The King is in the House – Part 2

Today, I enjoyed connecting for lunch with Pastor Steve Harris. I then traveled to Denver for a meeting on a physical therapy bill that I am working on. An accident near 6th Ave blocked traffic, so the highway traffic to the north was much lighter, which helped me to get home in decent time.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…  When He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?”  And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee!” …When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that He did and the children shouting in the temple complex, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus told them. “Have you never read: You have prepared praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants?” Matthew 21:10-11; 14-16 HCSB

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, it was a day that had been planned, it was a day of praise and it was a day of purity. Yesterday we shared about the preparations for this day.

Next we see it was a day of praise. The crowds quickly prepared and made provisions. Palm branches and coats on the road prepared the path for the King of Kings. This was a parade for one. In our modern day history there were Generals from World War II that were honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York. But this day the focus was on the General of the Armies of the Lord. He was celebrated for all the He had done, but He was also being celebrated in advance for what He would accomplish through His sacrificial death. He was the One who would save them, but not in the political sense they anticipated.

Crowds went before Him, crowds were behind Him. Those who saw and heard and felt the commotion asked, “Who is the?” The response was simple, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” We realize that the exclamation could have been greater. This is He who was from the beginning of time, this is the creator of the world, this is the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah”, this is the “Great I am”, this is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”, this is the “One who was, and is and will forever will be.”

The children joined in the praise. The religious leaders in their jealousy cried, “Stop them!” But Jesus said, “if they were quiet the rocks would cry out.” He also said, “Have you never read: You have prepared praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants?” (Matthew 21:16 HCSB)

In a few days Jesus would be confronted by those who came to arrest Him. He would tell them, “Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour–when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:53 NIV) But on this day, it was “Jesus time.” It was time for Him to be honored and celebrated.

This day was a day of purity. Jesus went into the temple complex and drove out all those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves.  And He said to them, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer. But you are making it a den of thieves!”   (Matthew 21:12,13 HCSB)

The crowds were soon aware that the “King was in the house.” This was evident by the parade and crowds shouting their praise, and miracles He performed. Jesus moved to the temple complex and “cleanses” the temple, driving out the money changers and those who were selling.

The worship in temple had been compromised by the commerce that was to facilitate the sacrifices. In the course of time that which seemed to serve a practical need overshadowed the true activity that was to be taking place. A place of prayer, solitude, confession and humility before the Lord, had turned in the hustle and bustle of noise and human activity. The psalmist declared…

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god….Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:3,4;9,10 HCSB)

We are to prepared our hearts, we are to open our hearts, to receive the One who can make us holy. As He becomes the focus of our lives, we place Him above all else as an act of our worship and devotion.

As we reflect back on the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we can look forward to the day when He will return. As we look to that day, we can be confident it will happen just as it has been foretold. It is a time for which we should plan. It will be a day of praise to Him who is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” It is a day that we should anticipate in the way we live our lives, not being sidetrack or diverted from the true priorities for our life and worship. John declared,

“…we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3 NIV)