Have you ever gone back to a place and found it very different from what it was before? You have memories of the place, but when you arrive, it is nothing like your memory. You wonder if your mind could have been playing games with you. Or maybe you have the wrong place. Or maybe your mind attached the wrong images to the right location. Puzzling!
Sometimes we remember a person a certain way, and then when we see them again, they seem totally different: different personality, looks, and attitude. And you wonder what happened to that other person. You wonder how they could have changed that much in such a short time.
Jesus is on His final visit to Jerusalem, at least His final visit for a few thousand years. He has been welcomed by a very large crowd, proclaiming Him the promised deliverer, the Messiah. But His initial foray into the city is late in the day, so He returns to His lodging for the night. The city and its surrounding towns are filled with Passover Festival visitors, pilgrims, if you will. They will all travel into Jerusalem each day and then out after the day’s activities. Jesus does the same.
Our text tells us of three of these journeys, two into the city and one out of the city. Morning, evening, morning. And during that day Jesus declares with His actions that Jerusalem has lost its ability to be fruitful. The Temple area is so filled with commercial enterprises that the sacred activity of prayer can’t happen. The central activity the Temple was designed to protect is the very thing it can no longer practice. Prayer, and the resultant repentance and sacrifices, was the activity of the Temple. Without prayer, the Temple might as well cease to exist.
Jesus engages in some activity that flies in the face of the “meek and mild” image so many have of Jesus. He is downright violent. He could be charged with destruction of personal property, disturbing the peace. His anger rages. Sounds like He is starting a riot.
But He is not out of control. His actions match His words. His actions raise the volume on His concern for the spiritual state of the Jews, and of the world. Something must be done. Complacency can’t continue. There has to be a change.
I wonder if Jesus were to wander through our days, would He see our activities and declare us unfruitful? Would He notify us that our lives have lost their purpose, their eternal direction? Would He knock the activities and turn over our tables?
The Arnold Journey 