When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." Jesus entered the temple area 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. "It is written," he said to them, "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the son of David," they were indignant.
~ Matthew 21:10-15
Imagine with me for a moment this scene. Jesus, a well-known man enters the city. The crowds are yelling out "Please save! Please save us, we pray!" That's what "hosanna" means. The word is a paradox. It's a cry from the depth of their beings for a Savior and yet a cry of celebration because this Savior was present. "Hosanna, Please save us to the son of David." "Hosanna, please save us, in the highest." The people were in desperate need of a Savior, and they had some sense of that reality, enough to gather and cry out.
So this man, this Jesus, the prophet, after a long journey and a steep ascent to Mt. Moriah, where the temple was located. He enters. Now, Jesus was not a high priest and because of that he could enter no further than any other Israelite. Being an Israelite male gave Him access tomuch deeper courts than most others. The first court was for Gentiles. All along the inner walls and gates that led to the next court were words forbidding any Gentile or unclean person from proceeding any further. If they did, the punishment was death. It is in this court that we find Jesus - the court of the outcast, the most outer court of the temple that was reserved for the lowest of people. Here we find this Savior.
The teachers of the law and the chief priests valued this court so little that instead of being a place of worship for the outcast, the sojourner, the Gentile, it became a market that lined their pockets. It became a place where little, if any at all, worship could be done. Crowded. Constant commotion. Confusion. Noise. Contention. Fraud. These things served only to build bigger walls between the people who came to worship and G-d. The powers that be created a space that allowed for walls of oppression that were bigger than the physical stones that towered over all who entered. There was no chance for this space to be a safe-haven. There was no ability for this space, this temple court, holy and sacred, to be a house of prayer. "Hosanna, please save us." The crowds needed a Savior.
The teachers of the law and the chief priests, the money-changers, the people who held power, put their rights above all else, including their neighbors. Their complete disregard for the outcast brought on a righteous turning of the tables. The cries of the people would be answered, but not in the way that those holding the power liked. Jesus created space. In His turning of tables, He lifted the oppressed. He restored their place in worship. He tore down walls. He welcomed the outcast, the sinner, the Gentile and He welcomed the blind and the lame to sit at His feet and be healed. This is appropriate ministry for the house of G-d. He made the temple an oikos - He made it a home, a family. In these moments, He created a safe place for ALL!
Jesus created safe places for ALL. We are called to manifest Him. We are called to lay down our rights, to turn the tables of oppression and bring freedom to ALL. When we do that, the Kingdom comes!
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