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 After Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, he visited the Temple. The Temple was the place where the Jewish people worshipped God.
The Gospel of Matthew records the event:
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant, and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” (Matt. 21:12-17)
At the time of Passover (the feast that Jerusalem was preparing for during Holy Week), Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem in order to participate in the celebration. When they came, they had to buy animals for sacrifice. That presented a problem because they carried different currency than was used in Jerusalem at the Temple. Thus, the need for money-changers.
The Temple, a place that was to be the very place where God’s presence dwelled, had become a place for people to make money.
What is fascinating about this event is the irony between the people’s expectations and what Jesus is actually going to do. The people think that Jesus has come to Jerusalem to be enthroned. They probably expected Jesus to garner support once he had arrived in Jerusalem in order to cement his political claim.
However, Jesus’ campaign involved offending all of the business people, and devoting his attention to the invalids, the poor, and the children. Jesus’ political agenda, if it could be called such, was not wise according to the standards of this world.
First and foremost, Jesus was concerned with his Father’s honor. He was not willing to see his Father’s house used as a place of business gain at the expense of others. Second, Jesus was eager to help those who recognized that they could not help themselves.
Can you imagine someone campaigning today on the support of the invalids, the poor, and children? Jesus was not after the support of the people; he was pursuing the approval of his Father in heaven.
Jesus knew where Holy Week was leading, and he knew that only his Father could honor him for his sacrifice. Popular consensus will never raise anyone from the dead. |