Matthew 21:9-13 New International Version (NIV)
9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna[a] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Hosanna[c] in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus at the Temple
12 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. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[d] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[e]”
Wed. August 26 - Matthew 21:9-13 The “cleansing of the temple” happened later on “Palm Sunday.” The crowd was excited. They believed Jesus might just be the Messiah, the king who would restore the nation of Israel to glory and power, just like King David. However, the first thing this Messiah did was totally unexpected. He did not walk into the home of the Roman governor or the palace of Herod Antipas. He did not lead protests or riots against the garrison of Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem. He did not throw a political rally or hold a convention. Instead, he walked into the most important place in Israel and judged it and those working there. He condemned the Jews, themselves. He went right to the heart of the matter and said: “YOU are the problem! Not them.” This is Jesus’s attack on one of our greatest self-defense mechanisms. No one else is to blame. We are the problem. We need a savior!
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