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Monday: The Cleansing of the Temple Editor's note: Someone was telling me this week that in intense situations our minds have the ability to reduce the number of frames we see per second, so that it feels like time itself is running in slow motion. John's gospel devotes almost as much time to the last days of Jesus as it does to the first 33 years of His life. It's as if John is slowing down time so that we can peer in to those last intimate moments of Jesus' life - and in so doing encounter our redeemer as He approaches His central act of redemption. Everything suddenly gets more detailed and clearer and the wisdom of God is spelled out in a beautiful display of glory.
So, as a body we're going to walk through the last days of His life together. Each day this week, we'll focus on a specific event in Jesus' last days. We encourage you to read the scripture, and then reflect on the counter-cultural beauty of God's wisdom.Different artists and writers in our body have put together some reflections to help you in your own reflection, and we'll wrap up the devotional with some application questions and prayer. Our hope is that these devotionals would be used to stir your heart and renew your mind so that your life would be transformed this Easter by the glory of our God.
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| Scripture: Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11: 15-18; Luke 19: 45-46; Isaiah 56:7
Key text: "And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." Truth to reflect on: The wisdom of the world is concerned with using the house of God for worldly gain. The wisdom of God is concerned with using the house of God to pray for the nations .  Artist's Note:When our artist for today was reflecting on the Scripture above, she was drawn to the dark and light imagery, and struck by the miss-use of the temple. While it was created to bring Glory to God, as a gathering place of prayer for the nations, the use had been perverted. It reminded our artist of a park in College Station which had been designed for joy, family and life. At some point, however, this park had become a meeting place for drug transactions and solicitations for sex. "There is this dichotomy of light and dark which, in this image, is not only literal but also figurative in that we have a choice to use the wisdom of God for prayer for the nations (light) or for worldly gain (dark)." Artist: Kate McCoy. Reflection by Sarah Drinka Those doing business in the temple courts provided a necessary service. Money needed to be exchanged so foreigners could pay the temple tax; people needed animals to make sacrifices to God. This was a reasonable business. They provided a service; they were helping people to worship God better. These services were provided in the court of the Gentiles. This was a special place at the temple God designated for those who were not a part of the nation of Israel to come and worship Him. In His mercy, He made a way for those who were not His chosen people to come near. They were still separate from the Jews, but God created a space for them. With the buying and selling, the rumble of voices, the shuffling of people, the sounds of bird's wings flapping in cages, the clinking of coins, how many Gentiles were able to worship God authentically? They tried to come near, but the commerce distracted them. Through Jesus we learn that God desires compassion more than sacrifice (Matthew 9:13, 12:7). He had compassion on the crowds; He had mercy on those who were blind, lepers, dead, possessed and unclean. How it must have enraged Him when He saw people making money off of those who were simply trying to come near to Him. In the shuffle and busyness of life those who were "in" forgot compassion. The very purpose of this house was to pray for the nations, to pray for those who were lost, to be a light in the darkness that pointed to God so that all the nations would come to know God as the LORD their God. How much of this behavior is true for us? Have we neglected compassion in order to do more for God? Is our attitude on Sunday one that encourages worship and interaction with God; or are we more interested in making an appearance, thereby adding to the general noisiness? Are we too busy in our day-to-day lives that we forget to be the light? Jesus compared us to a city on a hill that shines its light to all around. No longer do we need to travel to Jerusalem and enter the court of the Gentiles to draw near to God. He lives in us. We are the body of Christ. One thing we are called to do, individually and corporately, is to pray for the nations - to pray for those who are lost. That must be the heartbeat of our lives, because it is the heartbeat of His. Application Questions:
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