Restored Integrity
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I love Palm Sunday!
I love this picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem as a conquering hero…So much praise and so much promise....
As I read about Jesus entry into Jerusalem as a conquering hero I wonder if the people that were crowding around Jesus knew that this was not going to be like all the other times. I wonder if they even knew that was what they were doing at all....I mean: Jesus had no army he had not taken over any territories he had not shed one spot of blood for the cause up to this point....
However Jesus had invaded the heart of people with hope. Hope that things could be different…hope that things would be different.
Like always there were also those that while they too wanted to break free from the chains of their oppressors the Romans…they did not want to give up the privileges they enjoyed under their rule.
As long as the Religious leaders did not rock the boat with the Romans they enjoyed freedom not only to practice their religion but the ability to prosper monetarily and with influence.
To accept Jesus as the True Messiah would mean an end to not rocking the boat....
The passage we are going to read is often left out of the narrative on this day. Quite frankly it takes away from the joyousness of the occasion…but it is in fact an important part of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
It marks the beginning of the end if you will of Jesus trying to get people to understand that the Messiah’s role was not to make life easier but to set all things right.
Matthew 21:12-17
Let’s talk about what was happening here for a moment.
First off....The sale of sacrificial animals was an important part of Temple worship. Many of the worshippers came from hundreds and even thousands of miles away. It was not practical for them to bring their sacrificial animals to Jerusalem. So they would sell the animals in their hometowns and use the money from that sell to buy animals in the court yard for sacrifice.
The money changers were needed because the Sadducees required the Temple tax to be paid with Tyrian coins rather than Greek or Romans coins, which had pagan images or mottoes on them. (PULL OUT DOLLAR BILL)
However what happened is that those money changers and those selling sacrifices were taking advantage by charging a considerable service charge.
The most egregious would be those selling doves as a sacrifice becuase in Leviticus 5:7 it states “Anyone who cannot afford a lamb is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.” Doves were the offerings of the poor.
The poor were being taken advantage of. People were finding ways to make money off the worshipful acts of the most vulnerable.
The integrity of the sacrifice was being tainted by greed and a lust for control.
Jesus driving out the money changers and dove brokers was actually an act of restoring the integrity of the Temple.
If these people had been exchanging money and selling sacrifices and a modest service charge for those that could afford it with pure motives this scene would not have been needed.
Jesus needed to drive these people out to recover the sacredness of the Temple. The Temple was to be a place where the wealthy, middle class and the poor could come and receive forgiveness of sins.
Jesus drives this home not only by driving out the “respectable” people but then engaging in those in need of healing…
Roger Hahn in Matthew: a commentary for Bible students points out that the disabled—such as the blind and the lame—and the disfigured—such as eunuchs—were forbidden entry into the worship space of Israel. Isaiah 56 looked forward to a day when God would invite such disabled and disfigured people into His presence. By His actions in Matthew 21:14, Jesus declared that the day envisioned by Isaiah had come.
Jesus exposed the short sightedness of the religious leaders
Instead of rejoicing with those who were healed the religious leaders were indignant the greek translates to something akin to being afflicted with feelings of displeasure.
In other words they were blaming Jesus healing and the praise of the Children for their feelings of the possible loss of status quo.
The religious leaders were looking for God to fit their agenda instead of looking for God in their midst.
The Status Quo was in danger and this exchange was the beginning of the life and death and ressurection struggle that was about to take palce. With this in mind it made perfect sense for Jesus to travel back to Bethany to rest for what is to unfold during what we now call Holy week.
The battle for humanity was just beginning. Those in authority would do anything including things that they knew violated their own morality to keep things the way the were.
Whenever major worthwhile change happens it comes at a cost…The question is always is the change worth the cost?
How might it look today to recover the integrity of the Church? Does the church need to have its integrity restored?
Not to over dramatize things but I think that the Church of Jesus Christ is at such a moment. Jesus is wanting to do something incredible but We are living in a time where the integrity of the Church is again at risk.
As followers of Jesus it is important to make sure that we are not used as a pawn by those who would seek to court the Christian community not with a desire to see Jesus kingdom come but their own Kingdom.
That is one of the over arching reasons lent is so important. Lent gives us opportunity if we will take it to keep Christ front and center in our lives.
Lent and especially Holy Week beckons us to pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus instead of a transactional relationship with the world.
The lenten season is a prolonged intentional attempt to make sure that our agenda lines up with Jesus sacred agenda. In a world full of loud voices screaming come this way and receive wealth, power and comfort it can be hard to hear the voice of God whispering follow me.
More is required than strict adherence to the rules such as attendance, tithing, and small groups. Jesus is leading us all to die to self so that we may truly live.
Jesus is not saying do this or that and I will give you wealth. He is saying I love you so much I am willing to go to the grave to give you abundant life.
There are not immediate promises of wealth or power. Jesus has come to free us from our bondage to sin, cycles of exclusion, and injustice.
He has come to give us eyes to see the ways that the kingdom of God is already at work in the world.
He has come to see justice, peace, love, grace, truth, and beauty in the world around us even now, as we wait and long for the second Coming of Jesus.
In order to allow God to restore your spiritual integrity this week it may be necessary for you to cut out all or at least a few of the voices that inform your life that are not God’s voices. Social Media, Cable News, talk radio, just to name a few. What if instead of allowing these voices to direct you this week you instead focused of the last week Of Jesus life.
We cannot experience the life of Easter without experiencing the sorrow of Jesus death.
Even today meditate of the passage we just read and continue day by day to meditate on the passage of Jesus last days until we meet on Good Friday to meditate on the death of Jesus at the times you would normal fill with your media of choice.
Ask yourself what you have learned about your walk with God everyday after you meditate on these scriptures…journal, pray and prepare to hear from God.
Communion