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What was Jesus thinking?
Did you ever wonder what was going on in Jesus’ mind? The masses welcomed Him into Jerusalem with great honor and praise. His followers have recognized Him as the Messiah.
His disciples and many followers believe that He is the Son of God and that He is the longed-for deliverer. They do not understand what kind of salvation he is bringing, but they want to honor Him and be a part of the victory He will bring.
On the other hand, Jesus knew that this was the prelude to his death on the cross. He was also human and did not want to die.
Can you imagine how He would have felt when He entered the temple and saw what was happening there?
He came to worship and teach.
What He saw there gave Him an excellent illustration for His message.
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. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 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.’ “ Mark 11:15-17 NKJV
Can you imagine how you would feel if you went to church to worship God and hear a message about Him and found a flea market inside? What would you do? Would you go in and see what you could buy? No, of course not!
Jesus didn’t either. He overturned the money changers’ tables, and He would not let them buy and sell in the temple.
He teaches
After He gets their attention He begins to teach. He says,” 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.'”
Jesus knows that the temple will be destroyed in a few years and will not be rebuilt for centuries. So if we are to benefit from His lesson today, we have to look at our places of worship.
Can you see things in our churches that do not glorify God? What can you do to help bring about change?
Jewish leadership
The leadership of that day did not want to clean up their act. On the contrary, they tried to protect their way of life and would do anything to keep things the same. Sometimes we see that in the churches today.
18 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. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city. Mark 11:18-19 NKJV
We do not have to be the same as they were. When we see things wrong in the church, we can try to help get them corrected. God gave us directions on worshiping Him and how to conduct ourselves.
Yes, Jesus knew
Jesus knew that He only had a little more time before He was to go to the cross. He taught for three years in the temple and synagogues across Israel.
He knew that He would go to the cross that same week. Yet He still was trying to reach out to teach the ways of God.
Easter Links:
Palm Sunday; Monday, Jesus Knew; Tuesday, What Authority; Wednesday, Jesus Betrayed; Thursday Early, This Night; Thursday Late, He Prays Before The Arrest; Friday, Seven Sayings From The Cross; Saturday, Silent Saturday; Sunday, Resurrection Sunday