I'm sure most of us are familiar with the scene of our Lord Jesus Christ, laying His footsteps into the temple of Jerusalem and flipped the very tables that were trading for the people who wanted to 'worship the Lord with unblemished sacrifices.' Apparently, the traders were taking advantage to make money as to provide convenience for people to buy their 'sacrifices' instead of preparing them on their own.
To further add on the grandeur of this scene, people were laying down their outer garments on to the streets to greet Jesus on the colt as He entered the gates of Jerusalem prior to this commotion. As He slowly progressed into the streets, the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice, for all the might works they had seen!
So you may be wondering, "Yeah, it's pretty cool that Jesus entered with a grand entrance and flipped some tables, but what else about it?"
God was very clear as I sat at His feet, calming my heart to listen to His still voice while reflecting upon His Word. It comes in 2 important blocks:-
Firstly, how would I regard Jesus Christ if He enters into my 'Jerusalem'?
Would I immediately remove my outer garment and lay it on to the streets, and praise God for He is here? Or would I shrug and continue with my own affairs?
And next, notice that upon Jesus entering Jerusalem, the first location He decided to go is none other than the temple itself!
Would I be seen making His temple (my heart) as a place of 'trading' to my own selfish desires, and be called a 'Den of Thieves"? Or a "House of Prayer"?
Take heart as for Lord Jesus Christ who was often time than not seen to be a mellowed, gentle person who walked side by side with the oppressed and the poor, if He were to raise His arms in righteous anger, I can only cry for mercy!
He then further assured me that I have a lot more clutter to be cleansed in my heart and it's a daily process. Mentioned in Luke 19:47, Jesus then continued to stay in the temple daily, and was teaching the people there! And what made it even more significant was the fact that the authorities of the temple couldn't touch Jesus or do anything about Him although they despised His very presence there, affecting their own self-centered plans - simply because, the people were very attentive to hear Him.
So just a little sharing as we prepare our hearts for this upcoming retreat this weekend.. Are we preparing our hearts for Jesus to enter our 'temples' and be very attentive to hear Him as He teaches us?
Images taken from:
http://mattwion.blogspot.com/2012/04/den-of-thieves-real-meaning-of-jesus-in.html
http://olivyaz.blogspot.com/2012/11/he-is-not-god-of-dead-but-of-living.html
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