19:45,46
Jesus then entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling various stuff. Various items were sold that were necessary for sacrifice, such as animals, doves, wine, oil and salt. Moneychangers would also exchange Roman and Greek money into temple shekels, while of course taking a cut. Now at one level all of this might have seemed very sensible, and could be justified on the grounds that it facilitated the keeping of the Law. Yet Jesus reacted so strongly against it. We should be careful with any practices that we have in our churches. We may be able to argue that they help with the worship or whatever, but this does not necessarily mean that they are acceptable to God. Jesus quotes from Jer 7:11. The passage from which it comes is one where God is condemning the people who come to worship because they oppressed the poor and worshipped idols. God’s house is meant to be a house of prayer, not a trading floor.
Note that Jesus entered on a donkey, a symbol of peace, yet here we see Him acting in a very non-peaceful way. The real Jesus does not always fit our conceptions of Him.
19:47,48
Jesus taught in the temple. Remember He is about to be crucified, even so He continued to teach. Again emphasising the importance of teaching. The chief priests and teachers of the Law were trying to kill Him. This was the febrile atmosphere of the time. At this stage they were unable to do anything because the people were so attracted by Jesus and His teaching. It was Jesus who was in control of events, not the religious leaders.
No comments:
Post a Comment