Wednesday

I'm sorry to those of you who have been checking the blog for updates like I said to do on Sunday. Blogger.com has been having some serious issues and none of my blogs have posted. I just posted the Palm Sunday one and I'll wrap the others into this Wednesday one.

I love the way Jesus steps up the intensity in his teaching and interactions with the disciples during Holy Week. They're just not getting it and He just keeps pouring it on. I guess He knows that at some point, these things will click.

Can you imagine watching the scene in the Temple when Jesus cleans house? I can. I love the fact that Jesus takes the defense of the Temple into His own hands. His righteous anger works the justice of God. I can see Him calmly gather nine ropes together, knot one end and then begin swinging and yelling, "You will not turn my Father's house into a den of thieves!"

Think of the disciples. They've seen Jesus do some wild stuff but this must have been crazy! If I'm one of them, I thinking, "Now do I watch or do I help? And if I help, who exactly am I allowed to beat up?" I'm also thinking that I always want to be on Jesus' good side, particularly in regard to the Temple.

We don't have a Temple. But we do. Not a building, but our bodies. And not just our individual bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), but a collective Body as well (2 Corinthians 6:16). What kind of stands are we setting up there? What kind of worship is taking place? Who's selling what?

I'm not primarily talking about what you listen to, what you watch, who you hang with. Those are just doorways. The stands being set up are things like complacency, mis-identity, ignorance, shame, numbness, sexual deviancy, anger, fear, gossip, and greed.

And you have no idea how steep the prices are.

Let Jesus clean house in your Temple.