Hi, this is Joni Tada and I hope you enjoyed a blessed Palm Sunday.
Welcome to "Joni and Friends", and I know Ken and I sure did. And today begins Easter week, a time when we can look back and just reflect on those last few days of the life of our Savior here on earth. For instance, this being Monday – and if you read in Matthew chapter 21, we would know that this was the day Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. There were money changers in the temple – these were synagogue leaders who exchanged the people’s local currency for the proper one to pay the temple tax (and you had to do that when visiting the temple). There were also vendors selling birds and animals for the people to use as sacrifices. But as you know, the merchants and the money changers were cheating; they were lining their pockets by inflating the prices. Not a good thing to do in the house of God, even if it was in the court of the Gentiles.
Now, it’s not often we see Jesus angry in the pages of Scripture, but He sure was here, understandably – He upset the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, flailing them with a whip and told them in no uncertain terms, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”
But here’s the thing; this is what touches me about this story. Immediately after Jesus cleared out the temple – picture it; the merchants and money changers scattering everywhere, getting out of there; the temple leaders finding refuge behind the columns; and the court of the Gentiles has almost become quiet – no one around. And amidst that stillness, with coins scattered on the floor and tables and chairs flipped, resting on their sides, in come the blind and the lame peering from around the corners. They had not left the temple – they witnessed the awful scene – but they had not left. And it seems almost without missing a beat, Jesus is suddenly drained of His anger and righteous indignation. And as the lame and blind draw near, (in Matthew 21) Jesus tenderly reaches out to them and heals them. Paralyzed people walk, blind people see and the children, also drawing near, witnessing this, jumping up and down and singing, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” They knew what the Son of Man was doing; they knew what He was up to, and they praised Him with song and dance. And the temple leaders, some who were still hanging around, they came out from behind the stone columns and indignantly began complaining. They didn’t get it. They just didn’t get it.
But I trust from their example, we get it! Friend, we can’t cheat God… even if we try to cheat each other, Jesus takes it as a personal affront against Him. If we are to be about the Father’s business, then it means healing and help, offering hope and a kind hand. We are the temple of God and God's Spirit lives within us. So this week, think about it: What cleaning needs to be done in “your” temple? In what small ways have you been cheating God: With your time, with your treasure or talents? And while you are cleaning your temple, think about what you worship in your life. Is it the Savior? Or is it the pile of stuff on your desk… that TV show you just can’t miss on the Food Network… or the sales rack at Nordstrom? This evening after dinner, gather the family and read aloud Matthew 21:12-17. Discuss why it is the religious leaders overlooked their sin and irreverence, yet were indignant about Jesus healing the blind and the lame. Then friend be sure to examine your own heart… examine your own temple. God wants it clean, and there is no better time to do it than this Easter week.
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