Today’s Devotion
Topic: Jesus; Save Your Temple!
Text: Matthew 21: 15
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the WONDERFUL THINGS He did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. Amen
The story of the triumphal entry is one of the few incidents in the life of Jesus which appears in all four Gospel accounts (Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40 & John 12:12-19). Putting the four accounts together, it becomes clear that the triumphal entry was a significant event, not only to the people of Jesus’ day, but to Christians throughout history.
On that day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed donkey’s colt; one that had never been ridden before. The disciples spread their cloaks on the donkey for Jesus to sit on, and the multitudes came out to welcome Him, laying before Him their cloaks and the branches of palm trees. The people hailed and praised Him as the “King who comes in the name of the Lord”.
In past years, we have discussed different themes regarding this significant event in Jesus’ life and ministry. Today, we want to highlight yet another — though not new, but very significant as well. And that is the fact that JESUS DID WONDERFUL THINGS when He entered the temple.
You see, He rode amidst cheers to the temple and begun to do WONDERFUL THINGS. He drove out all who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of money changers and the benches of those selling doves. He declared the temple as the house of prayer; not a den of thieves. The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, AND HE HEALED THEM.
Even the chief priests and the teachers of the law considered all the above as WONDERFUL THINGS He had done, and become indignant out of jealousy and insecurity.
Beloved, year in and year out we celebrate Palm Sunday and usher Jesus into our hearts and physical temples as though we yearn that He purges us and begins some wonderful works in our lives; BUT NOT REALLY! We have never really meant it.
We are still busily engaging in commerce with the world right within the temple. In our day, the house of prayer has surely become the den of thieves ‘for real’; with all manner of dubious things and tricks going on shamelessly in the temple.
Instead of being consumed by the zeal of the Father, we are rather consumed by the zeal of the world to be in competition with it, and with ourselves. No wonder lately the Church is losing its spiritual essence and as such offers no hope of healing to the blind and lame.
Beloved, as we hit the streets today with palm branches to ‘laud our hossanas’, let us be careful to usher Jesus into the temples of our hearts and church too. Let us allow Him to purge us of all that is unrighteous and unnecessary. As a church, we must be consumed by the zeal of Heaven and be relevant to our ailing world.
Meditate on this word and begin to pray now. If it is true that blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, then let us allow blessed Jesus in our temple, and over all we do. That way, He will begin some WONDERFUL THINGS in our lives and churches like never before. And we will join the children in the temple courts to scream and shout, “HOSSANA TO THE SON OF DAVID!”
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