Lent Day 2 - Jesus Walks into the Temple
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. Matt. 21:12
During my school years, I acted in many plays, and then continued that on into my first two years as an undergraduate. I loved everything about it, from the smell of the greasepaint to the hot glow of the lights and that nervous anticipation of listening out for your next cue line. That anticipation was never greater than the moment of waiting in the wings for your first entrance. This was the moment to make an impression. Sadly, on one occasion I made a spectacularly bad one. I was playing ‘Ratty’ in Toad of Toad Hall, and had a stiff tail attached to the back of the blazer I was wearing. As I strode onto the stage ready to utter my first line, the tail caught in Mole’s papier-mâché molehill, turning it around and revealing both its chicken-wire construction and its startled occupant to the audience. While memorable, it was not the entrance for which I was hoping
Read carefully, each of the four Gospels has a drumbeat in the background – getting louder and quicker as the time nears for Jesus to come to Jerusalem and fulfil his destiny. The writers leave us in no doubt that it will be dramatic and significant. I suspect, though, that none of them anticipated Jesus’ entry into the temple courtyard. Matthew records that he ‘entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there’. In case we think that he simply asked them to leave, the picture is very vivid, as Matthew continues, ‘He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves.’ This would have been a scene of pandemonium, with coins rolling across the floor, angry tradesmen unseated from their benches, and maybe even accidentally freed doves flying away into the blue sky high above Jerusalem. Jesus was, without a doubt, ‘making an entrance’
Every time I read those words, I am struck by how narrow I have allowed my mental picture of Jesus to become. When I think of him, I see the baby in the manger, the healer bent over the sick, the teacher on the mountainside and the Saviour on the cross. I hardly ever see this angry figure, striding through the temple as if he owned the place (which he did). Again, I can close my eyes and imagine the sound of his voice as he gently asks a sick person, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ (Mark 10:51), or his warm tones as he explains yet another parable privately to his disciples. At a pinch, I can even hear his last great cry of triumph from the cross. This angry voice in the temple, though; and the angry footsteps which carried him across it, are much harder to imagine. Mine is a tame Jesus, whom I have tamed unconsciously for my own benefit.
Would you dare to ask God to introduce you to this other Jesus as you walk today? Would you ask for some insight into the anger which exploded into action on that bright morning when he strode into the temple and upset everything from tables to expectations? Your prayer will surely be heard, and you might be surprised by the answer.
Prayer
Dear God, these are footsteps of Jesus which I have pretty much ignored. I have been uncomfortable with them, and a little afraid, if I’m honest. Please help me to see them clearly today, and to understand what they tell me about him. Amen
Taken from In Step With God by Richard Littledale
In Step with God will inspire you to put on your walking boots and join Richard Littledale on 101 devotional 'walks' through the Bible!
From Noah to Elijah through to the Magi and the disciples, the Bible is full of stories of people who have made long or short walks that have had an impact on themselves and others.
Richard Littledale unpacks these often overlooked 'walking' stories and encourages you to take your own physical walk as you ponder their deep truths and apply them to your day.
In Step With God gives you 101 thought-provoking biblical reflections and prayers that will encourage you on your own spiritual and physical journey.