Did you take your sabbath day walk?
I actually am preaching our "7 Days" sermon today. Our comments in blogdom will hit here later in the week.
Now that we have explored some of the cultural and contextual things about "Palm Saturday" I want to revisit the destination of that "Sabbath day's walk" that Mark 11:11 told us they walked to the Temple.
And what did the Lord of the Sabbath do when He reached the temple? Mark tells us that
"Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." Mark 11:11.
It was the Sabbath. All was quiet.
Jesus took a look around the place!
There were no money-changers or merchants at work in the temple.
The Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, simply inspected His house.
"He looked round about on all things."
Herod's temple was a beautiful structure.
But despite the beauty of this magnificent edifice,
our Lord saw a great deal of ugliness, too.
The evidence of a sinful and disobedient people was all around.
But on this particular day, Nisan the tenth, the temple area was quiet, for it was a Sabbath.
Thus our Lord simply inspected His Father's house and then withdrew Himself to Bethany
Let's remember that the Sabbath has now past and what we call Sunday, was for Jesus and the disciples the first day of the week, like a Monday to us!
I am going to let Wayne Carver describe this scene to you as Jesus and the disciples have gone back to the Temple.
"This day was Sunday, Nisan the eleventh, the first day of the week.
On the first day of the week, Sunday, the temple area was a beehive of activity once again. Only two days remained until the fourteenth of Nisan which ushered in the eight-day celebration that the Jews referred to interchangeably as the "Feast of Passover" and the "Feast of Unleavened Bread."
To the temple merchants, Nisan fourteenth was a time of business--big business. There were many thousands of pilgrims present in Jerusalem. They had come from all over the Roman Empire. Many of then had only Roman money or money from their homeland, and this money had to be exchanged for the "shekels" of the temple in order to be useful for the buying of sacrifices and for giving in offerings. Those who had traveled far were unable to bring animals for sacrifice; so these had to be purchased.
This was like "Christmas" for the temple merchants. The business that they did during the Passover season often determined whether their fiscal years were successes or failures. In the same way, many businesses of our day have to depend on their volume of Christmas business for financial "success."
So on this first day of the week, the money-changers and merchants were in their booths early. No doubt they were calling out to the pilgrims who passed into the temple courts, hawking their merchandise and services.
It is no wonder that the Lord Jesus Christ, in righteous anger, said to them,
"Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves." Mark 11:17.
And in this we see the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi 3:1.
"And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
Today is the day that you have entered God's house of worship that you attend.
You might attend a church that is pleasing to look at.
You might feel comfortable there.
Jesus saw all those things when he visited the Temple as well, but if we are on this Hike O Life to really understand what God wants the questions are going to get a bit harder.
Would God be pleased with the hearts of prayer in your place of worship?
Would God be pleased with YOUR HEART OF PRAYER?
Or should you be watching for overturned tables?
MY PRAYER - is for us to open our hearts and our worship and ask God to clean with us....and help us take down the false tables before He feels the need to come and do it with his righteous and powerful judgement....
Lord, the scene of our Saviour having to turn over tables seems so hard, but yet we have things in our ways, that are just as bad. Lord - COME - SAVE US! HOSANNA. Help us submit to your ways, turn from our own selfishness, greed and pride and just admit how much we need YOUR HAND. TAKE THOSE THINGS IN US - and turn them over, if they do not bear fruit for you. AND LORD with a humble heart - we lift the name of _________________to you this day.....have YOUR WAY with us and with them....We praise your glorious NAME.... AMEN
A sincere prayer request for guidance in preparing and preaching at a funeral service on Monday - God is in this and will lead. Many thanks!
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