Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.”

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 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. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?’”

And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Matthew 21:12-17

The Sabbath Day was over, the first day of the most sacred week of the Jewish holy days, the Passover.  Jesus dismounted from his small ordinary donkey and entered the Temple, the court that was designated for Gentile who wished to worship there.  There he found Jewish merchants setting up shop hoping for a week of handsome profits as they sold doves, lambs and so forth, for offerings in the Temple itself.  The Jews would not buy or sell in their own sections so they took over the place designated for Gentiles.  Since the Temple had its own currency, people changed Roman money for Temple money.  It is important to note all this to get the full impact of what then happened.

Jesus, obviously unhappy with what he saw, quoted Isaiah 56:7, “For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”  As he did so, he interrupted their preparation for a day when they hoped to make nice profits. Note, first of all, they were not praying, and second, there was no one from the “nations,” the despised Gentiles, to be seen.  Jesus interrupted their early trading by turning over some tables.  The rulers of the Temple were infuriated, not impressed with Jesus’ remarkable healing of the blind and lame who were now rejoicing but angry with this Galilean, Jesus.

As I ponder these events I see life as it actually is.  I am far more interested in my own people than in strangers.  They are a nuisance.  But they are loved of God and I must not only invite them to Jesus but then love them as different from myself or my people.

This is a powerful mission message but one that we must hear.  Jesus said the we should go into all nations and make disciples. Really?  Is that no the jist of this first day of Passover?