it must go!
Jesus comes to make things right, and also to bless and to heal. Until we allow Him to establish His authority His blessings cannot flow.
